PC Noise

[vinnyb]

Hi All,

I know PC noise has been covered here and all over the net in great detail but not my particular question so here goes:

I have a Dell Dimension 8200 tower and it sits inside the bottom of a desk enclosure. You know...open the door and there's your pc on a shelf.

After hours of research, cleaning cpu and video card fans, then replacing cpu fan, replacing video card with non fan card, buying and returning Silencer 500 power supply [didn't make a difference], I've come to this conclusion. The "noise" is emanating from the brand new [which I didn't need] big green shrouded DELL CPU fan...I think. Here's the thing...when I open the door and place the PC on the carpet, the pc seems to quiet down. At first, I thought it was the carpet, but then when I placed it back on the shelf, the pc was still quiet. Then I closed the door....quiet. Now it's about two hours later and the "noise" [whirring] has increased.

My main question is, do the fans [whether p/s fan or CPU fan] increase/decrease as temperature increases? That's what seems like is happening. If they don't change speeds, then I'm just batty.

My PC sits about 3 inches from the wall and has about the same amount of space around it within the enclosure.

If the fans do change speeds with temperature, then I'm open to any suggestions. Open the door, pull the desk away, that foam padding [but that seems like it would make it even hotter in there].

Thanks for the help!

Craig

 

[fpsdominator]

Most CPU fans increase the RPMS as the temps rise, and some case fans have temp sensors and increase the RPMs as the temps get hotter too.
So since you have your computer in an enclosed cabinet with no ventilation, the ambient temps for your computer are gonna skyrocket. therefore the CPU and other components are gonna get hot also, so your fans speed up to compensate.

Whats the size of the CPU fan and Case Fans?

There are a couple of things you can do without upgrading fans:

1: Take the computer out of the cabinet and set on floor or just leave door of cabinet open

or

2: Buy a fan controller

 

[vinnyb]

Wow...fast reply!!! Thanks Dominator.

Not sure how to get the size of the fans. The only fan I see is the standard Dell fan with the big green shroud that angles down to the CPU. The only other fan I know of is the one encased in the power supply. Is there another one I'm not seeing? I'll get you whatever info you need if you tell me where to look.

Thanks for the answer about the fan speed increasing.. At least now I know what and why it's happening. The past few days has been a nightmare of opening/closing, removing/replacing, starting/shutting down...all for naught. I probably need a new pc now This thing has two new huge hard drives and was reinstalled with XP Pro and I only use one trading application on it so it flies and I really don't want to give it up.

Right now, the door is open and that's probably what I'm going to do. Keep it open while pc is on.

But...curious, what would a fan controller do? Would I use it to slow down the speed of the fan? If so, isn't that bad?

Thanks again,
Craig

 

[redkachina]

"Whirring" noise? does it sounds mechanical rubbing or just airflow noise?
I had some problems with noise too with my previous build as I'm using a lots of 80mm fans, so I replaced it with 120mm ones and now its running quietly. I think your std CPU fan for dell dimension-should be around 70-80mm ones with green airduct/shroud..based on some images I saw on Google. Fan controller, is just and adjustable resistor-you connect it to the fan so that you can control the speeds manually. How many fans are you using right now?

 

[Duesouth]

hold on a seconds. let see if you can fit your body and close the door. try to breath in the small enclosed. removed the back panel to your desk. I take it you got a computer desk that the tower fits in the bottom right of it. remove the panel or cut a whole the same size of your case in it and remove the front door to get some airflow.

it needs to breath and exhale the air that it take in. otherwise all it is doing is taking air in, cramming it into a small space. creating a lot of heat and then that heat just goes through the roof. warm hot and burning. temperature. anyways do not just use the small air duct that most computer desk come with. remove the back panel or just leave the pc on the floor. this should reduced a lot of fan noise but you will feel the heat. cpu, power supply, video card have heat sink and fans for cooling.


later

 

[uh_no]

don't buy dell

 

[vinnyb]

Hi Redkachina,

It's all airflow but I think it's being magnified through the case. When I press against the back of the case [on the outside of the main fan cage] the whirring changes. It's almost like if I could dampen or cushion the way that shroud is attached to the case, it might deaden the sound. It's not terribly loud but the difference between my laptop and my PC is like your car A/C on low versus setting it to windshield defrost. It does get annoying after awhile. I know that the newer systems are much quieter but I don't know if it's the new case, fans or both. I bought my Dad a new Dell and you can't even tell it's running.

Keeping the door to my desk open didn't work. After a few more hours the fan was really flying. I guess heat is really building up in there.

I think it's 92 mm? I read about getting a replacement [for example, Zalman], but then I'd get boot errors?

I just have that one fan with the shroud.

Could I just get a larger fan and mount it in there without the shroud? Is the point just to suck air out?

Where did you put the120mm? Is that something I could do with this box?

The thing I'm not getting about the controller is: it sounds like if it gets too loud, I'd slow the fan down. But then isn't it NOT going to be venting properly if I do that?

I do need to do something because it really is like trying to work with a car defroster on right under me.

Sorry for all the dumb questions. I can replace parts but that's about it

Thanks...C

 

[vinnyb]

hold on a seconds. let see if you can fit your body and close the door. try to breath in the small enclosed. removed the back panel to your desk. I take it you got a computer desk that the tower fits in the bottom right of it. remove the panel or cut a whole the same size of your case in it and remove the front door to get some airflow.

it needs to breath and exhale the air that it take in. otherwise all it is doing is taking air in, cramming it into a small space. creating a lot of heat and then that heat just goes through the roof. warm hot and burning. temperature. anyways do not just use the small air duct that most computer desk come with. remove the back panel or just leave the pc on the floor. this should reduced a lot of fan noise but you will feel the heat. cpu, power supply, video card have heat sink and fans for cooling.


later

Thanks for the input. I couldn't fit in there but I stuck both my cats in and they said you were on to something. They were very warm and definitely whirring. It IS one of those desks but the back panel is completely removed. I think I may have to just remove the PC completely and stick on the floor next to the desk.

Thanks South...C

 

[vinnyb]

don't buy dell

Too late.

 

[redkachina]

If only you could provide some pictures then it'll be easier to find out what is the suitable replacement fan.. is it BTX or ATX? there's many configuration with dell.. I did it the hard way by using dremel, I cut out the exhaust holes so that I could fit in my 120mm fan..

 

[geofelt]

A picture would be worth a thousand words here.

I would not keep a PC in an enclosed cabinet, you are just asking for trouble.

Can you put it on top of the desk, or alongside?

Can you remove the front cabinet door so air can flow through the case and out the back?

 

[vinnyb]

Hi All,

Was going to post some pix today but I wanted to try something first. On Sunday, I pulled the desk away from the wall a few more inches and left the front door open. PC's been running 1 1/2 days and I can't even hear it. I think it was a combination of heat buildup but also the fact that, if the fan did increase in speed, it was being amplified againt the wall. Was only about 3 inches...now about 6 inches from wall.

Will be back with pix if it worsens.

Thanks all for the education.

Best,
V.