Help with upgrading for noise

[VSK933]

My PC has the following


3070ti founders
Ryzen 7 5800x
Tomahawk b450i
2x8gb Corsair Vengeance Ram


Housed in a Fractal Design case which looks like a focus G case ( it was given to me and neither of us can remember exactly which it was, but it looks the same as the focus G )
The case has 4x coolermaster A12025-20RB-3BN-F1 fans and 1 Arctis bionix p120.


Tempwise for the games I play my CPU sits around 40c and GPU 70c which I'm happy with but I have moved my PC into the bedroom as a console type setup now and wondered if I could see noticeable differences in regards to noise by swapping fans or case?

Cheers any advice welcome

 

[mickyflinn]

Hi and welcome .

The cooler master fans have a max rpm of 2000 which can be quite noisy at full tilt, have you set a custom fan curve ?

What's cooling your CPU ?

 

[VSK933]

Hi and welcome .

The cooler master fans have a max rpm of 2000 which can be quite noisy at full tilt, have you set a custom fan curve ?

What's cooling your CPU ?

Thanks for the reply.

The CPU is cooled by a h100x Corsair cooler that has the bionix fan and one of the coolermaster ones.

I'm not very good with the technical side of things the fans in the case are hooked up to a fan controller which I have turned down to the bottom but I'm not sure how to check the actual rpm of those fans when turned down.

The only fan with custom settings on are my 3070tis founders edition one which is set to match the temps for example 70% at 70c

Sorry if the above isn't much use

 

[mickyflinn]

Thanks for the reply.

The CPU is cooled by a h100x Corsair cooler that has the bionix fan and one of the coolermaster ones.

You ideally want matching fans , matching speed and sound . Where are the Corsair fans that came with the cooler ?

I'm not very good with the technical side of things the fans in the case are hooked up to a fan controller which I have turned down to the bottom but I'm not sure how to check the actual rpm of those fans when turned down.

Is that controlled by a switch on the case ?

The only fan with custom settings on are my 3070tis founders edition one which is set to match the temps for example 70% at 70c

Sorry if the above isn't much use

No problem

Where would you say most of the noise is coming from?

 

[tamzzy]

the coolermaster sickleflow have always been on the noisier side. you've done the correct thing to turn down the rpm as this will reduce the noise

you could swap the fans for something better (something good value like the arctic p12 5-pack) but i would say this would be more hassle than it's worth
current fans run at low rpm via a fan controller like what you've done is the best compromise

 

[VSK933]

You ideally want matching fans , matching speed and sound . Where are the Corsair fans that came with the cooler ?


Is that controlled by a switch on the case ?

No problem

Where would you say most of the noise is coming from?

The cooler was given to me without any on I didn't purchase it from new so I just added what I had onto it.

Yeah all the fans are controller by a fan controller on the front of the case which has been added separately.

The bulk of the noise is probably from the front where the CPU cooler is.

Is there much to gain swapping fans or case in regards to noise?

Thanks again

 

[VSK933]

the coolermaster sickleflow have always been on the noisier side. you've done the correct thing to turn down the rpm as this will reduce the noise

you could swap the fans for something better (something good value like the arctic p12 5-pack) but i would say this would be more hassle than it's worth
current fans run at low rpm via a fan controller like what you've done is the best compromise

If the results are there I don't mind spending money as the PC is probably going to remain as a console type setup as it suits me best.

I was just curious if there would be any bonus from switching when reading of more premium fans like the noctua or bequiet ones for example


Thanks for the reply!

 

[tamzzy]

@VSK933 not as much as you'd expect.
personally i cannot in my good conscience recommend spending this sort of money (£20 per fan) on fans because they will never improve thermals/noise that significantly to make the outlay worthwhile
yes it'll be slightly better...but not £50-100 better.

if you do want to try out different fans, then the arctic p12 would be my recommendation, and can even get it as a pack of 5 fans
i would keep the arctic bionix you already have and swap out the coolermaster sickleflows - i've never rated the sickleflows even when they were first released over a decade ago

 

[Tetras]

I wouldn't recommend making a bedroom PC that quiet anyway because it is the variability of noise that I find annoying, so a fan hum is way less annoying than coil whine or electrical noise and you're more likely to hear those if your fans are too quiet.

 

[tamzzy]

because it is the variability of noise that I find annoying

absolutely true

 

[jigger]

You have to balance between maintaining noise levels and airflow. The biggest issue is the GPU, managing a 300 watt thing dumping all its heat into 1 cubic foot box can be tricky in a low noise environment.

Bring back the Titan blower and closed cases with sound deadening! The real Titan cooler, not the crappy look a like.

