Noisy PC problem
Discussion
I bought a Medion PC from Aldi about 18 months ago.
Good bit of kit and I'm very pleased with it. However, I learned through press review before I bought it that it was likely to be a tad noisy - and it is. I didn't mind at first as I was impressed with the other features of the PC, but the honeymoon periods over now and it's becoming irritating.
Anyone know how I can cut down on the fan noise?
Is there a quieter fan I can fit?
What about water cooling is that an option that anyone has any experience of?
Good bit of kit and I'm very pleased with it. However, I learned through press review before I bought it that it was likely to be a tad noisy - and it is. I didn't mind at first as I was impressed with the other features of the PC, but the honeymoon periods over now and it's becoming irritating.
Anyone know how I can cut down on the fan noise?
Is there a quieter fan I can fit?
What about water cooling is that an option that anyone has any experience of?
Anyone know how I can cut down on the fan noise?
Depends on what fan's making the noise really, inside you'll have your processor fan, power supply fan and maybe motherboard, graphics card and case fans. These will all make noise, but the smaller ones tend to be louder.
Is there a quieter fan I can fit?
www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/products
Pay your money, take your choice really.
What about water cooling is that an option that anyone has any experience of?
Someone on here has, but the the watercooling system is quite pricey and I think you need a bigger case than normal to fit all the gubbins in.
Depends on what fan's making the noise really, inside you'll have your processor fan, power supply fan and maybe motherboard, graphics card and case fans. These will all make noise, but the smaller ones tend to be louder.
Is there a quieter fan I can fit?
www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/products
Pay your money, take your choice really.
What about water cooling is that an option that anyone has any experience of?
Someone on here has, but the the watercooling system is quite pricey and I think you need a bigger case than normal to fit all the gubbins in.
FunkyNige said:
Anyone know how I can cut down on the fan noise?
Depends on what fan's making the noise really, inside you'll have your processor fan, power supply fan and maybe motherboard, graphics card and case fans. These will all make noise, but the smaller ones tend to be louder.
Is there a quieter fan I can fit?
www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/products
Pay your money, take your choice really.
What about water cooling is that an option that anyone has any experience of?
Someone on here has, but the the watercooling system is quite pricey and I think you need a bigger case than normal to fit all the gubbins in.
Watercooling is only of major benefit if you're running the latest chips and overclocking.
Generally the major sources of noise in a PC are the PSU fan(s) and the cpu or case fans (if fitted)
Open the box and find out if there are extra fans in the box, if you can get a screwdriver and carefully stop the fans (don't do the PSU!!
) for a couple of seconds to see which ones are producing the most noise and replace that(those) one(s) with a newer quieter ones, only a few quid. If its the PSU, choice is a matter of opinion but get a decent one as if you upgrade to new motherboard and chip etc the power requirements will probably be beyond the existing one. (Preferably modular with the OPTION of an ATX 2.0 connector)
I have a pc that sounded like it was tyring to do impressions of a fighter jet taking off, which i recently fitted a new fan to - now it only sounds like a small business jet...
I got the fan from ebuyer. As has been said the smaller the fan the noiser it is, mine was an 80mm i think. I just scouted round the ebuyer site to see what was available (not too much for 80mm!) and bought what sounded best - has made quite a difference.
This is the one I bought www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=18035457065&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=97857
I got the fan from ebuyer. As has been said the smaller the fan the noiser it is, mine was an 80mm i think. I just scouted round the ebuyer site to see what was available (not too much for 80mm!) and bought what sounded best - has made quite a difference.
This is the one I bought www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=18035457065&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=97857
annodomini2 said:
Generally the major sources of noise in a PC are the PSU fan(s) and the cpu or case fans (if fitted)
Not on mine, annoyingly it's the motherboard and grpahics card fans (which are a right royal pain in the ass to quiten ), they're so small they have to run at stupid rpm to do anything.
Still, give it a few months and I'll be getting a new PC and I'll get it quiet from scratch instead of spending a fortune making it quiet.
My overclocked PC benefits from an Arctic cooling heat pump cooler and fan - runs almost silent most of the time - I got fed up with the stock Intel cooler running ar >2000 rpm all the time. Cost was about £25 I think (it was a while back) - I also replaced the rear 80mm fan with a 120mm fan and added a second 120mm at the front - but both 120's together are quieter than the 80. 80's are generally noisy , 120's less so.
It helps that my m/board is able to throttle most of the fans depending on temp - I have several modes mostly I run in 'quiet' which runs everything at its intended speed and is almost silent. When I need it the press of a button puts me in ' turbo' , overclocks the CPU/RAM and turns the fans up.
