Anyone covered their case in roofer's tape?

JonJ678

JonJ678

JonJ678

Soldato
Joined
22 Dec 2008
Posts
10,369
Location
England
Hey all. I'm starting to look at reducing the noise coming out of my computer, and am considering adding dampening material to it. I'm aware that this is considered about the last thing you do when making a computer stop making noise, after undervolting fans and softmounting everything.

Case is an Akasa Omega. Trying to block off the side panel holes and only use the top, front, back ones. Scythe s-flex fans, not undervolted yet. No dampening foam anywhere so far.

System is watercooled, I'm trying to work out how to isolate the pump at the moment. Considering hanging it from the top of the case using a fillport, but have doubts about the structural integrity of the xspc reservoir. Beyond that, hard drives are not an issue, and fans are softmounted. It's reasonably quiet.

I think I'm right in thinking that some form of dampening has potential to help. I'm thinking of finding roofer's tape somewhere (pleased advise, I doubt a hardware store is a competitor) with something like akasa matting over the top. Will this help, and have you tried something similar?

Cheers
 
if you really want silence, locate whats making the noise
you could underclock your 8400 and put a passive cooler on if its the source, or just replace an old noisy HD if you have one.
Better to prevent noise than try and cover it up. :)
 
You're on right track in adding heavy layer first. Plain thin metal sheets vibrate easily and adding dense material layer also increases noise blocking capability/absorption of lower frequencies.

But mechanical HDD is always an issue unless it's elastically suspended. (soft mounting still needs vibration resistant case)
Also that Akasa is useless thin and light to do anything worth of its price.

Here are good requirements what material should do:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article71-page1.html
 
Forgot this thread, damn. Sorry about that. This post might be long, kind of thinking out loud.

Roofers tape is 4mm or so of bitumen with aluminum sheet over the top, self adhesive. When stuck to the inside of the case, it gets heavier, so reduces vibrations. The other approach is foam intended to reflect noise back inwards, I'm considering a combination. There are alternatives based around butyl rubber which are denser and cost more, probably comes down to whatever I find in my local diy stores. Aiming for mass loading first.

As for sources of noise, the remaining ones are ddc pump, scythe fans and psu fan. No hard drives in the box anymore, solved that issue with a ssd and nas. Have a few thoughts on what to try next, appreciate any input. Seems a waste to start a new thread though.

Radiators are by feser, two 120s and one 240 with scythe s-flex. Plans for these are speed control the fans (probably scripted, will cut voltage to them if need be), experiment with shrouds, and use gaskets. A layer of silicone between fan, radiator, case will stop air leaking but do sod all for vibration. Any thoughts on soft mounting fans to the radiators?
Also does anyone know if I can make gaskets myself? One of the many tubes found at diy stores might be usable with a mold. Looks like I'll need many gaskets, and don't fancy 2 quid a throw.


Reducing psu noise looks pretty much impossible. It's an 80mm fan, I'm thinking of attaching a shroud to the back of it. Help direct airflow away from me. Beyond that I'm clueless, soft mounting the fan might be possible but I'm not up for voiding the warranty on the psu.


Pump means making a bracket, and finding soft, flexible tubing. The latter doesn't seem to exist in 10/8mm or 11/8mm, but I'm still looking.

p.s. hard mount shroud to radiator, soft mount fan to shroud probably the answer to that problem
 
A lot of higher end cases have vibration dampening features littered throughout, especially lian-li cases, and I know my P182 has lots. The omega is a great case, but not for silence, it might not be worth all the hassle of trying to make it so, and instead going for something beefier?

Compared to my last case, this P182 is very very quiet, just a tickle of HDD noise (which you don't have), and the case fan noise, which depends a lot on what you're using and what volts. I'm about to change mine to yates on a fan controller for this purpose.

Sounds stupid, but for real silence you could just buy some uber cable extenders and put the thing in another room!
 
Done some reading and you're quite right, other cases are rather more sensibly set up for quiet out of the box. Direct escape paths for noise being bad, and I see two 120mm fans on the top, one on the back, and a psu throwing noise out unrestricted. The side panel is now solid at least (cheers snapshot :) ) so no noise coming out there.

Vibration can be stopped by sticking foam between the frame and the panels I hope. Beyond that I may asking for unrealistic quieting effects from shrouds.

If I effectively seal the case, so the only routes in and out are through fans, what does that mean with regard to wanting positive or negative air pressure?

^positive vs negative pressure turns up people disagreeing lots in some places, and people saying it makes no difference in others. Makes playing with it a bit more fun. I'm sad my computer is still on rma :(
 
Last edited:
JonJ678 said:
The side panel is now solid at least (cheers snapshot :) ) so no noise coming out there.

