Noise.

Post #39,256 by Meerkat 5/20/02 9:02:03 AM Reply	Noise. Prompted from a post in the Linux forum... Has anyone had much experience with making a PC run quieter? Like, fancy power supplies, or sound insulation, whatever. My main PC lives in the loungeroom, and it's video-in capabilities mean it's my TV as well. APM powers down the hard drives after a while but there's still a bit of fan noise - still not sure if it's the Power Supply, CPU or Video Card fan that is the noisiest. So yeah, any thoughts, observations, etc... On and on and on and on, and on and on and on goes John.
Post #39,258 by Andrew Grygus 5/20/02 9:28:28 AM Reply	Stick a Qtip through the back grate . . . . to stop the power supply fan. If that's most of the noise, replace the power supply with one that has a variable fan speed (depending on temperature). CPU fans can get very noisy, and can only be replaced. Additional cabinet cooling fans can be rather quiet, depending on airflow (power consumption). The cabinets we use are very quiet, but were marked down on airflow in a comparitive review (which did note they were quieter). We've always found the aiflow more than adequate. We have replaced loud cabinet fans with less powerful ones in clients' machines when requested. Never any heat problems. Of course, once any fan starts to get shaft chatter, it will only get noisier and noisier. CPU fans last 1 to 2 years. Other fans last longer but still need to be replaced now and then. [link\|http://www.aaxnet.com\|AAx]
Post #39,363 by pwhysall 5/21/02 12:33:34 AM Reply	CPU Fans - highly variable quality. Well, I tend a rather large herd of Dell Optiplexes (amongst my other duties), and we've got some rather ancient examples (P2 300, bought mid-98) and they have Intel slot 1 processors - as packaged by Intel. Intel fit high-quality Sanyo fans to their processors, and they're damn good. We've had just about every other thing fail on these boxes, but I've never had to replace a processor fan. Peter [link\|http://www.debian.org\|Shill For Hire] [link\|http://www.kuro5hin.org\|There is no K5 Cabal]
Post #39,373 by Meerkat 5/21/02 7:32:46 AM Reply	Let the experiments commence It's the CPU fan. It's a ball-bearing one, but a generic-type brand (cooling a Duron 700). A quieter power supply probably wouldn't go astray, but it's the CPU Fan that is the most noticeable. THe fan on the graphics card is hardly noticeable. Apart from all the red 'panic! panic!' messages the fan-watching software puts up :) Other results: Cotton Bud (Qtip) is now rather dirty. :) Plans: Maybe get new CPU fan - and maybe buy another hard drive so I consolidate stuff from two drives onto one. On and on and on and on, and on and on and on goes John.
Post #39,482 by static 5/22/02 7:52:29 AM 5/22/02 7:55:36 AM Reply	De-fanning a CPU. You might not be able to do this since you have a Duron, but I made my server a lot quieter by replacing the heatsink+fan combination with just a heatsink. Mind you, my server runs a Pentium 100. :-) And it took me many months before I found a Pentium with only a heatsink. Perhaps you could rummage in Google for [link\|http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&q=fanless+CPU+heatsink&spell=1\|heatsinks without fans]. Like [link\|http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=627&page=3\|this], perhaps? Wade. P.S.: I just found [link\|http://boozhoundlabs.com/bigsink/\|this]! "All around me are nothing but fakes Come with me on the biggest fake of all!" Edited by static May 22, 2002, 07:55:36 AM EDT Expand All History
Post #39,562 by Meerkat 5/22/02 9:49:14 PM Reply	Yow - Sinkapalooza! Dread to think how much heatsinky goodness would be required for 700MHz ... hmm - maybe if I just have the whole thing swimming in thermal paste :) On and on and on and on, and on and on and on goes John.
Post #39,574 by orion 5/22/02 10:39:21 PM Reply	WD40 Could you try using WD40 oil on the fan's ballberrings? Maybe they just grind a lot and need some lubercation? *I am free now, to choose my own destiny.*
Post #39,582 by Meerkat 5/22/02 11:47:33 PM Reply	I ned some WD40 - ta for the reminder! It's first use will be on the wheels of my garbage bin. Curently sounds like a chorus of chirpy birds every time I take out the recycling. But hey, it's worth a look to see if I could squirt some onto the fan workings without damaging anything. Yes, I will ensure it's well away from the CPU at the time :) On and on and on and on, and on and on and on goes John.
Post #39,584 by Andrew Grygus 5/23/02 12:05:13 AM Reply	No Nothing works but a new fan. When the fit opens up a bit you get chatter, and that's what makes the noise. Axial chatter (shaft bouncing off the end stop), or ball race chatter, or shaft chatter (if it's a sleeve job). More lube will make it chatter better. [link\|http://www.aaxnet.com\|AAx]
Post #39,729 by static 5/23/02 8:59:39 PM Reply	Not Thermal Paste. Thermal paste is a terrible heat conductor. It's only redeeming value is that it is better than air between your CPU and your heatsink. If you want a heatsink to absorb heat, you need a large mass of metal with decent thermal capacity. Hence the weight. If you want a heatsink to radiate absorbed heat (e.g. for fan cooling :-), you need a lot of surface area. Hence the finned designs. Wade. My physics in this area is rusty, but IIRC this is why water-cooling works so well. "All around me are nothing but fakes Come with me on the biggest fake of all!"
Post #39,798 by Meerkat 5/24/02 10:02:20 AM Reply	Erm, I was kidding. But hey, info is info, ta. On and on and on and on, and on and on and on goes John.
Post #39,876 by static 5/24/02 10:39:13 PM Reply	Yah - I should have spotted that. D'oh! "All around me are nothing but fakes Come with me on the biggest fake of all!"
Post #39,458 by a6l6e6x 5/21/02 10:41:49 PM Reply	Also, besides fans, you can add some soundproofing. The case side panels are somewhat like sounding boards. I cut and glued sheet cork ( about 1/8 inch or 3 mm thick) to the inside of the panels to deaden the vibration. You need to be careful not close off vents or get too close to the edges where the panels need to touch the frame of the case. It does make a noticeable difference in noise. The cork sheets (it was actually a roll) can be bought at an office supply store. Alex "Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened." -- Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Post #39,472 by Meerkat 5/22/02 3:14:28 AM Reply	Corkingly good idea - thanks! On and on and on and on, and on and on and on goes John.
Post #39,536 by boxley 5/22/02 2:18:17 PM Reply	depending on how handy you are A friend of mine built a case using soundboard(what they use for soundproofing) a three single hi speed noisless fans grated to the outside and he disconnected his cpu fan, can only really hear the drives cranking up and down. thanx, bill TAM ARIS QUAM ARMIPOTENS
Post #40,235 by Another Scott 5/28/02 8:39:20 PM Reply	TheReg story on quiet PCs. [link\|http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/35/25470.html\|Here], based on letters to them. Links to quiet systems suppliers are there. Cheers, Scott.

Welcome to IWETHEY!