Quiet PC cost overhead

[burbly]

I've been having some headaches with my PC recently and I was thinking of building a new one at some point. I was wondering if someone could tell me roughly how much more expensive silent/quiet PCs end up being? (30%? 50%?)

Thanks,
M.

 

[boiler1990]

It shouldn't cost that much extra. You can make your PC quieter several ways...

1) Buy a quality PSU that has about 20% more power than you need. You won't stress the PSU so it'll stay cooler.
2) Get an already quiet cooler (Hyper 212+ ($30) or even up to the good Noctuas (~$80)) or get a good cooler and put quieter fans in it
3) Get quieter fans for your entire case
4) Buy a GPU with a good non-reference cooler that won't create a ton of noise (product reviews are usually good indicators of this)

EDIT: If you want to order this list in terms of how much you'll notice each of these changes, I'd rank it 3 > 4 > 2 > 1

 

[burbly]

Thanks!!

 

[boiler1990]

I just remembered that there are some cases out there like the Antec P183 and I think the NZXT H2 that have sound-reducing foam inside the case. They're a bit pricier than other cases but are pretty well reviewed.

Sound-proofing foam for PCs can also be purchased if you prefer a different type of case, and cost-wise you'll probably end up paying about the same.

Edited for grammar

 

[molo9000]

That depends a lot on the cost of your PC, the performance levels you are looking for and what you consider silent. 20-30% sounds about right.

I guess the most important thing is buying a good case. Energy efficient parts are also a good idea. Most heat and noise in a gaming PC is produced by the graphics card, so it's a good idea to buy a more power efficient card and it's definitely worth buying a card with a non-standard cooler.

Fan control is also very important, something I neglected on my current system. A PC's heat output can double or triple when under load compared to when it's idle.

Putting a bit of thought into how air flows through your system also matters. I mounted my CPU cooler vertically and it vastly improved cooling performance throughout the entire system.

 

[hellfire24]

It shouldn't cost that much extra. You can make your PC quieter several ways...

1) Buy a quality PSU that has about 20% more power than you need. You won't stress the PSU so it'll stay cooler.
2) Get an already quiet cooler (Hyper 212+ ($30) or even up to the good Noctuas (~$80)) or get a good cooler and put quieter fans in it
3) Get quieter fans for your entire case
4) Buy a GPU with a good non-reference cooler that won't create a ton of noise (product reviews are usually good indicators of this)

EDIT: If you want to order this list in terms of how much you'll notice each of these changes, I'd rank it 3 > 4 > 2 > 1

+1.i prefer a single ower heatsink with two quiet fans in push/pull.prolimatech megahalems rev.b(i own it )is a good heatsink.it comes without fans so add quiet high performance fan or two low rpm quiet fans on it.this makes a very effective cooler.trust me it's a personal experience
BTW cougar fans are my recommendation.

 

[burbly]

Thanks, all!

>ower heatsink

Is ower a brand? Just tried googling it... ah wait, 'power heatsink'?

 

[hellfire24]

^oh! *** that was a typo mistake.i meant single tower cooler.

 

[burbly]

Thanks!

PS. boiler1990, it won't let me upvote your first reply -- but it was the most useful.

 

[burbly]

After reading what you've also, it's occurred to me that it might make sense to replace the fans in my current PC. Only thing is, I'm not sure if the CPU fan is easily removable from the heatsink. Don't suppose any of you could tell from this picture?

Thanks yet again!

 

[boiler1990]

From what I can deduce, replacing a stock fan is very difficult since it doesn't use a standard mount (as opposed to your rectangular 120x25mm fans). After all the effort and money you'd put into it, you'd be better off buying a $30 Hyper 212+.

 

[burbly]

Thanks! But I'm a bit nervous about the operation of removing the heatsink from the CPU... what happens with the thermal paste that is already in there? Could I end up damaging the CPU when I yank the heatsink off?

 

[boiler1990]

The thermal paste is a thick paste, so it won't splatter or anything like that. You will need wipe off the old paste and replace it - heatsinks like the Hyper 212+ generally come with their own that works decently, but you could also invest $5-10 and get a tube of a better paste like Arctic Silver or Shin-Etsu (really budget dependent).