1. psu was the loudest thing in my pc, so i replaced it with a zalman 300a
2. then my hdd was the loudest, replace with a cuda iv
3. hsf is the loudest thing --> mcx462 w/L1A @ 7v
4. case fans r too loud --> 5v them!
5. (not really related) want a faster vidcard = loud fan! --> unplug fan

PSU IS THE LOUDEST THING IN MY PC! ARGHH!
pull out hair
check wallet
go back to #1
repeat

actually i'm pretty happy with my setup now, it is a huge improvement before i started quieting things down...but alas there's always something

I feel your pain

With my old system I never paid that much attention to the noise level... winamp drowned it out anyways

But when I put together my new system I looked around a lot to find quiet components (and ended up here). And I have to say that the more I started paying attention to the noise, the more I want to quiet my system. Right now I'm on step 5... well sort of! I have a fast video card, but I want to shut it up. Once I succeed I know my PSU will be next..... and here we go again

What's that quote from Ben-Hur:

"It goes on. It goes on Judah. The race, the race is not over"

My steps so far:

1. Replace CPU fan
2. Replace fan in PSU with Panaflo L1A
3. Use pot to reduce 4 80mm Panaflo L1A case fans to 8V
4. Use resistor to reduce noise from Video fan.
5. Replace 3x80mm with 2x90mm Panaflo L1a intake fans at 5V

Now I am back to the CPU and Video fans, and I can hear my hard drive whine.

My steps:

1. Replace case fans with Panaflo.
2. Install Dynamat extreme on case
3. Buy new case (Antec)
4. Install Dynamat again
5. Replace CPU fan with Vantec Stealth (mistake)
6. Replace PSU with Enermax (mistake)
7. Replace fan in Enermax with Panaflo
8. 5v case fans and PSU fan
9. Replace HSF with Zalman 6000Cu (mistake?)
10. Replace VGA card with GF4 MX440 fanless
11. Replace PSU with Seasonic
12. Replace HDD with Seagate 80Gb
13. Install No-vibes III (single best improvement)
14. Replace VGA card with Ti4200 and ZM80A
15. Replace PSU with Nexus

Currently, the fan on the Zalman 6000 is my big noise producer.

I'd rather not add all this up and look at the total. My wife would frigging kill me.

I don't want to mention my steps, it's too imbarrasing the amount of money/time I have spent trying and replacing different components.

The computer is quiet enough but now other things annoy me. All I know I have got to this step, no way am I going to replace my Eizo TFT panel for a quieter one. I have already replaced this from a Mitsibushi Diamond Pro 750SB.

Too far.. Time to stop the cycle.. Do it.. Please.. Hee hee

GF will kill me if she ever found out! She wonders what I spend my money on and why it disappears. Hee hee

Why dont you just save yourself the pain and money and get silent computer obsession therapy instead

I think I need one. I've just gone through what these people mentioned (2 cases, 2 application of paxmates, 3 varieties of fans... I found papst delightful but can't convince myself to shell out THAT kind of money for all my case fans)...2 different rheobus (only to find satisfaction in Zalman fan control unit..maybe I will get Zalman rheobus that just came out)...2 different type of HDD, 2 different heatsinks, 2 PSUs, 3 graphics card -ok, i did burn one of them playing around with shim...- countless drop at homedepot, and FINALLY... a water cooling system).
I should have just gone straight water cooling in retrospect and saved... quite a few $$$.
If you are willing to shell out $250 or so, go dangerden.com and get pre configured set with GPU... you will be satisfied. (PSU will run slower for the silent PSUs as your ambient temp inside case will be reduced as well). I am so glad my wife doesn't know how much it actually costed me with selling old parts and buying new one back and forth.

