SPCR

I'm looking for a new 19" LCD to go with my completely silent computer.
You will surely hear something if you place your ear on the back of your monitor's panel.The question is if this sound is perceivable when you have only your monitor on (not the PC) during the night and you sit where you usually use the screen from.
I hope this thread develops into a nice source of information for silent monitor models, so please submit your experience if your LCD is really silent.

The Samsung 930B is quiet, but not silent. It does emit a faint inverter sound. I can tell the difference between it being on and off, even when my computer is running, which is pretty quiet though. I can only tell this during the dead of night.

Imvd85,
Just wondering what your configuration is, it must be pretty damn quiet for you to look for a silent monitor...

My Samsung 710N is (as far as I can tell) silent.

My Samsung 710T is "virtually silent", by wich i mean that i have to put my ear within one inch off the back-panel off the display to hear a very faint mid frequency noise.

My videocards makes more noise, i dont know why but all my five radeons emit some kind of noise when stressed. agp, pcie,sktA or 939, doesnt matter. Never had a nVidia card, unless you count a Voodoo2 wasnt that a 3dFx card, and then 3dfx got bought bby nVidia or something? anyway that was seven or eight years ago when i was about eleven i think...

I had a Sceptre x9 Naga II 20" LCD and after about 8 months it started making a humming noise when on. I could hear it over my system quite easily. I just this week took it back to Sam's Club and exchanged it for a Samsung 204T 20". Silent again.

AVOID the iiYama ProLite E483S! Easily audible from 80cm in front of the screen, and it is now my noisiest component

Although the psu is built in (AC cable plugs into monitor) I believe the high pitched hum is actually from the display fluorescent lighting: as soon as the powersave kicks in the sound goes.

Well this thread is all about silent monitors but for roo who asked, my configuration is: AMD Athlon X2 4200 + Asus PCI-E 6600TD 256MB on an Asus A8N-E mobo.CPU and GPU cooled with Reserator 1(modded with external pump Eheim 1046 which sits inside the case on an Innovatek anti-vibration base and uses Innovatek fittings to be compatible with Zalman tubing).The chipset has the Zalman ZM-NB47J on it.The system includes a Samsung Spinpoint HD160JJ (JVC motor) and a notebook drive Seagate Momentus 100G 4200RPM (ST9100822A) both enclosed in Smart Drive enclosure (the notebook drive also using converter to 3.5" with rails)and suspended with string.The case is Thermaltake Tsunami Silver without window fitted with AcousticPack deluxe and having Akasa Ultra Quiet Amber 12cm fan (AK-183-L2B)(review here: http://www.xtremecomputing.co.uk/review.php?id=101 where it is also compared with Nexus Quiet fan)as an intake and exhaust fan at approximately 7v with Akasa fancontrol Jr. Case fan grills are removed completely with dremel, the fan holders are also modded with dremel so as to avoid any turbulence and air impedance and Vantec Fan Dampeners are used extensively.The power supply is also modded to use one of the above Akasa fans which is also connected at 7v to the controller and fitted with Vantec dampener.Silverstone PP02 power supply acoustic cover is used as a bonus.
It would be nice if all SPCR members that use a currently available LCD monitor put down their experiences here.

BenQ FP991 19" - no buzz or hum audible at any time. 1 year old.
Samsung 173T 17" - ditto. 2 yrs old.
Gateway FPD1960 19" - ditto. New (lousy color/pic & OSD controls)

Note -- I am not putting my ear to the back of them. If I can't hear them at midnight while sitting leaning forward so that my head is <1' away from the screen, then that's silent, imo.

IMO, LCD monitors that make enough noise to be audible are exceptions, not the norm.

My Viewsonic VP191b 19" LCD is silent (3rd generation one, with the 8ms MVA panel). My previous one, a NEC AccuSync LCD17V 17", emitted a slight hum, but didn't whine. The Viewsonic VP191b doesn't emit any hum or high pitch whine so far... The VP191b is now replaced by the VP930b, which uses an improved version of the AU Optronics MVA panel (1000:1 contrast ratio, instead of 700:1).

If you're looking for an LCD, keep in mind that all TN panels don't have 16.7M colors and they have narrow viewing angles. The new MVA 8ms panels that use the overdrive technology have wider viewing angles, 16.7M colors (without dithering) and are very reactive. Samsung VA panels are a little bit slower than those from AU Optronics, but both are very nice panels. If you're going to use this LCD for image processing, avoid any TN panels, those ones are more suitable for gaming. They have poor viewing angles and use 6-bit per color instead of 8, for approximately 16.2M colors with dithering (it definitely makes a difference, trust me!)

I have a Viewsonic VA702B, and after it's warmed up, I can't hear anything. It's definatly quieter than my pc next to it (1 yate loon d80sm12, 1 arctic cooling arctic fan 3, 1 clear uv (soon to be removed))

Does anyone have experience with the Eizo S1910?Prad.de makes a mention of its emitting noise which is really off-putting for a silentpc enthusiast ( http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/review_e ... part7.html ).If this holds true, it is sad since it seems like a very good monitor.

