Help me quiet my rig

[sbw]

Some poeple on this forum claim that all they hear is their hard drives. I don't get it. I've been trying to quiet my rig, but it still seems loud to me. I have stock 2100xp hs w/ 60mm-80mm adaptor running a Vantec Stealth 80mm @ 2100prm. I Removed my stock northbridge fan. I also run two 80mm Vantec Stealth case fans@ 2100rpm. The only other noise makers in my rig are stock ATI ALL IN ONE 8500 fan and an Antec truepower 330 psu. I can't hear my WD hard drive. Why so loud, how do I quiet is sucker more?

 

[TGKGT]

well getting a real HS is a start, those adaptor things don't really do much.

 

[sbw]

How can a larger-better heatsink make my system quieter? My cpu temps are fine. I used an Akasa adapter. It has slots along the side so air blows down the sides of the hs. This helps keep the northbridge cool. The 80mm is somewhat quieter than the stock 60mm hs fan.

 

[cheapgoose]

what he's trying to say is a 80mm hsf can do as well, if not better than a 60mm hsf, at a lower or same noise.

the adopter does not utilize the full potential of the 80mm fan. you lose performance. so yea, an 80mm hs will be alot quieter with the same if not better cooling.

I'm surprised that your antec PS makes a lot of noise, doesn't it have smart fan control.

 

[sbw]

Originally posted by: cheapgoose
what he's trying to say is a 80mm hsf can do as well, if not better than a 60mm hsf, at a lower or same noise.

the adopter does not utilize the full potential of the 80mm fan. you lose performance. so yea, an 80mm hs will be alot quieter with the same if not better cooling.

I'm surprised that your antec PS makes a lot of noise, doesn't it have smart fan control.

Yea, thats what I was thinking. By using the 80mm I keep the same cooling at lower db + it cools the northbridge. And yes it is the smart fan psu. Any suggestions on how I would get this thing quieter?

 

[OulOat]

First, Vantecs aren't as quiet as they claim. Second, adapters are usually bad since they cause more pressure to build up behind the fan = more noise. Third, fan noise includes also the vibration caused by the fans, if you have several fans the vibrations are compounded and so is the resulting noise. Fourth, GPU fans are small, and small fans = high dbas per cfm.

To quiet your system ---
First, with your comp off and cooled, unplug all your fans, even the ATI and the CPU fan. That way, only your PSU fans are plugged in. Turn on the comp (for a little while, don't want the cpu to burn) and see if it's loud. If it is, either clean the PSU fan inside-out or replace it all together. Both requires you to break the warrantee for the PSU. If its not loud, plug the cpu fan and see if you can hear it. Keep doing this till you find which fans are loud and need to be replaced.

Chances are, the loudest fan is the one on the ATI. You can get a fanless heatsink for the GPU from Zalman. Or you can just get the Crystal Orb and do the 7 volt mod on it. For your Vantecs, you can do the 7 V mod too (although that will hurt your cfms), add rubber grommets, add noise padding, the list goes on. Search the forum for more answers.

 

[sbw]

OK, I did that. Here's what I found to be true of my rig. PSU very quiet, cpu w/ 80mm & adaptor somewhat loud but not too bad, gpu was kind of high pitched, rear case fan not too bad, front fan is the loudest. The front fan snaps into a plastic housing which in turn snaps into the front of the case. Can I remove this plastic housing and mount the fan directly to the front of the case with some grommets of some sort? If so what should I use for gromments? Should I switch out the fans for something quieter.

 

[Davegod]

my case has plastic fan holders, theyre fine for me, hold 'em well and firm - and do as good as job as gommets. I doubt youll be able to remove them and screw fans in, there probably wont be and screw holes, leaving you with er, superglue? Turn comp on with the side open and hold the plastic holder - if you hear less noise then maybe worth replacing, if its same then surely no point Try pushing it in firmly aswell, tbh seems odd its making more noise than the sam efan in the rear unless its getting poor airflow or making turbulence.

btw Can do similar for grills but be v careful of fingers (no need for grills at front anyway). grills can vibrate quite a lot.

hear their HDD's? mine makes no noise whatsoever, though currently cant hear much in there over the 60mm YS-Tech.

 

[jhites]

Those Vantec Stealth's are just about as quiet as anything on the market at 21-25db. I would not use any 60mm fans as they will always have a higher pitch than 80mm. The 80mm with give you the same cfm with less rpm and lower db.

I have four of them in one of my systems and I can still hear them. More of a low hum than the 4 Sunon 32db fans that they replaced, which sounded like a 747 taking off.

I think the acustical sound material that I use helps as much as the lower rpm/db fans. I put it on top, bottom and both sides of my cases. CompUSA sells kits of these with self adhesive backing but you can also get the material from other sources.

 

[BMW330ci]

Does anyone know if the Vantec Stealth Power Supply are quiet as they claim ?
I have the Enermax "Silence" adjustable fan PS and it's not as quiet as I would like.

Thanks for your input.

 

[sbw]

Davegod, when I touch the plastic cage, the fan whine goes away. I mean if I barely touch it. Like it is transmitting high freq. sound through the plastic.

 

[sbw]

BMW, I don't know about those Vantec ps's. But thanks to Ouloat, I now know that my antec truepower 330 is very quiet.

