COOL & QUIET PC GUIDE

[Steve]

I'm a bit of a novice at this stuff, so if anyone with some knowledge wants to add to this guide, either PM me or post in the thread and I'll edit it.

 

Personally, I hate noisy computers. My friend's machine sounds like a jet engine taking off. If yours is the same, there are some steps you can take to quieten it down. Quite often just replacing cheap, noisy fans can make a lot of difference in terms of noise, so even if you're a total n00b and you don't want to risk messing with the cooler and/or PSU, swapping out fans is something that you'll be able to do easily and cheaply.

 

1. Replacing the case fans.

 

Most of the noise that comes from your PC can be attributed to fans. Swapping fans for quieter ones is a quick and cheap way to reduce noise. There are two ratings to consider when looking at replacing case fans, dB(A) and CFM - essentially noise and airflow. There will always be some trade off as you can't have a "silent" fan with a super high CFM rating, so a compromise is what's needed. Don't assume that a bigger fan is going to be a lot noisier too, as the bigger the fan, the slower it needs to spin to push the same amount of air.

 

Personally, I favour Nexus fans: -

 

http://www.nexustek.nl/NXS-silentcasefans.htm

 

You can pick them up for about £2-£6 each depending on size. They come with silicone fan mounts which allow you to fix the fans to the case without using screws, which cuts down on any vibration.

 

 

2. Replacing the cooler/cooler fan.

 

Most pre-built computers will come with a stock CPU cooler. Depending on the design, you may be able to swap out the fan for a quick and easy reduction in noise, but it's probably a good idea to swap the entire cooler for something that's going to cool your CPU a bit better.

 

To fit a new cooler, you will need: -

 

a. The cooler itself!

b. Some ArctiClean or similar for removing any leftover thermal grease from your CPU.

c. Thermal grease, such as Arctic Silver 5.

 

I won't go into too much detail about which coolers to buy, as there are lots of different ones depending on your motherboard/CPU and how much you want to spend (£10-£40 usually for air coolers). Fitting the cooler is quite easy. Remove the old cooler and clean off any excess thermal grease with ArctiClean and a lint free cloth. If necessary, clean the base of the new cooler too, as any impurities, flakes of dust etc. can reduce the effectiveness. Apply the correct amount of thermal grease in the correct fashion (for Arctic Silver 5, instructions can be found HERE), and then fit your new cooler. Instructions will come with the cooler anyway, so you'll be able to figure it out.

 

 

3. Replacing the PSU.

 

It is possible to replace the fan in a PSU, but it can be extremely dangerous to open up a power supply, so I'm not going to recommend it. They can hold charge for a good while after being unplugged, so you risk electrocution by poking around inside one. It's definitely not for the novice. A better idea is simply to buy a quality PSU. Again, I won't go into too much detail about which to buy as this guide is designed to give you ideas on how to make your PC run quieter, rather than to tell you the exact components to buy. You can start a thread about it if you need advice.

 

Fitting a new PSU can be a little daunting if you've never done it before, but it's really not that difficult. The PSU is held in by 4 screws which you undo at the rear of the case. Before removing it, you will need to unplug all of the cables that connect the PSU to the motherboard and other components. It's a good idea to make a note of where all of the plugs go, and look at the connections on your new PSU so you can get a picture in your mind of where all of the leads will connect once it's fitted.

 

 

4. Tidying up the cabling.

 

If your PC looks like a mass of spaghetti when you take the side of the case off, you will almost certainly benefit from tidying it up, not just for aesthetic reasons, but also because tidy wiring can help to ensure good airflow through the case which helps to keeps components cool. You can use cable tidies, self-adhesive cable clips that allow you to clip cables around the edge of the case, and cable braid/sleeving to tidy things up.

 

 

5. General note/warning.

 

It goes without saying that you should disconnect your PC from the mains when working on it! Also, static electricity that builds up naturally in your body can damage components, so it's a good idea take a few simple steps to prevent that happening. There's a little guide HERE on how to prevent damage from static.

[Dub-Se7en]

nice one

 

my pc is fairly quiet, i have installed high CFM fans then throttled them using an Akasa fan controller meaning if the unit if running hot i can bring the fan speed up to cool but most of the time can run them quiet.

 

other things that will help are things like installing rubber dampers or gromets to the screws of the hard drives. my pc runs 6 drives and they caused the case to 'drum' and vibrate a lot. after fitting the gromets the noise has almost completely cleared up. the same applies if you run your system on a hard surface like a desk or worktop. changing the plastic feet of the case for rubber or similar will also reduce vibration related noise.

 

on some systems you can quieten the fans down by enabling Qfan/cool n quiet or similar in the bios, this will set a target temp for the CPU and adjust the fans accordingly.

 

finally, simply keeping your system clean will help. for example, graphic card fans or as mentioned above cpu fans sometimes operate according to temperature. if the core temp rises due to dust blocking the heatsink, then so will the fan speed in an attempt to keep cool.

[flowerpot]

Yo<br /><br />Zalman CPU fans are real quiet, and mostly come with fan speed adjuster, so you can make it even quieter. Running on the lowest fan speed shouldn't cause more that 3-5C rise in an average case. <br /><br />Use a credit card shaped object to apply the Arctic Silver or AS Ceramic to the CPU surface, an old business card should work. Not more than a rice grain and a half size of thermal paste is needed, spread evenly.<br /><br />Fans can be 7 or 5 volt modded to run slower resulting in a quieter ride, here is a random guide:<br /><a href="http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=372297" target="_blank">http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=372297</a><br /><br />Often, you can safely remove one of the fans from your box, don't remove the CPU fan. Monitor the CPU and case temps for the next 24 hours to see the temp effects, and adjust as needed.<br /><br />Cool guide.