I never knew lcd monitors makes noise.
Thanks

If you're lucky, you can get a silent 2405FPW. Be warned though, there are whining 2405FPW's and 2001FP's.

Well after reading the other LCD thread I increased my brightness and the sound has gone So the iiYama ProLite E483S does not have to be avoided!

Count me in on the "raise brightness - lower sound" crowd. I noticed a slight buzzing today on the 930B, raised the brightness from 80 to 85 and it's gone.

Interesting. Is PWM used to control backlight brightness? Maybe that's why some users experience buzzing/humming at lower brightness.

daba wrote:If you're lucky, you can get a silent 2405FPW. Be warned though, there are whining 2405FPW's and 2001FP's.

I have a 2405FPW, it emits an electrical noise.

I only wish the 2405 supported HDCP I only know of one true computer monitor that does?

Samsung Sync Master 740 is also completely silent...
quality of the screen is far greater than the silence

I'm actually getting a weird noise whenever I minimize and maximize...(using a L90D+)

Also, I'm getting a weird noise though my speakers whenever I move my wireless mouse (MX1000). The things aren't placed particularly well though atm.

My Samsung 193p+ is silent as far as I can tell.

/mattek

my dell 2005fpw is silent during normal operation. when you first turn it on, there is a faint whine that fades away as the screen builds to normal brightness... it only lasts about 5 seconds.

I had a Samsung 940B, which emitted an inverter sound, which was very annoying. Samsung 930BF did the same. The sound is audible only when you lower the monitor brightness enough. Sadly modern TFT monitors are so damn bright that you have to decrease brightness to preserve your vision. I'm, however, not sure if ALL 940B's and 930BF's emit the sound. It might be that some units are noisier than other.

Does anyone know if ViewSonic VP930(b) or VP191b is totally silent: does it emit any sound when decreasing brightness?

My VP191b does emit a quiet hum that can be heard when the brightness level is below 75% mark on the brightness setting bar. More noticeable at late hours of the evening when the ambient noise level is very low. Didn't notice it at first when I purchased it, but after replacing a desk lamp that had a noisy power supply 30 cm from my ears, it then became more obvious!

My version is the revised 8ms 191b released in june so it might be different with other versions or vary from individual to individual. It all depends on how quiet your PC is, mines under the desk and is now so quiet I can't hear it in a silent room. So thats why I can hear the monitor.

SPCR should have another category for quiet monitors and how to silent them!!

ACOUSTIC CASEC6607b + 2 NEXUS 120 FANS (FRONT & BACK) | ATHLON 64 3700+ SAN DIEGO CPU | SCYTHE SCNJ-1000 NINJA HEATSINK + NEXUS 120 FAN | ASUS A8N-E MOBO WITH ZALMAN ZM-NB47J + NEXUS 120 | SAPPHIRE X800XL ULTIMATE VGA | SEASONIC S-12 430W PSU | OCZ 1GB (2 x 512MB) PC3200 REV 2 | SAMSUNG SP120 200GB (SP2004C) HD RESTING ON ACOUSTIC FOAM INSIDE SCYTHE SILENT BOX | PIONEER DVR-A09XLB DVD/RW | MCUBED T BALANCER XL ANALOGUE FAN CONTROLLER | VIEWSONIC VP191B TFT

My Viewsonic VP912S is completely silent from 1+ inches away. If you put your ear to it, there is a faint noise, but you can't hear it from more than an inch away. This is in a silent room, since my computer is in another room.

Sammy 710TM silent except for the built in speakers. Muting volume or detaching audiocable clears that out.

MikeC wrote:BenQ FP991 19" - no buzz or hum audible at any time. 1 year old.
Samsung 173T 17" - ditto. 2 yrs old.
Gateway FPD1960 19" - ditto. New (lousy color/pic & OSD controls)

Note -- I am not putting my ear to the back of them. If I can't hear them at midnight while sitting leaning forward so that my head is <1' away from the screen, then that's silent, imo.

IMO, LCD monitors that make enough noise to be audible are exceptions, not the norm.

My samsung 173T is audible. Hissing noise from the top vent of the monitor.

Everyday you learn something new. I never imagined a lcd monitor makes noise.
Thanks

Interesting. Is PWM used to control backlight brightness? Maybe that's why some users experience buzzing/humming at lower brightness.

You may be on to something there. Almost all TFT's use cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL's) as backlights. CCFL's require an inverter to supply them with high-frequency AC electricity, and this inverter sometimes uses PWM:

More expensive power inverters use Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) with a high frequency carrier to more closely approximate a sine function. The quality of an inverter is described by its pulse-rating: a 3-pulse is a very simple arrangement, utilising only 3 transistors, whereas a more complex 12-pulse system will give an almost exact sine wave. In remote areas where a utility generated power is subject to significant external, distorting influences such as inductive loads or semiconductor-rectifier loads, a 12-pulse inverter may even offer a better, "cleaner" output than the utility-supplied power grid, and are thus often used in these areas. Nevetheless, there do exist inverters with greater pulse ratings.

Simple inverters generate harmonics which affect the quality of power obtained using them. But PWM inverters eliminate this by means of a sine wave cancellation using the properties of Fourier Series.

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