Tweaking a presently loud PC

Rathma · Post by **Rathma** » Mon May 26, 2008 1:34 pm

My PC sits right next to my bed and I can't sleep at night with it on, it's a jet engine. I don't need completely silent, but something close to it.

I can't individually stop each fan and listen to the difference, because all but one have guards on them so you can't press down on the middle. I would have to stick something between the blades to stop them, and that doesn't sound very safe for the fans.

I tried listening to where most of the noise comes from and it sounds like the PSU (Thermaltake Silent pure power 480W). There is probably loads of dust in there but the fan is covered by a metal guard.

I need some general advice. I guess my first question is; Is it safe to put a vacuum cleaner up to the PSU fan to suck out any dust?

xafier · Post by **xafier** » Mon May 26, 2008 1:58 pm

I would recommended using a can of compressed air over a hoover personally, probably best to take the fan guard off first so you can get better access...

and of course, I'm assuming your intelligent enough to realise to unplug it first and leave it to discharge for a little while

bonestonne · Post by **bonestonne** » Mon May 26, 2008 2:18 pm

just take the whole rig outside, and use a can of compressed air and blow it all out. the whole thing. if you have an actual air compressor that would be even better.

DO NOT USE A VACUUM.

this can't actually be stressed enough. vacuums can create a static field around the end of the hose, which has more than just potential to kill your rig for good.

you want to blow dust out, not suck it out, there is a larger chance that the dust is packed in place, so you just want to blow it out. unless you have some deathly loose caps on your board, you wont do any damage using compressed air. compressed air cans are relatively cheap, and you can even get a multi-pack of them from a local electronics store.

best tip is to blow from inside the case. components don't bit, and you want the dust out, just pushed back in. blow into the inner vents of the PSU and you'll have a much better time fixing it all.

what are your computers specs? what kind of heatsink are you using, etc.

Rathma · Post by **Rathma** » Mon May 26, 2008 3:29 pm

Here are my computer specs;

CPU: Pentium D 3.2ghz
Mother Board: ASUS P5LD2-VM
RAM: 2GB DDR2 667 Memory 240 pin
Hard Disk: Western Digital 320GB 7200RPM 16mb Cache Serial ATA III (Dead, have to get something else)
GFX: Radeon X1800GTO, PCI express 256mb
Case: Thermaltake Soprano
PSU: 480 Watt Thermaltake SILENT

I'll see if I have a compressed can of air in my house but I doubt it.

Out of those specs, is there anything really crappy I should replace? I've been out of the computer loop, all I know is that intel core duo's are probably a lot better than the CPU I have now.

bonestonne · Post by **bonestonne** » Mon May 26, 2008 3:43 pm

your rig is absolutely fine. i'm running an MSI motherboard, and i have a more RAM (3GB) and I have a 9600GT, and a lower wattage PSU, and a different case, and a smaller hard drive, but relatively, our computers are similar, and there's nothing bad about them.

just blow it out, and you might want to replace some fans, GPU and CPU cooler, and definitely that drive (being dead), but its not a bad rig.

Rathma · Post by **Rathma** » Mon May 26, 2008 5:45 pm

Out of curiosity, with my specs how many watts should my power supply have?

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Mon May 26, 2008 5:54 pm

Rathma wrote:Out of curiosity, with my specs how many watts should my power supply have?

anything over 180W (your maximum power draw) will be fine.

Out of those specs, is there anything really crappy I should replace?

your CPU. it's hot, slow and basically a dinosaur in CPU terms. even the lowest Core 2 Duo outperforms it and uses less than half the power (and therefore heat and noise).

Rathma · Post by **Rathma** » Mon May 26, 2008 6:23 pm

Is there a big difference between core 2 Duo and Quad? Other than a big leap in price.

I should probably get a new CPU and a heatsink (unless the stock cooler is quiet)

I've been eyeing this one: http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.ph ... cid=CPU.84

Myth! · Post by **Myth!** » Mon May 26, 2008 7:49 pm

Depends what you do with your PC. Most software isn't designed to run on 4 cores yet (or even 2), but you'll see a big difference with F@H for instance.