It helps that my m/board is able to throttle most of the fans depending on temp - I have several modes mostly I run in 'quiet' which runs everything at its intended speed and is almost silent. When I need it the press of a button puts me in ' turbo' , overclocks the CPU/RAM and turns the fans up.
Try www.silentpcreview.com/ - Especially the forums. I can't hear my pc now unless it's practically dead at night. Now assuming you may know something about pc internals...
Basic principles:
Find out whats causing the noise. Open the side up, and put your finger on the middle of the cpu fan for a few seconds (it'll overheat otherwise) and see what sort of difference it makes. Try it with other fans as well, but don't stick anything metallic in the psu one (and if you can, try leaving it alone all together).
Slower running fans are quieter, not only due to the lower rpm, but also because of the change in frequency. Therefore, larger fans are better as they give the same airflow for a lower rpm. Rather than running one fan, it's advisable to run two at a lower speed. Running a lower speed usually involves wiring a resistor inline or using something like a zalman fan mate to adjust it. You can also get fan controllers that will sit in a spare dvd slot, these can also give further functions like temperature monitor (which I doubt you're worried about).
It's almost certain you won't be able to change the size of your rear case fan, so looking for a quieter model is best. An orange nexus for 120mm, and panaflos for 80mm were best last time i did a pc. Most noise in the system will come from the cpu fan. This is probably a stock amd/intel affair, and are noisy and inefficient. Swap them for one of the spcr recommended or find something similar! Manufacturers specs are like tvr's, not necessarily accurate
Remember, bigger is better, but watch the clearances around the fan, it can be a little tight for the bigger models as it can be close to the psu.
The psu is a little more difficult. Unless you want to void the warranty, possibly shock yourself or blow something up, swapping the fan out is not recommended. However, it's a lot cheaper than buying a new one (remember, word of mouth is far better than manufacturers specs!) After the psu, next problem is probably the hardrive. You won't likely be wanting to change it, so a simple solution is sticking it in an enclosure.
You can go further than this mind, once you've silenced one component you'll find something else that will bug you! Mine has suspended hard drives (sewing elastic), fanless psu and 3-4kg of sound deadening. It weighs more than a small child I swear.
Any more questions ask away, there is enough combined knowledge between us I would expect! Or drop me a line via my profile for specifics.
Basic principles:
Find out whats causing the noise. Open the side up, and put your finger on the middle of the cpu fan for a few seconds (it'll overheat otherwise) and see what sort of difference it makes. Try it with other fans as well, but don't stick anything metallic in the psu one (and if you can, try leaving it alone all together).
Slower running fans are quieter, not only due to the lower rpm, but also because of the change in frequency. Therefore, larger fans are better as they give the same airflow for a lower rpm. Rather than running one fan, it's advisable to run two at a lower speed. Running a lower speed usually involves wiring a resistor inline or using something like a zalman fan mate to adjust it. You can also get fan controllers that will sit in a spare dvd slot, these can also give further functions like temperature monitor (which I doubt you're worried about).
It's almost certain you won't be able to change the size of your rear case fan, so looking for a quieter model is best. An orange nexus for 120mm, and panaflos for 80mm were best last time i did a pc. Most noise in the system will come from the cpu fan. This is probably a stock amd/intel affair, and are noisy and inefficient. Swap them for one of the spcr recommended or find something similar! Manufacturers specs are like tvr's, not necessarily accurate
Remember, bigger is better, but watch the clearances around the fan, it can be a little tight for the bigger models as it can be close to the psu. The psu is a little more difficult. Unless you want to void the warranty, possibly shock yourself or blow something up, swapping the fan out is not recommended. However, it's a lot cheaper than buying a new one (remember, word of mouth is far better than manufacturers specs!) After the psu, next problem is probably the hardrive. You won't likely be wanting to change it, so a simple solution is sticking it in an enclosure.
You can go further than this mind, once you've silenced one component you'll find something else that will bug you! Mine has suspended hard drives (sewing elastic), fanless psu and 3-4kg of sound deadening. It weighs more than a small child I swear.
Any more questions ask away, there is enough combined knowledge between us I would expect! Or drop me a line via my profile for specifics.
May I suggest you run the PC with the side off, and try to suss which is making the most noise - as well as CPU/PSU/case fans youe also sometimes got VGA and mobo fans, and being small and cheap these can often be the noisiest. You can try unplugging one at a time to see what effect it has (or just stick a biro in it
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