lowering noise levels

quantumisation

quantumisation

quantumisation

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24 Feb 2007
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currently got 4 HDDs, lian-li PC-7 plus with stock fans, and a tuniq 120 with stock fan that contibute to my noise levels. The drives are being used in the 3 bay cage, and 1 in the 3.5 internal bay for floppy drives etc. I get a fairly loud 'hum' from the computer and fans arent exactly silent.

Obviously i could get silent fans to sort of the fan issue but how would i best go about lowering hard drive noise in this case with drastic measures? also whats the opinion of replacing the stock PC-7 plus fans, are they considered good?

Reason im asking is cause i have this computer near me when i sleep and it could be a cooincidence but last night was the first night i had everything in and noticed how loud it was, and this morning i had a thumping headache. Its not 'that' much louder than my last case but its enough to continually remind you that its there and that its working, even hear it through the headphones sometimes and ever slightly in adjacent rooms

Ideas welcome
 
the folding guys are gonna hate me for this but
turn it off at night?
unless you've folding@home running on it then fold on!

tried under volting the fans?
 
Undervolt the fans as said above.

Replace the fans with quieter ones, Ambers used to be respected here, don't know if they still are - Mine are quiet.

Undervolt the replacement fans.

Use Acousti FanMounts on the fans.

Use rubber gromits/washers between the HDDs and the HDD enclosures.

Get a silent PSU - this is my main problem, I have a noisey one, and I can't make it quieter.


To be honest there are a lot of things you can do to make the PC quieter, it's just a matter of doing one item/set of things at a time.
 
does using rubber grommits actually make a noticable difference? i tried out some things i bought awhile back that allowed you to put a HDD into a 5 1/2 bay - it was like 2 rubber strips that screwed onto the computer. It was meant to lower noise more than putting it into a standard bay but it ended up being much louder causing vibrations in the case.

How do you under volt fans? in the BIOS theres the q-fan thing that controls the speed thats all i can see, and i have no idea what folding relates to. Turning off isnt an option since it downloads during the night
 
A molex has 4 pins. 12v(yellow) 5v(red) and 2 commons (0v - black)
if you connect a fan to 12v and the other (black wire) to 5v you get 7v.
this means cutting wires and soldering together. But its the cheapest way to do it.

Its possible to get 12v, 7v and 5v.

Its easier to get them at 5v because you can just mutilate the molex plug until it goes in the 'wrong' way round.
 
Replace the 2 standard fans with 120mm Acoustifans. These come with 12/7.5/5V multi-cables. For best results use the optional Acoustifan rubber screws. Use the voltage reducing cables to get 7.5V at the front and 5V at the back. Then ditch the CPU cooler for a Thermalright HR-01 ducted to the rear fan. This will give you a slight positive pressure in the case and get rid of a whole fan, which will almost certainly cut noise substantially.

HR04.jpg


The bundle of wires on the RHS of the CPU cooler is the Acoustifan voltage reduction cable and it's running at 5V, just as I have suggested. This system is a 2.7GHz E4300 and it's so quiet you literally have to check the lights are on to know it's running.

Depending on how many hard drives you have, consider mounting them in something like a Xilence or Scythe Quiet Drive box as these really do work well at cutting down HDD noise.

The PSU fan(s) are likely to be a big noise issue and the only answer is to replace the PSU with something genuinely quiet like a Tagan or Corsair.
 
ive bin told the bottom hdd cage vibrate when you put more than 1 hdd in it
so you could some how make that quieter if it comes out

1017hf2.jpg


2x Vantec 120mm Fan Vibration Dampener Kits might help as well
to remove some noise from the 120mm fans

http://img487.imageshack.us/img487/3875/fangaskettlrgga9.jpg

if you cant find the Vantec 120mm Fan Dampeners then go for the
Acousti Black Anti-vibration 120mm Fan Gasket.


Acousti Ultra-Soft Arrowhead Fan Mounts for mounting the fans to the case
should remove more noise

http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/8226/afm02b2ct8.jpg
 
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Surely, you can use either the damping gasket or the rubber screws, but you can't sensibly use both.
 
Have you actually done any methodical investigation of where the noise is coming from?

Turn off fans one by one (even the CPU cooler)
Disconnect HDD individually and as a group
Stick a pencil in the PSU fan (not as risky as it sounds)

What are you downloading all night anyway?
 
Regarding reducing fan voltage. Obviously this works, and if you don't want to mess around with the molexes, there are internet sites who provide 5V and 7V versions for you. However, before you do this. Think if you want to have the fans back at 12V (eg when gaming). Answer - fan controller.

The harder problem to solve is the hard drive noise...
 
WJA96 said:
Surely, you can use either the damping gasket or the rubber screws, but you can't sensibly use both.
Click to expand...

yes sorry i didnt mean he should use both, even tho it come out that way :)
i just wanted to give him different options on how he could remove vibeations.
 
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