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General discussion

How would you describe the noise level of your computer?

Jul 20, 2006 6:42AM PDT

How would you describe the noise level of your computer?

Very noisy (how so?)
Noisy (how so?)
Acceptable (what's acceptable?)
Quiet (describe it for us)
Very quiet (like nothing is on?)
Other (please explain)

Discussion is locked

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Extremely Noisy:Dell 8200
Jul 21, 2006 1:48AM PDT

Geez, both my Dell 8200's sound like a big rig diesel truck revving at 10,000 rpms!

The computers would fine, but are so noisy I'm thinking about getting one of those supposedly QUIET Intel/iMacs!

I called Dell tech support[a mere shadow of their once superb help-line and was told "that's the way it is"!

My next computer will be QUIET!

Goodbye Dell, you've given me a noise pollution headache!

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New Dells finally got it right;- See my profile/read below
Jul 22, 2006 3:41AM PDT

Two computers: DELL 8400/ DELL E510. World of difference.

Our Dell 8400 (Purchased FEB 2005) cooling fan is so loud that I always run a playlist on widows media player with the volume cranked up so the music drowns out the noise (thank goodness for great speakers and soundblaster audiology).

On the other hand, our DELL E510 (purchased MAR 2006)-which cost less and does more - is so quiet that it is easy to forget it is even on. Thus, had to adjust power settings to "automatic hybernate" after one hour of no activity to avoid forgetting to shut it off.

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Acceptable
Jul 21, 2006 2:01AM PDT

Sounds like my refridgerator, it is a little louder now, since I took off the side panel to point a fan on it to cool it down.

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My computers
Jul 21, 2006 2:29AM PDT

We have three computers in our household that are not obsolete. We have a toshiba laptop, which is extremely quiet. I personally have a Sony Viao which is also almost silent - it is quieter than our celing fan. However, the family computer, an eMachine, is hella loud. It sounds like a jet when you power it on, and it has the loudest harddrive i've ever heard.

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Not outlandishly irritating, but it sure could be quieter.
Jul 21, 2006 3:04AM PDT

Up until recently, I was using a Compaq Deskpro EX desktop with a Celeron 600 MHz processor. That computer was very quiet, and with a separate high-end graphics card and plenty of memory and hard disk space, it ran everything that I needed to run.

However, since I know computers don't last forever, I decided to order a new Dell Optiplex GX620, since I figured this would be my last chance to purchase a new computer that has a floppy drive and serial and parallel ports.

This is a reasonably quiet computer, but not nearly as quiet as the Deskpro was. It supposedly incorporates a new heatsink/fan design, and BTX case layout, which is supposed to make it run quiet and efficient. However, I suppose that if I had ordered the tower model and put it on the floor, I probably wouldn't hear it, but since this is a desktop and right in front of my face, that is why it seems kind of loud.

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computer noise
Jul 21, 2006 3:18AM PDT

My computer noise is acceptable but somedays the hum is louder than usual and somedays it is not there.
thanks abilone71

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verry loud computer...
Jul 21, 2006 3:57AM PDT

mine is a custom built computer and has 7 fans and will soon have 4 or more HDDs...so it sounds like a jet engine. and then i have 2 comps in my room and the AC going all the time so its pretty loud, but i like the background noise because it helps me sleep... it drowns out the noise of slamming doors/toilet lids,cars and arguing parents...

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Acceptable too heat builds up
Jul 21, 2006 4:07AM PDT

Noise is acceptable till cpu gets to 57c then the cpu fan get loud enough to hear from outside my room. Zalman C7000 ALu/Copper not even near beeing quit at full speed.
my NV5 fan for my gpu is quieter then all my pc's fans put to gather and thats at full speed and it does better job of cooling the gpu then the zalman fans cooling the cpu

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Noise and heat
Jul 21, 2006 1:55PM PDT

I have a Zalman CNPS 7000 (all copper) that used to be on this computer and now is on one of the other computers in the house. I have always run it at full speed (because I'm always overclocked) and have never found its sound objectionable. In fact, it is worlds quieter than the Thermaltake leafblower I replaced with the Zalman!
If you want more heat reduction, go with the all copper unit, and use Arctic Silver thermal grease; the Arctic Silver alone is good for a 10 degree reduction (why Zalman doesn't include it I don't know, because it's better than their grease).
I have a Zalman CNPS 9500 on this computer, and it is quieter than the 7000; that is what I'd go with if buying new.

