I do voice over work and am setting up a studio - My mic can't be far from the computer so I need a very quiet one - I just want to buy the quietest system I can that has everything I need (speed, ram, storage etc) without having to figure out how to build a system from scratch or quiet an existing one. Does anyone have any recommendations on ready to go systems that are quiet?
thanks

Dont post in multiple forums. Its not necessary in this forum and is frowned upon.

Welcome to the forums Arm makes quiet pcs. As well as some dells. But with dell its luck of the draw alot of the time. Ive heard some dells that are whisper quiet, while others that are very very loud. A link to Arm can be found on the Home page of this site. http://reseller.armsystems.com/reseller ... /index.cfm
Or you can go here.

I just set a friend up with one of those $600 Dell 2600's a few weeks ago. Intel 2.4C CPU, 512MB od DDR333 RAM and a 40GB HDD. The darn thing is real, real quiet. I suspect most of us here could live with it real easily. $600!

Dell does a good job with ducting and large fans. I think the motivation is a bit different in their case; they want to reduce "fan failed, system melted" RMA scenarios.

It's the HDD noise I would be worried about-- but at 40gb, the odds of getting a quiet drive are a little better. The "whiny screamers" tend to be the largest, fastest HDD models.

I own a dell, as do many of my collegues due to company deals with dell, so I got experience of over 10 examples of dells. I fully agree with GamingGod that it is really luck of the draw.
On Dell's package deals Dell may at any time without noticication change the content of the package as long as the item they put in is at least as good as the one they claimed should be there.
Normally only performance is considered (and Dell's price), since sound is hard to measure it is usually not included. This will really give the luck of the draw effect.
From my personal experience I qould say they do have attcactive price. I might also add that hell will freeze over before I buy another Dell machine.

I didn't know the size of the hard drive had anything to do with the noise. I DO need a huge amount of hard drive space for my v.o. files but if the smaller HD are quieter do you think it would be viable to get the 40G drive and then add an external 120 or 200 G drive? I just need it to be quiet while I'm recording. Is it possible to disable the external drive while I record to the 40G and then turn it on so I can move the files over? (btw: I have a Dell now - about 4 years old - it's extremely noisy.) Is Dell the best bet for my purposes or are the smaller manufacturers better?
thx

I brought up dell because alot of them are very quiet, but not all of them. Your in kind of a bad position because alot of people dont care about the noise a computer makes so the only manufacturers that do take noise into consideration usually charge you a large premimum for the lower noise level. Building one yourself is always going to be quieter, more reliable and cheaper if you know what components to buy.
I dont know your level of computer knowledge. If you feel confident that you could install everything we could tell you which components would be best for you. Its not that hard to build a computer really. Just stick everything in its slot and load windows. Most of the drivers are built into XP now so you wont even have to worry with drivers for the most part.

I really don't know much about computers at all - but I DO know more than the Dell tech support people that tell me to reformat every time I have a problem. At that point I usually eventually figure it out on my own. I'm sure I could put it together if I knew what and how to do it - and with what components - and - more importantly - what NOT to do! - BUT - I'm a bit wary about not having any kind of support options at all - Is it that much less expensive to do it yourself? Can I then NOT have all of the preinstalled join AOL and other junk on my machine? THat alone makes it tempting to try.

OEMs will be cheaper if you pay for your software. If you don't care about having a legally licensed copy of windows though and you pick carefully, home built computers will usually be cheaper. The cheapest OEMs will probably be cheaper than anything you can build though.

OEMs also skimp on things like RAM so you'll also end up with better performance.

I just put a fresh install of windows on here, there's no feeling like a clean new OS install that actually boots and shuts down in reasonable amounts of time.

Tech support though can be a good reason to go with an OEM, but as you pointed out they can be more than a little reformat happy.

