What is Digg?131 Comments
- Retrospekt, on 10/26/2008, -0/+78To anyone who does not feel like reading the article:
1. Use quieter fans.
2. Fasten down Hard Drives - chaos7, on 10/26/2008, -1/+68i hate computer noise
- SaadGhouri, on 10/26/2008, -4/+41I love the fan-noise of my PC. Makes me feel it is actually running for real.
- Novion76, on 10/26/2008, -0/+24A good start, but not specific enough. As a silent PC builder, I learned almost all my stuff at http://www.silentpcreview.com
Really learned a lot of useful stuff there, and they also provide reviews on specific components in relation to their ability to cool while remaining quiet.
As for silence, as long as you get the noise level beneath the ambient room noise, it is effectively silent. This would be about 20db. I have an Antec P180 running on just two 120mm fans. For any slickdealers out there, with a bit of custom cardboard ducting it's possible to get a Ultra Wizard (one of those FAR cases) running just as cool as an Antec P180 with just a 120mm fan and the 120mm fan built in to the PSU. You just have to think a bit about how the air is going to flow, and where noise can come out. - TheKitchenSinkX, on 10/26/2008, -1/+24That's actually a little disturbing.
- rowlodge, on 10/26/2008, -0/+22fans with led's will help, yeah,right
- zip22, on 10/26/2008, -0/+17http://www.silentpcreview.com/ is a good place to start.
- Winkythecat, on 10/26/2008, -1/+15Get a nice sound system. Then, when you are deaf, the noise will go away.
- ckhw2, on 10/26/2008, -1/+14Yeah. I've gotten too used to the hum of my computer. So much, that if an overnight power outage or a Windows update causes it to turn off or restart, the ensuing silence wakes me up. :D
- chaos7, on 10/26/2008, -1/+13sometimes i just smack my pc a lil if it's buzzing a lil more than usual
- muleskinner, on 10/26/2008, -1/+13Do you not have good grammar than this?
- Dustmuffins, on 10/26/2008, -0/+11playing cards in the fans ftw!
- devzor, on 10/26/2008, -1/+12I have a zalman gt1000 case and zalman cpu cooler both noisy from day i turned the computer on lil sad over that :(
- Novion76, on 10/26/2008, -2/+13Best fans for silence: Nexus 120mm
Best CPU coolers (passive): Thermalright Ultra 120, Scythe Ninja
For the other nitty gritty, silentpcreview.com has a lot of good stuff. Since the other components keep changing, it's better to look it up there than for me to try to recommend any specifics here. - 0260, on 10/26/2008, -1/+12I love it. I have 8 fans with multi colored LEDs on each one. I admit it is pointless though
- bexamous, on 10/26/2008, -0/+8Kinda a poor guide... looked at first few pages iwth dumb information and then skipped forward and saw them talking about watercooling and pretty much realized it was dumb article. silentpcreview.com has much better information.
Or short guide: Buy Antec P180/182 Case, Replace fans with Scythe S-Flex or Slipstream 120mm fans-- 800rpm models. Get a Scythe Ninja heatsink or ThermalRight Ultra120-- put another Scythe fan on it-- S-Flex is better for heatsinks. For hard drive obviously get a SSD if you can afford it but more likely get a WesternDigital GreenPower drive, ~120$ for 1TB, or if you want more performance get a WesternDigital 300GB Raptor, ~19dB in stock form and fast as hell. Power supply get Corasair VX450 or any Enermax Modu82 PSU. Video card is the only one where u have more choices but it really depends on what type of system your building. - JPamplin, on 10/26/2008, -1/+9This wasn't the most detailed guide, but it did have some good suggestions. One thing it didn't mention was the OS: a simple adjustment in the Power Options control panel in Windows to use the "Portable/Laptop" profile will allow modern systems (P4s and up) to use both "sleep" modes if your CPU supports it during idle time.
This keeps the CPU cooler which allows you to turn down fan speeds and keep the internals cooler, and reduces your electricity load slightly. It's not a cure-all but it's fast and free. - cease, on 10/26/2008, -0/+8The 120mm fans are able to push more air while spinning at slower speeds than 80mm fans. I think the speed at which the fans spin is a major factor for the amount of noise they generate.
- jamesmcm, on 10/26/2008, -0/+7To be fair, I bought an iMac and it _is_ silent. I can understand the burying for being an arrogant douche though.
- inactive, on 10/26/2008, -1/+8Actually... now that you mention it, I wish my car was louder too
- Novion76, on 10/26/2008, -0/+7It's not necessary to be truly silent though. If the noise level is below that of the ambient room noise, it's effectively silent. You wouldn't be able to hear it anyway.
- inactive, on 10/26/2008, -5/+12Silent??...Who wants Silence?....I want POWERFUL!!...
- 0260, on 10/26/2008, -0/+6lol. just the opposite with cars
- psykiv, on 10/26/2008, -4/+10Buried as inaccurate. It says it wants to make a silent PC, then it brings up using *any* kind of fan.