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A64 Laptop = Noisy, G3 iMac = Silent
Jul 21, 2006 4:40AM PDT

My Athlon 64 3200+ is pretty noisy. It has the fans constantly spinning and occasionally spins up for a while to keep it cool. It is annoying to leave on overnight for when encoding video and gets pretty hot too.

On the other hand, my G3 iMac is near silent, the only noise I can hear is the hard drive spinning (and this is very quiet because its a Seagate- totally opposite to the Maxtor in before!). The G3 DV iMacs are passively cooled with just a heatsink, no fan.

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noise? is THAT what that is?
Jul 21, 2006 4:40AM PDT

i'm sorry, but my old 366 is so noisy that i have to step outside to hear the phone ring.

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Quiet, but still too noisy
Jul 21, 2006 5:33AM PDT

I run a recording business on the side. My office is also my recording studio, and any noticeable noise is too much.

My computers are home-built and I've put a lot of effort into making them as quiet as possible, and compared to most machines, they are quiet.

If I'm doing any serious recording, however, I need to move my audio computer outside the room so I don't pick it up as background noise.

I have essentially no fan noise all 120mm fans running slow, and very quiet PSUs - only hard disk noise - and all the disks are grommet-mounted and fairly new (no old screamers).

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Mine sucks, I could use some low budget suggestions?
Jul 21, 2006 5:50AM PDT

Basically I have 2 front fans, 2 side fans, a blowhole fan, and an exhaust fan. I only use the side fans for days like the summer when it is really hot in the house or I am gaming (or both combined), with my fans full blast it sounds like an airplane but it keeps my PC at about 45/47C, maybe 50 dependong on how hot it is here in california. On a winter day, I can take my two side fans off and itll stay about 42C. I wish they werent so low but it seems to get so hot. My CPU fan kind of sucks too. well, its alright. I just need to upgrade my computer blah.

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Cheap solutions
Jul 25, 2006 2:05AM PDT

Firstly your temp isnt great but your computer is still not in a danger zone of overheating so not too much to worry about.
However there are a few things you can try
1. Get some silver based thermal compound and apply it properly to your processor. This means as thin a layer as you can possibly do. An old credit card is good for this job.
2. Bigger fans shift more air relative to the noise they make, so if possible use 120mm fans.
3. Move fans internally. It is no good if there is all that air moving through the case if it isnt blown where it is needed. Try moving a coupple of fans internal and blow over the hotspots in your computer.
4. Ducting. Any cheap tube (even paper) will do to duct air streight from out the case directly onto the processor.
5. Well im not sure which fans suck or blow but basically you need an equal number of each or else it becomes inneficient and extra fans are wasted. My reccomendation would to have an exhaust fan in the top (if poss) one at the back and one in your power unit. Then a front fan and a side fan (possibly two of one kind)
6. Swap your cpu fan. This is easy on amd, not so easy with intel but none the less possible.

I only have a side fan and two power unit fans but then I have liquid cooling keeping my processor at a cool 24C ^-^

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the noise of my computer,,, is acceptable.
Jul 21, 2006 5:52AM PDT

All I hear is the normal noise of the fans.

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Quieter than I expected
Jul 21, 2006 6:28AM PDT

As my computer starts up in the mornings, it is quite noisy. No one around would doubt that the noise is a computer in the throes of start-up. Lots of whirring, printer greetings, start-up applications humming, and overlapping sounds.

