Silencing can be an obsession, and obsessions are never pretty. Here is my current rig, what I call the "Experiment Box," or "Big Geek," (after the submersible in the Abyss).



Never ever put sound-deadening material on the outside of your computer... It really doesn't do you a lick of good, and it hardly serves to silence much of anything. Yes, that is an extra floppy drive, a USB Hub, and a big red switch embedded in the front of the machine as if thrown there by some evil giant. The switch was originally going to alternate the hard drives, but it currently doesn't do anything. Perhaps it will be an extra fan controller. The USB hub is pass-through, and plugs in the back of the machine. The model number is there because the manufacturer didn't bother to tag it, which makes keeping track of components a problem.

The Compact Flash drive works wonderfully, but I still can't boot from it into debian, and I'm starting to suspect it isn't possible. The speed holes on the side make the computer go faster. And yes, that is a fan at the bottom right of the image. It is in the perfect place to cool a hard drive that might be lying on the base, no?



Sadly, it is every bit as pretty on the inside as on the outside. If you look very closely in the front you will see a Y molex adapted to give 5v - 7v outs. Most everything is currently 5, but it doesn't hurt to prepare. The 2 sunons in the back are just waiting to be replaced, but they don't produce much noise at 5, so they were a lower priority than replacing the power supply (which added a lot of cabling). The 7v fan is a 60mm Vantec Stealth on the CPU. Once again, panaflo coming... once I can figure out how to mount it. The second fan hole was not fun to cut, but it works. They also blow very close to the CPU, which is fortunate.

Without those rounded cables there would be absolutely no airflow, but with them air can pretty much go where it wants to. This is a mini tower which makes airflow a big issue. There are 3 intake fans, one CPU fan, and the PS output fan. It's a pressure-positive system, which helps avoid dust buildup.

If you look really closely at the bottom-right of the image you can see the Hard Drive enclosure.



Ah my favorite, the HD enclosure. It is made from an old AT Powersupply from "Little Geek," the 486 counterpart to this computer until its untimely death. The old exhaust hole now lines up with the Panaflo intake fan (upper-right of the image) and fits two drives nicely. Air goes in towards the sides (the hot part), and exits out the back onto the network card. The foam was from the shipping foam from the HD. Rubber bands complete the drill, keping any vibrations that reach the enclosure from reaching out to the machine outside. The thermometer is creeping up to 39 degrees Celcius, a very reasonable number especially with the Fan so far away.

That's it, that's my little system. With the new PS, there isn't quite as much to show you all, but I hope you learned something anyway. I'll post more information if I think of it.

I like your system seishino. Really - not joking. I think you could use Duroid house roofing shingles on the outside with better effect. Or drywall. OK, that's half joking. On serious terms, there is torch-down roofing material. Any roofing company should be able to feed you some scraps. You can get stuff without gravel on it, it's used as an under layer for double-thick applications. It is pre-laminated with a thin plastic film that also makes it realatively un-tarry. I would not be at all supprized if it is what some companies are selling for $$$ per sq.ft. as sound damping material.

Anyways, I think it's either very heavy, or heavy and elastic that will do the trick. You could even use MDF over the outside

good looking case there , 1stly if u want the case to be quieter CLEAN UP YOUR CABLES, apart from constricting airflow the cables also cause turbluence noise as well, the fan in the bottom blowing on the HDD is also a big wide window for noise all well, u could duct it so that the noise would have not have a direct path out of the case.. oh yeah and looking at the rear fans below the PSU, have them blowing out of the case instead of in, I'm guessing from the orientation of the stickers that the fans are blowing in the case?...

Sorry about the late reply, I'm waiting for a shipment of panaflos tomorrow to quiet this thing further, and in the meantime I'm setting up an old mac to be a wireless stereo component. Which means I need to move the stereo. And get a wireless network. And for that matter, rearrange the house.

Now that I've gotten down and dirty with this machine, I can hear it more. Those Sunons *have* to go. I'll probably cut open that PS too, if I can figure out how to speed-control the Panaflo. Anyone know if the BGMicro Panaflo FBA08A12L fans don't have the speed-control rail because the don't support it, or because they just don't have that tail?

The cables aren't really a problem, they're generally routed to the front of the case and sit directly above the Drives. They tend to spill out into a big mess if you try to take the HD's out, though. Still, I'll get some zip-ties for the collection.

The side fan opens into a nice, large Antec Lansing speaker, and as such sound mostly bounces directly back into the hole, or back upon the proper side of the sound-proof material. But I see your point... if I come across something suitable for a duct I will use it.

Why should the rear fans blow out instead of in?

-Chris

Ok, It's 9:30 AM, and I've been at this for over 12 hours now. I'm getting up at noon to have lunch with someone... That'll be interesting.

Ok, I've added a layer of paxmate to the top, bottom, both inside walls, and the front, as well as the front facade and anything that might be internally reflective the vantec stealth (now 5v) is audible from within 4 inches if the door is off. Door on? No audio. The PSU, and both rear fans are now Panaflos, with no noise from any distance. The inside of the case is clear and spacious, with cables being routed around the sides of fans, behind the motherboard, and wrapped in a trunk up the middle (just don't ask what's in the second 5 1/2 bay). I even converted the external / embedded hub to run off of internal power. When the HD spins down, you can't tell it is on. .

Unfortunately, despite the extensive Pax-Mating (which isn't anywhere near as effective as replacing a fan), the Hard Drive / Drives are still very, very loud. I don't think there is anything I can do about that except for making the current 80G into a backup drive for a 120 G Seagate. I should also switch that 60mm vantec for a panaflo, just for consistency and perfect silence's sake.

1. Any ideas on how to mount an 80mm panaflo to a 40mm HS?
2. Any working deals on a cheap IDE cuda?

You know, I've been thinking about how much I've spent on silencing this machine, and it really is quite a lot.

10 - silly roofing material
10 - pax mate
30 - panaflos
15 - vantec stealth
20 - sunons (oops)
10 - power connecters / adapters
20 - replacement power supply
10 - dremel bits (not counting the cost of the dremel)

That's over one hundred dollars, and there must be costs that I'm forgetting. Like shipping. Or the CF drive (15). ..

Anyway, I need to fall asleep now. Thank you for reading this rant. I'll post pictures as soon as I recover.

In the meantime, let's see how this machine likes a night of Kazaa and United Devices. We'll see how hot it is when we come back.

MY EYES, THE GOGGLES DO NOTHING!!!!

Ok, kidding. But hey, you learned, right?

I'd say you could get those cables a LOT cleaner with just a bit of tucking here, looping there, some zip ties, etc... no much money, but some creative use of space and rearrangement will work wonders.

I'd get some paint and put a scary face on the front. Go with the 'ugly' thing and have some fun.

That case looks like it can take a beating.

Don't you mean "That case looks like it's taken a beating"?

MiSS KiTTY are you the first female to appear on this site?

We should get a prize ready for you, hee hee.

Only the Admin would probably know..

there are other girls here, at least a couple i think

Not really... forums names & email addresses are perfect filters to real identity.

Dang aren't we getting off topic here

Just make sure it is not my girl friend, death will come to me. I may have to abandon this site for good.

Yipee, I here you cry, hee hee.

Why would it bother you? Is this an all boy's club I don't know about?

its funny whenever one girl shows up in a chatroom or something on the internet the guys always flock to her. Actually thats about how real life is too.