Have a few questions divided out into two posts First is the first noise dampening material as good as the second? I would rather not have the logo... http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=127&products_id=674 http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=127&products_id=22491 Are rubber screws good, or just a scam? If they are good, which ones? http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=127&products_id=3294 http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=325&products_id=21108 Are rubber "gaskets" any good at reducing noise, and are they worth it? http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=127&products_id=20649 http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=127&products_id=20650 Is this a good fan controller? http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=21981 For silencing the hdds, what should I use? http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=127&products_id=3707 http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=127&products_id=20944 http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=127&products_id=4611 http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=127&products_id=20970 Parts I am getting Fans http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185005 Case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129025 Power Supply http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703009
Noise dampening material seems to be more effective the better the job you do, you could cover every inch of the inside with it, but if you have one fan open at the front, it's still going to emit noise, so I think it's a bit of a gimmick really, just get the right (quiet) components in the first place! The fan controller works fine, but isn't anything to write home about. As for hard drive silencing, have you brought the HDD's already? If not just buy some quiet ones and use rubber spacers between case and screw, and you'll be fine. The case is a brilliant one, couldn't recommend it enough, same with the case fans.Also, apparently that PSU is quite loud due to the 80mm fans, so maybe not the best to get. Sam.
Sound dampening material works pretty well at getting rid of vibrations and high-pitched noises, like the ones from your optical/hard drives. The two main types, heavy rubber matting and open-cell foam, both work pretty well at doing what they're supposed to. Rubber fan screws isolate the vibration from the case better than square gaskets, as the metal screw will still transfer vibrations from the fan --> case. Compared to regular fan screws, rubber mounts are much much better vibration-wise. Fan controllers are all basically the same - the Zalman you picked is pretty nice. It controls lots of fans, looks nice, and should have good build quality. For more control, you could look into getting a Tbalancer [I think that's what it's called], which provides automatic hardware control of your fans based on temperature/load. If you really want to make your hard drives quiet, get elastic string and suspend them in your 5.25" bay spaces. Suspension will remove all of the vibrations that would otherwise be transmitted to your case via screws or enclosures. If I can find some pics I'll link them. If you want more advice, look at http://www.silentpcreview.com. Those guys could probably help more than Bit-Tech [no offense ] Hope that helps! @fishlock: The Silencer 750 Quad is very quiet for a 750W power supply, unless you're running at 80-100% load. High efficiency + high quality = low heat. You won't find the fan spinning up that much, really.
Thank you for the help. http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=249 Would any of these fans make the psu quieter? Are rubber screws good, or just a scam? If they are good, which ones? http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...uct s_id=3294 http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ct s_id=21108 Are rubber "gaskets" any good at reducing noise, and are they worth it? http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ct s_id=20649 http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ct s_id=20650
I have a Western Digital 320gig 7200rpm hard drive. What about the rubber gaskets and the hdd silencer things? Are they worth it? I would appriciate any info you have on the controller. Also, I would like to see the pics.
sound damping is great.. but it's not a miracles worker. Also too much of such material can create cooling issues, as it also act as a temperature isolation. So your compute can be hotter, which makes teh fans turns faster and defeats the purpose. Usually you use that to make your quiet computer... more quiet in situation you can't do much, like for example reduce HDD noise, and optical drive. I have quiet components in my computer, and I do have the Antec SOLO which has sound damping, and it does reduce sound and vibration about 50%. You do hear the difference when you open the side panel. But then again, I still hear my computer. If it's not the fan motor, it's the air itself that makes sound.
The paxmate foam makes no human perceptible difference. Never tried the rubber stuff. Those rubber fan mounts do help, but they are kind of pointless if your panels are already dampened with dynamat or equivalent products. If you want something that absorbs air-born sound, look for 1/2" or 1" melamine foam. Try to get the stuff that doesn't break down with heat. Willtec Sonex foam for example. 3M Super 77 Spray Adhesive is good stuff for attaching the foam to the panels. I can personally recommend these fans. They have magnetic bearings, and you can pop the blades off for cleaning. http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=49&products_id=20438 They're cheaper here, and they have 80mm.. http://search.xoxide.com/?query=ENLOBAL&catalog=xoxide&x=17&y=14 mnpctech has fan mounting screws and grommets too.
and here they are even cheaper. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999099 Thank you all for the advice and links. Are they better than the scythes other than the cleaning ability?
the antec p180/82 come with rubber grommets for all of the hard drive mounts which is really nice and should isolatte vibrations and the optical drives fit to sliding rails (don't think it would be easy to use rubber grommets)