Once that initial process has completed, however, the day continues with virtually no noise whatsoever. Sure unlike my first computers beginning in 1983!

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The noise of my (laptop) computer sounds ....
Jul 21, 2006 7:14AM PDT

The noise of my (laptop Toshiba) computer sounds like a coffee grinder on steroids; when it is not sounding like that, it sounds like a modified lawn mower that has been designed to work unattended on Mars. I believe from reading the helpful replies here that the problem is a fan, so I'm going to open my computer for the first time in my life and have a poke around with a soft stick - maybe if I fill every space with banana skins it might help, I've heard that works well on cars with grindingly bad gear boxes.... good luck to me! Thanks for the help, allHappy

Lindzus

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Noisy fans? Yes!!
Jul 21, 2006 7:22AM PDT

My 3 fans (includes cpu fan) on my new K8 64X2 Athlon PC with the Raptor 10,000 speed HD is so noisy I can't hear my phone ring. It's noisier than my previous K7 which had the same 3 fans. However, the components in this system get hotter so need to be compensated for. Both are custom-built by an online PC store at my specs. When the hard drive kicks on at first (or over 50%), yes, it sounds like an airplane taking off! Wink
But what can a person do? They tell me nothing. The whole case vibrates with the hum, and yes, it's on a low shelf on my desk like most PC's. I don't think anyone should blame Dell or any other brand. It's what's inside that counts!

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Loud Noise In Computer
Jul 21, 2006 7:28AM PDT

Per the current email sent in regards to someone saying that they had a loud noise coming from their computer?? I can attest and agree that it is probably the fan..I just went through this myself and I had taken my computer in for repair and I was told that the fan was not good and that it was going to be replaced...well, guess what? they ripped me off, it was never replaced and then I was told it was probably on its way out-dying..so I got a new computer from Dell and just recently had my other computer looked at by a new person in another town who is an IT tech and the fan was ceased..could not rotate even if you tried to manuelly move it by yourself..The guy felt so bad that they charged me big bucks, that he charged me what it cost him for the fan and labor and had to clean it up some, now its working great...but if its something you can do on your own to save on cost?? Go for it..

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Agree, it's the cooling fan
Jul 21, 2006 8:43AM PDT

I have been involved in a program with Stanford U where idle time on my CPU is used to crunch numbers in a research protocol. I have heard the fan get noisier and noisier over the past year or two. I can exit out of the project and the noise level drops to pretty near nothing. I'm hoping I get around to a new PC before the fan fails or processor frys. It's my donation to humanity. Fans, by the way, are relatively cheap and no great challenge to replace.

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Very noisy
Jul 21, 2006 10:00AM PDT

The difference is, mine only does it in the heat. My computer is a Dell, itel pentium 4, and I've been told this is a common problem with these. True?

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Ommmm -- zen like
Jul 21, 2006 10:27AM PDT

My CPU emits a gentle, self-satisfied hum, like a Zen master during his meditations.

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IF you find it's not a fan...
Jul 21, 2006 11:49AM PDT

check the drives...

ESPECIALLY the Floppy Drive (if you have one) Wink

One of my computers makes that same noise upon bootup and it is in fact the Floppy Drive on this particular computer making the noise. In their 'infinite wisdom' MS decided to mess with the way the Floppy is recognized (didn't you hear? Floppies are being phased out). Ever since the last time I actually installed their garbage patches (a LOOOOOONG time ago) that Floppy drive of mine 'sings it's song'. No biggie.

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Quieter after upgrading
Jul 21, 2006 1:42PM PDT

the HS/Fan for the CPU (installed a Zalman CNPS 9500) and the power supply.
While the PC Power & Cooling Turbo Cool 510 Deluxe was rated ''noisy'' by early reviewers, I found it to be substantially quieter than the Thermaltake Xaser Silent Purepower 480 it replaced! ("silent" it wasn't)
Since I built this as a ''power'' unit for video editing, and don't want to be bothered with water cooling, I consider the sound level acceptable.

