Keeping fan noise down.

[dekadeka]

I am still torn over what to get, I am happy with a Matx case except the fact that to ever access cpu as I have a thermaltake Ti I have to remove power supply and cable management is awful.

I have spare pcs in ATX cases and the cases are massive in comparison and just look not as neat and tidy as they seem bulky.

The other current issue is that over the years the case has been dented and hammered back into place(literally) so the case isnt perfectly aligned so the case fan rattles against the metal unless you loosen the screws enough that it doesnt fall off yet is quiet, would plastic holders help?

Most of my noise in my case comes from my HD 4870's stock fan, I did purchase a Thermaltake heatsink fan from Ebay that kept the fans almost silent but as a by product increased temps 10-15 degrees(probably as the ram was exposed) and also blocked off both my pci slots meaning I couldnt use wireless and as I share internet the router is in a different flat so is essential to have a wireless card(and dont want to use usb as want to keep case tidy)

[Vicey]

What I've found is that replacing screws that mount fans with double sided tape stops the rattling completely. I now use this method for fitting fans in all my cases.

You might say omg tape what if a fan falls off? Well I don't use the paper kind of double sided tape I use the rubber kind. I got a roll of it from Tesco for about £1.40 and it has lasted me several builds. The tape is about 2mm thick (needs to be cut with scissors) and it's incredibly strong it takes the same amount of force to get a fan off a case as it does to lift an office chair and I'm not even joking. I just use four tiny pieces at each corner of the fan where the screw would usually go and that stops the fan rattling completely. Cheap solution that is out of sight.

Alternatively you can buy rubber mounts for fans that replace the screws with specially molded pieces of rubber. These are reusable but they cost a bit more than just using tape. Works just as well.

If you want to quiet down a fan on a GPU you have three options.

1. Use software to slow the fan speed, possibly making the card overheat.
2. Buy a new 3rd party air cooler for it. (Which you've done but not optimum due to blocking of PCI slots)
3. Go water cooling and put a water block on it.

Considering it's a HD 4870 which is almost 3 generations out of date (HD 7000 series launches quite soon) I'd recommend you just replace it with a low-end 6000 series card that would rival it in performance while being much quieter at all load levels.

Hope this helped.

[Digital Doctor]

Those 4870's and 4890's were damn good cards.

[gamerdude1989]

Originally Posted by Digital Doctor

Those 4870's and 4890's were damn good cards.

agree'd..... plus they have the twin gpu cards in those versions.. 4870 x2, and 4890 x2.....

But yeah, like Digi Doc says.. for being older 4 Series cards, they are damn good, and would recommend one to anyone on a low budget build for intermediate gaming...

[Digital Doctor]

generation numbers of graphics cards means nothing in performance terms example a nvidia 8800gt 512mb will p++s all over a 9600gt with 1gb, and a hd4890 with 1gb will walk all over a hd5770

this is what amuses me on ebay when people say, "im selling this hd4870 to upgrade to a 5770" youre actually downgrading by doing that.