I already know I don't have the best case for the job but would it make any difference to dampen it?

it's a SX600II


Fan wise:
- 2 panaflo 80mm L1a @ 5v in the front
- 1 stock Antec 80mm @ 5v in the back
- 1 Silenx 92mm @ 5v on the ZM80C-HP
- 1 Nexus 92mm @ 12v on the Cpu
- and finally the 120mm of the power supply.

F,

By dampen do you mean apply sound absorbing foam to the inside of the case or do you mean mount your fans and other hardware so they don't make as much noise.

There is a review of sound absorbing foam materials on the site and the conclusion is that if you have a noisy case it will help, but since your case is steel and you have a lot of silent components it may not help that much. Look at these articles.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article137-page2.html

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article71-page1.html

Dampening, if applied correctly using suitable materials, can help both aluminum and steel cases. How much benefit you will achieve depends on how noisy the case was to begin with.

But to get your case as quiet as possible, foam dampening is a must. To me dampening also includes sealing all the cracks/openings that let dust in and noise out......

Thats system is already fairly quiet, when I enter the room I can't tell if it's on or not.
But once I sit down I can hear it, especially in the evening when the surrounding sound is lower.

the 2 front front and the back fan are aready on rubber grommets.

HD can be heard as well but I am working on it.

I already read these review and I am aware that the AcoustiPack Deluxe is the best option, but only place i found selling it in Canada is quiet pc and they ask $115 + $25 shipping so that's about $150.

Is it possible to get a bit cheaper somewhere else? and does anyone if there is a shop selling some in Vancouver?

Aluminium tape is a good way of sealing holes as its easy and doesnt look too bad if carefully applied. If you still ahvent, you really should start by removinh the horrible plastic things the fans are mounted on. In my 660AMG the rattled like crazy.. If drilling new holes isnt an option, try velcro or hotglue.

I already modified the plastic fan holder, I cutted any piece of plastic in contact with the fan, and glued fan isolators on them. I noticed straight away a difference in sound.

AcoustiPack is so good because it is two layers. A heavy layer that works as sound barrier and dampener of structural vibration; a foam layer that absorbs and disperses airborne noise. You can uses roofers tape for the heavy layer and eggcrate foam for the foam layer. Both can be found for a lot less money at your local DIY market. This combo is thicker than AcoustiPack. In most places inside your computer case that is not a problem. If it is, then a little creativity with scissors will get you far. (And you'll need some glue or double sided tape to stick the eggcrate foam to the roofers tape.)

Glue in spray-cans are good for that, or contact-glue in cans wich you can brush on or use a credit card or something.

Isn't eggcrate foam flammable?

How about Nexus Damptek?



Would it be a good alternative?
Only saw one not very informative french review and a Czech review (which I don't speak)

The eggcrate foam I have is treated to be fire resistant. It conforms to the same norm as the Nexus DampTek (UL94HF-1). It is intended for use in childrens bedrooms and under the hood of cars so it should be both save and heat resistant enough.

I have never used Nexus DampTek, so I can't comment on its effectiveness.

But I though you where looking for a cheaper option. Where I live, the Nexus DampTek is €45 for 3 times 40x50cm. For that money I can cover twice the surface in roofers tape and eggcrate foam.

edit: spelling

I can get the Damptek localy for $73 cad and the Acoustipack for over $150 cad including shipping...

But I do like the roofer tape + eggcrate foam idea.

A couple of question though, where can I buy foam? I don't remember seeing some at homedepot.
And what does roofer tape look like? does it have another name?

I'm not living in North America, so I don't know how the merchandise at Home Depot is organised. In my local DIY market the eggcrate foam can be found with the other heat and sound insulation products. Like glasswool, rockwool, radiator foil and bubble plastic.

The roofers tape is hidden between the other products to fix a leaking flat roof. E.g. rolls of EPDM rubber and big tin cans of tar. It looks like an oversized roll of tape, but if you look from the side you see the tape if very thick. The sticky side consists of a black bituminous layer. The other side is either aluminium foil or some black rubberish material. It is heavy.

Hmm, I haven't tried the roofers' tape. But I like the ease of use of pre-fabricated damping material. You simply cut it to measure, it will fit cleanly, and come off if you need to re-position. The glue suggestions sound messy to me - but that's just me not being able to work cleanly.

In Europe it is reasonably easy to find BeQuiet! damping kits, which are much less expensive than AcoustiPack --- I don't know about the availability in Canada.

I have used both the AcoustiPack stuff (Sonata kit) and the BeQuiet! stuff (big tower kit), and they handle similarly. AcoustiPack has a very slight edge if you want to reposition it, it sticks securely but comes off rather painlessly if you want. The BeQuiet! barrier mass deforms somewhat if you want to tear it off --- it does come off without major damage though (unlike the foam only peace that's also in the BeQuiet! kit and whose adhesive film is extremely difficult to remove once stuck to a surface).
The BeQuiet! barrier mass (they call it bituminous board) is thicker and stiffer than the AcoustiPack, but a touch lighter (per surface). The foam is also thicker and stiffer and has this honeycomb pattern on the surface. The foam is open cell, but from trying to breath through it seems more "closed" than the AcoustiPack (maybe due to the pattern which seems to be simply pressed in shape from a foam of uniform thickness). All of the materials are pretty "dead" sounding/feeling alright. I don't know how to compare them in terms of sound proofing cabability, since what I did was first fitting both of my Sonatas with the AcoustiPack, and recently adding the BeQuiet! stuff to places left uncovered before, and to cover ducts/mods...