Ok, time for one of us old-timers to put you kids to shame. Here's My List:

1. Bought Zalman 6000Alcu to replace dying OEM HSF. Was amazed by the difference in noise. Started loking around for more info. Found SPRC. (Hereafter referred to the Happiest Day Ever for my credit card company)
2. Replaced OEM PSU with Enermax.
3. Replaced Zalman HSF with Papst.
4. Replaced Antec case fans with L1A's.
5. Decided that the case itself was the problem, so I built a new one out of my Desk!
6. Suspended Maxtor740X HDD
7. Sandwiched and sidesinked said HDD.
8. Removed northbridge fan
9. Modded GF2Ti to be passively cooled.
10. Upgraded to Zalman 6000Cu for improved cooling.
11. Ducted CPU fan to 120mm case fan.
12. Scratch built thermal control unit for 120mm fan.
13. Modded Enermax PSU with L1A
14. Decided that for silence you need to get rid of the fans altogether. So....
15. Built a machine that is cooled by being submerged in Turbine Oil Not just the mobo, mind you. The whole damn thing Mobo, PSU and HDD.
16. Discovered that case fans will in fact still spin while submerged in 0 weight Turbine oil.
17. Discovered that you need to close up more than just the breather hole on a Hard Drive to make it waterproof.
18. Discovered that Turbine Oil will dissolve the silicon caulk I used to seal HDD #2
19. Discovered that that rubbery stuff you dip tool handles into to protect them will dissolve in Turbine Oil too. (bye bye HDD #3)
20. Discovered that Casting a Hard drive into a block of Acrylic will in fact waterproof it.
21. Discovered that sitting a HDD in a vat of 55C Oil will fry it after a few days (HDD #4)
22. Decided to sidesink, sandwich and suspend HDD #5 above vat of oil, not in it.
23. Decided the desk PC needed an upgrade, So...
24. Bought Seasonic PSU
25. Upgraded to XP 2100+
26. Dicovered that the ducted 6000Cu wasn't going to cut it, so upgraded to an SLK-800 with a L1A.
27. Replaced Maxtor with a 80gig Cuda IV
28. Replaced GF2Ti with a Radeon 9500.
29. RMA'd the 9500 repeatedly until I got one that I could softmod into a 9700 Pro and a Fire GL X1. I just switch the drivers back and forth depending on whether I want to do CAD or Games.
30. Replaced to whining ATi HFS with a Zalman HP-80A.


And that brings us up to the latest project. Which I'm not even going to describe since I'm supposed to be writing an article about it for MikeC.

Think happy thoughts...

1 to 4 OK, at 5. Let's say you had a bad day.



6 to 10 OK again, nothing special yet, but OK. 11. Looks like a stroke of genius.


12 to 14 Ok again, although 14 was a really wild idea.
15. Shows you need some professional care, might be you needed to be admitted in a specialized hospital.


That must have been a funny hallucination.


Still he doesn't notice he's taking his wild ideas a bit to far.
This guy needs help to be cured.


You would think this might make him hesitate. No, he goes on...


Several failures aren't enough to stop him.
He's addicted, and definatly hallucinating


Here (almost) a stroke of genius again.
I could have told him that epoxy with some glass does the trick.
Had he told me about this idea before executing it, I might have suggested to add some copper tubing in the casting so he could cool it with water. He didn't tell me.


You should have asked me!


Probably the treatment is starting to work.
But still he stubbornly holds on to his wacky idea by keeping the rest of the system under oil.


Here he is trying to fool us.
He is acting completely sane, so we will release him.


ohohh, a short relapse...


Here we released him, although we fear he will have some occasional relapses.


Rusty, I'm warning you. You will be admitted in the institution again when you continue like this.


Rusty,
I liked it.
I've copied your post, and will keep it in a safe place so I can prove "It can be much worse" when someone questions my doings.

Have a nice weekend.


Han.

Copper tubes in the Casting!!!!! Brilliant!!!

muhahahahahahaa!


But take it one step further........ Just install an oil pump in the vat of oil to pump the oil through a radiator......

Or another step...... Since oil doesn't do a pesky thing like freeze, pump it through a phase-changed cooled heat exchanger, so it can be cooled WAY below ambient.


Now all I need is some copper tubing, an oil pump (I think my car has one!), and a refrigeration unit (I think I have one of those in the kitchen!)


Hmmm.....now where'd I put that credit card??

Rusty, I am shamed.

At least the turbine 0W oil isn't too viscous a cycle.

