How to make my PC quieter?

Mrsrs · Feb 18, 2015

Hi all, I recently bought a new PC about a month ago. It was really quiet so I bought new case fans and CPU cooler instead of the stock cooler since I heard from others that it is really loud. Well that did not make it any better at all. Even when not doing anything with the computer it is insanely loud, so much that I need to turn it off completely to be able to sleep. These are the specs:

i7 4790K @4.7GHz

CoolerMaster Hyper 612 Ver 2

Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 3

16GB Corsair Vengeance LP

480GB Intel SSD

3TB Seagate Barracuda

Gigabyte GTX 980 G1 Gaming

Phanteks Enthoo Pro

EVGA SuperNova NEX 750B PSU

Windows 8.1 (it shouldn't make a difference though

)

Noctua case fans (which are rated to be really quiet.

Would be a great deal if someone could help me make it quieter. Thanks

VincentP · Feb 18, 2015

Open up the case and try to pick where the noise is coming from.
My guess is the CPU fan. Since you have over clocked it the CPU is running at full speed whether it needs to or not and hence there is a lot of heat to disperse.

Mrsrs · Feb 18, 2015

Alright so I checked that and the CPU fan is barely making any noise at all. I even tried with a dB meter like 1mm away from that specific fan and nothing there. Although the front 200mm fan is making a lot of noise, could it be because of the harddrive cages being not removed?

VincentP · Feb 18, 2015

Mrsrs :

If the front case fan is too noisy, try slowing its speed. Does the case have a fan speed controller for this fan?

Mrsrs · Feb 18, 2015

No there is no fan controller at all. I have no control over any fan at all

I tried speedfan and it did nothing for me, is there any other way?

Tom Waller · Feb 18, 2015

Mrsrs :

Use a kitchen roll and direct it at certain components to see if thats the issue. It does sound strange but it does work and it has helped me in the past. Also what noise are you getting? A whirling, buzz, click??

Mrsrs · Feb 18, 2015

Tom Waller, kitchen roll? What do you mean?

As for the sound, it is just like a table-fan blowing on something.

VincentP · Feb 18, 2015

Mrsrs :

Speedfan can only work if you have a PWM fan on a motherboard fan header.
I'm guessing your case fan is plugged into a molex connector from the power supply.
If there is no speed switch on the case, you will need some other fan controller to slow it down.
You can prove this is the issue by starting the computer without this fan connected, but don't leave it running that way.

Mrsrs · Feb 18, 2015

Okay. The fans are connected to a fan hub on the back of the case where all the wiring is. And that fan hub is (I think) connected to the motherboard. I dont remember plugging it into the PSU.

VincentP · Feb 18, 2015

Mrsrs :

Fan hub will be connected to the power supply by one of those large 4 pin connectors.
I assume the fans are then connected by 3-pin fan plugs.
You could use something like this to control a single fan:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4SR1R81634&cm_re=fan_controller-_-0X6-00GK-003Z0-_-Product

synphul · Feb 18, 2015

Fans can cause two types of noise. Motor or hub/bearing noise (mechanical) or air noise when the air blows against objects. It could be caused by the hard drive cages. Some people have had luck with the included fan hub on the enthoo pro, others haven't. You can try a pci slot fan controller for a single fan or one that controls multiple fans and fits in a 5.25" bay. That fan hub connects one of two ways, either gets the pwm signal from the motherboard and powers the fans connected to it from the motherboard's cpu fan header (cpu fan then plugs into the fan hub) or you can power the fan hub using a sata power cable which will make all attached fans run at full speed regardless if it's plugged into the mobo or not. I think you can remove the upper set of drive bays on that case which may help with the noise of air blowing through it.

I wouldn't worry about your cpu being overclocked causing the cpu fan to run hard unless it spins up a bit faster during gaming or something intensive. That cpu has intel speedstep which allows it to reduce the clock multiplier when it's not working hard, so it's no different than running it stock. Oc'ing it doesn't make it 4.7ghz all the time. Even if it did, idling is idling whether it does so at 4.7ghz or underclocked at 2.7ghz. Overclocking doesn't somehow automatically load your cpu all the time.

Mrsrs · Feb 18, 2015

Yes the fans are connected with 3-pin fan plugs indeed. I will try with one of those which you linked and get back to you, thanks

Mrsrs · Feb 18, 2015

I tried removing all the HDD cages and the noise is completely gone, thank so much synphul!

Thank you to all you others too!

VincentP · Feb 18, 2015

synphul :

If you leave power saving features like speed step enabled when over clocking then it will scale back power usage when there is less work to do. Generally though it is recommended to disable these features meaning the CPU will run at 4.7 GHz whether there is work for the CPU or not. The only "idle" in a CPU are these power saving features. The CPU is using power and generating heat with every cycle whether that cycle does something productive or not.

synphul · Feb 18, 2015

Glad you got it sorted out. I'll definitely be keeping an ear out for odd sounds, I'll be in the same boat as you shortly. Got the enthoo pro, waiting on ups to get the replacement side panel here. Need to get a couple quiet top fans ordered and some lighting and other odds and ends for it. If my 200mm front intake starts getting noisy I'll be sure to check the drive bays first. I'm also looking at noctua for case fans, at least for the top.

The included 140sp seems quiet enough as rear exhaust but when I flipped it horizontal (blowing up like I planned to use it as top exhaust) it got a real noticeable vibration/humming sound. Luckily I found out before ordering fans since I planned to order 2 more like the rear exhaust for the top so they'd match. Something to keep in mind, I don't know if it's a general issue with the phanteks fans or just mine. They seem quiet as front intake, top intake or rear exhaust.

synphul · Feb 18, 2015

Vincent, true a cpu uses some power, but it's pretty evident far less when it's ramped down and idling than when it's under load. Otherwise my temps wouldn't fluctuate 40-50c between idle and load. I don't know why speedstep would be recommended to be disabled when overclocking, my oc is perfectly stable with it enabled. I've heard of issues with some amd chips where the power saving features get 'laggy' switching back and forth between periods of lower and higher load during gaming, but I've never come across this. I don't run power savings like sleep/hibernate in win7 and have c6/c7 disabled in the bios, but left speedstep enabled. Seems to work great.

As far as higher temps from overclocking, I don't see them at idle using speedstep. My cpu idles at the same temps at stock as it does oc'd to 4.6ghz. Since I don't need the full oc all the time unless the cpu's under heavy use, no reason to force it to stay at 4.6 constantly.

VincentP · Feb 18, 2015

synphul :

You have speed step enabled, so your CPU can step down power usage. This means lower power usage and lower temperatures when the CPU is not fully loaded.
Every tutorial I have seen on over clocking recommends to disable speed step, and this is my concern with it rather than the maximum clocks reached on the rare occasion when the CPU is fully loaded.
Edit: The first tutorial I just found now does not mention disabling these power management settings like speed step. Maybe this isn't a requirement any more. Something to consider for my next PC since this is what has kept me from over clocking in the past.

Mrsrs · Feb 18, 2015

The fans that were included in the case are not that quiet, but it was my first thought that popped into my head so you will be fine with them if you dont WANT the noctua fans which in that case knock yourself out they are great fans. But yea you will definitely want to remove the HDD cages to make the case more quiet. And once again, thanks for the help!

EDIT: I meant to say not that loud haha.

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