razor
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Cutting Down Fan Noise
Hello--
I finally have a decent studio with sound proofing in the construction and room treatments on the walls--but now I have the background noise of my computer fan.
Has anyone come up with, or found a good products that cuts down on fan noise without having your computer overheat?
I have some room treatments left and I'm thinking of just adhering them to a piece of plywood and putting that in front of the computer--but I wondered if there was something better.
Thanks,
SD
Stephen Davis Cakewalk by Bandlab Windows 7 Pro 64-Bit ADK DAW - (out of business 2018) Intel i7 4930K CPU Core i7 SB-E MOBO 16 GB DDR3 RAM 7 TB Storage Layla 3G SoundCard (11.5 ms Roundtrip Latency) UAD-2 DSP WaveLab 8 Pro 64-bit Sound Forge 10 Pro
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Old55
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Re:Cutting Down Fan Noise
2011/06/08 00:24:27
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Are talking about actual fan noise because they're running full speed to cool the system, or are you talking about vibration that are transmitted to the case with is resonating those vibrations? The cheapest and easiest fix is rubber or plastic mounting grommets that isolate the fan from the case. The second possibility would be to replace the fans with silent fans or a controller to regulate the fan speed. Remember to keep the proper air movement so you don't burn up any components. The third option might be to replace the CPU heat sink with a more efficient model which needs less air circulation so you can slow down the fans. The fourth choice is then be to treat or replace the case. Insulation is available to install on your current case. Other cases are specifically designed to be quiet. The Antec Performance series is a good example. You can find parts here: http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/index.html You can find more info here: http://www.silentpcreview.com/ Good luck in your quest for silence.
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kristoffer
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Re:Cutting Down Fan Noise
2011/06/08 04:23:17
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All 4 suggestiong from Old55 is exellent, I think.
Have the same problem my self, and have concluded with a Fifth choice: is to move the computer to another room.
I have only this cables to my computer:
DVI cables for the screens (easy to get longer cables)
4xUSB for keyboard, mouse, controller surfaces (BCR2000 and Faderport) and POD X3
HDMI cable for breakout audio interface
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Kalle Rantaaho
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Re:Cutting Down Fan Noise
2011/06/08 06:04:12
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I had a noisy fan. Replaced it with a silent one. Depends on your machine how heavy duty fan you need. I managed with a rather basic one, so the installing was'n hard.
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RRabbi
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Re:Cutting Down Fan Noise
2011/06/08 10:51:54
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Maybe too, if there is a metal grate in front of any of the fans (part of the case) use a Dremel cutting tool to completely remove the grate. I did that with my last case and found that it cut down 'some' of the noise.
I just ordered a Fractal Designs R3 case, and 4 extra Nexus silent fans. What case & fans do you have?
Dave
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Old55
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Re:Cutting Down Fan Noise
2011/06/08 11:23:32
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It could also be the Power Supply fan. You can use grommets to isolate the PSU or you can replace the PSU with a quiet one.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot--hey, who the hell are you guys? X2(X3 pending hardware upgrade), Emulator X2, E-mu 1212M, Virtual String Machine
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razor
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Re:Cutting Down Fan Noise
2011/06/08 15:20:49
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thanks for all of the replies. my gpu was overheating and so i got a powerful fan and that fixed the problem. it is the main rear fan and is not on a variable speed. it is always on high. i don't really have the cash to modify my pc right now, so i just wanted to isolate the sound.
i actually got izotope's rx and can yank the fan noise right out of the track, but wanted to see if there were any other ideas out there.
many thanks!
(please excuse all lower case. i'm on my blackberry.)
Stephen Davis Cakewalk by Bandlab Windows 7 Pro 64-Bit ADK DAW - (out of business 2018) Intel i7 4930K CPU Core i7 SB-E MOBO 16 GB DDR3 RAM 7 TB Storage Layla 3G SoundCard (11.5 ms Roundtrip Latency) UAD-2 DSP WaveLab 8 Pro 64-bit Sound Forge 10 Pro
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fireberd
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Re:Cutting Down Fan Noise
2011/06/09 06:40:27
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It all comes down to your specific installation. All the points presented here are areas to consider but you have to apply those or the appropriate ones to your situation.
Case fans, and even "quiet" case fans are relatively inexpensive and won't break the bank. I have a "gamer" case with lots of fans and it is quiet and nothing had to be changed. My PC Tower is located within 4 to 5 foot of where I usually have a singer positioned when recording.
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Jim Roseberry
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Re:Cutting Down Fan Noise
2011/06/09 12:05:56
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As has been pointed out... the way to make a quiet DAW is to use quiet components.
Replace the loud units with quiet units.
It's a bit of a PITA to repace the PS, CPU cooler, video card, case fan/s, etc... but its the solution
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