I’m Rebuilding A Quieter PC

I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was worried how it will all come out. I always am when it’s PC build time.

I’m writing tonight in case I can’t write this afternoon! I’m about to make modifications to my desktop PC, always a little chancy. That’s especially true this time. To install the new component I bought this computer’s motherboard must be removed!

I built the computer myself. It’s got a beefy quad core AMD Phenom II cpu. The cpu came with a heatsink and fan which I mounted directly onto the chip itself.

It works well, but it’s NOISY!

For most common applications the computer chip throttles back and the fan slows down. The noise is there, but not too bad.

When I’m transcoding video or working with large Photoshop files it’s the opposite. The cpu gets busy which makes it hotter (a little over 100&#176 Fahrenheit). The fan responds loudly.

My purchase was a Cooler Master Hyper N520. It’s a huge cooling structure with two fans that circulate air past copper tubes surrounded by aluminum fins. This massive heat sink and slower running fans should cut the noise to a whisper… at least that’s the claim.

In order to do this the computer itself will have to be dismantled. Though the N520 sits on top of the cpu it is screwed to a bracket underneath the motherboard–inaccessible without disassembly!

This is a little nuts. I know!

I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was worried how it will all come out. I always am when it’s PC build time. Usually my fears are unwarranted. That doesn’t reduce the tension.

I will report back after the job is finished. It’s not the kind of task historically undertaken by “all thumbs” guys like me.