How can I make my computer quieter?

[JJ2012]

First let me apologize if this is in the wrong Forum!

I have a computer which is 3 years old and works well for what I need it for. The only thing I would like to do is try and make it quieter. Below is the computer spec:

CPU: Intel® Core 2 Quad Q9550

CPU Cooler: Coolermaster Hyper TX2

Motherboard: Asus P5Q Pro (Intel P45 chipset, Crossfire)

Memory: 8.0GB Corsair DDR2 800mhz XMS2 (4x 2GB)

Hard Drives: 1TB S-ATAII 3.0Gb/s

2nd hard drive: 500GB S-ATAII 3.0Gb/s

Optical Drive: 22x DVD±RW DL S-ATA Lightscribe

Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 896MB

Sound card: Onboard 7.1 Audio

Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 64

PSU: 700W EZCool Tornado

Case: Antec Three Hundred


Please could someone let me know the best way to make this system quieter with the least changing of components as I am not a computer geek (yet - hoping to learn)! I am not afraid to give it a try so any recommendations would be grateful.

Thanks.

 

[Barney785]

should try watercooling solution?

 

[kcsmacker]

What is making your Computer run loud? It could be case fans, CPU fans, power supply fan,GPU, etc. If you can give us the source of the noise we can suggest new products. I know Scythe offers silent fans and HS coolers.

 

[JJ2012]

It sounds like the fans they just seem much louder than a previous computer

 

[noob2222]

simplest solution is to control the fans. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998089

 

[JJ2012]

Could I just disconnect a fan or two as there seems to be three fans running, one at the top of the case one at the back and one attached to the power source

 

[noob2222]

The less air flow through the case, the harder the cpu and gpu fan have to work, may actually make it worse, but won't hurt to try

 

[geofelt]

Noise is caused primarily by high rpm fans.

You can reduce fan speeds by switches which will come with some of the Antec fans.

The motherboard bios will have some capability to reduce the fan speed of your cpu cooler fan.

There is software that can alter the fan profile of your graphics card.

All of this fan speed reduction will reduce noise, but be at the expense of higher temperatures.

Do some research at www.silentpcreview.com which specializes on quiet computing.

Be forewarned, the quest for quiet is never ending, and you will become more critical as you start to accomplish your initial goals.

 

[zdbc13]

Your BIOS may have an automatic fan control. Just turn it on. Also your nVidia control panel will have fan speed settings. Make sure the temperatures stay safe...

 

[Stoddo2k9]

I think a good idea is to open up your case and look at everything running while in the BIOS screen. Noise is cumulative but sometimes one component is causing more than its share. What you can do is gently stop each fan with your finger for a few moments and see how stopping that one fan affects the noise profile. Just be careful with the power supply fan when doing this.

If its just the CPU fan causing most of the noise then a replacement can easily be recommended. Same goes for power supply fan. Also, case fans are easy to find low noises and usually easy to replace. BTW, is this the stock fan for your CPU? Keep in mind graphics card generate a lot of heat when gaming so they are usually gonna get noisy then no matter what but it sounds like its ambient noise you want eliminated.

 

[JJ2012]

Your BIOS may have an automatic fan control. Just turn it on. Also your nVidia control panel will have fan speed settings. Make sure the temperatures stay safe...

How? I have no idea how to get into the BIOS let alone turn on fan control ! I am very much a novice - at the moment

 

[JJ2012]

Thank you for all your suggestions and replies. I have managed to find a little switch on the two case fans that controls the noise - never knew they were there. I will set them both to low and see how that sounds. I would still like to learn how to change the BIOS if it is possible so any easy to follow instructions would be appreciated.

Thanks again.

 

[truegenius]

for cpu, best way is to use 10-15% less vcore (10 will not cause stability issue), and to confirm stability use prime95 to check stability.

If you can change voltage of gpu too then use less voltage for gpu core.

These will reduce heat, fan speed, power consumption, and noise of system, this is known as undervolting.

 

[Stoddo2k9]

Thank you for all your suggestions and replies. I have managed to find a little switch on the two case fans that controls the noise - never knew they were there. I will set them both to low and see how that sounds. I would still like to learn how to change the BIOS if it is possible so any easy to follow instructions would be appreciated.

Thanks again.

To get into the BIOS check the screen when you first turn the computer on. It is probably DEL key or F2 key on the keyboard. Hopefully turning the switches to lower helps with the noise but you want to make sure you are not overheating.

 

[amuffin]

Switch to better fans, which will give better performance and be much quieter.

 

[HEXiT]

better fans is your only option water cooling can be just as or if not more noisy. due to fan noise and pump noise..

switching from ball bearings to sleaved fans will be the most cost effective way. also moving from 120 to 140mm (you can get a bracket if you only have 120mm mountings) low rpm fans will also reduce noise. but as with most things if you want good quality low noise fans you are gonna have to pay what may seem an excessive amount compared to stock antec fans...

try to get a balance between cfm and noise... the higher the cfm the better but no matter what fan you get if its a 75cfm 1800rpm fan its gonna be a bit loud...
2 good quality front intake fans will normally deliver 30-50cfm each at 19-25db @ 800-1200 rpm.
there is issues to consider though. in that quieter sleeve bearing fans have roughly half the lifespan of ball bearing fans... 2-5000 hours compared to 4-7000 for ball bearing but the noise reduction is significant...
also dont forget to balance your airflow with a slightly positive pressure as that case has filters that will be redundant if you have a negative pressure.

to do this calculate the front intake cfm then the outflow cfm (not forgetting to add the psu'd fan if its taking air from inside the case... ie it doesn't have a dedicated vent directly in front of the psu fan. try to get within 5 cfm, in to out ratio. even if this means you reduce your out fans speed and increase your intake fans speed.

you may also want to consider changing the psu's fan while your replacing the rest.
its important that you replace it with a like for like ie if its pwm or rpm and match the rpm range. but again try to replace it with a sleeve bearing.

for that antec case your likely to need 4-5 fans total which could set you back as much as £/$100 if you want the best you will have to pay im afraid. and if you want to go the whole hog and replace the gfx cooler as well that will add another 50...
end result is its always gonna be a trade off between cooling/ noise and cost.
the more you spent the better the end result is likely to be.

good luck.

 

[JJ2012]

Thank you something for me to look into I think!