Tech support has NEVER helped me figure out a problem. They always say that there isnt a problem (then why am i calling numbnuts) or to reformat. A high end dell, and a high end computer you buid yourself will be lightyears apart. It would be hundreds cheaper to build yourself. For example the high end gaming system im building now is going to cost me about $1400., it would probably cost $2000. or more from dell, and mine will be much quieter. Low end dells are cheaper because they are getting rid of older processors and slower ram that they still have in stock and want to get rid of. If low noise level is really important to you then buying a dell is a gamble. It will be quiet, but wont be silent. The people in this forum are intelligent and friendly if you did decide to build your own then picking good quiet components that fit your needs would be easy enough. And if youve reinstalled windows before then I really dont see much a problem building your own. Most of the connectors only go in one way.

The reason bigger discs sound more is that they have more platters than smaller discs. However the difference in sound level is very small. More discs also creates more sound, usually more than the added noice of more platters.

Your biggest concern should be to get quiet discs. This can be done by choosing among the most silent brands and it can also be achieved by choosing discs that rotate slower (ofcourse this come with a performance penalty cost).
There is also an expencive way to achieve total silence by having either a RAM-disc or a flash-disc for the stuff you are currently working with and make sure your harddisc(s) spin down during recording etc.
I would consider this as a last resort if you can't be satisfied with the soundlevel you manage to reach without this kind of tricks.

It might be useful for you to give us a few specifics:

1. Price maximum

2. Software and program usage: Are you using a specific program for your recording, such as Sound Forge, Cubase, etc.? Do you require Windows 98/2000/NT/XP?

3. Hardware usage: What kind of microphone do you have, and do you plug it directly into the sound card? Are you using a particular sound card, or just the one that came with the computer originally?

4. Environment: Where will the computer be located? What kind of background noise is evident? Everyone has at least a little background noise (unless you have a soundproof room or studio), so "quiet" is sort of relative to ambient noises.

I may have left out something, but generally, too much information is better than too little, so any details relating to what you will be doing with this computer may help.

THank you! I'd rather try to find something than attempt to build one but I may take you up on that if I can't find what I need at a good price.

For software I'll be using both Cool Edit Pro (now Adobe Audition) and Sound Forge - OS I'm now using Windows 98SE - I don't know if going to XP would benefit me or not... Don't know much about XP.

Mic - I'm upgrading and haven't yet decided - maybe the AT4033 - but I DO know it'll be a condenser mic. I'll be running it through a mixer - Mackie 1202 - and processor - and I haven't even researched the sound card yet - But that's a must as far as upgrade - The standard mini plugs just don't cut it... I'll be using headphones for the most part - and studio monitors - (no 6.1 - or anything like it - I need the accuracy)

Of course I'll need CD-R and RW - and DVD (2 drives- I dub my demos from CD to CD and I don't have the patience for a combo drive. )

I know I need lots of RAM and loads of HD space - tho I can use an external drive. I get a good portion of my work on databases and flow charts so I plan on using the office 2000 suite I have and also Visio. It needs to be a decent business machine also - tho' just about all of them are good in that area. Also good video for DVD samples - but it doesn't have to be outrageous gaming video. Above all it must be QUIET....... Condenser mics are really sensitive... and computer whine is LOUD. I'm putting this in a small (8'x8') room acoustically - ahem - refined with carpet, books and if I must put an acoustic panel over the window I will - and if that doesn't work I pack it all up and move it to the basement which is dead silent, unless someone walks around upstairs. Would also like to network it with the other machine(s) in the house and put them all on DSL.

Computer budget - ah, the big question -- I really would love to keep it to about $1000.00 - really don't want to go much about 1500.00

Can I find what I need? Sorry for this long post but you've all been so helpful -

thanks again

I dont know how your house is setup but would it be possible to drill some holes in the wall and just run the monitor and keyboard/ mouse through the hole. While leaving the rest in an adjacent room?

