SPCR

I built my first computer a couple of months ago and everything seems to still be fine with it and I have made a few upgrades since then, I'll give you a quick components list:

CPU - AMD phenom II x3 720BE stock voltage and clock
Heatsink - coolermaster TX3 (15db at idle) with antec formula 5 thermal grease.
Motherboard - Asus M3A78-EM 780G
GFX - Stock 4850
PSU - 400W silverpower thermally controlled
HDD - WD caviar green 500gb
CASE - mATX Coolermaster 341 elite
Fans - 3 scythe 1200rpm on lowest speed via a silverstone 3.5" fan controller
plus stock CM fan about 800rpm (I have no idea how loud the stock fan is but the scythe ones are 24 (db) at full speed, although I have them at lowest speed).

Basically my computer isn't noisy but I would prefer it to be slightly quieter. I want to build other systems in the future and I would like to use this system as a baseline for noise. The case fans and graphics card are the real noise makers within the system. The other components I would say are about standard noiseness for the average computer. How many dbs do you think my case fans and gfx card are adding to the acoustics of the system? If I said use a non stock gfx cooler and had bought for example fractal design 120mm fans which are 15db at full speed would my computer be noticably quieter? It's not that this computer is really really noisy I just want something a tad quieter, when I make other systems in the future.

Thanks in advance.

You have too many fans -- 3 case fans plus the ones on the heatsink, the PSU and the GPU. Don't trust the manufacturers' dB claims. Turn each fan off one by one and see which ones make the most difference to eliminate. I bet you will be fine for cooling with an exhaust fan and a fan on the CPU cooler.

As for the GPU cooler, there are several quiet replacement options from Arctic Cooling and Scythe.

Some random suggestions:

- Cut the front intake and rear exhaust fan grills out with tip snips and/or a nibbler.

- You don't need any side intake fans for that system IMO. Just have a front intake and rear exhaust fans and block the side panel fan vents with cardboard or something.

- Use two of your Scythe fans at 5V using the fan controller for front intake and rear exhaust fans. Mount the fans with rubber mounts, not screws.

- You should also be able to swap a quieter 92mm fan onto the TX3 - ideally a Nexus or Scythe 92mm fan.

- Suspend your HDD using clothing elastic in one of the optical drive bays instead of having it.

If these don't make your PC quiet enough for you, you might need to consider going for an aftermarket cooler for your graphics card and doing a fan swap on your PSU, which may be quite noisy.

Thanks for the replies, very helpful! Might have a go at silencing the hard drive, getting rid of the side fans and changing the cpu fan!

Hyper TX3 is probably the loudest fan in your system. Just try to stop it by Pushing on the motor.