tlw
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Re: Dealing with computer fan noise
2014/06/23 11:09:02
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Just a final quick thought.
Sometimes a PC case actually cools/vents better with fewer fans. It can be a useful experiment to try switching a fan off while closely monitoring temperatures. I built my previous tower with a case fan at the lower front blowing in and another at the back below the top-mounted psu blowing the hot air out because that's what intuition/experience/"common sense" suggested would be needed.
I found in the end that it ran coolest and quietist by removing the front fan, opening up the middle of the three top/front 5.25" bays so it was just a tunnel and reversing the rear fan so it pushed air in at the back which then escaped through the big fan and drive bay holes in the front.
Sometimes these things are counter-intuitive.
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Mistergreen
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Re: Dealing with computer fan noise
2014/06/23 12:45:04
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Paul G
I'm sure this has been discussed but I couldn't find the right search terms. Anyway, you folks that have a 'one room' setup, how do you deal with the noise of the computer while recording?
My 'so-called' studio is just swapping out a drive in my home office computer. I generally only track vocals and I do that at the other end of the house. It works but it's a pain. An open mic in the office picks up way too much computer noise. I've tried covering the computer with absorbent materials etc but it doesn't really work. I'd really like to get set up so I could track here in the office.
Anyone in this situation, how do you do it? What's your setup? Any and all suggestions are welcome. Thanks.
Paul
Perhaps it's the fan itself. I have a corsair case with 3 fans and a CPU cooler fan and I get zero noise.
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Milamber
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Re: Dealing with computer fan noise
2014/06/23 14:34:00
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Could always try and use a noise gate to filter some of the noise out while recording.
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vanblah
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Re: Dealing with computer fan noise
2014/06/23 15:04:24
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I have my PC in a closet. I have long cables that run from the components (keyboard, monitor, mouse, audio interface, and an empty USB cable for thumbdrives), through a PVC pipe in the wall into the closet. Pipe needs to have some kind of curve or bend in it to be really effective.
It doesn't get terribly hot in there, but if it did I could just vent it out the other side if need be (it backs up to another closet). I got tired of having to open the closet to turn the PC on so I mounted a power button to my desk and used a long enough wire to the power jumpers on the motherboard.
Of course, if you don't own your house or you don't want to cut holes in your walls then this won't work for you.
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Paul G
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Re: Dealing with computer fan noise
2014/06/24 14:34:59
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mettelus
If you have a version of Audition lying around, definitely check it out... any "consistent" background noise can be removed by it effectively with the "default" settings alone, which is why I do the "environmental sample" before/after each take. I have Audition 4 (that came with CS 5.5), and it has been effective enough that I have not looked into another solution. Consistent noise of sufficient sample size it all it needs (I have never modified the default settings myself, but have run it twice in a row to clean off recordings of analog tape, which was rather impressive as to what it is capable of). I have Version 3.0 that Adobe gave away for free last year. I do need to fire it up. Thanks.
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Paul G
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Re: Dealing with computer fan noise
2014/06/24 14:38:34
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Paul G
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Re: Dealing with computer fan noise
2014/06/24 14:45:44
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tlw
Just a final quick thought.
Sometimes a PC case actually cools/vents better with fewer fans. It can be a useful experiment to try switching a fan off while closely monitoring temperatures. I built my previous tower with a case fan at the lower front blowing in and another at the back below the top-mounted psu blowing the hot air out because that's what intuition/experience/"common sense" suggested would be needed.
I found in the end that it ran coolest and quietist by removing the front fan, opening up the middle of the three top/front 5.25" bays so it was just a tunnel and reversing the rear fan so it pushed air in at the back which then escaped through the big fan and drive bay holes in the front.
Sometimes these things are counter-intuitive.
Thanks. The only downside to this that I can see is that by bringing air IN from the rear you would be, (in my case anyway), drawing heated air from the CPU over the hard drives at the front of the case. Paul
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Paul G
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Re: Dealing with computer fan noise
2014/06/24 14:48:03
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Mistergreen
Perhaps it's the fan itself. I have a corsair case with 3 fans and a CPU cooler fan and I get zero noise.
Could be I guess, but mechanical noise and air movement have two different sounds. I probably just have too many fans.
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Paul G
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Re: Dealing with computer fan noise
2014/06/24 14:53:37
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Milamber
Could always try and use a noise gate to filter some of the noise out while recording.
True and if I were tracking electric guitar or drums that might well do it. In this case I track mostly vocals and I really don't want the noise in the recording. In addition, a condenser mic picks up the noise at a level that's distracting in the cue mix. Thanks.