My meager path of torment:

1. At least I started with a Barracuda IV/40.
2. Mod PSU by moving fan to front,7v, cut out grill. Build heavy felt duct for HSF, use quieter fan @ 12v. Some improvements.
3. Fans too loud: put Panaflo's in, HSF still at 12v (HS is Arqua6129, all aluminum / no copper, afraid to 7v)
4. Whole thing sucks...then... Win Seasonic 400! Yeah!
5. Give stupid old case+PSU to a friend, put mobo, Seasonic, drives in old milk crate. Upgrade to XP1700Tbred+Arqua6128 (copper core), 7v panaflo for HS, suspend Cudda.
6. Seasonic is now too loud, and Sony monitor is still buzzing, and flourescent light is off 'cause it was buzzing too.

...so here I sit, in the failing light, hating the freezer and furnace, buzzing in my ears, and knowing there is no end in sight. At least I have superior tutors in this folly

Crisspy

Hello:



You can have the ballast replaced -- buzzing can often mean that it is failing. They need to be replaced periodically (like every few years).

Rusty075 ........ Your computer in desk is the coolest computer I've ever seen. And the craftsmanship is impeccable. A work of art! Looks great with your twin LCD monitors and fancy speakers.

My hat's off to you,
Dan

i bought a via for a silent rig, its now very near silent thanks to a 7200.7
its hard to hear anyways, maybe ill work on my submursed psu now.. needed fan noise in the past to mask the horrible hd whine
the amd rig is gonna be a impressive cooling setup, big atleast

Wonderful stuff there, you guys (hi btw, 1st post)

So here is my story:

1. Upgraded home studio computer (pIII 500) PSU from noname to silentpc.com 230w model = bliss (cpu fan was slot1 "inthebox" model), no case fans.
2. Upgraded studio comp to athlon xp 1700, ecs k7s5a, cheapo thermaltake (8$) cpu alu. cooler. (kept old computer)
3. replaced 60mm fan on cpu cooler with globalwin 80mm sleeve bearing
4. replaced case with black Chieftec dx-01bd - fantastic
5. bought Maxtor 40 gig 7200- horribly noisy. luckily it died after 2 days and was replaced with 'cuda 40 gig. other hd on studio comp is WD 5400..silentish
5. found SPCR - suspended 'cuda - wow...big noise reduction. thanks SPCR!
6. modded single sleeve bearing case fan to 5V, now noiseless
7. padded case with various foam surfaces...helped a lot
temps are now between 42-55 C
8. modded stock PSU on the dualie pIII 500 (added another cpu) to 7V
9. bought 'cuda 60GB for the pIII and suspended.
10. mounted acoustic foam on wall facing back of both computers - big noise reduction and an improvement in overall quality of noise...now both computers on 24q7 with only a faint murmur...

11. Future upgrades: hmm...nexus 3000 for the DAW , dual viewsonic 17" LCD's (now using 2 crts)

cheers

Hello & Welcome!



You might want to check out the NEC LCD-1760V or LCD-1760NX monitors: they have 16ms response times and are a bit brighter than many LCD's and have very good (450:1) contrast ratios. And NewEgg.com has 'em for $415 shipped!

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?description=24-002-078

http://tinyurl.com/9xwv

Oh, and the bezel on the sides and the top of the screen is ~3/4" or maybe a bit less!

Definately second on the NEC 1760 Recommendation. The NX model's got the ability to swivel and has a DVI connection. But the V model's got the same awesome screen and at almost $150-$200 less. Best thing about it ... 0 NOISE, even ear up to vents.

thanx for the great tips u guys...will degfinitely check out the NEC's

Spare cash? Free time?

The feeling of having either of those is as foreign to me as having a third arm would be!

Oh man, I hate this

November '02
1) Stock Intel Cooler replaces Dr. Thermal P4 w/ 4500rpm fan (huge improvement)

January '03
1) Home built rheostat controls case fans, on lowest setting still too loud.
2) Took out Sunon Case Fans, (3 on side window, 2 120s on front / top), huge improvement
3) Zalman 6500alcu replaces Intel Stock
4) Panaflo 80 fans installed
5) Removed MB fan (huge improvement)

February '03
1) Seagates replace 2 Maxtor 60GB d740x's with BALL BEARINGS (huge improvement)
2) Swap PSU for single fan model, runs too hot for comfort, two weeks of swapping back and forth and modding with different fans...