Vibration can be stopped by sticking foam between the frame and the panels I hope.
Click to expand...
Actually acrylic/polycarbonate window is acoustically better than plain sheet metal or "cheese grater".

That will stop only loose rattling and conduction of vibration to next part in case of preventing physical contact to it.
You still need to apply mass damping to frame for decreasing its vibration.

Type of cooling working better (or at all) depends on design of case itself so there's no single universal right way for that.
 
Loads of holes is acoustically crap, I'd noticed that much. Bit surprised by acrylic being better, opinion as to acrylic vs mass loaded aluminium? I think it was a good exchange, he gets colder graphics cards and motherboard, I get a quieter box (the original panel has mounting holes for 120mm fans).

Applying mass damping to the frame hadn't occurred to me, I was planning on doing my best with the panels and calling it a day. I'll visit a diy store fairly soon I think, and try to find out what the British call roofers tape. The omega was hardly a lan box anyway.

Cooling arrangement is a very difficult one, there will probably be pictures on here asking for opinions once the last radiator arrives. Cheers
 
Sure insulating it and sticking sponge in a pc is going to heat it up, cause not as good circulation and therefore get the fans to spin faster causing more noise!!?
Find the source of the noise and tackle it that way
 
I am willing to reduce the amount of heat radiated through the sides of my case in order to reduce noise, but I take your point. The system is mostly watercooled so I'm not terribly worried about heat. The best airflow probably comes from directing air sensibly and blocking off all other holes, but that's something Ill worry about later.

Thank you Steve :) After a depressingly long time on google I came accross that name. There's a general consensus that it comes in different thicknesses, I'll see what my local diy store has in stock later. I think I'd prefer thinner, as that increases my options somewhat.

Looks to be available in 10m lengths, either 150 or 225mm wide. If I can find it I'll get the wider one, as 225 is about the width of my case. 19 quid for the 225mm x 10m which I estimate will do three layers over my entire case even allowing for me cocking up the first few cuts. I don't think I'll need the primer, I'll clean the case first. Might go over it with wet and dry, but probably wont bother.

Source of the noise is a pump, four 120mm fans and a psu. I'd love any ideas on reducing the noise any of them are throwing out. So far I'm trying to soft mount all of them. Which brings me to a minor update.

The fan in my psu is now soft mounted, and the grill stopping me sticking my fingers into the blades is removed. I'll add a shroud to this once I find one. The psu itself is very firmly fixed to my case, but as the only mechanical vibration comes from the fan I'm pleased with this step. Interestingly the fan is a 5000rpm delta. Doesn't sound like one.

Now the proud owner of a very large roll of flashing tape. Cycling home with it just about killed me. Cost 30 quid, including a decent knife and rule. Also deionised water, useful shop.
 
Last edited:
It's really really fun. I'm covered in bitumen and I've written off a set square. So happy, could not be more pleased :)

Cutting it with a stanley knife is working very well, but I think the blade is going to be blunt rather soon. When pressed flat and smooth it's just over a mm thick. I stuck a strip to an envelope and it is very difficult to remove. Cleaning surfaces with lighter fluid, which incidentally is a lot harder to find anywhere than when I was 14

Definitely fun. Highly recommend this just for entertainments sake. I've put a single layer over one side panel now. Not completely pleased with the finish, but not a bad attempt at all. It goes on really cleanly. Current process:
Cut to shape with the backing on
Run knife along the back about 5mm in from the edge, remove this thin strip of backing paper
Position, press this strip down
Remove the rest of the backing
Spend ages trying to get the little wrinkles out, the foil creases easily
I'm sure this method will improve.

Comparison with the other panel. The deadened one is heavier. Shocking. When tapped it makes more of a thud rather than a ting sound. Quite pleased. It's very thin, which is crap for absorbing sound. It is however dense, which is what it's there for. I think I'm going to line the entire case with a layer of this then go looking for foam. Currently thinking case - flashing - foam - flashing, composite is probably the best route to take here.

Strongly recommended so far
 
Last edited:
JonJ678 said:
Bit surprised by acrylic being better, opinion as to acrylic vs mass loaded aluminium?
Click to expand...
That's harder to say, thickness of mass damping layer would surely affect to it because end result depends greatly on mass and rigidity.
That "tapping" test would probably tell it quite well.


Sasahara said:
I'm sure buying an Antec P series case would have been easier. :D
Click to expand...
Choise of models in P-serie is just rather limited...
And they're too small so had to choose really light aluminium LL A71.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom