Ive had a quiet PC for a while and after discussions with Galvanised Yankee and Shadowknight, plus work paying me I decided to jump on some silencing upgrades. Im still on an old Athlon XP system and do game but dont feel the need for the extra power, using my PC mainly as a PVR, music and basic Office PC.
Before you read, scrutinise and criticise, Im not scientifici nor am I gifted with many talents such as cutting, polishing, making things look pretty. Im pretty average and totally inexperienced so this review isnt meant as a professional comparison review such as SPCR offered on the AcoustiPack Deluxe but it catalogues my opinions, experiences and what the end result to me was.
Ill update my sig to show my rig sometime soon but heres a quick list of noise makers I had:
92mm Panaflo L1A on a Thermalright SLK900A @ 7v via PWM controller (no audible problems)
2x 120mm Panaflo L1A's as intake/exhaust @7v via PWM (no audible problems)
Zalman VF700Cu set at 12v
Thermaltake Purepower 480W at min fan speed (its a dual 80mm PSU)
160Gb Samsung Spinpoint P80 I believe (noisy reading/writing)
120Gb Western Digital (much quieter than the Spinpoint)
40mm chipset fan
Antec SLK3000B Case
Ill be missing some but you have the jist of it.
I replaced my Thermaltake PSU with a 600W Seasonic S12. Way overpowered for my system and probably for my next system but it gives me plenty of headroom if I need it. Replaced my PWM controller with a Sunbeam, explicitly pointed out by GY to me as being blindingly good
This netted me a nice drop in noise but it wasnt a massive drop. Removing the chipset fan from the equation didnt make a massive difference but a little bit of the high pitched noise went away which was pleasant. During my installation of the Acoustipack, I replaced said chipset fan and heatsink with a Blue Zalman passive heatsink.
First impressions of the box.... Well wrapped, looks a bit bland, no missing what it is and DARN heavy. I'll take a pic of the corner but the sticker says 'Approx weight 2.8kg) so it is weighty. 2 sheets of composite (lighter foam with a thin layer of thicker foam), 1 sheet of Contour material (looks like a checker board, dimples of foam, about 1" thick, extremely heavy) and a couple of blocks of foam, 1 x 3.55" and 2 x 5.25" blocks to fill gaps in their respective bays. Foam had an unpleasant smell but it wasnt strong unless you got within like 4" and sniffed. Hands had a tinge of smell which went away after a wash.
Whoa, heavy, dense foam. Havent felt anything like it to be honest. Doing a simple and silly test, I sat to right angles with my speakers and turned the radio on, covered my furthest away ear with my hand and used some of the foam to block the sound out. The difference wasnt massive but noticable. Made me feel a little uneasy.
After clearing out my PC, I wiped the surfaces down with warm, soapy water and let them dry thoroughly whilst I gathered the tools of my trade and thought about how Id go about my work. I decided that I could pop a sheet of composite on the panel behind the mobo, a little bit of composite on the top between the PSU and 5.25" bays not touching components and a layer on the bottom. The contour piece is supposed to be put opposite sound of the most sound, ie. on the other side panel... cutting around the fan duct and the case clips posed a problem but I had time to think.
Setting up with a cutting knife, board and firm surface to cut on.... I tackled measuring. Was a very simple task for the panel on the mobo side. First attempt was blocking the back, I couldnt close the case so a little 1/2" off the end and it fit. I should have cut a space for the cross bar just below the PSU but the foam was squidgy enough to be pushed and I popped the side panel back on like that. The top and bottom were simple to apply so I wont detail them.
The opposite side was difficult. The thick, heavy yet soft foam is a little difficult to manuveure and much more difficult to cut. The clips were pretty easy to cut around but the fan mount proved difficult. I physically marked my case with where the foam was going to rest finally and gave it a bit thought. Using a bit of measurement, I lined the foam up and pressed heavily on the foam. This left the impression of the screws and the black fan mount (tube/duct taken out) on the backing paper which I just cut around. After popping the duct back together, I just laid the contour piece down and it fitted snuggly. I also stuck a bit of foam in the door panel to reduce noise leakage from there. This panel was also difficult to pop back on which Ill need to address but I wedged it back in place. Overall, my case is now a lot heavier and space inside is strangely not really restricted considering what Ive done to it.
With my Sunbeam in, all 4 fans (92mm, the 2 120's and my VF700CU) are all now hooked up. I run my Panaflos at as close to the lowest power they requite to spin up which Is around 6v Id guess. In a recent cooling thread about silently cooling a 9800Pro, I said that at 12v, my VF700CU was inaudible at 12v over my case noise. I was incorrect and have posted to that effect in that thread. Id estimate from my twiddlings with my Sunbeam that the VF700CU actually becomes audible over the rest of the case at around 7-8v which still means its quite a quiet set up.
