Members Z-Mann Posted April 28, 2009 Members Share Posted April 28, 2009 Anyone else here have the problem of a noisy cooling fan in their PC? I'm trying to think of some sort of work around. In the past I've: a) Moved my PC, interface, and mics to another room and recorded vocals in the closet - kind of a pain.b) Put a duvet over the PC temporarily. This helps but doesn't eliminate the noise all together. Plus it makes the PC even hotter and then the fan REALLY starts blowing hard. Maybe it's just time for a new PC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BushmasterM4 Posted April 28, 2009 Members Share Posted April 28, 2009 Anyone else here have the problem of a noisy cooling fan in their PC? I'm trying to think of some sort of work around. In the past I've:a) Moved my PC, interface, and mics to another room and recorded vocals in the closet - kind of a pain.b) Put a duvet over the PC temporarily. This helps but doesn't eliminate the noise all together. Plus it makes the PC even hotter and then the fan REALLY starts blowing hard.Maybe it's just time for a new PC? You can replace the noisey fans with silent ones. I build my own pc's and always use Antec cases and fans. If your know how to build one, then just replace your case with an Antec Sonata case. Its one of the best for the price. I cant even hear mine running. It comes with the power supply and a larger rear fan. If not then just replace the fans. Antec fans vary so choose the ones that say run silent or quiet. Many have a 3 speed switch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MrJoshua Posted April 28, 2009 Members Share Posted April 28, 2009 Antec Sonata cases are usually pretty good for low noise - I've built four or five different systems using these cases, and my current ProTools machine is in a Sonata case. Their case fans have adjustable speed switches on them - just put them on the lowest setting and they're very quiet. Watch your temperatures, but I've never had a problem with the fans on low. A quiet CPU fan and a fanless video card can also go a LONG way toward reducing your computer noise. If you can't afford a new computer case right now, check out http://www.endpcnoise.com/ as a place to get some quiet fans. They also carry low-noise CPU coolers, and sell entire systems designed to be low-noise if you're interested in a new system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Lots of good suggestions guys! There's a lot of things that can make a computer noisy. And you can address most of those issues at the source, and if that fails, you can isolate the computer. Sticking it into a closet is a low cost way to reduce noise that is radiated by the computer from getting into the microphones. A "poor man's isolation box / machine room." Cooling fans can be replaced with low noise models. I have low noise fans in my DAW computer, and they're mounted on rubberized iso mounts to further reduce their noise by decoupling them from the case, thus reducing vibration of the case itself. I also have varispeed controls on several of my fans, which allows me to control their speed; I set them for good cooling at high computer loads, but slower than their maximum speeds. Some motherboards support automatic varispeed, and increase the fan speeds as cooling requirements increase. Generally, larger fans (say, 120mm), moving at slower RPMs will move the same volume of air as smaller fans (80mm) that are spinning faster. IOW, they're generally quieter for the same amount of cooling. A fanless video card can be a good option. You don't usually need "gamer's graphics" performance on a DAW, so there's no need for a super high end graphics card, and since most of those have a noisy cooling fan on them, that's one less source of noise... My computer motherboard uses heat pipes for motherboard cooling instead of a chipset fan, and that's also made a difference for me. I also have a very quiet CPU cooler - while it does have a fan, it also uses heat pipes, which means the fan doesn't have to work quite as hard or spin quite as fast. Zalman makes some excellent CPU coolers and many of them are very quiet. A quiet power supply is a must IMO, and can make a huge difference in terms of noise from your computer. HDD's can also be a source of noise. Again, my computer case uses rubber shockmounts to isolate the HDD's from the case itself, thus decoupling them and reducing sympathetic vibrations and radiated noise. If none of that does enough to reduce the noise, you can always toss the entire case into a Iso Box, and you may even be able to build one yourself - but you need to make sure you have provided adequate cooling for the computer inside the box unless you want to risk frying something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted April 28, 2009 Members Share Posted April 28, 2009 Heres another option to help. Build a box