Looking for quiet computer fans.

Tree

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OK, I'm tired of sitting next to an idling jet airplane while I use my computer. Right now all it has is a processor fan (AMD) and a MOBO fan, but I can hear it two rooms away!!!

Any experience with quiet fans? I want to add a case fan and replace the two existing fans, but don't want to hear them. Shopping online I see lots of fans with what looks like decent ratings, but I want real world testamonies. The few comp store clerks I asked just seem to point to the first fan they run across on the shelf.
 

KevinL

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I was on a quest to silence the beast a year ago too, and that took me to places like silentpcreview.com, and Silicon Acoustics (http://www.siliconacoustics.com/).

SilentPCReview (SPCR)'s notes on undervolting fans are very good. I have nerfed many a noisy fan with that tactic by feeding it 7V instead of 12V. I've even bought 12V fans and stuck them on 5V connectors when I needed to quiet this pesky Lucent Cajun P333T that I use as my home switch. I sleep in the same room, noise is not an option, so it got silenced /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/sssh.gif Larger-diameter fans running at lower RPMs help a lot too. Go for 80mm, 120mm - slow turning fans. SPCR has some very good fan reviews either. I bought twp Panasonics that they said was REALLY quiet, and well.. I agree!

Lower amperage fans help as well. When dealing with an unknown fan, the amp rating marked on the housing will give you an idea of what it is capable of. Suffice to say 0.28A 12V (3.36W) fans do a great job of giving your case that 747-takeoff sound effect.

This may not be directly applicable to your case, but Intel's dynamic fan control system REALLY DID aid my quest. For a long time I didn't think I was going to pull it off till I used a board with built in fan control. The variable power thing really does help. (not interested in starting a holy war about CPUs, just pointing out a feature that would be welcome on ANY platform). The fan control system is automatic, driven by processor temperature. I would rather it not be manual because I will inevitably forget and something will cook.
 

eluminator

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Store clerks won't help. But as pointed out above, there are quite a few web sites devoted to quiet PC's.

In general the larger the fan the quieter it can move a given amount of air. Also as pointed out above, you can slow up a fan by running it at 7 volts. You can also buy fan speed adjusters like the Zalman fan mate.

Cutting the speed will decrease the cooling ability of course. I recommend monitoring the temperature of the CPU with a monitoring program. Newer motherboards often have a monitoring program that comes with it. I also like the free MotherBoardMonitor (MBM) program because it also can monitor disk drive temperature.

The CPU throws off a lot more heat when it's running 100%. Ideally the cooling fan should be temperature controlled. Many newer motherboards can do this.

I like to use the Antec Super Lanboy cases because they come with nice quiet 120 mm case fans. I don't use the front fan. I use the Northwood Pentium CPU's because they don't generate as much heat as some others, and they are smart enough to shut themselves down if they should get hot. I use a Zalman fanless heatsink on the CPU and I duct the air from the rear case fan onto the heatsink.

I don't use video cards that require a heat sink fan. Those small fans mounted on heatsinks seem to be better at generating noise and trouble than they are at generating wind.
 

ACMarina

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I've got a lot of fans (2 PS, CPU, Video, 3 case and a HDD/CD cooler) on my main computer. The PS and CPU control themselves, and the video is quiet, so I put the case and HDD fans on a Switchbus (I think that's what it's called) where there's 4 switches that control how fast your fans spin. Normal operation I leave them at half power, but when I'm doing something mission critical I can bump them up to full speed. There are also units that have potentiometers in them, so you can find different increments that work for you.

Check out Coolerguys.com and modthebox.com for more information.
 

James S

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One of my favorite surplus places bg micro has some surplus panasonic panaflow fans at that link. I haven't ordered them myself, but if the size is right they are supposed to be some of the best around. For that price it would be OK to experiment with one.
 

eluminator

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Tree, what brand of computer do you have? If it's an HP, welcome to the club. I guess all brands can be noisy though.

It was my noisy HP that gave me computer noise phobia, and caused me to start building my own. Actually that old Pentium 3 HP is still running but in a bigger case. Its now so quiet I can barely hear it in a quiet room.
 

John N

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Note you need to consider case fans, power supply fans and CPU fans. The case can also factor into the end result.

Some folks put sound dampeners like Dynamat inside the cases.

Also consider when you go to quiet components, sometimes they do not cool quite as much as the noisy components. This means you need to make sure you case has resonable airflow.

Some cases have mounts for large fans like 120mm, where you can use a larger fan at a slower speed which tends to be a good recipe for a quiet system.

Spend some time on frostytech.com. They have scientific analysis of cooling capability vs sound. In addition to Frostytech, overclocking sites like Overclockers.com tend to have good reviews of cases.

FWIW, when I put together my last system, I used Zalman 7000A-Cu on low speed (note you have to take the MB out to mount and it is HEAVY) and a PC Power & Cooling Silencer 310ATX. In this particular case I used a Lian Li V1100 case which has switchable variable speed fans which I did not replace, but normally I use the PC P&C Silencer fans.

