Having seen the mod article and considered the alternatives, the sandwich seemed like the best combination of quiet/cool/economical, and fun to make. So I bought 8 x 1/4" plates with holes and they seem to be working great for keeping the drive quiet. I noticed that MikeC had specified 3/8" plates AFTER I bought mine. So Im wondering what people think about the sound reduction/cooling properties of the thinner plates.

Subejctively, I've definitley noticed a quieter drive. However D-temp doesn't seem to show much of a difference temperature wise. I guess as long as its not getting hotter then its all good, but as my case already has reduced airflow, I figured the extra HDD cooling would be nice.

Here's a link to what I've been working on:
www.it9.net/quiet

Thanks to everyone for the ideas and feedback, and to SPCR for this website and forum!

Nate

PS. I got 8 5.25"x7.25"x.25" plates at a local metal shop cut and drilled for 50 bucks.

cool setup there nate, what's the material u're using for that sound deading stuff that u're cramming in between the plates? it looks like rubber carpet underlay.

Well, i think that the plates you have will still provide a great attenuation of the sound from the HDs. And if, like you say on your site, you cant hear your computers unless its very quiet and you listen very intently, then id say its fine! If it works for you then great!

BTW, i see your using an Audiophile, are you a musician?

Quokked, that would be thermaridge (I think thats the brand name) material, which is a mat to sleep on and keep you comfortable and warm when you're backpacking. I seem to keep finding many uses for it, although if it hadnt already been cut up, I wouldnt have used it, as it cost around 20 bucks for a matt. It was just handy. One of these days Ill get some other materials to try too, it seems to work pretty good though.



ChiefWeasel, I think the thinner plates help alot too. Im not as sure about the cooling properties of the thinner aluminum; however, at least the drives are not getting any hotter...I was just wondering if they could be even quieter and cooler. Yes, my setup now is very quiet and it takes a perfectly quiet room and a trained ear to hear the hum of (I think) whats mainly the VGA fan. Two things though:

A: Its somehow kind of fun and like a game to see how quiet you can get it. (Kind of like how overclockers get excited about tweaking their computers)
B: I would like to be able to have my computers out in the open for easier access and such. Its kind of a pain to go under that blanketed desk every time I want to burn a CD or mess with some hardware.

Finally, yes, I am a drummer (african and afro-cuban percussion), my main passion besides computers. I do some recording in my room, hence another reason to have it very quiet. Thanks for the feedback!

Nate

Yeah , i thought about the CD thing, and i had a look at buying a USB or maybe firewire (if available now?) CDRW so you dont have to mess around to much... Havent bothered yet cos i dont burn many CDs

Also, do you switch yours off at all? Ie do you have to reach under the blanket for the switch? If so, let me know, and ill find the post i did about extending the switch outside the case.


Regarding the thin plates not cooling as well, i dont think you need to worry about them not being as good as thicker plates. The plates are just transferring the heat, so thickness wont reduce the cooling ability.

Firewire and USB 1.0 and 2.0 CD-RWs yummy!
if u don't want to keep on reaching under your desk for stuff I suggest getting something like a external IDE enclosure and sticking your CD-RW into that, then u get some cable length and these things run off USB 2.0 and Firewire now as well I think. or a SCSI burner if I remember right the cables can goto 1.5 metres in the spec

I like the idea of external drives. My friend, who uses laptops instead of desktops because theyre quiet (sometimes with external display, keyboard, and mouse) thought of this too, with a little different twist. He wanted to get a long cable and firewire HDD, and stick it somwhere where he couldnt hear it, as HDD's are often the last loud component of an otherwise silent laptop.

ChiefWeasel, I generally leave my computer on all the time, but sometimes I turn it off at night when Im not using it. Id like to see that post about making the power switch longer, thanks.