About pc noise...

[AtomicSpark]

The only thing that really bothers me, well probably bothers most people, is that low humming noise. I tried using silicon "dampeners" but it didn't do anything. Is it really worth buying a quieter fan or are they all the same? Last time I had interest in this people seemed to be getting or wanting to get the Panasonic Panaflows but they're like 12 dolla each and I don't want to buy them just to "experiment". Anyone actually use these?

Also.. is there any other "noise insulation" tips that could help reduce the noise without overheating my system?

 

[SpArKs]

Well 12 buck's isn't really that expensive, get one, keep the receipt, if it ain't quite enough take it back to the shop. And try another.

 

[dream431ca]

Noise is a problem that is not easily fixed...most of the noise comes from the Power supply (especially a 330 Watt power supply)...suppressing the noise is difficult...it's all about location of the tower.

 

[Ren.182]

tbh... i like my computer sounding like a jet engine

 

[duffers20]

tbh... i like my computer sounding like a jet engine

The bfg 7800gt's are far too noisy, totally going to get the arctic cooler vga silencer when they release the version for the 7800gt. Had great results with my 9800pro and hopefully it will be the same with my 7800gt. Apart from my noisy gfx card, my pc isn't too bad. Dead quiet psu, the seasonic 500w uses a really quiet temp controlled 12cm fan which so far has been inaudible. Also use quiet 8cm akasa amber fans, 3 of them infact and they push enough air to keep my pc pretty cool and quiet.

 

[Bakurei]

Y.S. TECH fans are quiet atleast the one I have is totally silent.

 

[3ssence]

The akasa amber fans are very quiet. Other high quality fans are papst, panasonic panaflo, these would be good in conjunction with a fan speed controller. The vantec silent series are also a good bet. And i'm sure there are many others.

 

[Septih]

The bfg 7800gt's are far too noisy, totally going to get the arctic cooler vga silencer when they release the version for the 7800gt. Had great results with my 9800pro and hopefully it will be the same with my 7800gt. Apart from my noisy gfx card, my pc isn't too bad. Dead quiet psu, the seasonic 500w uses a really quiet temp controlled 12cm fan which so far has been inaudible. Also use quiet 8cm akasa amber fans, 3 of them infact and they push enough air to keep my pc pretty cool and quiet.

my 6800 is noisy enough, let alone two 7800's...

tbh, i cry a little inside when i hear my mates talk about their pc's being quiet enough to sleep with them left on.

Think it's worth getting a silent cooler for my bfg 6800? at the moment it does sound way too noisy, and GPU core temp is at 56 degrees.

 

[Asus]

So is the noise just coming from your case fans?

What is the temp of your case and CPU? Because depending on how cool it is you may be able to get slower fans so it quiets down and your temps only go up a bit. Like my machine is OCed and I have my fans on really low speed and im at 47C cpu/41C case right now.

If your case fans are loud then what you need to determine is if they are loud because they are spinning really fast (know the RPM), if they are just poor quality so they make extra motor/air friction noise or vibration. If they are just really high RPM then get a fan controller.
If you hold the fan or take the fan out and hold it in your hand while it's running does it still make the noise? If it goes away then it's probably vibration. Either get new fans or try some kind of dampener.

Panaflo 21 dBA
Vantec stealths are good when your case temp is low but when it goes up they kick into high speed and are louder.

 

[Unfocused]

My PC, after not running for a few hours, starts up really noisy and then after a few minutes silences a bit.

 

[xLostx]

My PC, after not running for a few hours, starts up really noisy and then after a few minutes silences a bit.

that's just the turbo kicking in.

 

[Ren.182]

My PC, after not running for a few hours, starts up really noisy and then after a few minutes silences a bit.

It does that until windows loads up and the fan controls kick in. It then realises the fans don't need to spin that fast and it slows them down.