-john
 

eluminator

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I think the Zalman that's mainly aluminum with a few copper fins is the way to go. The all copper is so heavy that Zalman says you should remove the heatsink before moving the computer. Yeah, sure.
 

eluminator

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Intel sets a limit of 450g for the Pentium 4. The all copper heatsink is almost double that.

I use Intel CPUs, 'cause I'm stupid. I had to throw that in because I don't want to start any arguments /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

This is the heatsink I use.
http://www.directron.com/cnps6500balcu.html

There is no fan on the heatsink. They give you a separate 92mm fan and bracket. I don't use it though. I put a 120mm fan on the back of the case blowing in, and duct it to the heatsink.

Everybody who is anybody on the internet tells me that won't work. I'll get an air short-circuit because the PS fan blows warm air out the back.

So only I, (and HP and Dell), build them this way.
 

PlayboyJoeShmoe

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I didn't make our office 'puter any less noisy, but I put an Antec "Smartcool" 80mm case fan where there WASN'T one!

As far as I can tell, it is a pretty silent fan. I suspect the one over the processor is the noisy one.

Related note: I came in from being away all day to hear a funny noise. The PSU fan was running slowly. I felt the PSU for heat and it is cool. I tried air dusting, a bit of WD40 to no effect.

I stalled it momentary and it's back to normal speed.

Looks like I'd best go shopping for a better PSU...
 

eluminator

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If the PSU is cool, and the fan is thermally controlled, it should be running slowly. It might be a good time to change it though.

Some PWM controlled fans develop a strange noise when they are turning slowly. I think it's sometimes referred to as a growl, but it can be more like a screech.

My old HP Pentium 3 used to snore when it was on standby. Its the only machine I've ever seen where both the case/CPU fan and the power supply fan would shut off when on standby.
About every 30 minutes the PS fan would slowly turn on for a few seconds, blow out some hot air, and shut off.

After a year, the fan would make a strange screeching sound for a couple of seconds as it was starting to turn, then the fan would make a whooshing sound for a few seconds as it blew out some air, and then it would shut off. I wish I had recorded the sound. It really sounded like it was snoring.
 

PlayboyJoeShmoe

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I SINCERLY doubt that this PSU is anything more than about the cheapest thing the guy that rebuilt our 'puter could find.

Afterall it has a Microstar all in one Mobo with NO extra cards of ANY sort, A no name generic case with no front USB etc.

And the CDRW drive he put in a couple months before that won't reliably record a CD at more than 12x now.
 

Sub_Umbra

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A smart mobo that can control your CPU fan at a hardware level can help.

A smart PSU, with a hardwired fan control like those from PC P&C will help.

I built an Antec file server case into a 'positive air pressure' case with about three times the airflow needed. A RHEOBUS fan controler lets me fine tune the big Panaflos (again, at a hardware level) to right around half-speed for very quiet operation.

I use only the standard Panaflow fans as opposed to the 'low noise' type. the Rheobus unit does all of the heavy lifting with the case fans to produce a quiet system. While the Rheobus will control most fans, it is optimised for Panaflos -- which are probably the best case fans made.
 

Sub_Umbra

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[ QUOTE ]
fluorescent said:
Just found something to add to my x-mas list...
a silent power supply...
http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=24350

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not ready for a fanless supply yet. I calculated what I needed in a PSU and then scaled it UP to a PC P&C Silencer PSU that was so over-rated that my system's peak demand will never be enough to kick the smart fan into the high (noisey) mode. It never has to draw a deep breath.

James_S -- Great link!
 

koala

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I run my Intel P4 Prescott 2.8E at 1.8Ghz. The voltage to the CPU is 1.125v instead of 1.4v. That brings down a total of 19c(~67F). The current room temperature is 27c(~80F) and the CPU temp is at 43c(~110F) max. At these levels the stock Intel fan run quietly at 1739rpm minimum setting. All I can hear is the power supply fan and LCD monitor humming.

I know this is massive underclock, undervoltage might not suit some gamers and heavy cpu users but for creating word docs, email, surfing you can have a perfectly quiet machine if you can 'select' your cpu power.
 

yuandrew

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For a quiet fan, the Panasonic Panaflos are the best. I have a high speed model (39CFM H1A) though and it is a bit loud compared to the low speed model (24CFM L1A) but when compared to a fan with a similar CFM rating by a different manufacturer (Sunon) it is way quieter.
A medium speed model(32CFM M1A)is also avaliable and may be just the fan you need in your case.

One thing I can also note is that cases can amplify the sound produced by the fans. When I run my Panaflo removed from the case, all I can hear is the air being blown by the fan. Put the fan back into the case however, and you can here a whirring sound from the motor. Mounting the fan with silicone washers between the case frame and fan helped reduce the noise somewhat. The only other noise source was when the fan blew air but a simple foam filter solved that (and helped reduce the dust inside the case).

If you do install a filter on the fans, be sure to clean or replace it every few months (more frequently if you run the computer continously). Otherwise, your computer may overheat when the filter becomes clogged with dust.

Putting the fan on a rehostat or some other speed control is also good but why do it manually ? I'd prefer something like this:
Pyramid Fan Controller
 
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