View Full Version : PC is too loud - What do you suggest
I have my new Coolermaster ATC111 up and running at last. Now for the next step.... Silencing...
I've systematically disconnected fans and drives from their power supplies so that i could track down the noisy parts of my PC...
1) Disconnected ATC111 Case fans (2 inlet and 1 rear exhaust - i havent connected the top one - it makes the case vibrate a little) which lead to a slight improvement in sound level. So i've made the two intakes run on 7v (made a simple "gender-bender" style connector with 12v and 5v for + and - instead of 12v and 0v) just to iliminate them completely.
2) Next up, The processor fan - GlobalWin FSP82. Disconnecting this reduced noise levels a bit - but not as much as i was expecting. The docs for this cooler say its about 30dB - but my boards BIOS tends to slow the fan down when not much is going on.
3) Now the Hard drives - WOW! These things are really noisy. The thing i find with hard drives is I tend to keep them - moving them from PC to PC. Now i looking at them (Maxtor 4D040H2 (40gig) primary - and Western Digital WDC AC313000r (20 gig) for data) i think i should be replacing one, if not both of them.
I've read that the Seagate Baracudas are the way to go for silent drives, but we had a 80Gig 7200 ATA133 8MB Cache Slient Maxtor arrive at work yesterday that was pretty quiet too. Question here is, Go with ATA100 2MB Cache Seagate or ATA133 8MB Maxtor? And will ATA133 work with my Rounded IDE cables? Is ATA133 really any good?
4) Power supply - When i had everything disconnected i still had a annoying and loud fan whiring noise from the PSU. I guess a new PSU is the way to go here. What would you suggest?
So, what should i change here and what should i change it too? Id like to do it step by step so i can hear the differences. Where should i start? PSU or HDD's?
Mattooooo
31-05-2003, 13:11
HDD problem solved (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/product.php?view=3807&PHPSESSID=569381f5372580a2c0845015104c7bb2)
I've got one and it works a treat. You'd think the drive would get hot, but it never gets to anything thats gonna affect speeds or damage anything.
Mattooooo
31-05-2003, 13:12
Oh, and about the PSUs, how much are you willing to spend?
Yeah i saw these and was tempted but with my data drive being 20 gig i was looking to get a bigger one. Its also only 512k cache and DMA66.
Im thinking of silent drive for the main Drive, but it costs 33% of a new higher spec HDD that could replace the Maxtor. I have no 7200 HDD's in my system - thats why im wondering about upgrading both of them to quiet 7200 ATA133's with bigger a cache. Would this improve Windows performance and does ATA133 matter?
My PC takes the role of Games Machine, In-home web development server and sometimes a file server too.
As for PSU 50-70 quid. Depends on what else i need to buy.
PSU - Zalman 300w PSU - £65 at Kustom - I have one and can vouch for its silence.
Hard Drives - Seagate Barricuda is also veeerrry quiet. No need for the silent drive (IMHO).
Cooler - Cooler Master heat pipe cooler if you get the quiet one, no need for slowing fan down. If you get the high speed one - get a Fan Mate.
To keep your case fans in use but under control noise wise, get a Pyramid 5 (also here at Kustom) as it keeps the fans at low rpm but lifts the speed if the chassis gets too warm. WIth the 111, a rheobus is out of the question and you don't want to be opening the case all the time to adjust manual pots - hence the Pyramid.
Case solved. My sig. tells you what I have and it is virtually silent and I can make it quieter if I want 'cod for extra safety I have a fan blowing over the Zalman graphics card heatsink. It is the noisiest item in the case and can be switched off if it annoys me too much.
Mattooooo
31-05-2003, 13:57
Well, for PSUs (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/product.php?subcat=7&PHPSESSID=569381f5372580a2c0845015104c7bb2) you'll want to go with either Antec, Vantec, Zalman or Qtec.
Qtec
* Low noise 400 W (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/product.php?view=1733&PHPSESSID=569381f5372580a2c0845015104c7bb2). Only costs £26. I've read before that they're not perhaps as quiet as the name suggests, but still good PSUs for your money.
