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Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2002 2:32 pm
by cathalmccabe
Would a PSU be the nosiest component in general in a PC?
<BR>I'm thinking of swapping my PSU for a quiet one, but it would be a bit of a waste if the CPU fan or case fan are equally noisy. (They are the original ones that came when I got the PC)
<BR>I'm fairly sure the PSU fan is the noisiest thing at the moment, but its hard to tell.
<BR>Would CPU fans and case fans normally be quieter??
<BR>I know its a hard question to ask but I'd appreciate any advice !
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Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2002 2:32 pm
by MikeC
Try stopping each fan for a few seconds, either by momentarily unplugging or by hand. It should not hurt anything. You can usually identify the noise sources easily this way. Normally the 3 main noise makers are: PSU, cpu heatsink/fan, & hard drive (not necessarily in this order). Others: video card card, motherboard chipset cooler. Some folks even use a stethoscope to make it easier.
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Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2002 2:32 pm
by cathalmccabe
Hmm I can see how to disconnect the case fan, I don't think I really want to disconnect the CPU fan, but how can I disconnect the PSU fan? If I could do this, and gauge how noisy the rest of the system is I suppose that would answer my question.
<br>Thanks for your help by the way.
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Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2002 2:32 pm
by cathalmccabe
Oh by hand, you mean physically stick my finger in or something to stop the fan??? This won't do any damage to the fan???
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Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2002 2:32 pm
by MikeC
As long as the CPU heatsink is on, stopping the fan for 10 seconds won't hurt anything. It took a couple of minutes for my P4 to reach 50C+ when I turned the fan off on the stock HSF. Now pulling the whole heatsink off -- that's another thing altogether!
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<br>You can stop the fan easily enough if it is accessible by pressing on the center while it's spinning & increase the pressue till it stops. That should hurt anything... but it is better to simply unplug it.
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<br>The PSU fan -- hmm. <IMG SRC="modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_confused.gif"> I guess If you're not prepared to open the PSU up, you'd have to stick something softish into the blades to stop it without hurting the fan. But if you stop all the other fans, and keep the hard drive unplugged, you'll know exactly what noise the PSU makes.
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