Putting my DAW in another room

This is certainly not said with any authority, just what I've read over the years:

I'm not sure if you will have any problems extending the PS/2 lengths, but the USB2 and firewire maximum lengths are each said to be about 5 meters.  Hubs can extend that distance, but you will supposedly incur some signal delay.  Plus, there may be a problem from voltage drop over longer distances since with USB we are only talking 5 volts.

It must be possible, though, since I've seen many studios where the computer case is located outside the control room.

Jim Roseberry


Why not just replace the noisy components in the PC?
That'll solve the problem... and you won't have to worry about running Firewire and USB 25'.  

Interesting point - but is it more cost effective in the long run to get the longer cables? I mean, once the cables are bought you could go through further iterations of your DAW PC without having to go to the extra expense of buying noise free components?
 
Just my 2p !

I can recommend Noctua CPU fan.  You can' t even hear it?

http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=start&lng=en

Point taken - I used to have a really nasty KVM switch that had the worst quality cabling. My monitor was completely ghosted and the cable length here was no more than a metre!

I solve most of my PC noise issues by using low noise fans and isolating the PC in a drawer under my desk (with adequate airflow at the back).

As my Mics are all placed sufficiently distant from the PC I'm good to go.

I have all my DAW computers in another room, and it works great. I've done this for years this way, to great benefit and total noise control, in three studios. The trick is configuring your control room and computer room to align to reduce cable length. :)

25 feet will be a challenge, but not insurmountable. Perhaps consider reconfiguring your spaces to shorten the lengths.

For my current config, I set it up so that the wall where my monitors, screens, etc., are located, are literally on the other side of the wall where the computers are in the other room. So the computers are really quite close to me, physically. Then I drilled a hole in the wall to run all the cables, and positioned all the DAWs in the other room on a low platform so their connectors face towards the hole in the wall.

No cable extensions are needed this way, except for PS/2, in my case.

Warning: Be very careful about drilling through walls... You don't want to hit any electrical stuff in there... :) Obviously!

The hole in the wall is drilled diagonally, to minimize noise pass-through, and is about 1 1/4 inch diameter wide. It accommodates 3 USB, 2 PS/2, 1 firewire, 2 DVI, 1 VGA (for a KVM switch) and 4 balanced cables so far. I could cram a couple more cables through if I'm desperate.

My mixing room is dead silent this way... the loudest thing in here is the Alphatrack which annoys me to no end when I'm mixing a delicate passage.

I also build (or buy) cases/fans/computers that are really quiet. That helps a lot. So even in the computer room, it's not that bad. I did have a graphics card fan start making a lot of noise recently, and that high-pitched noise still bugged me in the mixing room, so I just replaced the graphics card with a fanless one. Problem solved.

Personally, I think it's worth the effort. It makes my mixing/control room a good room for recording as well. I can sit with a guitarist in the same room and record soft acoustic passages if I had to, and the room is as silent as I'm gonna get for this budget.

EDIT: I keep making typos!

Jind


Good thing this thread came along - I too have been thinking alot lately about cutting the noise down on my PC.  I'm sure a search would result in several threads about the topic but was wondering if someone had a quick reference to cases/fans/CPU coolers that I can look for?  Any guidence would be greatly appreciated.

one tip: When you search for parts on NewEgg, for example, you can see the noise ratings. I think you can even filter by noise ratings. Just buy the quietest components you can. Big fans with low RPMs (with low noise ratings) and fanless graphics cards have always helped me cut the noise down considerably.

For a cheap, quick build, the Sonata cases are pretty good since they have a little sound deadening material in them as well, plus some rubber mounting grommets for the fans and hard drives.

Jind


Good thing this thread came along - I too have been thinking alot lately about cutting the noise down on my PC.  I'm sure a search would result in several threads about the topic but was wondering if someone had a quick reference to cases/fans/CPU coolers that I can look for?  Any guidence would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.endpcnoise.com/
 
http://www.acousticpc.com/
 
http://www.silentpcreview.com/

krizrox

 
They make wooden enclosures too with front glass doors that cut down the sound.

