trtzbass
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Silent PC
Hi all
question for you, please?
How do you keep your PC running silent? Mine has three big fans and they're set on silent mode from the BIOS but sometimes it gets noisy enough to bleed into my microphone (home studio here, I sing in front of the PC). Truth be told the case is a cheap one so it's not soundproofed. Do you think I should invest in a liquid cooled system for my CPU?
How do you make sure your PC stays quiet throughout your days' work?
Cheers!
Jordan Brown - he tried to play bass www.jordanbrown.co.uk twitter.com/trtzbass trgmachine.bandcamp.com
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Jim Roseberry
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Re: Silent PC
2016/03/31 08:57:17
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A silent PC is the sum of all parts. - Acoustically treated case (mostly helps against vibration noises).
- Quiet power-supply
- Over spec'd CPU cooler (cool CPU translates to quiet)
- Large low RPM Fans
- Quiet video card (if active cooled)
- Quiet drives
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TerraSin
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Re: Silent PC
2016/03/31 11:44:32
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Liquid cooling can be noisy depending on the kind you get.
Here's what I did:Get a new case - I use Corsair Obsidian 550D cases. Fractal Design Define R5 is another good option, though not as well built IMO.Aftermarket fans/CPU cooler - I've moved to all Noctua fans and CPU cooling. Best. Decision. Ever. These are some amazing fans that are quiet.
SSD drives for absolute quiet - I only have 3 in my studio because they are still expensive on the larger format drives and my black drives are kind of noisy but not so much so that it's an issue.Get rid of the video card - Most modern CPU/Mobos have onboard graphics capable of handling up to 3 monitors at 1080p. Newer chips can handle up to 4K. If all you're doing is using a DAW and plugins, it's not going to take much processing to run graphics off the motherboard/processor.
Build/buy an isolation box - You're still going to get some noise from the computer. There is no getting around that. If the above isn't enough and you can't move the computer outside the room or in a closet, get an isolation box for it.
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rsinger
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Re: Silent PC
2016/03/31 13:43:50
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Quiet case - I'm using a Sonata IV by Antec and the case fan is set to low. I have an Asus MB and I let it overclock the CPU, but it didn't do anything drastic. Ran it for a couple days checking temperature and everything was fine. I don't have a video card, I'm using the intel video. This is a pretty quiet system. I used to mic guitar amps, but the emulations are so good now I no longer bother!
Sonar Platinum, 64 bit, win 7 pro - 64 bit
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patm300e
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Re: Silent PC
2016/04/01 11:27:41
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I have a Sonata II (I know its old!) by Antec. It is very well built (read HEAVY!). It works very quietly. I have 1 120 GB SSD and two internal Hard Drives. I use a Zalman CPU cooler on this. If you have building for a while you know the name Zalman. There are quieter ones now, but at the time I built my machine it was among the quieter coolers. Mine is not silent, but it IS quiet. I defer to Jim Roseberry as he builds them professionally and knows far more than I do about silencing PCs.
 SPLAT on a Home built i3 16 GB RAM 64-bit Windows 10 Home Premium 120GB SSD (OS) 2TB Data Drive. Behringer XR-18 USB 2.0 Interface. FaderPort control.
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slartabartfast
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Re: Silent PC
2016/04/01 13:40:59
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trtzbass
sometimes it gets noisy enough to bleed into my microphone
That is a significant clue. Some cooling components are set to respond to temperatures at various locations in the computer. When things get hot the fans start turning faster. Usually, PSU fans are not running on demand, often case fans are as are CPU coolers. First thing to check is air flow around the vents to make sure nothing is blocked there. Presumably silent mode means slow and unchanging, so there is no reason why your case fans should make more or less noise. Three fans in a case may be overkill, and losing one may help. Be sure you have a way to monitor CPU temp preferably with an automatic power down before messing with cooling settings, and look up safe temperatures for your CPU. A CPU can run at its rated temperature with little problem and there is no reason to run it much cooler than that. CPU cooling alteration is going to cost more if the cooler fan turns out to be the problem, but probably worth it. Water cooling may be better at cooling than direct conduction, but as noted above, may not be any quieter unless you can put the fan in another room. Typically a cooler with a large fan is better, and there is some room to adjust the response to temperature if there are settings on your board for that. Of course if the problem is that the sound is constant, and you only notice the bleed on quiet parts of the recording, then identifying a temporary cause of noise is a waste of time.
