This is in response to a CPF member named Harrkev that asked if I had any info on making his computer more quiet. I thought it more appropriate to put my response in the chit chat section to keep from making such a long post that went totally off topic in the LED forum. I don't have my own web site on this yet, but should in about a month (a lot of stuff going on right now). Until then, I can give you some very good URLs to start you out till I get my web page up. To start out with check out http://www.7volts.com/ They have some of the best info available. They also teach you how to run your case fans, Power Supply fan and CPU fan at 7volts instead of 12 which will cut down greatly on the noise, but still be good enough to get the job done unless you are heavily overclocked. I have most all of the fans in my computer running at 7volts and heat isn't a problem for me, but the noise level was reduced drastically! Also lining the inside of your computer case with Dynamat or other sound dampening material will also make a drastic difference in noise level.
Here http://mbm.livewiredev.com/ is a URL for Mother Board Monitor. It is a very useful free utility to monitor your heat levels in your computer case and processor to make sure you have sufficient cooling. There is also a program that reduces to a great extent how hot your CPU runs but doesn't affect performance at all. It is called Rain and most any overclocker will be familiar with it. The original author of the program has fallen off the face of the earth (well, I guess that would be internet), but the program can be downloaded from many locations. One of them is here http://www.benchtest.com/downloads/index.html
Another huge key to keeping a quiet computer is to get all of the quietest fans possible and go through your computer replacing all of those noisy stock fans. After very extensive research into this matter I believe that I've discovered the most quiet case fan on earth and one of the quietest CPU fans available that will still cool at a desirable level when run at 7volts instead of the standard 12volts.
The most quiet and efficient computer case fan commercially available is the Papst 8412NML (Note: There is a misprint of the part number on 7volts.com, the one I listed is correct). This case fan operates at 12volts at an incredible 12db noise level (most 80mm case fans operate at 30-50db) and can be used in a computer case or to replace a loud power supply fan. This fan is made in Germany and is hard to find in the U.S. without having to order it special from Europe. If you want an alternative that is a bit cheaper and much easier to find in the United States then I would go with the Panasonic Panaflo L1A 80mm case fan.
One of the most quiet CPU fans compared to the amount of cooling that they are capable of is the Golden Orb by ThermalTake. The home page can be found here: http://www.thermaltake.com/ While this isn't the most quiet CPU fan out there, it does a very good job at cooling and is only slightly more loud than the most quiet fan and does a much better job at cooling than the most quiet fan. When run at 7volts instead of 12volts, it is very very quiet. This fan operates at a noise level of 26.4 DBA at 12volts (For Model FC0370) and is much more quiet than that when underdriven at 7volts. Another advantage to this CPU fan is the fact that it is very cheaply priced and commonly available compared to other quiet CPU fans.
Last, but not least, one of the most quiet and very reliable Power Supplies available is the Enermax Whisper line of power supplies. http://www.enermax.com.tw/products/switch-main.htm The Enermax Whisper has 2 fans in it so that neither has to run at a very high RPM and therefore it keeps the noise level down compared to other power supplies. I still ended up replacing the fan that blows out the back of the power supply with the aforementioned Papst 8412NML which made for a very quiet power supply.
If you implement all of the previously mentioned tips then you can expect to have a computer that is about ¼ as loud as what you are probably experiencing right now. There is more than what I posted here, but it can wait till I get my web site up to go into any more detail. If anyone knows of any good quality quiet fans or any other good ideas for quiting your PC then please feel free to post so all can benefit. I hope this info helps everyone because it took a long time to type up and get all of the links in there, but it was all well worth the time spent in order to help combat the evil that is noise pollution!
Here http://mbm.livewiredev.com/ is a URL for Mother Board Monitor. It is a very useful free utility to monitor your heat levels in your computer case and processor to make sure you have sufficient cooling. There is also a program that reduces to a great extent how hot your CPU runs but doesn't affect performance at all. It is called Rain and most any overclocker will be familiar with it. The original author of the program has fallen off the face of the earth (well, I guess that would be internet), but the program can be downloaded from many locations. One of them is here http://www.benchtest.com/downloads/index.html
Another huge key to keeping a quiet computer is to get all of the quietest fans possible and go through your computer replacing all of those noisy stock fans. After very extensive research into this matter I believe that I've discovered the most quiet case fan on earth and one of the quietest CPU fans available that will still cool at a desirable level when run at 7volts instead of the standard 12volts.
The most quiet and efficient computer case fan commercially available is the Papst 8412NML (Note: There is a misprint of the part number on 7volts.com, the one I listed is correct). This case fan operates at 12volts at an incredible 12db noise level (most 80mm case fans operate at 30-50db) and can be used in a computer case or to replace a loud power supply fan. This fan is made in Germany and is hard to find in the U.S. without having to order it special from Europe. If you want an alternative that is a bit cheaper and much easier to find in the United States then I would go with the Panasonic Panaflo L1A 80mm case fan.
One of the most quiet CPU fans compared to the amount of cooling that they are capable of is the Golden Orb by ThermalTake. The home page can be found here: http://www.thermaltake.com/ While this isn't the most quiet CPU fan out there, it does a very good job at cooling and is only slightly more loud than the most quiet fan and does a much better job at cooling than the most quiet fan. When run at 7volts instead of 12volts, it is very very quiet. This fan operates at a noise level of 26.4 DBA at 12volts (For Model FC0370) and is much more quiet than that when underdriven at 7volts. Another advantage to this CPU fan is the fact that it is very cheaply priced and commonly available compared to other quiet CPU fans.
Last, but not least, one of the most quiet and very reliable Power Supplies available is the Enermax Whisper line of power supplies. http://www.enermax.com.tw/products/switch-main.htm The Enermax Whisper has 2 fans in it so that neither has to run at a very high RPM and therefore it keeps the noise level down compared to other power supplies. I still ended up replacing the fan that blows out the back of the power supply with the aforementioned Papst 8412NML which made for a very quiet power supply.
If you implement all of the previously mentioned tips then you can expect to have a computer that is about ¼ as loud as what you are probably experiencing right now. There is more than what I posted here, but it can wait till I get my web site up to go into any more detail. If anyone knows of any good quality quiet fans or any other good ideas for quiting your PC then please feel free to post so all can benefit. I hope this info helps everyone because it took a long time to type up and get all of the links in there, but it was all well worth the time spent in order to help combat the evil that is noise pollution!
