Sound Insulate my computer?
Mark...@gmail.com
i'm looking for creative ways to sound insulate
a noisy computer, that sits under my desk
[the thing has 3 fans going!]
any ideas?
thanks
mark
Rod Speed
> i'm looking for creative ways to sound insulate
> a noisy computer, that sits under my desk
> [the thing has 3 fans going!]
> any ideas?
Makes a lot more sense to use quiet fans.
Al Bundy
Now that you mention it and I concentrate on it, I can hear mine too.
Of course I operate mine with the cover off and it's overhead for easy
reach. I have to wonder why this normal sound is enough to bother
you. If I had a radio or TV on I could not tell the noise over that
TV. So background noise would be one answer if you desire. It's going
to be hard to deaden that sound without wasting time and money. If
that's your choice, you could glue sound deadening material about the
box while leaving the doors and vents open. That would only be a
partial fix. You could move the box a distance away behind something
and use necessary extensions such as a powered USB hub with
extensions. It would be an interesting project to build a sound
canceling device that would allow everything else to sit in place.
Such devices are being designed and may already be ready in high level
vehicles. You might Google in that direction.
Seerialmom
1. Clean the fans with some canned air (slightly clogged fans are
noisier).
2. Find some "Marvel Miracle Oil" to lubricate the ball bearings of
the fans
3. Move the PC to another room and get a very long monitor cable :P
4. Wear ear plugs
5. Play music on the stereo that's louder than the PC fans
You definitely don't want to "insulate" the PC as this could cause too
much heat build up resulting in the premature death of the CPU or MB.
It needs to exhaust that heat and that's what those fans are for.
E Z Peaces
For ten years I had a computer with two fans. That model sounded like a
jet but had plenty of air to cool whatever one might install inside.
One disadvantage was that I couldn't hear other things as well. Another
was that more air meant more dust.
If the fans were noisier than usual, I knew it was time to open the box
to clean the fan blades. I'd also clean any dust that had accumulated
inside, taking care not to cause electrostatic damage. Cleaning can
keep components cooler. With some computers, that can mean fans will
run slower and more quietly.
Sleeve bearings are popular in computer fans because they are cheap.
Noise may signal a worn bearing. Also, some fans are designed to be
quieter than others. The noise level is usually listed in the specs.
It would have been pretty cheap to reduce noise by buying quieter fans.
Dave
<Mark...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:292f05b0-d693-4208...@f37g2000pri.googlegroups.com...
The problem with sound insulating the computer, is that the insulation will
hold in heat.
If you are trying to quiet a computer, the solution is counter-intuitive.
You have to open it up as much as possible (reduce resistance to airflow),
and add more fans (yup, I said more fans... but I didn't say more NOISY
fans).
Unless you are willing to replace the whole case, the computer is already
opened up as much as possible.
So let's look at the fans. Keep in mind that ONE noisy fan can easily be
more noisy (higher volume level) than SEVERAL quiet fans, combined. If the
case fans you are using came with the case, they ARE the NOISY kind.
So get some quiet ones. Case fans are typically 80mm or 120mm, and I
recommend Antec tricool fans to replace the noisy ones. Antec Tricool are
not particularly "quiet", but they are adjustable...and at medium setting,
hard to hear. Three tricools together will be much quieter than ONE of your
current fans.
I'm afraid replacing the case fans is the best you can do, if you want an
inexpensive solution. Keep in mind that if you replace the case fans, you
might still have a noisy (fan noise) system due to high-reving (LOUD) fans
on the Northbridge, GPU, CPU and power supply.
Too late now, but if you ever rebuild that system, look for:
1) PASSIVE cooling on the mainboard chipset (no fan on motherboard)
2) PASSIVE cooling on the video card (they do make them without fans, even
gaming video cards!)
3) A quiet power supply. Try a Seasonic brand or an Antec Earthwatts
series (Antec Earthwatts is made by Seasonic or Delta...both are quiet)
4) Look for a case with good airflow (read reviews), and equip it with 2 or
3 quiet case fans (under 28 dBA maximum, read the specs.)
5) Boxed retail coolers are OK for the CPU (noisewise) but try to get a
motherboard that can control the CPU fan speed based on CPU temp. (the CPU
fan will run slow/quiet unless it really needs to speed up) -Dave
Gary Heston
>> i'm looking for creative ways to sound insulate
>> a noisy computer, that sits under my desk
>> [the thing has 3 fans going!]
>> any ideas?
>Now that you mention it and I concentrate on it, I can hear mine too.
