Best foam

[xev]

What is the best type of foam to use in a pc to reduce overall noise.

Polyurethane
Evlon
High Resilience Foam
Closed Cell Foam

http://foamonline.com/types.php?cartID= ... 28094802e6

[jessekopelman]

Foam has very little impact on PC noise if you've already got quiet fans. It is pretty much the last thing to do, one step below adding mass loading to case panels (butyl based is the best). If you do add foam, I'd say thickness would generally trump type. Unfortunately it is often hard to get more than 1/2" inside the PC, without restricting airflow, when 2"+ is really where you get some good effect. Again, your priorities should be:

1) Quietest fans possible
2) Quietest HDD or use of "quiet drive" type enclosure
3) Mass loading to deal with any noise due to vibration
4) Foam to try and deal with airborne noise

Numbers 1 and 2 are way above 3 and 4 and are very hard to do to any great effect without compromising airflow and screwing up your efforts in #1 and #2.

[widowmaker]

I have to disagree that adding foam compromises anything at all (even air flow). It's true that the effects of adding foam is pretty low on the scale and that the effects you benefit won't be significant until you have dealt with all the components first. Ideally you want foam that is both thin and dense. If you're interested, I've posted my foam job up on the general gallery forums. viewtopic.php?t=48283 I experienced no temperature increase at all. The only thing that increased was the happiness of my ears.

[xev]

Thanks. I have been working on quieting my pc ever since i came to this forum. im cheap so i only bought some yate-loons but may get some scythe SS soon. as for hdd i have a WD640 GB that many ppl here said was really good. i also have a relatively quiet barracuda 200gb, and a hitachi 120gb 2.5" for now.

now im working on wire arrangements and overall quietness. i will be getting some string magic this week so i can suspend the drives. but the wires are the trickiest since i have the original p180 without mobo backplate.

i just thought that it would be easier to get some foam now (if i could find some for really cheap) and install while i was meddling with the inside of my hardware.

[jhhoffma]

1) Quietest fans possible
2) Quietest HDD or use of "quiet drive" type enclosure
3) Mass loading to deal with any noise due to vibration
4) Foam to try and deal with airborne noise

Ditto that order of dealing with noise.

I will point out two things however. 1) Isolation (like HDD suspension) is another use for foam. Inserting it where metal parts are screwed/latched/riveted together can reduce the transmitted vibration. Example: I put small pads of foam on the rails for my optical drives to reduce vibration transmitted to the case.

2) The objective of lining a case with foam should be to quell standing waves or reflections of high frequency sources (as low frequencies will just pass right through the foam). jessekopelman is right here in saying that the thicker the foam the better (at least for this purpose) as the sound waves will be more likely to dissipated with the thicker foam. Also, I like foam to cover up wiring that can not otherwise be hidden (like bundles on the bottom or side panel of the case), for looks and for smoother airflow.

I have noticed that foam CAN increase temperatures...by about 1C!! In reality, unless you have foam on the top of your case (which I've done), there shouldn't be any increase in temps. There shouldn't be that much mass of foam to absorb the heat anyway, and if you have good airflow, the heat will be evacuated quickly anyway.