Suspended my Barracuda IV...

Silencing hard drives, optical drives and other storage devices

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chiahaochang
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Suspended my Barracuda IV...

Post by chiahaochang » Thu Oct 24, 2002 6:55 pm

Well, I finally got around to suspending my Barracuda IV, and I'm surprised how much seek noise goes down. I can thrash the HD and I'll barely be able to hear it. The HDD is suspended within my case's HD cage (Lian-Li PC-6085A) and the cage itself is mounted with grommets to the case. The HDD is right behind two Panaflo FBA08A12L set on the case's "Low" speed switch -- the switch is made from a several resistors of unknown value, I'll have to dig out my multimeter and measure the resistances someday. Right now drive temps are hovering ~37C, which is pretty cool.

I think the largest source of noise in the system right now is the stock HSF, the fan is connected through a fanmate at min setting. I'm getting a Zalman heatsink soon...

Rusty075
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Post by Rusty075 » Thu Oct 24, 2002 7:47 pm

Excellent.

Now you begin to traverse the slippery slope. As one part gets quieter the others seem louder. And each fix is more complicated and expensive than the last.

it all downhill from here

quokked
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Post by quokked » Thu Oct 24, 2002 9:44 pm

and get's to the point where whatever u do the computer just can't seem to get quieter it's the law of diminishing returns :)

Rusty075
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Post by Rusty075 » Thu Oct 24, 2002 10:17 pm

You know you've reached an unhealthy level of obsession when you shop for Monitors (!) based on how noisy they are.

I reached that point long ago.

Now I'm beginning to think that my LED's make noise.

quokked
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Post by quokked » Fri Oct 25, 2002 12:38 am

Rusty075 wrote:You know you've reached an unhealthy level of obsession when you shop for Monitors (!) based on how noisy they are.
lol I wish I had that much money to shop for monitors, I've got a 15" Compaq that was left outside my uni library and a Chun (!) 14" monitor

Red Dawn
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Post by Red Dawn » Fri Oct 25, 2002 3:34 am

Quick question: *can* a TFT monitor emit noise, or is that just... impossible?

ChiefWeasel
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Post by ChiefWeasel » Fri Oct 25, 2002 4:15 am

I certainly hope not! My CRT is the only audible noise source i have left now, and i was planning on getting a TFT to sort this out!

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Post by Ausone » Fri Oct 25, 2002 5:12 am

TFT monitors can emit noise and some do emit fairly noticeable noise.

Rusty075
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Post by Rusty075 » Fri Oct 25, 2002 6:30 am

Monitor noise seems to be luck of the draw, even among high-end units. I've noticed that at school,where there are dozens of 21" Sony's, some whine, while others are silent.

chiahaochang
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Post by chiahaochang » Fri Oct 25, 2002 6:53 am

I've started on this path quite a while ago. It started slowly at first, and now it's picked up a bit of speed. When I assembled my current machine, I went for "stock" quiet parts, Zalman APF PSU, Panaflo fans, and (soon to be) Zalman HSF. I didn't really pay attention to the optical devices though and my DVD-ROM drive (LG DRD-8160B) and it's noisey. It has very noisey fans and they run whenever the drive is accessed and for several minutes afterwards.

Hopefully I can get to the point where my monitor is the loudest part as my monitor is silent except when switching video modes. :-)

ChiefWeasel
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Post by ChiefWeasel » Fri Oct 25, 2002 7:05 am

Are you sure its silent? I never noticed the noise my CRT made until i put my computer in the cupboard. That was with a Qtech PSU, 4x 7V papsts and 1 decoupled 40Gb Cuda IV being the only noise producers... Great if it is! Jus saying it might be noisier than you at first realise :?


hmmm, that sucks about the TFTs... Have to hope i can find a quiet one :wink:

Red Dawn
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Post by Red Dawn » Fri Oct 25, 2002 7:25 am

Yeah, same goes for me ChiefWeasel. :|
I will probably buy a used one as well, don't think I can afford a new one.

Ps. Are you still going to the US ChiefWeasel, and if so, would you mind picking up a few panaflo's for me?

quokked
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Post by quokked » Fri Oct 25, 2002 7:54 am

You might be a quiet obessive PC user IF
- you check your CRTs for noise
- you know what coil whine means
- u have tried to suspend your HDD from bicycle tubes

Add here :)

chiahaochang
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Post by chiahaochang » Fri Oct 25, 2002 10:51 am

ChiefWeasel wrote:Are you sure its silent? I never noticed the noise my CRT made until i put my computer in the cupboard. That was with a Qtech PSU, 4x 7V papsts and 1 decoupled 40Gb Cuda IV being the only noise producers... Great if it is! Jus saying it might be noisier than you at first realise :?
True, it may not be "silent" in the purest sense of the word, but my PC is already quiet and if the monitor becomes the loudest part, I'd probably be happy. The PC is making so little noise right now that I can only hear it when I lean over to open the DVD-ROM or CD-RW drives, or at night when the A/C isn't on.

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Post by miker » Fri Oct 25, 2002 11:39 am

quokked wrote:You might be a quiet obessive PC user IF
- you check your CRTs for noise
- you know what coil whine means
- u have tried to suspend your HDD from bicycle tubes

Add here :)
-You are annoyed by the sound of your mouse dragging across your Ratpadz :)

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Post by Rusty075 » Fri Oct 25, 2002 5:37 pm

You might be a quiet obessive PC user IF:

You've discovered that your LED's make noise.

(and mine do, by the way)

Dru
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Post by Dru » Sat Oct 26, 2002 10:45 am

"Every computer component has now been silenced. My own breathing is starting to annoy me!!"

If you are getting to the point of the above statement, seek help fast!

:lol:

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breathing

Post by oskarlissheim » Thu Jan 09, 2003 8:38 am

You might be a quiet obessive PC user IF
- you check your CRTs for noise
- you know what coil whine means
- u have tried to suspend your HDD from bicycle tubes
you start to get annoyed by that darned irritating air outlet somewhere in the room... *searching*... oh heck... it's your breathing. well, that's easy to fi...........

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sorry...missed the second page... :D[/i]

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