Final impressions....
Impressed with the noise reduction. Noticeable reduction for the most part but hard drive noise when reading and writing hasnt went down much. Even CDROM noise went down even before the introduction of the door foam.
Worth it? For me, yes. I was sort of getting stuck as to how to move forward. The Acoustipack Deluxe provided me with fun of installation, experience in DIY and a healthy reduction in noise of my system.
It brings me back to a rumour Id heard beforehand. Soundproofing materials in PC's raise temperatures. In my case, this hasnt happened. I idled between 36-40 depending on room temperature. At the moment, Im idling at 37C, case temp, 26C system temp and room temp is 24.1C. Id guess it will increase temps if you block airflow. I covered the holes on the side of the case just below the CPU Duct and it hasnt made a difference.
I hope this has helped or provided some useful information. Its not going to be right for everyone and your results may differ to mine but it was well worth the effort for me. I have small scraps left which Im going to try to fit around where possible.
Thanks for reading, if you have
Pictures.... If I had forsight, Id have placed them at various points in my review but I'll try to order them in a bit of wording and description.
Overview - The pic of my PC in the case.
AcoutiPack Deluxe - The Box!
Box Label - Just check out the weight!
Motherboard Side Panel
Other Side Panel
Side By Side view
Comparing side panels, very heavy stuff. Notice my poor cutting skills on the Other Side Panel, the Contour stuff is a pain to cut. You cant really see the contours on the Contour material but its much thicker.
PSU shot
Hard Drive Bay
Shot towards the back
Misc shots showing where rogue pieces of material went. Near the PSU, the HDD block in place with material on the bottom of the case and a bit on the back.
Front Cover
Front Door
These 2 shots cover what I did to the front door on my SLK3000B. A little dampening material makes a difference.
Spare Material
This is the spare material I had before the below Mod to my original job. 120mmx25mm Antec Tricool fan placed as a size reference.
Mod
Mod2
These shots show a piece of contour material attached to the basic composite matting on the Motherboard Side Panel. This Contour material fits in perfectly, next to the HDD Bay to block out even more HDD noise. I also popped a thin strip of Contour material at the back of the case, alongside the adapter cards... although thinking about it, it may prove restrictive when removing the screws for the cards.
Thats my review complete and pictures provided.
I thank you for taking the time to read my review and I'll be more than happy to answer any questions you have.
Before you read, scrutinise and criticise, Im not scientifici nor am I gifted with many talents such as cutting, polishing, making things look pretty. Im pretty average and totally inexperienced so this review isnt meant as a professional comparison review such as SPCR offered on the AcoustiPack Deluxe but it catalogues my opinions, experiences and what the end result to me was.
Ill update my sig to show my rig sometime soon but heres a quick list of noise makers I had:
92mm Panaflo L1A on a Thermalright SLK900A @ 7v via PWM controller (no audible problems)
2x 120mm Panaflo L1A's as intake/exhaust @7v via PWM (no audible problems)
Zalman VF700Cu set at 12v
Thermaltake Purepower 480W at min fan speed (its a dual 80mm PSU)
160Gb Samsung Spinpoint P80 I believe (noisy reading/writing)
120Gb Western Digital (much quieter than the Spinpoint)
40mm chipset fan
Antec SLK3000B Case
Ill be missing some but you have the jist of it.
I replaced my Thermaltake PSU with a 600W Seasonic S12. Way overpowered for my system and probably for my next system but it gives me plenty of headroom if I need it. Replaced my PWM controller with a Sunbeam, explicitly pointed out by GY to me as being blindingly good
This netted me a nice drop in noise but it wasnt a massive drop. Removing the chipset fan from the equation didnt make a massive difference but a little bit of the high pitched noise went away which was pleasant. During my installation of the Acoustipack, I replaced said chipset fan and heatsink with a Blue Zalman passive heatsink.
First impressions of the box.... Well wrapped, looks a bit bland, no missing what it is and DARN heavy. I'll take a pic of the corner but the sticker says 'Approx weight 2.8kg) so it is weighty. 2 sheets of composite (lighter foam with a thin layer of thicker foam), 1 sheet of Contour material (looks like a checker board, dimples of foam, about 1" thick, extremely heavy) and a couple of blocks of foam, 1 x 3.55" and 2 x 5.25" blocks to fill gaps in their respective bays. Foam had an unpleasant smell but it wasnt strong unless you got within like 4" and sniffed. Hands had a tinge of smell which went away after a wash.