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Quiet systems - Mac G4 and Gateway laptop
Jul 21, 2006 3:02PM PDT

I have a Mac G4 desktop as well as a Gateway laptop. Both are very quiet. However, my laptop has a sound that occurs without warning.....the sound of a gorilla in the jungle...probably a mating call. Don't know how it got there and heaven knows I have no clue to getting rid of it. Other than that, everything is great!

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Full disk => noisy disk
Jul 22, 2006 3:39AM PDT

Usually intermittent grindy noises are from disks that suddenly have to churn a lot to get or put data. If you have a new, empty disk, data can be laid down and retreived from a small area, with relatively little head travel. The spin of the hard disk itself makes very little noise (though I had some old Quantum 200Mb [yes, Mb] disks where the grease broke down under heat and they were always noisy). It is the motor that snaps the head back and forth across the surface--a "stepping motor"--that makes the most noise on most drives.

So anything you can do to reduce that travel not only quiets your computer, but improves data I/O speed! You can defragment your disk, to move similar data closer to its kin. You can put in a bigger disk, so that the disk isn't filling "holes" left all over the disk from whenever you delete data, freeing space desparately needed, and you can switch to a fixed-size virtual memory partition (a big performance hit on a very full and fragmented disk).

If your stepper motor gets really loud, it could be going out of adjustment, especially if you hear it seeking and seeking and seeking before it finally settles in and finds the right track. That's a danger signal that can't be ignored and you'd better make sure you have a current backup...cause you're going to need it soon!

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noisy due to dust
Jul 21, 2006 4:36PM PDT

My computer's noise is acceptable now but last summer it gradually became very noisy, so noisy that I was afraid it was going to explode!

Finally, it was the fan that had been thicker and thicker by 3-years-dust stuck on it. I was advised to open the computer and clean it carefully with a vacuum cleaner once in a while.

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I can live with the noise
Jul 21, 2006 6:54PM PDT

I have built myself a storage cabinet to hold my primary pc, work station and server with the hdd tower and CD tower. It seemes a little loud when you first experience it but you become acustomed to the sound. The reason for the increased sound is that I run my pc's at 100% 24-7. The server is the loudest because it has four processors and I like using every bit of power that I can get from my systems.

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I find some noise reasuring...
Jul 22, 2006 2:41AM PDT

After upgrading both hard drives the noise level is down to a nice fan "hmmmmmm" hardly noticeable over background noise.

While a fan upgrade would help I prefer a "little" noise. "Silent" systems really NEED software to monitor fan speed and temps to provide an alarm when the "silence" is actually a cooling system failure which can harm the system components.

My DVD-ROM is OK as well but my DVD-Burner sounds like a jet engine preparing for takeoff on the runway. Fortunately I don't use the burner during typical operation.

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Very quiet Turion laptop
Jul 22, 2006 3:29AM PDT

My Dells at work are clothes dryers by comparison. Those I can hear the disk spin, the disk seek tracks (to be fair, they're loaded vertically in the front of the case, with the motor facing the gril...) and of course the fan, that starts up louder than my Audi's air conditioner, but then backs off significantly when the software temperature control kicks in.

But the Compaq Turion laptop is almost silent. If I have it on my lap, and use 3D graphics, the fan kicks on after a while. I can get rid of heat by putting it down on a better sink than my (relatively) warm legs and it shuts off pretty quickly. Other than that, I have to look at the blinky lights to tell me if the hard disk is done spinning. Especially when I'm putting it into hibernate mode and want to know when it is done and I can safely close the lid.

Anything but variable-speed processors, and variable speed fans are really unacceptable today. Don't think you're missing out when running in low-power mode; if you use a monitoring software that shows the clock speed, it is amazing how fast the CPU will respond (well, I guess it isn't amazing, or shouldn't be! CPUs are _fast_!)