A soundproof rack enclosure would be the perfect solution for me. Not only do I have a noisy computer, I also have 2 Magma expansion boxes which sound something like the beginning of "Top Gun" when you turn them on.

The Magma boxes say you shouldn't run a bus interface cable longer than a few meters, and I'm guessing that goes for usb & firewire as riojazz said. Not only do you encounter delay, you might get dropouts & data loss due to the voltage drop (they say).

But who sells isolation racks? And how effective are they? Recommendations, anyone?

I'm in the "machine room" crowd as well... repeaters and extenders are available for every imaginable digital and video interface, and they tend to be a lot cheaper (and easier and quicker) than quieting an existing computer.

Next time around, assuming I am flush enough to do so, I'll let Jim R build me a quiet computer, but until then I'm happy with the extensions.

If it helps, I use a KVM switch I picked up from Cable2Go to extend one monitor, the keyboard and mouse, and one USB port. I used a fairly expensive video cable for the second monitor. I used a USB over Cat5 extender for my CD drive (cause I hate having to walk to the computer just to read or write a disc<G>), but that was not as reliable as I had hoped, so I ended up getting a USB repeater for just that device. I also use a Frontier Design Tranzport for remote control over the DAW.

Previously I had used a wireless keyboard and mouse from Logitech, and that worked pretty well too, but the batteries became a bit of a hassle. I recently picked up another wireless keyboard and mouse because I really hate all the cables and I left the receiver local, plugged into the USB ports on the KVM switch. Probably silly, but it working.

If I had the money to buy or build a really silent computer I'm not sure that's where I'd spend... the machine room has worked out for me.

The machine room is also home to several tape decks, so it was already there. If one does not have a machine room then the quiet computer is a worthwhile quest... the really good isolation cabinets are quite a bit more expensive than the quiet computers, and they are physically large as well.

The proper way to extend that stuff is with balums.  Here is an example of a cheap one.
 
http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/83-11347&CAWELAID=241013010
 
MCM has a lot of cheap ones but there are more expensive extenders.
Check out this site they have all the pro stuff...
 
http://www.markertek.com/

When I built my last home studio, I had one wall that butted up to a set of internal stairs.  I made the cavity under the stairs into a computer closet and lined it with multiple layers of high density acoustic rated drywall.  I also lined it with acoustic panels.  Then I put a heavy door on it and put an 80mm bezel through the drywall, with PVC pipe.  Once all the PC cables were through the pipe, I stuffed it with closed-cell neoprene.  The door to the closet was sealed with a rubber gasket.  Once that door was closed, you couldn't hear a thing.  The closet also had fan-forced ventilation so the PC ran nice and cool.  With the computer closet built into the studio, I was able to use passive 5 metre cables for everything.  I had no problem with image quality or USB.

Even with the best components, you can't beat a custom-built space to isolate your PC.  A sensitive condenser mic will always pick up PC noise, unless you are close mic'ing a loud source.  My studio was dead-silent (although I did build it properly with the right materials and the right techniques to decouple the internal walls from the rest of the building structure.

I have just moved to a new house and for the moment am living with a "quiet" PC in my recording space.  Even with the best components, there is no comparison.

foxwolfen


I too would like to use a separate machine room, but I have found my Akai MPK and M-Audio FTP do not work with USB hubs at all, and performance degrades considerably with longer than 6ft cables.

Cheers
Shad

have you tried powered USB hubs, shad, or just the ones that plug only into a usb port and no external power?

FWIW, my pc sits in a rack, right in front of me and I can happily record vocals, acoustic guitar etc and not hear a thing from the pc.

I think the guy above who reckoned on spending $150 for a FAN needs to look a little further.

http://www.quietpc.com/

Again, in my opinion, you'll spend far LESS in making your machine quieter than moving it into a separate room, with all that this entails.

Just my 2 pence/cents/shekels