So the only comparison I can do is look at the amount of material I get for my money:

BeQuitet!, big tower kit:
5 sheets, 40x24 cm^2, 2.2mm barrier mass, 8mm foam, approx 4.4 kg/m^2
1 sheet, 40x24 cm^2, 20mm foam only
30 EUR ~ $48 CAD, ~ 23 $CAD/kg, 100 $CAD/m^2

AcoustiPack, Deluxe kit:
2 sheets, 49.5x39.5 cm^2, 2mm barrier mass, 5mm foam, approx 4.6 kg/m^2
1 sheet, 49.5x39.5 cm^2, 2mm barrier mass, 15mm foam, assumed 5 kg/m^2
couple of foam blocks to tuck here and there (useful to channel airflow)
$115 CAD, ~ 41 $CAD/kg, ~ 196 $CAD/m^2

Nexus DampTek: (I haven't used it and don't know how much it weighs)
3 sheets, 40x50 cm^2, 1.5mm barrier mass, 6mm foam
45 EUR ~ $72 CAD, 120 $CAD/m^2

Roofers tape and eggcrate foam: (see Tibors' posts)
eggcrate foam, 50x100 cm^2, 30mm thick, 9.75 EUR
1 roll of roofers tape, sufficient for one sheet of foam, ~15 EUR
24.75 EUR ~ 40 CAD, 80 $CAD/m^2

Tibors: You mentioned a sticky side and one with aluminum foil. Is this the stuff that looks like a mix of tar and rubber and can also be used to seal plumbing? I have seen tape like this before, it was impossible to remove from anything it touched...

Does anybody know how much the Nexus DampTek weighs?

I'm interested in these comparisons, because I'll likely need more of this stuff. I'm developing a Bluefront-like obsession to cover everything with it, and seal even the tiniest cracks (no offense intended. It's me who's obsessed).

EDIT: added price info about roofers tape/ eggcrate foam from Tibors' post below

BeQuiet! is a German brand sold only in Europe. That's the reason their are no reviews of BeQuiet! PSU's at SPCR although they look promissing.

The honeycomb pattern is made by heating the top of the foam with a big burner till it just starts to melt. Then the pattern is pressed into the foam with a cooled metal roll. If tou look carefull at the side of the BeQuiet! foam without barrier mass, then you'll see the top is a little darker and the bubbles are smaller. This is from the "melting" process. (When I was 16 years old, I've had a summer job in a factory making the half products for this kind of foam stuff. I think I still have a layer of plastic inside my lungs.)

The eggcrate foam is €19.50 for two sheets of 50x100cm^2 It is 3 cm thick. It is about the same density as the BeQuiet! foam. There are no density numbers on the package. But just handling them they look and feel the same.

A roll of roofers tape cost ~€15. I can't remember the exact measurements. But I remember I did some calculations last time I had one in my hands and I'd need one roll per sheet of eggcrate foam. I haven't bought it yet, as my box of BeQuiet! damping stuff is not yet empty.

I use the stuff with barrier mass only on large surfaces and to close unwanted vent openings. For all the nooks and crannies in the case I use only eggcrate foam. Without the hard backing it is more flexible to fit in all the small places. In most places the foam stays wedged in place. If it doesn't, then I use Bison Tix (R). That is a gel-like glue that stays a bit flexible after it has dried. It comes in the same type of tin can as paint comes in.

I've never tried to remove any BeQuiet! foam or foam I have Tixed in place, so I can't comment on that.

Janw those Bequiet kits looks nice, did you get yours from http://www.docmicro.com ?
Do you recon a Universal kit for Mid-Tower would be enough for my case?

Some family is going to come visit me soon I can probably ask them to bring me a bequiet kit.

Meanwhile I am still going to go to homedepot to check out what's available there.

fabre: Yes, I got mine from Doc Micro --- this was the first time I ordered from them, and was quite happy with the service: ordered late monday night, I received it on Thursday.
I'd recommend the kit for big tower. That might be just my way of putting this stuff everywhere, but given it's only 4EUR difference, I think you don't have much to loose. Maybe you should wait if Tibors has suggestions for the right quantitiy, too. He seems to have a more reasonable approach than I do (so far I've used half a box of the big tower kit on a Sonata that already had an Acoustipack kit for Sonata installed, and I'd like to use more, but I'm sparing the rest for my second Sonata )

Tibors: Thanks for the info. I'll add it to my previous post

I assume Bison Tix is regular contact-glue, i have a tin of Kiilto TIXO. The type of glue is called contact-glue around here, meaning its something you put on both surfaces, let it dry for a moment and then press then together and it sticks instantly but still remains flexible when dry.

I got the AcoustiPack Deluxe kit, and as someone mentioned found the foam-blocks very useful for ducting the front fan Nexus also sells kits of DampTek foam blocks now apparently.. Just recently added to the site.

I have to look for eggcrate foam and roofers tape next time im at a hardware store.. There isnt anything like a DIY shop around here, nothing like in the US of A anyway, where everything ranging from milk-bottles to cars is big

The price difference between the big and midi sized BeQuiet! damping kits is so small, that I don't understand why anybody would buy the midi sized kit.

I compared the info about Kiilto TIXO I could find on the internet with the info on my tin of Bison Tix. It is the same type of glue.

Thanks for your advice guys, I am going to follow your advice and get some BeQuiet!.