TechSpot - PC Technology News and Analysis

I am having a very ANNOYING time with my computer fans because of the fact that they are very loud, making a dull, blowing, turbine-like noise. I have a CoolerMaster Praetorian case with a 92mm Logisys fan on the side where the vent would be. Nothing is wrong with the fans,(I don't think so), they are just loud, so loud that I have to put the volume up very high on my computer to hear what is going on in games, for example. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make my computer MUCH more quieter?
-By the way, if this would have an affect on this situation, I have recently put a new 700W PSU and a 300W Auxiliary PSU in because the two previous ARROW 650W PSU both blew out,(one put on a firework show)

Fans:

-120mm CoolerMaster(stock) fan in front

-92mm Logisys fan on the side

-2x, 90mm CoolerMaster(stock) in the back

-Intel CPU fan

Specifications:

-Intel Core 2 Duo E6700

-Nvidia 8800GTX

-ASUS P5N32-SLI DE Deluxe Motherboard

-160GB WD, 300GB WD

-2GB RAM

-700W FSP PSU, 300W FSP Auxiliary PSU

-Logitech Z-5500 505W


-One more thing, since I installed my new PSU's, I have noticed a significant drop,(50%) in my FPS. Before my new PSU's,(when I had my 650W ARROW PSU) my FPS in F.E.A.R. was mostly over 100FPS, and now it is mostly 50FPS. I know this isn't that big of a problem, but with a $600 graphics card I better be getting the best performance possible.

-Thank you so much to anyone who took the time to read this

try taking the aux psu out

I wrote a tutorial on how to make them MUCH quieter, i suggest you read it.

http://www.techspot.com/vb/topic69357.html

Just gonna say: be careful with that method outlined in the tutorial.

I'd recommend a fan controller if you can afford one, its not that expensive. Its much safer, and you get much more control of your fans too.

You can also see if its possible to replace the 92mm fans with 120mm fans, those will be much quieter without sacrificing temps. This may be done if there are holes for it, or if you can get your hands on a converter.

You might also want to see if its possible to isolate the fan thats making all the noise, and shut just that fan off. If they're all making that much noise, you'll have to look at the other alternatives.

Personally, will follow the tutorial written by F1N3ST as a last resort. I've posted my reasons there.

CMH, yeah I think I am going to get a fan speed controller, but before I do that I have to figure out if making my fans slower will make my computer to hot. Because of my "hefty" video card, a very good amount of heat is produced. Do you recommend any "accurate" temperature monitors that I can download to see how hot my computer actually is? After I do this I will try disconnecting my side 92mm fan and notice the temperature and sound changes.

If you want to keep good airflow AND reduce the noise, then it would make sense to spend the money on some better fans rather than a fan controller (if you can afford it I would recommend both as a crappy fan controller that gets the job done is hardly expensive)
I'm not familiar with the fans you have, but SilenX do some quiet fans with high cfm - my 120mm fans offer 72cfm @ 14db which is pretty good, theyre nice and quiet and set me back the equivalent of $20 each, which i admit aint cheap (might cost less in America?).
Hope this helps
Chris
Another note - for a cheap fan controller controller you can combine the voltage variations given by fin1s3t's thread with switches that cost next to nothing from any electronics shop, though for several fans the wiring can get messy (it did for me so I just bought a controller) but you can end up with a whole array of voltages from 3.3 up to 17 or so (you can on my ancient psu anyway)

""Do you recommend any "accurate" temperature monitors that I can download to see how hot my computer actually is?""

My tutorial works obviously, as my PC is still running so whatever i fail to see how it is risky.

Lol. Forget about getting an accurate temperature reading. Hardware which will allow you to do so are not really within too many people's budget. If you're gonna use it just for this purpose, forget it.

Equipment like that will also need to be calibrated, and thats not really easy to do.

I'd just stick with fan controllers with temperature readouts. They may not be accurate, but even if the readings were 10C off, the results will not be catastrophic. Unless you're going to heavily overclock your comp, writing heavily reviewed articles, or doing something really.... adventurous (read: stupid), you don't really need readings that are accurate.

p.s. I got no idea where you got the idea that temp readings were inaccurate, but I'm assuming I posted something about it somewhere.


Also, if you're worried that reducing the noise will increase temps, jb444 just mentioned a good alternative. There are of course, many different fans out there at the moment which move large amounts of air, but produce hardly any sound. Expect to pay a premium on any fan which does that. Your choices are quite limited to SilentX, Panaflo, Arctic Cooling, and maybe a few other companies (note, not all fans produced by these companies are quiet).

You might also want to note that every 3db increase in noise is double the volume (23db is twice as loud as 20db). Anything less than 20db is extremely quiet. I have yet to confirm that having 2 fans working together doubles the noise.


You also mentioned that you've got a hefty video card. The best way to get rid of video card heat would be a slot cooler just next to your video card. It should look like this:
http://www.pccasegear.com/prod3724.htm
... and should be carefully placed as not to disturb air intake for your graphics card. If your graphics card already vents air out (2 slot graphics cards usually do) then this wouldn't really help.



You should try getting that fan controller first, and see if your temps are affected. It should be affected, but see if you can live with the change. It might turn out to be a minor change, especially if you've got a huge case.



F1N3ST: I can live with only one kidney, but do you think its risky? Even if it works, it doesn't mean you'll never run into problems, or that its entirely reproducible on another computer.

I am also not the only person aware of the risks your tutorial brings about, other people have brought up the matter as well. If you are still adamant that your guide is entirely risk free, you might want to guarantee your readers, and pay for any damages incurred. Or maybe state some really good credentials, like a PhD in electrical engineering, with a thesis to prove that loose connections are 100% safe.... Cos there's enough evidence out there to prove otherwise.

Alright, I'll start with getting the Fan Controllers, and go from there.
-By the way, very well said CMH.

Yeah, report back with results, don't think many people actually posted real world comparison results from lower fan speeds... There probably are, but we just take it for granted that its gonna increase temps