Quiet PC??

[dinesh2001]

Hi Everyone,

I'd like to buy a PC which is quiet and doesn't make a rawing noise or noise from fan or power supply.

I just need it for surfing, watching video and other everyday family use? Proabably need 4G of RAM and should be Intel. It will be used next to my bedroom so I'm looking for a machine which is quiet. Any suggestions would be great....

Regards
D.

[DreamingSheep]

If there's no major work being done on the box, your best bet is to look for anything that has passive cooling and keep it somewhere cold.

Passively cooled CPU, PSU, RAM & North Bridge (NB) mixed with only SSD's should give you an almost deadly silent PC, but it will get expensive doing it that way. Passively cooled RAM & NB's are pretty much standard. If you can get a Motherboard with onboard graphics too, it can remove GPU fan noise.

Other than cost, the next biggest drawback to this type of install is that it's got a better chance of running hot.

You don't mention size, so if you can go for a larger box, try installing big fans too, 180mm upwards, as they can run slower and still move lots of air, keeping them quieter.

Rubber gromet style mounts will also help reduce vibrations on any mounted devices, which in turn reduces noise too.


You could also look at pre-built PC's like the Acer Revo, I've got one in the living room and you can barely hear it at all, but it doesn't handle 1080p MKV's too well, anything below that's fine, BBC iPlayer works fine too but if you're looking at keeping several tabs open in your browser it will start to slow down. There's a few other good models but I can't remember them off the top of my head, things like the eeebox too.


Examples:
Passive CPU cooler but you can fit two fans to it if you want.
[url=http://www.nofancomputer.com/eng/products/CR-100A.php]Nofen CR-100A
Silverstone Nightjar 450W Fanless PSU. I can't find one on Dabs, but this is a good review.

There are several other options out there, but you will find them harder to find than 'normal' fan cooled devices.

[dinesh2001]

Hi Thanks,

I'm after a ready built PC as I'm not keen to build from scratch............... I can install windows but not put the hardware together... any suggestions of a ready made PC would be helpful... shoud be about 4G and quite as a mouse :-)

[Tonyh]

To be completely honest nearly all ready built pc's will be noisy due to cheap components such as the psu and cpu cooler. The only way it wont be is if
1. build it yourself ( far cheaper than buying a premade)
2. get someone to build one for you
3. going for a midrange to top end prebuilt gaming pc.(will set you back)

if I lived close enough I would happily assemble it for you but i doubt it i am. I just hate seeing people buying prebuild pc's because they really robbed in most cases. I've been in a computer shop ( won't name names) before trying to talk people out of buying premade computers...inevitably i got kicked out.

[DreamingSheep]

...I've been in a computer shop ( won't name names) before trying to talk people out of buying premade computers...inevitably i got kicked out.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHHAHAHAAAHAHAHAH!!!!! Brilliant!!!


If you're after pre-built, your best bet would be to find one in a store (then see if Dabs sell it cheaper ) where you can hear it running, although bare in mind it will sound quieter in store if you go to a large store due to the size of the building and everything else that's running next to it and around the rest of the store. Also I don't know many OEM's that build PC's that are in the lower end of the price range (generally your 4G or less market) that purposefully build 'quiet' PCs or even advertise the running dB levels.

A custom built PC would be far more suitable if you really need it to be quiet and to be honest with you as long as you take your time and double check everything, most of a PC build is 'plug and play'ish. I can't really think of any connections that can be put in the wrong way round or using the wrong connector. If you can build something from Ikea or Lego using their instructions, PC's will be easy!

The most tedious part about it is installing drivers, but once you've got Windows installed and the motherboard drivers (for your LAN/Wireless connection) from the CD that's normally included, Windows Update tends to give you at least the basic drivers for most devices. If you really want to, just go online an update them afterwards.

[superleeds27]

It's hard, Im not going to lie to you!

My aim was to improve my system, basically a full upgrade and to keep the noise to a minimum.

I purchased

Fractal 3000 Case, with 3/4 fans
I5-2500k
Freezer 13 pro
GTX 560 TI
Coolermaster 600W PSU

Its alot quieter then my lst build, but after a week or two, ive got use to the noise and now think its still too loud!

The CPU Cooler seems o be making the most noise on mine, closely followed by the GTX560 TI

You can't win really, you want big powerful components, youll have to put up with a set amount of noise.

Of course i could buy a Fanless CPU Cooler, but then im guessing my CPU temps would generally suffer under load!

Swings and roundabouts!

[2o2o]

I have my cooling self setup now and have a fan controller with high medium and low and on low the only noise is the watercooler pump (about 4db) the fans spin so slow they are just keeping air moving nothing more, and in this setting I can play a 1080i movie and temps only rise about 6-7 degrees from idle, the only thing I have to do manually is reduce the GPU fan speed to 20% and it idles along nicely at 61deg and isn't louder than the pump.