Asking too much from an air cooled setup?

Leopardi · Post by **Leopardi** » Sat Jul 24, 2010 4:50 pm

Ok at the moment I got this kind of setup:

Fractal Design Define R2 (coolers replaced with GT 1150 set to 90% speed at bios)
Scythe Mugen 2
Seasonic X-750
Club 3D 5850 OC with the non reference cooler
Samsung F3 1TB HDD

Problem is the setup would be almost dead silent under the table if there wasn't this randomly pulsating whine-noise and it's pretty annoying. It didn't go away when I changed my PSU to the current Seasonic and fans to Gentle Typhoons. Am I just asking too much if I want a steady hum? Do I have to go for a water cooled setup?

danimal · Post by **danimal** » Sat Jul 24, 2010 5:03 pm

case fans at 90% speed?? that sounds really noisy.

you need to identify the source of the pulsing noise... when does it happen? when the cpu is under load? while you are playing video games? etc.

try taking the side off of the case, in order to identify the noise source.

Leopardi · Post by **Leopardi** » Sat Jul 24, 2010 8:45 pm

Found the source - when I keep pressure on the GT in the front, the whine stops. And If I keep pressure at the right spot it starts whining loud. It's attached with a clip system.

Changing the speed with a fan controller has a huge effect on the noise too. When I find a good level it seems to start whining after it has settled a while.

E: It is still there even after plugging out case fans and CPU fan but the typhoons are a major contributor to the noise.

hud · Post by **hud** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 3:28 am

Pulsating noise you say? My Samsung F1 caused exactly the same problem when it was touching the case. So try elastic suspension if you haven't already done that. Kuminauhat kunniaan.

frenchie · Post by **frenchie** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 4:32 am

I'd say it's your HD too.

Arbutus · Post by **Arbutus** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 12:16 pm

Fans and disk drives generate the vibration, but then the cabinet can often amplify the noise by cavity resonance, panel resonance and/or loose component vibrations.

With a light finger touch, check:

- that all the drive trays, unused and especially used, are not loose.
- that all the chassis pieces are not loose.
- for resonance in the larger chassis panels.

Have fun...

frostedflakes · Post by **frostedflakes** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 1:21 pm

Yeah that definitely sounds like the HDD, elastic suspension should get rid of the noise.

Leopardi · Post by **Leopardi** » Thu Jul 29, 2010 7:37 pm

well there are rubber pads in the HDD slots... so it can't be the HDD right?

frenchie · Post by **frenchie** » Fri Jul 30, 2010 3:12 am

Well if it stops when you push on the GTs, I guess you have found the culprit !!
Try rubber grommets for the fans. They come standard with certain brands (Nexus, Noctua...) or you can just by a few online, it should be cheap. The cheapest way to decouple a fan that doesn't vibrate too much is velcro, glued to the fan frame corners and the corresponding spots on the case. But if your fans really vibrate a lot, I don't think it's the best method.

themaster1 · Post by **themaster1** » Fri Jul 30, 2010 4:31 am

When i think of "whinning noise" i think of a PSU fan. My previous psu made such a noise but since i changed it , it's much better. What you can and should do is test your PSU by connecting the green wire to the black wire with a paper clip.Connect a hhd or another fan to your psu in order to have a minimal load. Once that is done, you just listen, if the fan is whinning, groaning & moaning (hehe) *Congrats* you just have found the weakest link of your setup.

Leopardi · Post by **Leopardi** » Fri Jul 30, 2010 5:21 pm

I changed the rubber pads to more softer and bigger ones and it seems to have tamed it down just a bit. But the HDD makes a continuous jet engine beep. The system quietens down to acceptable levels when I pull the power cord from it.

Never had a HDD with this obvious noise. Even though the case has all that noise absorbing it still comes through bad like there wasnt any case in there.

sub · Post by **sub** » Fri Jul 30, 2010 6:11 pm

Then you know what to do:

buy a SQD or change HDD for a quieter one/ SSD

Leopardi · Post by **Leopardi** » Fri Jul 30, 2010 8:06 pm

Yeah I'll probably put this one to my other PC and take the WD640GB black (I can hardly even hear it through the sonata 3) from there, and buy a SSD for OS/games.

tim851 · Post by **tim851** » Sat Jul 31, 2010 10:55 am

The Caviar Blacks are quite loud and vibratey. If whatever disk you have in there now makes the case panels vibrate, chances are a Caviar Black will too. A Scythe Quiet Drive, while very good at negating whoosh noises, is a vibration amplifier in the worst kind of way. You cannot screw it to your case, you have to place it on foam or a similar absorbing material.