Decided to try and quieten my PC

xander_uk2 · 31 Mar 2006 at 16:21

Decided to try and quieten my PC *UPDATE*

Hello folks,

My spec is in my sig and is currently housed in a lovely Coolermaster Wavemaster case.
Having just purchased a new PSU, I finally have everything running perfectly. The only thing I'm not to happy with is the amount of noise my case makes, so I'm going to try and do something about it.

I've ordered a Nexus Anti-Vibration Mounting Kit - which has 60 mounting components ranging from rubber Hard Drive braces to rubber fan mounts etc

Does anyone have any experience of Akasa's Pax Mate noise dampening kit? Basically it's a layer of adhesive padding that sits on the walls inside the case to help dampen any fan and HD noise coming through?
The noise that bothers me most seems to be fan noise. The Coolermaster is sitting in the lower right hand side of my desk and seems to resonate slightly. I don't want to waste my money on a crap product though, hence asking for opinions

xander_uk2 · 31 Mar 2006 at 16:27

Sorry mate, I should have posted that they are the stock fans (the three 80mm stock CM fans) perhaps three SilenX or Akasa Amber's would help?

To be honest I guess i'm trying to figure out if it's the case itself thats the issue, or the fans. i've toyed with the idea of a fan controller but maybe a new set of fans would be a better idea.

Do you have any experience of case insulation using Akasa's Pax Mate stuff? (stupid name i know)

EDIT: Also have stock cooler on 7800GT. Only really looked at the new Arctic Cooling X1 - 2? whatever they're called. No exhaust model for the 7800 series?

xander_uk2 · 31 Mar 2006 at 16:30

Oh man, I'm feeling like a total n00b here

I've never tackled the noise from my PC before but these replies make me feel stupid lol

Thanks for the advice

I'll not bother with Pax Mate (tbh it sounds like a nightmare to install anyhow)

EDIT: Going to go for 3 x Akasa 80mm Amber's

xander_uk2 · 31 Mar 2006 at 16:45

Yep, and i have to say thats something else i'll be sorting out.

Really not impressed with AC's latest offering for the 7800's though?

I've installed Arctic Coolers on all of my cards bar the 7800. Not keen on passive cooling at all either

Any alternatives? The Zalmans seem rather intrusive as well :confused:

Just a bit too bulky...

xander_uk2 · 31 Mar 2006 at 23:54

Well, I have been looking into what Zalman have to offer.
I was so impressed with the reviews of the VF900 that I ordered one from OCUK a few mins ago.
It looks awesome, and seems to be the best VGA cooling solution available (although at over 30 bucks inc postage I should hope so)

EDIT: And it's quiet!

xander_uk2 · 6 Apr 2006 at 10:09

***I apologize in advance for the lack of pics***

Well, I've installed all the new bits

First off was the graphics card. I found installing the VF900 was a breeze, so no issues there.
Next up was removing the stock fans from my Wavemaster. What a pain in the **** it was getting to the front 2 fans.

After removing the upper brace, door, and lower front panel I was in.

It didn't help that I never had a small enough Alan key to remove the fan housing, and I was using rubber mounts for the Ambers it was very fiddly getting them installed (lack of space to work)

The result is better than I had hoped. The amount of noise that has been eliminated is amazing! My PC now emits a rather pleasant humming sound which is MUCH more tolerable than the stock cooling. I can now leave my PC on overnight without it keeping me awake.

Temps on my 7800GT never go above 49 - 50 degrees, fan speed on the Zalman is about 50%. I haven't checked out Case temps yet, but if the airflow on the stock case fans was as bad as I was being told, they should be down quite a bit too.
Overall, I'm delighted