Best ways to silence/quiet a cpu/desktop if you can't move it to another room?

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bizowner1

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Up front: I can't move it to another room (in use by others & no permission).

The CPU/desktop pc seems to be quieter with the case OPENED (the cpu fan draws air thru an opening in the case which I think creates a lot of noise).

Right now I cant afford another cpu fan so I'm wondering if it's OK to just leave the case OPEN all the time - or if dust accumulation will become a problem (I run true hepa filters in the room).

It is an MSI G41M P33 motherboard but I cannot seem to get the bios settings right to slow the fan down - it always seems to run no matter the settings. I downloaded Speedfan but now see that this mb is not listed as supported?

Should I try another app to control the fan? Or will speedfan do the trick (and do I need to change BIOS settings in order for speedfan to do it's magic.)

Thanks for any advice. I esp. want to learn more about speedfan/related options.

 
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MauveCloud

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Dust accummulation can probably be dealt with by vacuuming occassionally (I suggest using a brush attachment, with the PC off), but what case do you have? I've seen a few cases that have a duct that's supposed to guide air from outside directly to the cpu fan, but if the motherboard positioning of the cpu socket doesn't line up, that could cause noise, and you could remedy it by removing the duct.
 
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bizowner1

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Thanks, MauveCloud. I didn't think about removing the duct! I'll give that a try. Now to figure out speedfan and fan speed control (cpu is not run hard or getting hot at all).
 
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MauveCloud

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Don't be so sure about that. CPUs can get surprisingly hot even at idle, especially if you're only using the stock cooler. Also, check how the cpu fan is connected. IIRC, it has to have a small 4-pin connector to the motherboard to be able to control the speed via software (or even BIOS). If there's only three wires, I think that means it can monitor the speed but not control it. Two wires wouldn't even allow monitoring the speed.
 
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bizowner1

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Yep, it's a four pin cpu fan header & I have speedfan installed which is now typically reporting a cpu temp of 32/32/29/29 for the cores. BUT I dont know if I need to do something with BIOS settings before speedfan can control the fan & quiet it a little when I need it. I record audio voiceovers and the fan is just waaaay too loud.
 
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MauveCloud

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I looked up the online manual for that motherboard, and unfortunately, it doesn't have a complete listing of all the BIOS setup options. My first guess would be that there's something in the "H/W Monitor" menu to enable software fan control (or at least set the default fan speed, possibly the board doesn't allow controlling the fan via software that runs in Windows).

What cpu cooler do you have anyway? I don't believe that a stock cooler for an LGA775 cpu could keep it that cool at idle - my cpu temps are higher than that at idle, even though I've currently got a Hyper 212 EVO in a Silverstone Raven 3 case and I'm not overclocking. Also, are you certain it's the cpu fan that's too loud?
 
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bizowner1

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Actually, I think part of the noise I hear is from the PS now that you mention it. It is what came with the case which is an Ark Technology PN01 mATX Mini-Tower PC Case with 400W PSU. I'm thinking of getting new PSU: www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151097

But don't know if it will fit/have clearance at top of my Ark Tech case. How would I know prior to buying?
 
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bizowner1

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The current PSU is about 6 inches away from the optical drive, so that's not an issue. However, the existing PSU is right up against (beneath) the top of the metal CPU case. Will that not be a problem for the replacement fanless PSU which may need some clearance for heat dissipation?
 
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MauveCloud

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6 inches? That would indicate either the case is at least 17 inches deep (5.5 for the psu, 6 inches clearance, at least 5.5 for the optical drive), or it's using the ATX PS/3 form factor (100mm/3.9in depth) instead of PS/2. If it's the latter, the new power supply would reduce the clearance to about 2.4 inches, which is a bit tight but perhaps not impossible to work with.

I think a fanless psu would rely on existing case airflow, so as long as you don't orient it with the holes blocked by the top of the case, you should be okay. It looks like that case only supports mounting the psu one way, which won't block the holes.
 
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MauveCloud

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You might want to measure your case yourself, because Ark's website says it's only 390mm deep, which is about 15.35 inches:
http://www.arktechinc.com/pn/pn01.htm
Also, I can't find pictures of that case with the psu installed or the dimensions of the psu, so I suggest you measure the depth of your current psu. Regardless of the correct depth of the entire case, comparing the depth of the current psu to that of the psu you're planning to get will tell you how much your clearance will shrink by.
 
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MauveCloud

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None of those are really standardized to be able to answer your question, but if a fan wears out, it may start making a lot more noise than normal. Other than that, smaller fans or fans that have to deal with more heat (such as cpu and gpu fans, especially if the cpu fan is from the stock cooler) tend to need to spin faster and thereby produce more noise.
 
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bizowner1

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It was a fairly quiet desktop pc prior to a recent trip to the shop where the mb & ram were replaced with new components due to a mb failure. The power cabling from the original HP power supply would not reach the connections on the new mb - so the case was then also replaced by the shop. Now I've got lots of noise from the new case PSU & case fan (the cpu & fan were kept & reused so I'm not sure how much of the new noise is from the cpu fan). I'm thinking that replacing the PSU with the fanless PSU, and replacing the case fan with a very quiet fan will hopefully make a big difference. For some reason, my cpu fan is always on at 1581+ rpm now, and I don't see any way to regulate it via BIOS settings.
 
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MauveCloud

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They're on top as displayed at NewEgg. Don't let that fool you, because most cases that have the psu mount at the top have mounting holes that allow you (or even force you) to mount it upside down compared to those pictures, so that the vents are downward. It's hard to tell for sure from the pictures available, but I think your Ark CS-PA01 is the kind that forces you to mount it so that the vents will be downward. Compare the mounting holes at the back of your case with the mounting holes shown for that power supply to see what I mean.
 
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bizowner1

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Thanks for the tip. I will def check that out!
 
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