So, this was my initial set-up:
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RAM1: Corsair PC12800 1600MHZ (2X2GB)
RAM2: Corsair PC12800 1600MHZ (2X4GB)
Case: Lian Li Fulltower PC-A71F
PSU: Corsair HX 650W
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
GPU: ASUS Radeon HD6870
Motherboard: ASUS P7P55D-E P55
CPU: Intel Core i5 760
Optical Drive: ?
Afterwards, I installed a Noctua NH-D14 CPU heatsink, but sadly, this has had little to any effect. In fact, I don't know if it's causing more noise considering that my motherboard tray didn't fit the motherboard, which makes the heatsink fastener touch the tray, possibly causing vibrations in doing so:
I also rearranged my cables out of the inside of the case as much as possible:
To fit the side of the case on, I had to tape some cables to the tray. I can't feel any vibrations coming through them, so I doubt that the taping is a problem itself:
The mechanical hard drive is mounted with rubber-dampened screws to the hard drive tray:
The optical drive is (as the PSU) fastened with a rubber clamp, and I screwed some extra screws into it from the other side to tighten it, so it wouldn't rumble loosely.
Can you surmise any sources for the noise and just generally guide me to bring down the noise level? As said, it is not loud, but compared to, say, a laptop, it is significantly noisy. We aren't talking about broken parts that sound like car engines, just vibrations and possibly high fan RPMs. I have a feeling that vibrations are at the core of the problem more so than noisy fans, and that the heatsink clamp which wedged between the motherboard and the motherboard tray with a bad hole contribute to this - even though it is meant to help bring down noise, not create it. In fact, my computer almost seems even noisier, after I installed my heatsink, but that may just be a result of my newfound focus on the potential harm of the computer's noise.
Thanks a million - as said, I may have got tinnitus from this, so it's a fairly serious matter for me, and something that will continue to bother me. I am willing to throw money at the problem, but I have to know that it will work. Obviously, accoustic foam and such sound like it have the exact adverse effect as intended because all the resulting heat.
All the photos are in a gallery here.
EDIT: I detect a lot of vibration, when I touch the case behind which the clamp and motherboard tray is. And my case seems to be getting louder and louder.