 

[BMW330ci]

Originally posted by: sbw
BMW, I don't know about those Vantec ps's. But thanks to Ouloat, I now know that my antec truepower 330 is very quiet.

Thanks, I'll check it out.

I just listened to my PC and it appears that both my Western Digital 8MB 100GB/120GB are loud! I may have to try the the 40GB version and perhaps the Maxtor 8MB cache models.

 

[OulOat]

Grommets are not screws, they are spacers that absorb the vibrations of the fan so it doesn't carry over to the case. How well they work is disputable. Generally, they do help out a tad. I'm guessing what is happening is that the fan is loose in the holder and it's boucing around when you turn on the comp.

Since the vibrations are causing the majority of the noise in the front fan, you might want to remove the front fan housing and drill some fan holes instead. Or, an easier solution will be to put something in between the fan and the case to stop the fan from bouncing around. You probably only need to use something thin, like couple layers of tape.

 

[sbw]

Ok, That front fan housing has to go. The whine of that fan is driving me KRAZY! I'll remove the fan housing and drill some holes to mount the fan. Next question is ... that housing also holds my case speaker. What do I do with that sucker?

 

[mechBgon]

Do you really need the case speaker?

I don't see any mention of whether you're using the TruePower's "Fan-Only" plugs to power any of your fans, but they are thermally regulated and you may run as many as three case fans off of them, according to Antec.

For the record, SVC has a good deal on some 18dB 80mm case fans: five for $11. They're high-quality dual-ball-bearing NMBs. I just had my supervisor order 40 of them They wouldn't be my top pick for putting on a heatsink to cool a 2100+ (Panaflo L1A has a more forceful airflow pattern that I think is better for that) but they're not bad for case ventilation on a free-breathing case like yours.

Have you considered leaving the front case fan out completely? If you run your system for a while and find that your hard drive doesn't get more than a bit warm to the touch, then maybe you don't need it. With regards to the drive cage, it may also be a good idea to put something soft and rubbery between the drive cage and the front wall of the case, to damp out vibrations from the slightly-loose metal-to-metal contact there.

 

[sbw]

Why, yes I have tried the fan only plugs. It seemed that Those Vantec's turned real slow. I thought that with only the 2100prm on my cpu that I'd better have those case fans running wide open. Currently my temps run 46-50c. & 31-34c. I don't think I could get by without the front case fan. My HD's like it cool! They already seem a little warm to me. I guess I could get by without the speaker. It doesn't beep to much, although it did beep like crazy when I fired up the rig with the cpu fan unplugged! Do you think those SVC fans would be a whole lot quieter that what I have now? Thanks for your response!

 

[mechBgon]

I haven't used the Stealth so I can't make the comparison. Maybe someone else has tried both types. The NMB is definitely quieter than the L1A and I've heard at least some remarks that the L1A is quieter than the Vantec. Maybe you should take a risk and order four of the NMB's (well, order five, they have a price break at 5 units) to see how your case does with two in back and two in front.

I went on a quietness streak with my dual-P3 work system once, and it ended up very very quiet, complete with the rare ring-cage Panaflo L1A 60mm fans on PAL6035's, at 7 volts. Then I got a job where my office ended up being the server room so it didn't matter how quiet my system was. Just can't win...

 

[sbw]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
I've heard at least some remarks that the L1A is quieter than the Vantec.


Seems that I've seen some threads to that effect also. I'll check into some of those NMB's @ SVC. I'll see if they can get this order right. My current quiet craze started when I heard my freind's Dell box. Well, I mean I didn't even here it run. That S***S a Dell!

 

[mechBgon]

For the record, I helped a co-worker set up her new Dell system at home, and peeked in the rear vent to see what brand of fan was being used in these vaunted ultra-quiet one-fan wonders. It was an NMB 92mm.

 

[OulOat]

Originally posted by: sbw

Originally posted by: mechBgon
I've heard at least some remarks that the L1A is quieter than the Vantec.


Seems that I've seen some threads to that effect also. I'll check into some of those NMB's @ SVC. I'll see if they can get this order right. My current quiet craze started when I heard my freind's Dell box. Well, I mean I didn't even here it run. That S***S a Dell!

Dells only use 1 fan, so that is why they are so quiet. Also the plastic case helps. I tried both the NMBs and Panaflos, and while the NMBs are a tiny bit quieter, they put out a lot less air. Just stick with your stealths, why waste more money? Also, since you already tested your system, you found out that it was the vibration that was causing most of the noise, right? Just kill the most of the vibration by screwing in the fan to the case. If it's still not as quiet, I would suggest doing the 7V mod since that will cause the fan to move as much as the NMBs and make less noise.

 

[sbw]

Could you lead me to info on doing that 7 volt mod. I can't seem to find it in a search. TIA

By the way, what about using a 92mm for that front and doing the mod. on it. I guess that there would be room for one that size.

 

[OulOat]

I would follow the steps in my second response, not the link that was provided.

Almost all fans will work with the 7 volt mod, the only times it doesn't work is when a fan actually requires the full 12 Vs to turn on.

 

[DoobieOnline]

sbw, those Vantec Stealth 80mm fans are not as quiet as 80mm Panaflos. I just finished building a system for someone and installed the Vantec Stealths in it. I definitely thought it was too loud so I replaced them with a couple of Panaflos I had lying around and the system was MUCH quieter. HTH!