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Zo
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Re: Silent PC
2016/04/02 16:56:00
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For sale (PM me) : transfert ilok includedEventide Ultrachannel make offersSoftube Summit EQIK Neve 1081 , Neve precision Comp/LimEastWest GoshtwriterSoundforge Pro 12
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...wicked
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Re: Silent PC
2016/04/02 20:19:14
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☄ Helpfulby Starise 2016/04/05 09:44:55
Second the Fractal Design R5. It's easily the piece of my new DAW build I'm most impressed with. Cases have come a long way! The fans and the case treatment makes for a ridiculously quiet setup.
=========== The Fog People =========== Intel i7-4790 16GB RAM ASUS Z97 Roland OctaCapture Win10/64 SONAR Platinum 64-bit billions VSTs, some of which work
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elsongs
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Re: Silent PC
2016/04/14 15:50:05
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patm300e
I have a Sonata II (I know its old!) by Antec. It is very well built (read HEAVY!). It works very quietly. I have 1 120 GB SSD and two internal Hard Drives. I use a Zalman CPU cooler on this. If you have building for a while you know the name Zalman. There are quieter ones now, but at the time I built my machine it was among the quieter coolers.
Mine is not silent, but it IS quiet. I defer to Jim Roseberry as he builds them professionally and knows far more than I do about silencing PCs.
My previous computer was in a Sonata II, and I agree it was VERY quiet. Unfortunately, I kept breaking that !@#$ drive door. That aspect of the case is very poor in design.
Elson Trinidad Los Angeles, CA, USA Web: www.elsongs.com Twitter: twitter.com/elsongs DAWs: Cakewalk by Bandlab, Cakewalk Sonar Platinum x64, Propellerhead Reason 9, Presonus Studio One v3 OS: Windows 10 Professional CPU: Intel i7 3820 3.6MHz MB: ASRock X79 Xtreme4 RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16GB DDR3 Audio: Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 2nd Generation MIDI: MOTU Microlite & Novation Impulse 61
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Rob[at]Sound-Rehab
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Re: Silent PC
2016/04/17 08:30:14
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Zo
Fanless here : zero noise !! all passif
Molten Muse +
http://www.moltenmusictec....co.uk/Muse-_p_16.html
I have something like that (from another company that meanwhile is out of business) - but I TRULY LOVE IT. It's all passive i.e. absolutely silent while giving superb performance. Sometimes it gets quite hot, but performance never suffered. Used it for recordings, live shows, everything ... and when not in studio use, I actually move it to the office because it is quieter than the 2 laptops and seriously faster ... Not cheap - cost about 2K with decent RAM and all SSD but well worth it. EDIT: Thanks, Zo for the link :-) This must actually be the comany that took over from Rain Recording or whatever they were called. So what I got is http://www.moltenmusictechnology.co.uk/Muse_p_15.html but in the much cooler brushed alloy looks. Great to here that these things are still around because I'll get another when workload and money allow ...
post edited by RehabRob - 2016/04/17 08:53:07
GOOD TUNES LAST FOREVER +++ Visit the Rehab +++ DAW: Platinum/X3e, win10 64 bit, i7-3930K (6x3.2GHz), Asus Sabertooth X79, 32 GB DDR3 1600MHz, ATI HD 5450, 120 GB SSD OCZ Agility3, 2x 1TB WD HDD SATA 600 Audio-Interface: 2x MOTU 1248 AVB, Focusrite OctoPre, (Roland Octa-Capture) Control-Surface: VS-700C VSTi: WAVES, NI K10u, FabFilter, IK, ... (too many really)
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patm300e
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Re: Silent PC
2016/04/18 09:12:00
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elsongs
My previous computer was in a Sonata II, and I agree it was VERY quiet. Unfortunately, I kept breaking that !@#$ drive door. That aspect of the case is very poor in design.
My door has been removed and is on the floor. Not beautiful, but functional. I agree that was not a good design because you have to open door just to turn on the PC.
SPLAT on a Home built i3 16 GB RAM 64-bit Windows 10 Home Premium 120GB SSD (OS) 2TB Data Drive. Behringer XR-18 USB 2.0 Interface. FaderPort control.
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