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Paul G
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Re: Dealing with computer fan noise
2014/06/24 14:57:58
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vanblah
I have my PC in a closet. I have long cables that run from the components (keyboard, monitor, mouse, audio interface, and an empty USB cable for thumbdrives), through a PVC pipe in the wall into the closet. Pipe needs to have some kind of curve or bend in it to be really effective.
It doesn't get terribly hot in there, but if it did I could just vent it out the other side if need be (it backs up to another closet). I got tired of having to open the closet to turn the PC on so I mounted a power button to my desk and used a long enough wire to the power jumpers on the motherboard.
Of course, if you don't own your house or you don't want to cut holes in your walls then this won't work for you.
This sounds like the best overall solution if I can't get the fan speed/noise level down. It would require a remodel of my office but that's pretty much been in order for some time now. May have to push this to the top of the list. Thanks everyone! Paul
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Kev999
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Re: Dealing with computer fan noise
2014/06/24 16:20:24
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Paul G
...My brother is a big fan...
Is he noisy?
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Maarkr
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Re: Dealing with computer fan noise
2014/06/25 09:35:46
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i checked my fans when i cleaned them recently and saw that they (and the case) are not a newer model... 3 pin, which does not allow the BIOS to use the PWM technology to manage fan speeds. My mobo is newer and has 4 pin headers for the fans, so I bought new fans and the system is quieter.
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Paul P
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Re: Dealing with computer fan noise
2014/06/25 10:16:27
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A large slower fan will be quieter than a small fast one. Some noise from a computer, even if it's placed out of the way, may be coming from the noise bouncing off the walls. Something absorbent between it and the wall would help. dlion16
i also have a gizmo called the kaotica eyeball. $199. http://kaoticaeyeball.com/
From the product description : " Within the Eyeball we see a smoother, slower, and more linear decay pattern, while the envelope of the sound without the Eyeball decays much quicker. This shows us how quickly sound is dispersed through air, and how much longer the sound is maintained inside of The Eyeball." Magic  .
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Ricebug
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Re: Dealing with computer fan noise
2014/06/27 02:56:47
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I have four 120cm fans in my case, which are virtually noiseless. I replaced the CPU cooler fan with a water-cooled unit. It's as silent as the grave.
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yofiel
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Re: Dealing with computer fan noise
2014/06/27 03:23:59
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As an early developer of audio products I struggled with this problem for years. There are some expensive solutions. So here are some cheap ones:
(1) The majority of the noise is transmitted from a new fan fan is to the case. Proper use of silicone attachments removes this vibration. The majority of times this has more effect than anything else.
(2) Purchase the largest fan you can, then take a spare connector and connect the 5v input to the ground output. This lets you run the fan at 7V, which substantially reduces its noise.
Rubber grommets on disk drives are also very cheap, if you can find them, and also stop case vibration very effectively. It's often difficult to find them though, so it's worth checking the next time you buy a case that it has them. The Antec Sonata has them for example. I agree quietpc.com is a good resource.
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c5_convertible
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Re: Dealing with computer fan noise
2014/06/27 05:29:25
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yofiel
(2) Purchase the largest fan you can, then take a spare connector and connect the 5v input to the ground output. This lets you run the fan at 7V, which substantially reduces its noise.
Just so nobody fries their power supply (or worse)...: http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/other/137
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c5_convertible
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Re: Dealing with computer fan noise
2014/06/27 05:29:19
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yofiel
(2) Purchase the largest fan you can, then take a spare connector and connect the 5v input to the ground output. This lets you run the fan at 7V, which substantially reduces its noise.
Just so nobody fries their power supply (or worse)...: http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/other/137 ok... Submit is slow... Sorry for the double post...
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cpkoch
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Re: Dealing with computer fan noise
2014/06/27 11:58:07
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Is fan noise entering the MIC? If so, wouldn't an isolation of the MIC prevent it? A Desktop Audio Booth that one can build, I read somewhere, for $17 or less might solve the problem ... no?
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200bpm
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Re: Dealing with computer fan noise
2014/06/27 12:14:54
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The bane of electric guitarists is EMI picked up by the guitar. I have found that a Corsair H50 water cooler effectively eliminated EMI from the computer- the stock fan was the culprit. My current system has two other fans- the power supply and a large, slow case fan with an external 3-speed adjuster if I need to move serious air. The other benefit of the water cooler is that it supports significant overclocks.
This computer serves for video use as well, but if I wanted to build an affordable and very quiet computer, I would shop for the quietest power supply or a fanless one, use a water cooler, and use an open case design with no case fans. The water cooler does have an almost silent fan itself and evacuates the majority of heat from the system so eliminates the need for case fan. It does make a tiny noise, like a small aquarium air pump. Also get solid state drives or use fast notebook drives designed for low noise.
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