Antec
* Antec Trueblue 480W (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/product.php?view=1733&PHPSESSID=569381f5372580a2c0845015104c7bb2). Costs £87, and is pretty much my dream PSU. (Blue LEDS!) Not as quiet as your next option though...
Vantec
* Stealth PSU (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/product.php?view=1734&PHPSESSID=569381f5372580a2c0845015104c7bb2). £85. Lots of power with the minimum amount of noise.
Zalman
* Zalman 400W silent PSU (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/product.php?view=1707&PHPSESSID=569381f5372580a2c0845015104c7bb2). Haven't tried this myself but it supposedly runs at 20dBa (Amount the same volume as a leaf falling from a tree.)
Hope that helps. Graeme says that the Qtec one "isn't crap otherwise we wouldn't sell it," so if i was you, I'd probably buy that and get a nice 120Gb Seagate HDD with a Silentdrive.
So it looks Like Zalman is the choice fo a PSU. Not sure if i should spend the extra few £ and get a 400W version - for future proofing.
Seagate HDD's also seem to be the best choice of HDD going on these forums but i dont need 120gig on 1 drive id rather buy two and split them to 60 / 60 or 40 / 80 gig i've grown attached to an OS Drive and a Data Drive - it means i can still work on my stuff even if my pc goes down by putting the drive in another PC.
Alan - "Cooler - Cooler Master heat pipe cooler if you get the quiet one, no need for slowing fan down. If you get the high speed one - get a Fan Mate." - Which is the Quiet one will it be ok with a 2700XP (not OC'd)?
Oops, my mistake, only the P4 versions have a quiet and a noisy one. The Athlon/PIII version has a 7,000rpm screamer. You definitely need a fan mate for them!
The alternative would be a Zalman Flower instead.
maniacyak
01-06-2003, 13:45
does ATA133 matter?In a word, no. ATA-133 isn't a real standard: it was made up by Maxtor (http://www.amdmb.com/article-display.php?ArticleID=151) to sell more drives, and some other companies jumped on the bandwagon.
There's no point to having a parallel IDE bus that can move 133MB/s (unless you're doing some serious RAID stuff, in which case you should be spending the extra for SCSI) because even the newest hard disks can't top ~50MB/s transfer rates due to mechanical limitations. Running two newish ATA drives in RAID 0 (striping), you'd probably see a peak 85-90MB/s, for which ATA-100 is more than enough.
While running separate drives for OS and data has redundancy advantages, bear in mind that one big drive is cheaper than two smaller drives of equivalent capacity, and that two drives are noisier than one.
HTH
Maniacyak - Perfect answer:D :D
OK PSU is sorted now - I modded my current one by sticking a second fan on the back of it and the running both fans through a Pot - this lets me adjust speed to get the best level of cooling / noise and works really well.
It involved lots of hole cutting, filing and some basic wiring but the result was really worth it! And best of all it cost me nothing to do. The noise difference is definately noticeable.
As for the single HDD / double HDD sure having just one saves money - but the number of times i have had to reinstall windows over itself to fix a problem leaving redandant files etc has led me to the dual option. I can format / re-partition the OS drive without worry - knowing my data is intact on the second drive. To some this may sound stupid but its where upgrading PC's has led me.
I guess i will have to put up with the noise of two drives but if the seagates are as good as people say the noise shouldnt really be an issue.
Thanks for all your advice on this.
You don't need two drives for protection against Windows crashes, partition your drive into two logical drives at least, put your data in Drive D and Windows can do its worst, your data will survive!
Yep - thats how i used to do it. Over the years i have ended up with the two drive solution. Having data and OS on different volumes seems so much more secure (was really handy when i wanted to try Linux or XP as i could whip out the C drive and throw in an old one with the OS installed - knowing all the drivers and my data etc were on the D drive ready)
But, Maybe its time to switch back - i will just have to plan my partitions before i go too mad. I will think about this some more.
Now, CPU coolers....
Zalman flower looks good - any other alternatives? What are the coolermaster X-Dream or Aero7 like?
Also, does the Zalman ZM-80A-HP fit the Gainward XP 750 GS? i run this in "enhanced mode" (overclocked) and it gets pretty hot.
Thanks for all your help.
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