I have a C2Duo E6600 and it is great at most things, not too hot etc. Am running stock cooler as it isn't too loud (SpeedFan slows it down when idling)

My PC and server are in my room and there is a gentle hum (6 drives plus slow fans) but I kinda can't sleep without it now

Rathma · Post by **Rathma** » Mon May 26, 2008 8:07 pm

I don't think I do much CPU intensive stuff. Keep a few programs like PS open at once, and watch high definition blu ray videos.

I'll leave the CPU for later I guess. But I need to focus on keeping this thing quiet. I'll buy a compressed can of air tomorrow and try to clean the dust out.

I might need to think about getting a quiet heatsink.

Myth! · Post by **Myth!** » Mon May 26, 2008 8:20 pm

New low end C2Duo will be faster than current one, but also much much cooler, therefore not requiring an expensive HSF. However, you'll need a mobo that supports socket 775

I had a P4 3.2 Prescott. Took a Â£50 HSF plus cold air duct front to back to get it to idle quietly at 50c.

E6600 idles at 35-40 with Speedfan on lowest settings, stock cooler, and it peaks at 48C when stressed.

Rathma · Post by **Rathma** » Tue May 27, 2008 5:18 am

Myth! wrote: However, you'll need a mobo that supports socket 775

I think mine is socket 775: http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3& ... odelmenu=1

Does the CPU not come with a fan though? I have to buy that separately?

Cistron · Post by **Cistron** » Tue May 27, 2008 5:57 am

bonestonne wrote:DO NOT USE A VACUUM.

this can't actually be stressed enough. vacuums can create a static field around the end of the hose, which has more than just potential to kill your rig for good.

Funny, I've heard of more people killing their rig with compressed air than with a hover. Apparently, the biggest fault is to blow onto the fan, which starts spinning and generates a current.

Anybody blown a PC with a vacuum cleaner yet?

nick705 · Post by **nick705** » Tue May 27, 2008 8:04 am

Cistron wrote: Anybody blown a PC with a vacuum cleaner yet?

Yep, many times. I've often sent the fans whizzing merrily that way as well.

The thought did occur to me that they'd be acting as a dynamo, and it was probably A Bad Thing, and I don't suppose it does the fan bearings much good either. Nothing disastrous has so far ensued, but maybe I've just been lucky.

I guess it would be easy enough to wedge a pencil or something in the fan blades while you're blowing air into the case (makes note to self).

/edit: I'm not sure if you meant "blown out" or "blown up" (I assumed the former)...

Plekto · Post by **Plekto** » Tue May 27, 2008 11:42 am

Note - the trick with the fans is to ALWAYS blow in their normal direction of flow or to unplug them from the MB. If they are hard-wired to the PS like mine are, go nuts - nothing any fan will do in terms of generating back-current will kill the PS.

I have my fans set to run at a constant speed - I find it much less annoying than it revving up and down.

My recommendation would be to get a Thermalright monting kit and a Ninja cooler. This will cut your OEM cooler's noise by at least 80%(!).

Replace the fans with S-Flex or similar.
Replace the video card cooler with an Accelero S1 or S2.
WD GP drive.

Easy ~30DB system as a result.

Oh - if you are careful and don't touch anything inside the PS, remove it from the case when you take it apart and blow out the dust from the inside(often a simple matter of taking the cover off and blowing the crud out, then putting it back on). If your otherwise quiet PS is noisy, it's likely clogged with dust.

Cistron · Post by **Cistron** » Tue May 27, 2008 11:49 pm

nick705 wrote:/edit: I'm not sure if you meant "blown out" or "blown up" (I assumed the former)...

I actually meant "blown up", so I was surprised that you merrily talked about it.

kittle · Post by **kittle** » Wed May 28, 2008 3:47 pm

Cistron wrote:
bonestonne wrote:DO NOT USE A VACUUM.

this can't actually be stressed enough. vacuums can create a static field around the end of the hose, which has more than just potential to kill your rig for good.
Funny, I've heard of more people killing their rig with compressed air than with a hover. Apparently, the biggest fault is to blow onto the fan, which starts spinning and generates a current.

Anybody blown a PC with a vacuum cleaner yet?

That statement puzzled me too.
I vacuum cat hair out of the front bezel of my PC just about every week, PC is 3yrs old and no problems.
Granted im not trying to clean out my HSF or motherboard slots with the vacuum hose.. but still.