Here's my long-winded opinion:

When you buy something ready-made from a big dealer like Dell or Gateway, you will likely not have any control over the main sources of computer noise. Most of the noise from a PC comes from either fans located on the CPU heatsink, chassis intake/exhaust and power supply, or hard drives. Hard drives can be quieted with enclosures or suspensions, fans can be undervolted but often need to be replaced with quieter versions and power supplies and heatsinks are usually a lot quieter when they are designed from the start to be so.

Having said all that, it is then your choice whether you want to buy something ready-made or build it yourself. I personally have not come across any computer from a major manufacturer that meets my noise tolerance level. Replacing the fans, stock Intel CPU heatsink and getting a hard drive enclosure may set you back about $60-80, more if you need to change the power supply. Also, you will then have paid for two sets of those parts that you replace. Therefore, in my opinion, I would attempt to build your own from parts. It will certainly take longer than buying one as a whole, but I think you will ultimately be extremely happy with the kind of system SPCR members can recommend creating. Also, you will learn how to work with computer hardware in the process, and will gain a certain (geeky?) satisfaction knowing that you built your own computer.

If you need to buy software, take into account that the newest release of Sound Forge (7.0) requires Win 2000 or XP. Adobe Audition works in Win 98 SE (as I'm sure you know). Obviously, software upgrades will factor into your cost. My best guess is that the software, when purchased retail, will push the total cost of the computer over $1000.

A note about the microphone; from what I understand, the AT4033 can emphasize high/bright/harsh vocals. If your voice is naturally smooth, it may work out quite well. Otherwise, the Shure KSM32 could be an alternative, or if you really want to drop some cash, a Neumann TLM-103 might sound really great. On the other hand, you could go really cheap and get an SM57, but I doubt that would be up to your work standard. If possible, try before you buy!

(whew!)

I think I actually might like to build my own computer - I enjoy challenges - but I don't know if I have the time I'll need... Haven't totally discounted it tho'. Meanwhile, my electrician suggested I put the computer in the closet and install a fan to vent into the attic - not a bad idea either. What I will do is - once I get the electric set in that room I'll take my jet engine dell and see if putting it in the closet will actually work - then I'll know better how quiet I need the new machine. Don't know what version of SF I'll be using - so don't know if I'll need XP or not -
Mics- the AT4033 has good up front presence and I have a good lower range so It may work well for me but yes, the KSM32 is another I'm considering along with the SM7B- dynamic yes, but used extensively in broadcast and by many of my coworkers. And since down the line I may be needing to add a Zephyr for bcast it may be a good option. What I need to do is find a place to try them out side by side and see which suits me best. Neumann is more expensive than I want to go.

As far as building a computer - is it a matter of days or weeks or even months?????

if you know what your doing you can build one in a few hours. Assuming you have all the parts in front of you. But then if you add in shipping time thats will add another week or two depending on where you order from. Even an amateur should be able to build one in a day though.

I'd suggest you could pick out some of the components that are recommended and then get quotes from local computer stores to build it. That way you don't have to touch a screw driver and you get some support if things go wrong.

Just makesure you specify everything or else they'll chuck in a noisy generic power supply, or roaring case fans. Tell them you are looking to make a near silent computer so they understand what you are looking for. Look at the recommended components on this website to get an idea what to get or look for.

I just did this for a mate and got a nice computer, though I didn't specify the PSU and they threw in a generic one. He's happy with it, but he's not a quiet computer fanatic. Sometime i'll find some panaflos and add them to the case and replace the one in the PSU.

Chosing the right mic with its pickup suited to reject noise from the area of the PC will help tremendously. As long as you have a well damped room (soft furnsings, non-bare walls), then by having the PC located out to a side or the rear, you may well find that no noise is picked up without having to get the PC incredibly quiet.

Do you just do voice over, so record a single mono/stereo channel at a time? If so you're not stressing the hard drive much, and 512MB RAM will be fine. It wont take a super powerful machine, so look for lower range CPU that can be undervolted, and reduce the heat, and therefore the noise even further.