PC Fans

[o_i_like_me...shut_up]

I have a not great computer but a nice one:

Geforce 5700 FX oc
768 mb pc3200 DDR ram
etc.

But my computer has like 6 fans in it (1 for oc graphics card,1 for cooling computer, and 4 other ones that might serve some perpose that i dont know about but look like they are jsut there)and my comp. sounds like a 747 taking off.

I was wondering if u could tell me how to make it sound a little quieter (ex. clean the fans or something), but its so annoying to listen to it while trying to play video games at the same time.

[o_pizzahut]

I don't have any experience with low noise / no noise PCs whatsoever, but here's what I gathered anyway:

6 fans is a bit overkill, use that many only if you're overclocking something (CPU, GFX card). Usually you need about three minimum. CPU, GFX card and PSU. So the first step is to turn off three of the six fans.

Next, to make them quieter, you need some sort of regulation. E.g. use fans with built-in temperature sensor and built-in electronics that would slow the fan down if the temperature is low. There are other ways though, the mainboard might be able to query CPU and air temperature to slow down the CPU fan if needed, if the BIOS supports it.

For the harddisk you probably need a special case which uncouples the harddisk from the PC case.

Then, there are heat sinks with heat pipes which can help with cooling, so that a regulated fan can run at a lower speed.

And insulating mats to reduce the noise as a whole.

Also recently there's a desktop mainboard which can run the Pentium M. The Pentium M is an efficient CPU when it comes to power consumption. Less power consumption means lower temperature, so again the fan can slow down a bit, if it's a regulated one. Other than the Pentium M, I think AMD's Athlon CPUs have a so called "cool'n'quiet" technology. If the mainboard supports it, the CPU consumes less power if idle.

You should go read an article about no noise PCs some time, quite impressive stuff. Basically these are using gigantic heat sinks, e.g. a whole side of a PC case just being a heat sink. And no fans at all. Passive cooled PSU, CPU, GFX card, and *still* running fast CPUs and GPUs.

You may carry on now "cleaning the fans".

[o_|404|innoc-tpf-]

First of all you need to determine how much you're willing to spend. If you're only going to spend a small amount look at the fans you're using. Standard fans are not typically low noise. For example, compare a commonly used 36 cfm SUNON fan with a 32 cfm panaflow. The difference in the bearings, number of vanes in the fan and other design factors make all the difference. The Sunon produces 36 db of noise as opposed to 21 db for the Panaflo. The net difference in cooling load is minimal but you get noise relief.

Simply replacing your fans can yield good results. Also, changing to a different heat sink for your CPU and GPU will help too. In the case of the CPU going to a high efficiency fan that will allow mounting a larger than standard fan will help. The larger fan does not have to turn as fast or generate nears as much noise to generate the same cooling load. Just food for thought. You can also look at liquid cooling systems if you have money to spend.

Edit: One final note...case design makes a big difference in cooling ability and noise as well. Intelligent, well thought out pathing helps alot!

[o_binarylife]

If you want quiet go with liquid cooling. Very quiet..very cool.
http://<br /> <a href="http://www.t...ling/6ea8/</a>

[o_voipme]

Originally Posted by |404|Innoc-TPF-

First of all you need to determine how much you're willing to spend. If you're only going to spend a small amount look at the fans you're using. Standard fans are not typically low noise. For example, compare a commonly used 36 cfm SUNON fan with a 32 cfm panaflow. The difference in the bearings, number of vanes in the fan and other design factors make all the difference. The Sunon produces 36 db of noise as opposed to 21 db for the Panaflo. The net difference in cooling load is minimal but you get noise relief.

Did you google computer fans, or do you just know random stuff about fans?

[Defrag]

Do not question the Noc!

Anyway, you could probably remove a few fans (most PCs will happily run with only one intake and one exhaust fan [plus the PSU fan, but that's a given]) and it'll be fine. Just make sure your intake fans are at the bottom of the case, and the exhaust fans are at the top(ish) as obviously hot air rises. I had a Tbird 1 gig and an athlon 1600 XP running with one intake fan only.. for well over three years total. No problems reported. Obviously if things get a little toasty it may not be a good idea to go that low, but I'm sure you could get away with only using a couple of fans unless you have a lot of HDDs or a really hot CPU.

[o_|404|innoc-tpf-]

Originally Posted by voipme

Did you google computer fans, or do you just know random stuff about fans?

One of many things I do for a living is build systems. Among the systems I have built I count 5 County E-911 Dispatch Centers for which I built the servers and workstations. Some of the considerations in building such machines are the ability to perform flawlessly under a variety of conditions and noise is also a consideration as well. I have, over the years, worked with a variety of configurations. No, I did not Google for this. This comes from experience.

Fraggles is right too.

[Lost]

I like fans.

[o_dirkpitt]

Me three.

[o_tadknowsbest]

I think the best thing you could do is to get one of those huge 133 mm fans (is it 133? or is it 120?) for the back panel of your computer. I have one of those and a whisper fan for my side door (it feeds directly to my heat sink fan). Because of the 120 mm fan, my heatsink fan is rarely used at its full speed. This, I think, is what will keep a computer quiet. Those heatsink fans are the loudest, but a gigantic 120mm (or whatever) fan is actually pretty quiet. Let THAT fan do all the work.

[o_|404|innoc-tpf-]

Originally Posted by TadKnowsBest

I think the best thing you could do is to get one of those huge 133 mm fans (is it 133? or is it 120?) for the back panel of your computer. I have one of those and a whisper fan for my side door (it feeds directly to my heat sink fan). Because of the 120 mm fan, my heatsink fan is rarely used at its full speed. This, I think, is what will keep a computer quiet. Those heatsink fans are the loudest, but a gigantic 120mm (or whatever) fan is actually pretty quiet. Let THAT fan do all the work.

I think you're assuming that the chassis in question has mounting points for such a fan or would allow easy aftermarket modification to mount such a fan. Or were you running cooling lines out to the Cement Pond there Jethro?

I agree though...120mm fans give you better air volume at a lower noise level.

The reality is though that the next gen chassis's are moving everything around to change the thermal dynamics and movement within the chassis. Fans are, first and foremost, the single biggest source of noise within a chassis.

You know...in the long run...it might be cheaper to buy a new chassis with a 120 mm fan mounted in the back. Antec makes such a beast and it's pretty nice and quiet.

[o_osiris]

"Lost" is a lamer

PS: EoE is a crappy clan

[o_oinker]

Vantec stealth fans on newegg.com = pwn you cannot hear them at all

if you have an intel get teh spark7 and remove the fann grill and use some washers to screw downt he fan with instead.. then you have a cpu fan that auto sences when to speed up.. it's max speed is 6800rpm's and it's dead quiet also

as for vga ummm your on your own.. my vga card is the loudest fan in ym case...