computer case fans - noise
 

Some of us (including me) have computers that make too much noise.

a modern desktop will usually have 3 fans in it:

1. case fan

2. CPU fan

3. GPU (video card) fan

usually, you can only change #1

so one question is whether you'll reduce the noise much if you do change out the case fan

Here is one link:

Quiet Computer Fans - Quiet PC Fans - AcousticPC.com

Newegg has this for only $17:
Newegg.com - Scythe S-FLEX SFF21E 120mm Case Fan

a review:
Noise Shootout of 80mm Case Fans-Best Computer Online Store Houston Buy Discount Prices Texas-Directron.com


they all have to flow enuff air to accomplish adequate cooling in the PC case, of course

Using the app on my phone my very old box computer with old dusty fans runs between 58 to 60dB

The fan on my old comp was noisy as hell. Took it apart, cleaned the fan good.. Back to being quiet after a good cleaning

my new computer is quite noisy - obnoxious

my Dell XP system was sometimes annoying but this is much worse

Check the voltage coming into your home. If they are over powered they will squeal like a pig. We had a transformer going bad in our neighborhood and they were pumping in about 140volts. Couldn't figure out why I was going through so many microwaves? but the food was cooking like hell!

Bigger fan diameter= less noise.

Webb, check out a water-cooling system. I'm running one on my PC, 100x quieter with one 120mm fan on the radiator and a 40mm fan on the PSU. The CPU, Memory and Video card are all on the system, never get near critical temps and way better than a Peltier style cooler.

Newegg Water Cooling Systems

Mine has a pair of 80s, top and rear exhaust, both SilenX fans.
A slow 130mm in the power supply.
two 80s on the vid card (that are set to spin slow and different directions to reduce turbulence supposedly)
I think an 80 or 92mm on the processor with a reducer resistor.

Even with all that, it manages to be both high powered and quiet. I am putting in a new processor and I'm not sure if my old one will match up, so that might be worse, I'll have to find out.

The SilenX fans are great though, much quieter for similar airflow, and a lot of times you don't need as much as what it comes with anyway, so you can do a double reduction. They also come with rubber mounts so they can be separated from the case.

Also helps to have an SSD (no noise, almost no heat)

Power supply has a fan too.

Change the case fan and maybe the power supply.

Assuming it is turning slower.

My PC was a cheapo FRY's unit that cost $190 and it sounded like a blow-dryer on high setting when I first got it.
I went down and bought a higher quality CPU fan for under $20 and it quieted it down a great deal and the CPU temperatures didn't change.

Placement of the computer has a lot to do with it, as well. A few squares of acoustic foam stuck to the wall/corner around the computer can do wonders with killing the sound instead of having it reflect.

Usually...

I bought a high flow fan and the thing sounded like a blow dryer! I ended up pulling that fan and finding something with a little less flow. I ended up with 2 fans which combined were quieter and had more flow.

Don't forget the fan in the power supply, they can be very noisy, especially on the cheaper units. Whenever I get a PC, the 1st thing I do is order a PC Power and Cooling power supply for it through OCZ on Amazon.com. They are excellent and the fans are silent.

+1

I replaced my power supply with an OCZ 600 Watt unit. Huge difference. And it had more and better connectors, especially those for the Video card.

I believe the OCZ power supply is really a PC Power and Cooling unit as OCZ bought the company a few years ago. Very good power supplies and quiet, too!

Here's the cooling system I decided on. Almost 2 years, running strong and no leaks!

Gigabyte GH-WIU02 Water-Cooling Kit

And this will be what I decide on for a media-center PC in the living room:
Aquarium PC