Another model of wooden case

lightier · Post by **lightier** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 3:41 am

My current computer case is very noisy and tends to heat up in the summer. So I've been gathering ideas for my new case,and this site helped me a lot.

Finally I've decided to make my own wooden case. In the model I separated motherboard from other parts to prevent hot air exchange and suspended my HDDs. My main concern is the noise problem, because my computer is near my bed. I ask for your advice on minimizing the noise from the case.

So, here are the pics:

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/controllus/my_photos

Comments are welcomed.

nomoon · Post by **nomoon** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 10:19 am

L, I appreciate your innovative way of thinking! I've considered making wooden components because wood is an excellent sound barrier. My comments below are only my opinion, and I reserve the right to change my mind upon receiving better advice:)

The observations that came to mind first are:

1. The fans on the top may be a significant source of sound leakage.
2. Not being able to reach the back of the motherboard looks like it would be a pain.
3. Is the CDROM accessed from the side?
4. The PSU fan appears to be wasted energy and noise. Maybe you are thinking of a using PSU with passive cooling? If not, maybe build some channels so that the PSU's internal fan would take care of all the air flow.

I'd suggest keeping all noisemakers (including fans) away from case openings that provide "line of sight" to your ears. High frequency noises tend to be very directional, but are more easily absorbed than low frequency sounds. One option would be to mount the fans on the bottom. Another option would be to build some sort of hood on the top so the air exhausts are deflected to the side.

You mentioned that your current case is very noisy. It may be easier to make a quieter system by making the components quieter than by trying to contain the noise. Do you have quiet PSU, CPU fan, video card?

Good luck and let us know what you do.

Jason

Devonavar · Post by **Devonavar** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 12:32 pm

What are you elevating the case with? If the intakes are on the bottom, how much clearance between the bottom of the case and the floor is there. Also, having unfiltered intakes on the bottom will be terrible for dust problems, especially if you have pets.

As nomoon commented, you'll want to keep the fans away from the sides of the case. What to you think of going with a positive pressure setup and putting the fans at the bottom? I think this would be quite beneficial acoustically as long as you're not planning on putting the case on a hardwood floor.

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 4:03 pm

This is my old wooden case, currently sitting out back by the dumpsters.

It worked really well in that it was extremely quiet, very cool and relatively easy to work in.

However:

I'm 90% sure it caused the death of my 120gb maxtor HD, as they were loosely suspended in that chamber in the bottom right, and they case got smacked.

Also, it weighs a freaking ton.

lightier · Post by **lightier** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 9:50 am

Thank you for the advice.

I checked the main noise sources in my case. Turns out, they are HDs, power supply and northbridge fan. Suspension will take care of HDs, northbridge fan will be replaced with passive heatsink.
PSU remains a problem though, it doesn't have temp. controlled fan. Do you have any ideas how to isolate the PSU from my new case (may be some sort of suspension), so that at least the vibrations will not be amplified?

Nomoon, I made cosiderable changes to my design according to your comments. Positive pressure makes sense in my case.
The whole case will be standing approx. 20 cm above the floor on wheels, and I plan to close all air inlets and outlets with unrestrictive filter/mesh.

Here are the link to improved design (look in the "First Review..." album):

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/controllus/my_photos

Splinter, thanks for the warning, I'll be carefull with HD's suspension.

Devonavar · Post by **Devonavar** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 10:27 am

Getting better I think. You'll need to make sure there's enough space between the PSU and the optical drive to allow airflow through the PSU.

Also, that cavity below the case (for intakes) is going to resonate like crazy unless you line it with some kind of foam.

Gorsnak · Post by **Gorsnak** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 2:01 pm

Devonavar wrote:Also, that cavity below the case (for intakes) is going to resonate like crazy unless you line it with some kind of foam.

It does look a bit like the sounding chamber of a musical instrument, doesn't it? Some sort of acoustical absorber is a good idea (for pretty much every case, not just this one), of course, but I think he should be okay with something covering the bottom surface, even if it's just a chunk of blanket or something. It's probably more important that he isolate the fans from the case so they don't set it to resonating.

As an aside, I'm struck by how similar Splinter's case is to mine in layout.