Noise reduction, possibly CPU cooler

[ventasmentos]

Hey. I have a computer that originates from the ancient time of GeForce 8-series. Well, maybe not that ancient then. This computer has been upgrade now an then, and I have currently replaced most of the stock fans of my Antec Nine Hundred with Noctua fans (NF-S12Bs). Now, its still very noisy, and I remember from an older thread I made a long time ago, that former Nine Hundred-users said the cabinet itself was just very noisy - Mine sounds like a vacuum cleaner, and I seriously fear my right ear has been impaired. But now I suspect my old CPU cooler to be the problem. I have the Zalman CNPS9700 NT cooler on top of my CPU, and something tells me, the noise originates from this. So maybe I should replace it. However, most of the noiseless coolers/fans are usually very large, and the Nine Hundred is very small. I was looking at the Thermalright Silver Arrow, but the size and the price makes me hesitate. I'm not very up to date with the latest technology, so maybe someone in here could help me solve my problem?

A larger cabinet would be handy, if the problem is the cabinet it self, but if the problem really is the CPU, I cannot afford both things.

Regards,
Ventasmentos

 

[Scotty99]

Case design rarely has an effect on how loud it is, the fans inside it do...

I dont own the 900 but i do own the 300 illusion, and i suspect they may be the same fans. I keep mine on the low setting and they are virtually silent (they are 3 speed fans) and almost as quiet on medium, only on high can i reallly hear them. Loudest thing in my case is my CPU fan, (coolest master 212+) because i run it at max all the time, but even then its barely audible.

Obviously what you can do is disconnect the case fans for a bit and then run with just the CPU cooler/power supply/video card fans going, but i suspect that your video card fan is the likely culprit, as back in the day they had smaller fans, which are inherently louder.

 

[TheBigTroll]

undervolt your fans using the adapters included with your noctuas and put them onto the the stock fans that are inside your case. also there is no porblem ith getting a silver arrow. just make sure that the ram isnt that tall and you have 160mm of height for your cooler

 

[ventasmentos]

Hello, and sorry for the late reply. Haven't had much time to visit fora lately.

The problem with lowering the fans is, I am afraid the computer is already as hot as it could possibly and safely be, without knowing it for sure, though. I tested it a bit, and the noise does (mostly) originate from my Zalman CPU cooler. So much for quiet cooling, eh. I replaced my GF 8-series cards some time ago, and now use a 570. I don't suspect that any of my cards has been that noisy.

Replacing the Zalman cooler will be the first thing to do, I guess. Thanks for the replies by the way

 

[TheBigTroll]

lowering voltage will only increase temps by like 2-5 degrees while you reduce nise by half

 

[ventasmentos]

I will try that and see how it works out, then. Thanks for the tip.