If you want to make a truly silent PC (as in 0dB level) you'd spend a lot of money because you'd need the following:
A case to basically act as a gigantic heatsink (ideally made out of aluminum or copper)
A Solid State Disc
No Fans
A Fanless Power Supply
Basically something like this with a SSD would be a good start:
http://www.xoxide.com/zalman-tnn300.html - tbredofsin, on 10/26/2008, -0/+6Back-asswards but still true rule of thumb: The bigger the fan, the quieter it will be.
- xobecide, on 10/26/2008, -0/+5Remind me the next time I need clothing and accessories to check digg for helpful people like you.
- Betrayer, on 10/26/2008, -0/+5i can make your PC silent for under 50 bucks.....
3 usb extention cables, 1 monitor extention cable and a external USB case for your cd drive.
poke a hole in the wall and put your PC in the other room.. - inactive, on 10/26/2008, -0/+5My computer sounds like an angry swarm of bumblebees
- tbredofsin, on 10/26/2008, -0/+5cease is correct. More air flow from a slower motor. But yeah, they also generate a lower-pitched noise, so it's a win-win.
- tbredofsin, on 10/26/2008, -1/+6I used a dremel to cut an exhaust into the top of my case and installed a blue Antec LED fan in there. The front fan that came with my case is also an LED. Furthermore, my mouse and keyboard glow blue (by coincidence).
The consistency appeals to me. - inactive, on 10/26/2008, -2/+7gooder
- 0260, on 10/26/2008, -0/+4I kinda enjoy the whirl up of the 8 fans and 3 hard drives that set my computer vibrating across the desk. It's manly
- TommyTikal, on 10/26/2008, -0/+4Or maybe they're a computer enthusiast who wanted something a little different?
- StateRadioFan, on 10/26/2008, -0/+4silentpcreview.com is the place to go for silent pc info.
- Callidus, on 10/26/2008, -0/+4I can't sleep in dead silence if my computer is off, oddly I find the hum of the fans quite pleasant.
- highlymodified, on 10/26/2008, -0/+4Did anyone read past the ***** about the fans to where they talk about building a PC in mineral oil for ultimate silence/cooling?
That earns a "HOLY ***** & +100 Nerd Points" - solid12345, on 10/26/2008, -0/+4I doubt any woman in a passenger seat has ever asked "can this 1969 Dodge Charger be just a bit quieter?"
- FatLoser, on 10/26/2008, -5/+9$600 for the iMac, $1400 for the fan to keep them silent?
It all makes sense now. That's how they get you.... when you buy an iMac, that's how they get you...computer is dirt cheap but that ***** fan, that's how they get you. - dha07030, on 10/26/2008, -0/+4Yeah i unplugged the lights that came with my case. So frigging tacky and it is distracting in a dark room sitting right next to you.
- dha07030, on 10/26/2008, -1/+4My ATI 4850 is so ***** loud! I can lower the fan speed but than it gets over 100c. But like SaadGhouri said when it sounds like a jet taking off it does give you a sense of power.
- BradHAWK, on 10/26/2008, -0/+3How about putting the PC in a separate room with video, firewire, and USB cables running to the monitor, keyboard, and optical drive?
- inactive, on 10/26/2008, -8/+11On a related note, whoever puts LEDs on their rig is a complete douche bag.
Some strange hybrid crossover of nerd and douche-ness resulting in a horrific organism. - unitedkronos, on 10/26/2008, -0/+3A netbook running XP with a decent amount of storage is a perfect silent PC, though it's limited to downloading, surfing, word processing and ancient gaming.
- Forky, on 10/26/2008, -0/+3"The CPU, northbridge and graphics card are fitted with passive coolers and heatpipes that ferry heat out to the case shell, whose
fin-riddled design radiates it away silently. As a side-effect, you won't ever need to turn on the radiator in that room"
Isn't the amount of heat transported away from the computer to the surrounding air the same?
Or do I need to retake my physics-class? - fullmetalglove, on 10/26/2008, -0/+2get an after market cooler like Arctic cooler Accelero s1 rev2. In installed it recently and it runs around 55c at its peak. More importantly, it's so silent now. The cooler can run even without a fan but I put a 80mm on to cool it a little, but that 80mm is nothing compared to weedcutter noise of the stock fan.
- dha07030, on 10/26/2008, -0/+2Thanks for the suggestion. I never even considered a passive heat sink. Not that expensive either.
- zephyr42, on 10/26/2008, -0/+2Want to go really quiet? install a small water cooling system, not for overclocking... Use the thermochill pa160 radiator and you should be able to cool all of your components with it, aka 1-2 120mm fans to cool EVERYTHING!
- sv650touring, on 10/26/2008, -0/+2excessive noise from your iMac is covered by your warranty
- sv650touring, on 10/26/2008, -0/+2The love chiled of Gordon Ramsey and Alton Brown. Also potentially the most ass-kicking chef in the world
- lennybird, on 10/26/2008, -0/+2I have an antec 900 case. Probably the best air cooled case, but also the loudest. I, at the same time, also have a home recording studio. They don't work together too well...
In my defense, I got the computer before I decided to setup home recording. -
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