How to make my PC quiet?

JosephDuffy

JosephDuffy

JosephDuffy

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Joined
21 Jan 2011
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52
Hi,
I have 1 main PC and a home server which I'm hoping to make a bit quieter.
The home server have some decent idle temps of 30C and 37C for system and CPU respectively. I am using the stock CPU cooler that came with the Intel Celeron E3400 2.6GHz at around 1150RPM, which seems pretty quiet when I disconnect the other system fans (only to check for noise levels, not all the time!). However, when I made the PC I'd heard that Xilence Red Wing 80mm were good. They keep the system cool, but they're a bit loud, so I'd like to replace them.
My main PC is very loud, but the fans just seem like stock fans (the PC was given to me so I don't the specs that well). It's running an i3 3.1GHz @ 4.2GHz, which is cooled by a Noctua NH-D14 (seems to be pretty quiet), which seems to idle at about 35C and doesn't get much higher under load. It has 3 HDD's in it running at about 40C and an ATI HD5850 idling at 52C and when on full load reached 80-85C. I'm thinking I can get some better fans which will allow for air flow and less noise.
So, what fans do people reccomend? I don't think I need to change any of the CPU fans, just the system ones.
Also, whilst I'm on fans, how does everyone configure them? I've got intake from the front (over the HDDs) and then out from the top and back. The CPU fans also kick out of the back.
Thanks for any advice, I'd like to be able to be in the same room at the computers and be able to hear myself think!
 
Hi there,

I might be good to know what cases they are in? Then we can see which fans will fit :)

A Noctua on an i3 is plenty of cooling power and should be keeping it cool/quiet ish.

Your 5850 seems to be idling a little high, maybe so more airflow might help.

The way you say to configure them is generally best :)
I recently got a fan controller which I can adjust so that when I'm not doing gaming or something it can be really nice and quiet!
 
beejjacobs said:
Hi there,

I might be good to know what cases they are in? Then we can see which fans will fit :)

A Noctua on an i3 is plenty of cooling power and should be keeping it cool/quiet ish.

Your 5850 seems to be idling a little high, maybe so more airflow might help.

The way you say to configure them is generally best :)
I recently got a fan controller which I can adjust so that when I'm not doing gaming or something it can be really nice and quiet!
Click to expand...

The server case is this which can hold 2x 80mm fans or 1x 80mm and 1x 120mm. I currently have 2x 80mm Xilence Red Wing which seems to keep it cool, just a bit loud.
The main PC is a bit of a Frankenstein. It was a custom built system, and the only info I can find on it is "Chenbro GBomb2 Black/Aluminium" and "Akasa 120mm BLACK UltQuiet Fan". I'm guessing it's the 120mm in the front and back and then a 80mm with-the-case fan at the top. Sorry I don't have any more information on these.
Yes, the GPU temps are a little high, but with it being a micro-ATX MoBo, the CPU fan is pretty much resting on the GPU, and there's no outtake from below, so that probably isn't helping.
 
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beejjacobs said:
Sounds like you've already got plenty of decent fans, if you want them to be quieter perhaps something like this:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-006-GE&groupid=1929&catid=153&subcat=
or a fan controller.

Bare in mind using either will reduce airflow somewhat, which will in turn increase your temperatures!
Click to expand...

I appreciate the reply, but with my current temperatures, I don't want to risk the lesser air flow.
However, I believe that it is the fan that it on the top of the case that is causing all the noise, since that's the one that came with the case. The Xilence and the Akasa have very similar noise levels, but since advertised noise levels aren't always accurate, I thought I'd get some more opinions.
If I don't get any more replies, I'll probably just replace the top fan and leave it at that.
 
Bigger cases for both IMHO.
Also in the 3rd post, remove the competitors name, OCUK dont like it when people mention competitors.

80mm fans will only shift a decent amount of air at high speed, whereas a 120mm fan can shift the same amount of air at half (or maybe even less) the speed and be quieter also. Like you said, reducing the speed (and therefore airflow) will harm temperatures.
Id personally go with this case.
Decent brand and a decent price and can house 3x 120mm fans (including a dedicated GPU fan).
 
Generally speaking, airflow = noise, quieter fans by and large are just lower airflow fans. You do get bad fans that buzz and create other noise, and certain blades can induce a little less noise with less turbulent airflow and the like.

99% of the fight to a low noise computer is reducing airflow, and in general the bigger the heatsink, the lower the temps, the more capable a part is of running with lower airflow.

What 5850 is it, as that is the only thing running hot, so fix that, and you can turn the fans down and kill most of the noise.

The server sounds like it has fine temps, lower airflow, you'll likely find temps don't go up much anyway, its a lowish power chip and a low load system, it'll be fine.

Your gaming pc, the cpu is well under, like miles under "safe" temps that isn't an issue the only problem is that 5850. So really you need to find out why its running hot and how to fix it, if its full of dust, give it a blast with compressed air to clean it out. If the case has little airflow, if it has space for another 120mm fan or two, get some lower speed quiet ones and try and get a bit more airflow going but its likely more the gpu sink itself if the CPU temps are that low.

You could buy a new cooler for the gpu that is both a better cooler and has a much quieter fan, or you could get a new card, something that is similar or better performance with lower power usage and a quieter fan/heatsink combo.

Lastly the other thing is, what exactly is the pc doing at full load to get 80C, if its furmark or something, ignore it, no other game generates anything like that heat. If a 5850 gets 80-85C in furmark you'd likely never see above 70-75C in a game, and that gives you some headroom for turning down the fan speed.

From the sounds of it, the likely biggest amount of noise comes from the 5850's fans when at full load, if its a reference card, the blower fans tend to get silly loud, but you can often manually set the fan speed significantly slower, MUCH quieter and lose very little cooling performance.
 
Sounds like the server will be fine. I think it's the CPU cooler (stock cooler) which is causing the noise there (can I remove the wire to the MoBo, and boot it up to test this? I'd obviously immediately turn it back off). After removing the top fan on my main PC, it appears to be a Noctua NF-B9-1600, which is also quiet. From this, I believe that either the CPU cooler (Noctua NH-D14) or the PSU (Corsair HX850W) is causing the excessive noise, but how to test this I have no idea.
Also, which competitors name? OCUK sell Noctua, Akasa and Xilence products, and I didn't mention anywhere that sells them.
I tested the GPU again. It starts at about 45C and moves up to about 50C on idle. The 80C+ was when playing games, such as BF3 that would use 100% GPU. It is something that I would like to upgrade, but I'd also like a new CPU, then I would need a new MoBo, so I'll just wait until I can upgrade the lot and sell my current machine!
 
JosephDuffy said:
Also, whilst I'm on fans, how does everyone configure them? I've got intake from the front (over the HDDs) and then out from the top and back. The CPU fans also kick out of the back.
Click to expand...

I'm running one intake fan on the bottom of my case, dual exhaust on the top. All of the fans in my PC are controlled too. The CPU fan is controlled via PWM on the motherboard and the case/GPU fan is hooked upto an Akasa Fan Controller Junior.
It runs quieter than my Xbox but when I need more airflow to extract heat from the case I can simply turn up the fan speeds!
 
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