Whoa, heavy, dense foam. Havent felt anything like it to be honest. Doing a simple and silly test, I sat to right angles with my speakers and turned the radio on, covered my furthest away ear with my hand and used some of the foam to block the sound out. The difference wasnt massive but noticable. Made me feel a little uneasy.
After clearing out my PC, I wiped the surfaces down with warm, soapy water and let them dry thoroughly whilst I gathered the tools of my trade and thought about how Id go about my work. I decided that I could pop a sheet of composite on the panel behind the mobo, a little bit of composite on the top between the PSU and 5.25" bays not touching components and a layer on the bottom. The contour piece is supposed to be put opposite sound of the most sound, ie. on the other side panel... cutting around the fan duct and the case clips posed a problem but I had time to think.
Setting up with a cutting knife, board and firm surface to cut on.... I tackled measuring. Was a very simple task for the panel on the mobo side. First attempt was blocking the back, I couldnt close the case so a little 1/2" off the end and it fit. I should have cut a space for the cross bar just below the PSU but the foam was squidgy enough to be pushed and I popped the side panel back on like that. The top and bottom were simple to apply so I wont detail them.
The opposite side was difficult. The thick, heavy yet soft foam is a little difficult to manuveure and much more difficult to cut. The clips were pretty easy to cut around but the fan mount proved difficult. I physically marked my case with where the foam was going to rest finally and gave it a bit thought. Using a bit of measurement, I lined the foam up and pressed heavily on the foam. This left the impression of the screws and the black fan mount (tube/duct taken out) on the backing paper which I just cut around. After popping the duct back together, I just laid the contour piece down and it fitted snuggly. I also stuck a bit of foam in the door panel to reduce noise leakage from there. This panel was also difficult to pop back on which Ill need to address but I wedged it back in place. Overall, my case is now a lot heavier and space inside is strangely not really restricted considering what Ive done to it.
With my Sunbeam in, all 4 fans (92mm, the 2 120's and my VF700CU) are all now hooked up. I run my Panaflos at as close to the lowest power they requite to spin up which Is around 6v Id guess. In a recent cooling thread about silently cooling a 9800Pro, I said that at 12v, my VF700CU was inaudible at 12v over my case noise. I was incorrect and have posted to that effect in that thread. Id estimate from my twiddlings with my Sunbeam that the VF700CU actually becomes audible over the rest of the case at around 7-8v which still means its quite a quiet set up.
Final impressions....
Impressed with the noise reduction. Noticeable reduction for the most part but hard drive noise when reading and writing hasnt went down much. Even CDROM noise went down even before the introduction of the door foam.
Worth it? For me, yes. I was sort of getting stuck as to how to move forward. The Acoustipack Deluxe provided me with fun of installation, experience in DIY and a healthy reduction in noise of my system.
It brings me back to a rumour Id heard beforehand. Soundproofing materials in PC's raise temperatures. In my case, this hasnt happened. I idled between 36-40 depending on room temperature. At the moment, Im idling at 37C, case temp, 26C system temp and room temp is 24.1C. Id guess it will increase temps if you block airflow. I covered the holes on the side of the case just below the CPU Duct and it hasnt made a difference.
I hope this has helped or provided some useful information. Its not going to be right for everyone and your results may differ to mine but it was well worth the effort for me. I have small scraps left which Im going to try to fit around where possible.
Thanks for reading, if you have
Pictures.... If I had forsight, Id have placed them at various points in my review but I'll try to order them in a bit of wording and description.
Overview - The pic of my PC in the case.
AcoutiPack Deluxe - The Box!
Box Label - Just check out the weight!
Motherboard Side Panel
Other Side Panel
Side By Side view
Comparing side panels, very heavy stuff. Notice my poor cutting skills on the Other Side Panel, the Contour stuff is a pain to cut. You cant really see the contours on the Contour material but its much thicker.
PSU shot
Hard Drive Bay
Shot towards the back
Misc shots showing where rogue pieces of material went. Near the PSU, the HDD block in place with material on the bottom of the case and a bit on the back.
Front Cover
Front Door
These 2 shots cover what I did to the front door on my SLK3000B. A little dampening material makes a difference.
Spare Material
This is the spare material I had before the below Mod to my original job. 120mmx25mm Antec Tricool fan placed as a size reference.
Mod
Mod2
These shots show a piece of contour material attached to the basic composite matting on the Motherboard Side Panel. This Contour material fits in perfectly, next to the HDD Bay to block out even more HDD noise. I also popped a thin strip of Contour material at the back of the case, alongside the adapter cards... although thinking about it, it may prove restrictive when removing the screws for the cards.
Thats my review complete and pictures provided.
I thank you for taking the time to read my review and I'll be more than happy to answer any questions you have.