March '03
1) Panaflo 80 fans replace PSU fans - computer tolerable at night.

April '03 - Begins Folding ... computer too hot
1) Panaflo 92 replaces PSU fan, decoupled, distanced from case... PSU now WAY TOO LOUD & Combines with the pulsing whine of the two Baraccuda IV's ... <SIGH>
2) Panaflo 92 replaces Panaflo 80 on Zalman HSF (can't hear yet).

May '03
1) Remove 80mm rear fan on PSU, install 92mm fan standard. Its got a new lease for now.... HARD DRIVES STILL WHINEY B*****. And to think, I used to think Baraccudas were silent
2) Definately thinking of that Silent X PSU.
3) Definately begining to take a liking to the HD 3 Cooler from Coolermaster
3) Contemplating Water Cooling, though that still won't take care of the freaking LOUD PSU or the HDs ...

I know the story, I have much the same one.

Had a fast but not bleeding edge computer until I met my wife (then girlfriend)... and the question of "How can you live with that vacum cleaner?"

So...

1. Got rid of my Iwin tower and got a Lian-Li (yes I know a bit vain etc...)
Still loud, PSU is the loudest. Add Dynamat.
2. Got an Antec True Power PSU.
Now HSF is annoying.
3. Volcano 7 for the heatsink (didn't help).
4,5,6 various terrible problems.
Found SPCR. My creditors rejoice and participate in strange tribal rituals involving warpaint and slide rules.
7. Motherboard dies.
8. New MB. Chip gets chipped with one of the awful low-noice heatsinks. But it lets me upgrade to an 1700+ (this is last year)
9. Things start to go my way and I get an AX7 with a Panaflo H1A on it (I know, but it works for me).
10. Get a baybus and undervolt all of the fans (2nd best improvement).
HD drives me crazy.
11. Replace the Barracuda 3 with a 40g IV.
12. Replace the fans with L1A's.
PSU is the loudest again.
13. Get a Seasonic 300w PSU.
GPU fan starts screaming.
Hear "But it's quieter than my laptop, why mess with it?"
14. Replace the Radeon 64DDR (yep that ancient one) with a 9500.
15. Get the 80A. 3rd best improvement.
PSU is the loudest again .
Wife calls a shrink.
16. L1A mod the PSU (silent now).
Hard drive drives me batty.
Wife considers comittal to an asylum.
17. Suspend the HDs. (Single best improvement) This allows me to actually use the Cuda 3 again for backups, though it still has some high pitched squeal.
Temperatures rise with summer....
Find a straight-jacket in her closet in my size.
18. Mod the back for a 92mm fan.
19. Fan isolators.
Now the computer is completely silent and the monitor is going to drive me crazy. I'm debating scrapping the case and getting a cheap one that I can put 120mm fans in.

how about a lcd monitor? those don't make any noise

my work around for moniter noise is winamp and having it turn off after 3min
noise comes from the sides, most annoying when im in bed:(

I have been through a simple cycle once

Cycle 1
1. Replace standard XP1900 fan with Zalman flower HD + 92mm fan
2. Replace GF4 HS+fan with Zalman fanless heatpipe
3. Replace standard PS fan with Zalman 80mm fan + fanmate @ 7-8v
4. Added Zalman 80mm fan on case as exhaust
5. decoupled HDD

Cycle 2 (soon)
1. Replace Zalman flower+92mm fan with SLK800 (Duct to 80mm Panaflo L1A @ 7v (exhaust))
2. Replace HDD with Cuba V 80Gb
3. Replace Zalman fan in PS with 80mm Panaflo L1A @ 7v
4. Optional with switch (12v, 7v, off) (2nd Panaflo L1A exhaust)
5. and some of that realy cheap foam (can't remember what its called, but starts with "M")

Was worried that I was obsessing over this Quiet PC thing.
Read Rusty's post.
Feeling sooooo much better now.

Gee thanks. I think