Any open mesh case is very limiting in terms of acoustics and GPU’s design to vent its heat into the case is very limiting in terms of cooling and requiring two stages of cooling, so more fans.

Without changing the GPU and possibly the case, Id probably just find case fans that move as much air, at the lowest RPM possible.

 

[Spudgun]

I'd go with a larger case with sound dampening (Fractal R series maybe) and some Noctua 140mm fans

 

[VSK933]

@VSK933 not as much as you'd expect.
personally i cannot in my good conscience recommend spending this sort of money (£20 per fan) on fans because they will never improve thermals/noise that significantly to make the outlay worthwhile
yes it'll be slightly better...but not £50-100 better.

if you do want to try out different fans, then the arctic p12 would be my recommendation, and can even get it as a pack of 5 fans
i would keep the arctic bionix you already have and swap out the coolermaster sickleflows - i've never rated the sickleflows even when they were first released over a decade ago

Thanks for the replies!

No issues I wanted to ask these things before buying a product and not finding it to be as good as I hoped!

I wouldn't recommend making a bedroom PC that quiet anyway because it is the variability of noise that I find annoying, so a fan hum is way less annoying than coil whine or electrical noise and you're more likely to hear those if your fans are too quiet.

I mainly get on when the missus is asleep so I was hoping for solutions, the noise eventually becomes background noise but upon first starting it reminds me of the old PS4 pro lol.

Thanks for the reply!

You have to balance between maintaining noise levels and airflow. The biggest issue is the GPU, managing a 300 watt thing dumping all its heat into 1 cubic foot box can be tricky in a low noise environment.

Bring back the Titan blower and closed cases with sound deadening! The real Titan cooler, not the crappy look a like.

Any open mesh case is very limiting in terms of acoustics and GPU’s design to vent its heat into the case is very limiting in terms of cooling and requiring two stages of cooling, so more fans.

Without changing the GPU and possibly the case, Id probably just find case fans that move as much air, at the lowest RPM possible.

I don't mind buying a case if they can help. Realistically I have about £250 spare to try and make the PC quieter, as far as GPU upgrade goes I could probably sell the 3070ti and buy a 4070 but I'm not sure if the upgrade is worth it or if its better to wait a few years yet, not something I'm clued up on either!

Thanks for the reply!

I'd go with a larger case with sound dampening (Fractal R series maybe) and some Noctua 140mm fans

Thanks for the suggestion will look into it!

 

[jigger]

Thanks for the replies!

I don't mind buying a case if they can help. Realistically I have about £250 spare to try and make the PC quieter, as far as GPU upgrade goes I could probably sell the 3070ti and buy a 4070 but I'm not sure if the upgrade is worth it or if its better to wait a few years yet, not something I'm clued up on either!

Thanks for the replies.

It’s somewhat of a catch 22 problem. A high performance GPU that vents its air into the case needs high air flow through the case and means an open case design with poor acoustics. A GPU with a good quality blower style heat sink and fan provides its own air flow.

The only reasonably recent GPU I can think of that might offer this level of performance with a blower configuration, is a RTX A4500.

 

[adidan]

I spent too much time over the years faffing about with fans and the only solution I ever found was noise cancelling headphones - I haven't looked back.

 

[jigger]

Proper custom water cooling might work OP.

 

[SpellowHouse]

I found, with noise, that often the best way to go is the opposite of what you might expect. Go for a roomy, mesh case, with no acoustic padding. Get the biggest fans you can get. Always go for the highest quality fans, unless you happen to know some real bargains.

Take control of the fans yourself. Find out how to change the fan settings for your PC and dial the setting back. Set everything so that at idle the fans are inaudible, and they ramp up at say 40 degrees, when you play a game. You don't need a ton of different settings you basically want as close to off at idle and max needed while playing. Try to avoid running the fans above 1200 rpm.

GPU's are always noisy, and the only way to keep them quiet, really, is to dial back your settings in games. But if you like the audio loud, then no need to. If you wear headphones, even better.

 

[Spudgun]

I found, with noise, that often the best way to go is the opposite of what you might expect. Go for a roomy, mesh case, with no acoustic padding. Get the biggest fans you can get. Always go for the highest quality fans, unless you happen to know some real bargains.

Take control of the fans yourself. Find out how to change the fan settings for your PC and dial the setting back. Set everything so that at idle the fans are inaudible, and they ramp up at say 40 degrees, when you play a game. You don't need a ton of different settings you basically want as close to off at idle and max needed while playing. Try to avoid running the fans above 1200 rpm.

GPU's are always noisy, and the only way to keep them quiet, really, is to dial back your settings in games. But if you like the audio loud, then no need to. If you wear headphones, even better.

Mesh cases can be a pain in the bum in a bedroom environment though and need a lot of dust removing