Hi everyone,

Recently upgraded my PC, bought a new Corsair 650d, Intel i5 3400k CPU (stock fan), used a pre-existing PSU, an AMD 5770 (Asus with stock cooler), 7200 rpm WD harddrive and SSD.

Right now, the case noise levels are high. Not obscenely high, but more than noticeable, especially when ambient noise levels are controlled. I need some advice and I think owners of the Corsair 650d case in particular would be able to provide me with the best advice.

Fan-wise, would I be better off changing the stock fans for something like a Megaflow? I live in S.A and I don't have access to all the various fans you guys have unless I import. The Megaflow fans are readily available, so it makes sense to use them, assuming they'll provide a worthwhile improvement over the stock fans.

Should I change front and top fans? Only the front? Next question is acoustic damping material. Worth using, any comments as to their effectiveness? I'm not using a fan controller and I haven't used any software that can control fan speeds. Any advice on this and is that worth checking out?

My final question is, can I add additional fans to the case over and above what is already included? My logic is, if I add more fans, I can slow them down which should lower the overall noise levels. Not sure if my logic has any merit, but I really need some advice here.

Thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

Hi and welcome. Before diving into case modification, are you sure it's the case fans that are the majority of the noise? Have you tried unplugging them to see? The stock Intel cooler isn't all that quiet, the 5770 may or may not be either.

If it is the case fans, have you tried using the motherboard's fan control to adjust their profile?

What temps do you see for case, CPU, and GPU under idle and load conditions? That'll tell us where you can slow fans down for quieter operation.

I tried adjusting the fan speeds in the bios menu but it had no effect. I'm not sure if certain fans can be controlled via the motherboard or not. I just had my PC built so I'm not sure exactly how everything was put together.

My only concern is that if I can control the fan speeds via the motherboard and reduce the speeds to lower noise then heat levels will be higher. So I'm thinking that I can perhaps add more fans to the case then I have a sound plan to reduce noise overall and maintain similar or slightly better air flow.

I'm not a PC expert. In fact I know very little about PC's in general, but I'm willing to learn.

What's your motherboard make/model?

Hi,

It's an Asus Z77 Pro 4.

Is it perhaps the Asus P8Z77-V PRO?

If so, you've got a great motherboard for fan control. If the Fan Xpert2 software was not installed, or any of the AI Suite, download it. Then you heve temp monitoring and fan control to mess with.

Also, here's an SPCR review for you to study.

Hi,

Just checked my MB box and it's an Asus ASRock Z77 Pro 4. Not sure what the differences are between this and the model you mentioned. Thanks for the link, I'll take a look.

Ok...Asus and Asrock are two different manufacturers. The Asus review I linked won't help you.

Perhaps someone familiar with Asrock's fan controls will chime in.

I do apologise. I assumed ASrock was a specific Asus board. So they're actually two different brands. I'm not clued up to know what type of fans I need to use in order to control them, or whether I could use the Asus fan control software (or not).

Does anyone know if fan xpert 2 (asus) is compatible with ASrock Pro4 boards? I've heard a lot of great things about fan xpert 2 software.

Asus Fan Xpert is exclusive to Asus mobo's. I'm hoping someone familiar with Asrock boards/bios will chime in and walk you thru their fan controls.

In the meantime, can you post what your temps are for the room, CPU, and GPU at idle and also at load (running a game that heavily burdens your CPU and GPU)?

Hi,

I haven't checked temperature settings on CPU or GPU yet. I'll do so tonight and report back. Just got a replacement GPU from my rep (5770 was faulty) and got a 5850 (yippee), but they forgot to send me the power connectors.

I imagine adding the 5850 (it is an Asus model) to the system will increase noise levels quite a bit. All I know is that my Asrock bios is not affecting the fans in my system, even if I adjust the fan speed values, it does nothing.

Something else to consider, the HD 5xxx cards came out 2.5 yrs ago and use a lot more power for similar loads than the current HD 7xxx or Nvidia 6xx cards. More power = more heat = more noise.