with a front door open back. Cover the inside of the box with foam or rug undermatting. Cover the tower with the box near a wall, Cover the wall in back of the unit with some acoustical foam as well. It wont remove all the sound because you cant cover the entire unit without air flow and overheating. You wont have any noise from the front or sides, the back wall will absorb most of the rest. I been thinking of another closed box that uses insulated PVC pipes to route the air in and out of the box that would use elbows to diffuse the fan sound but using quiet fans to begin with are probibly the best answer. Maybe putting some foam on the inside or outside of the tower would quiet down the internal fan if you dont mind the tower looking like an old custom amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Maybe putting some foam on the inside or outside of the tower would quiet (it) down They do make "kits" that are designed to do exactly that - usually they're made of a acoustic foam / vinyl limp mass barrier laminate, and attach to the inside of your case; they do two things - reduce the noise by damping case vibrations and adding mass to it, and absorb some of the HF fan noise before it can escape the case. I've never felt the need to install foam kits inside my case, but a friend of mine has done so, and it did help a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 If I was going to build an Isolation Box, I'd probably use something conceptually similar to the way we did our studio's AC system. Separate input and output ducts, with inline, acoustically treated "mufflers", and yes, no straight line runs for the air exhaust and intake. And I'd decouple the entire computer case from the isolation box itself by sitting it on neoprene blocks or something similar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AwayEam Posted April 29, 2009 Members Share Posted April 29, 2009 HEY BRO Add another vote for the Antec Sonata. I have a Sonata III here - best money I ever spent on computer parts. I have 4 hard drives going crazy in this thing. I added another Antec 3-speed fan to the case, and it's still whisper quiet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AwayEam Posted April 29, 2009 Members Share Posted April 29, 2009 Maybe putting some foam on the inside or outside of the tower would quiet (it) downThey do make "kits" that are designed to do exactly that - usually they're made of a acoustic foam / vinyl limp mass barrier laminate, and attach to the inside of your case; they do two things - reduce the noise by damping case vibrations and adding mass to it, and absorb some of the HF fan noise before it can escape the case. I've never felt the need to install foam kits inside my case, but a friend of mine has done so, and it did help a bit. HEY BRO That's not a bad idea. But I'd caution the OP not to go jamming any sort of insulation inside his case without knowing what he's doing. I can just hear the support call now... "my computer has been resetting spontaneously for the past month or so, and this morning it had this lovely, lightly-toasted hue to it and simply would not turn on." A bit of egg-crate foam behind the case will do wonders to absorb fan sound and prevent it from bouncing off a hard wall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TOOL_5150 Posted April 29, 2009 Members Share Posted April 29, 2009 Hey guys. I come from a totally different area [iT / network admin] and I have used a KVM [keyboard/video/mouse] Extender to have direct access to the PC, while it is in a different room, sometimes different building. I have used these extenders and they work well! http://www.pcrush.com/product/KVM-Consoles-and-Extenders/97546/Avocent-LongView-LV430-KVM-Extender ~Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 Extender to have direct access to the PC, while it is in a different room, sometimes different building. I have used these extenders and they work well! http://www.pcrush.com/product/KVM-Consoles-and-Extenders/97546/Avocent-LongView-LV430-KVM-Extender ~Matt Another good point. I've got a KVM, although I'm not using it at the moment. But for someone with a nearby clothes closet that they could put their tower into, or who'd be willing to run lines into the other room, a KVM would be a very good solution. The Frontier Design Tranzport is another cool tool. You can set up your mikes in another room, and record in there, while still wirelessly controlling your DAW - even through walls. If you record yourself, it's a must have IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Z-Mann Posted April 29, 2009 Author Members Share Posted April 29, 2009 Lots of great suggestions here. I'm thinking of building another one this year so I'll keep Antec in mind. Thanks to all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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