No More Noise

my-pcWhen I was configuring my new computer a few months ago there were two very important considerations. It had to be fast for video editing. It had to be quiet.

That quiet thing isn’t as easy as you think. More powerful chips throw off more heat. More heat means more fans. Fans mean noise. It’s a vicious cycle!

The computer’s in a Thermaltake Soprano case. The case was designed to be quiet. It’s even got acoustic foam padding on the doors.

The PC under my desk is as fast as expected and quiet. I wondered if it could be quieter still? It’s so overdesigned. It should be silent.

Today was my chance. I was installing a case mounted card reader. The doors would come off. The case would be open. Everything would be exposed.

When I looked inside I noticed the fan for the CPU’s liquid cooling unit was plugged into a “CPU fan” socket. I’d been unable to control its speed. What if it was plugged into the “System fan” socket instead?

The fan, which had been running around 1,500 RPM is now clocked near 500 RPM. The CPU temperature is still 1&#176C cooler than Intel’s idling spec for my 4770-K. This motherboard/chip combination can be overclocked. I could probably squeeze out some extra performance. Right now I’m like a guy with a Maserati who obeys the speed limit.

The computer is silent… OK, nearly silent. It is just part of the white noise of the house. Turning down that one fan eliminated the bulk of the problem.

If you’ve read this far you are seriously geeky and should consider therapy.

Tonight I am happy.

8 thoughts on “No More Noise”

  1. “If you’ve read this far you are seriously geeky and should consider therapy”

    I have to look at this as a compliment.
    And now you’ve made me feel guilty about not upgrading my system.
    Can I hazard a guess that it would only be a month or so until you overclock?

    1. I had this very discussion tonight with my friend, Peter Mokover. We’ve both consistently built systems capable of being pushed beyond spec. Neither of us ever has done the pushing.

  2. I know all the ins and outs of it, but for some reason I’ve just always been a bit leery of doing it. My thinking is if it’s performing to your satisfaction, why screw with the netherworld?

    But I am surprised that you haven’t done this on previous setups.

  3. Geoff, have you considered buying earplugs, to block out the noise? You can buy them in a drugstore or you can order them online.

  4. Thanks Geoff, perfect timing! Building mine today with the same processor and I’m going to use your tip for my cooler. First time build and I’m a little nervous. At this point I’m hoping the screen comes on when I’m done. Fingers crossed!

  5. Last year, I read online that people can build and/or buy computers without a fan for a CPU? Some how there is a way to keep things cool without a fan.

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