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The computer is very noisy

PC noise often interferes with collecting thoughts, annoying – especially in the absence of other sources of noise. To the credit of PC manufacturers, it should be noted that the best of them take into account acoustics when designing systems. However, too many PCs are still built on low-cost cooling components that create noise sources.

The main sources of noise in a computer are motors and rotating parts, such as a hard drive, chassis, processor, and power supply cooling fans. Especially the last two make a lot of noise. In addition, fans and hard drives are a source of vibration, the noise from which is amplified by the housing design and the surface on which the devices are installed.

Modern processors require improved air exchange, as a result, their fans are noisier. Modern high-speed CD-ROM drives do not lag behind and rotate compact discs with incredible speed and noise. Winchesters have now begun to make less noise than earlier models, but there is no completely or almost silent hard drive and, most likely, will not be in the coming years.

The higher the speed of processors, hard drives and video cards, the more they generate heat and the more they need cooling – and cooling is usually associated with noise.

But there are a number of ways to reduce noise while maintaining adequate cooling. In this article, we offer several solutions to the problem – from simple and cheap to complex and expensive.

Components of silence

There are various hardware solutions for creating silent PCs. They can be used both individually and in combination. We list some of them.

Sound absorbing housing

If you need to assemble a PC yourself, it may make sense to purchase a case with quiet cooling fans of both the case and the power supply, as well as with expanded ventilation holes.

Fans
There are at least two of these devices in the system unit case. One is in the power supply, the second is on the heatsink of the central processor. Modern processors emit a lot of heat and heat up to 60-80 degrees, so they need a constant and efficient heat sink. A processor without a cooler runs for a few seconds, after which it burns out. The fan of a standard cooler, purchased with a computer, is likely to create too much noise. Most coolers have a large and efficient radiator, on which you can install a quieter fan.

Fans can also be located on the inside of the front panel of the system unit, the 3D accelerator radiator and the removable HDD boxes. The principle of operation and the reasons for generating noise are the same for everyone.

The easiest way to reduce noise is to lower the supply voltage of the fans. Rated for most is 12 volts. You can lower it to 7 or 5 volts. Make it easy. As you know, most PC disk drives are powered by two voltages – 12 and 5 volts. For the “dietary” power supply of the fans, we will use a four-pin connector that supplies the hard drive. So, we have four contacts and four different wires. The yellow wire is 12 Volts, the red one is 5. The black wire is ground or common (voltage is measured relative to it). To provide power, 5 volts should be connected, but it is better to solder the contacts of the fan wires to the contacts of the red and black wires. Do not be afraid to reverse polarity. Almost all modern fans are protected against such errors. If connected incorrectly, the fan simply will not rotate. Isolate the received connections well so as not to short-circuit the contacts with each other or, even worse, to short-circuit the housing.

Like with five volts everything is clear. But such a decrease in voltage (almost 60%) can be critical, that is, the fan will rotate very slowly or completely stop. How to get seven volts? Again, turn to the four-pin connector. No one will argue that 12-5 will be 7. So we do: we connect one of the fan wires to the yellow wire, and the second – not to black (to common), but to red. The resulting potential difference will be exactly those seven volts that you need.

Direct noise reduction of moving mechanical parts of the fan has no less efficiency. Consider this method as an example of the smallest, but most often the noisiest – fan located on the heatsink of the central processor. This “hard worker” provides cooling of the most important element of a PC, therefore, lowering its rotation frequency by supplying less than 12 volts of supply voltage is the most undesirable action in relation to ensuring stable operation of the entire system. Although, if the radiator on which this fan is located has rather impressive dimensions and you are not keen on overclocking the CPU, you can still lower the voltage to 7 Volts, and for fans with ball bearings – to 5.

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