[ ... ]
Go into your BIOS setup and look for fan control options. If your fans
are four-wire devices, the motherboard can control their speed based
upon temperature. This can make a huge difference in noise.
Gary
--
Gary Heston ghe...@hiwaay.net http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/
Why is it that these days, the words "What idiot" are so frequently
followed by the words "at Microsoft"?
Bob F
"Gary Heston" <ghe...@hiwaay.net> wrote in message
news:j9Wdnf5zH4retZDU...@posted.hiwaay2...
> In article
> <8a4aa947-5154-4b41...@r15g2000prh.googlegroups.com>,
> Al Bundy <MSfo...@mcpmail.com> wrote:
>>On Nov 1, 4:21 pm, MarkPH...@gmail.com wrote:
>>> hi all,
>
>>> i'm looking for creative ways to sound insulate
>>> a noisy computer, that sits under my desk
>
>>> [the thing has 3 fans going!]
>>> any ideas?
>
>>Now that you mention it and I concentrate on it, I can hear mine too.
> [ ... ]
>
> Go into your BIOS setup and look for fan control options. If your fans
> are four-wire devices, the motherboard can control their speed based
> upon temperature. This can make a huge difference in noise.
Sililar to my solution. 99% of the time, my CPU fan runs at 30%, using the free
program "SpeedFan".
http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php
Bob F
"Bob F" <bobn...@gmail.com> wrote in message news:gek4hn$8rq$1...@aioe.org...
also runs slow most of the time.
Jeff
> hi all,
>
> i'm looking for creative ways to sound insulate
> a noisy computer, that sits under my desk
You can replace the cooling fans and the power supply, but all that will
be a fair expense.
Forget about sound insulation.
I suggest instead that you move the computer. Get a wireless keyboard
and mouse that has the range advertised (if it doesn't, it'll be about 6
feet). And get an extension video cable. I keep my computer in the closet.
I like not having wired keyboards and mice.
Jeff
meow...@care2.com
Some very mixed advice so far. Even the noisiest machine can be
quietened down without replacing anything.
1. Stick damping material to the interior of the case. Triplewall
cardboard is as good as anything else. This is easy, quick, costs
nothing and makes a sizeable difference.
2. Replace fans with lower noise ones
3. If you need total silence, put labyrinthine sound boxes on air
intake and output.
And of course you may want a passive cooled gaphics card etc
NT
Mark...@gmail.com
it's a new computer [very little dust];
i don't know if the fans are noisy,
or the fact that there are 3 of them [does it matter?]
it was over-clocked, which i switched to Auto setting
[3.0 now down to 2.6]
i'll carefully try Fan options in the Bios,
the SpeedFan software
[and moving to the closet sounds interesting;
i already have a wireless mouse & keyboard]
replacing fans/power/case doesn't sound practical
thanks a bunch,
mark
Jeff
> great ideas all,
>
> it's a new computer [very little dust];
> i don't know if the fans are noisy,
> or the fact that there are 3 of them [does it matter?]
Over time, the bearings in fans can wear (particularly cheaper sleeve
bearings) this is a noise different than the sound of air rushing.
Aside from steps to reduce noise at the source, like the fan speed
control, or possibly ducting, sound transmission is effected by density.
Lite barriers have little effect compared to heavier ones.
Jeff
E Z Peaces
> Mark...@gmail.com wrote:
>> great ideas all,
>>
>> it's a new computer [very little dust];
>> i don't know if the fans are noisy,
>> or the fact that there are 3 of them [does it matter?]
>
> Over time, the bearings in fans can wear (particularly cheaper sleeve
> bearings) this is a noise different than the sound of air rushing.
>
> Aside from steps to reduce noise at the source, like the fan speed
> control, or possibly ducting, sound transmission is effected by density.
> Lite barriers have little effect compared to heavier ones.
>
> Jeff
It's an overclocked computer, and maybe the builder didn't consider
noise. In that case, easy improvements may be possible.
Fan design can have a big effect on noise. I had a computer that came
with an 80mm, 25cfm intake fan that produced 40dBA. Some owners made
their computers much quieter by replacing this fan with an 80mm Sanyo
fan rated at 23cfm and only 20dBA. That's like somebody whispering five
feet away.
The fan cost $10 or so. Installation was merely a matter of unscrewing
the cover from the computer and releasing some plastic catches.
Another computer had a cover that picked up vibrations from the hard
disk. I quieted that by jamming some spongy material between the frame
and the cover to dampen vibrations.
corg...@gmail.com
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