Silence is Golden – How to make your PC quieter

Case Study 2: Affordable Upgrades

Idle Noise: 35.9dBA
Maximum Processor Temperature: 51°C
Maximum Graphics Card Temperature: 76°C
Cost: £53

After playing with the fan speeds (see Case study 1) our PC was quieter, but still not quiet enough. The main culprit was the rear case fan, which was way too loud even at low speeds. As the temperature of the processor was still fine after we’d adjusted the fan’s speed, we could replace it without fear. We used the rubber mounts of Fractal Design’s Anti-Vibration Kit to mount a 120mm Sharkoon Silent Eagle 1000 fan, which is both very quiet and pushes a fair bit of air. These two items cost us £24, but the results were great – the PC was so much quieter and more pleasant to use. However, while the idle noise dropped from 40.8dBA to 31.7dBA, the PC was still quite loud when working hard at 37.7dBA.

The processor cooler was to blame. As we’d already tried to tame its fan as aggressively as possible, we had to replace it. The Gelid Tranquillo cooler costs £24 and proved to be not just quieter but also more efficient than our old fan. We saw the processor temperature drop from 61°C to 51°C under load, while the noise dropped from 37.7dBA to 35.3dBA. That’s not a huge improvement, though. In fact, we saw a slightly bigger improvement from this new cooler when the PC was idle, dropping from 31.7dBA to 28.4dBA.

Spending relatively small amounts can make a big difference – Click on this image to enlarge it

After more investigation, we found that the graphics card fan was now the loudest component, and was responsible for the disappointingly small improvement. Meanwhile, the low idle noise also made the clacks and clunks of our hard disk more noticeable. Replacing the cooler on a graphics card is extremely tricky, and given that we were trying to limit the upgrade costs for this case study, we decided to live with the graphics card and concentrate on the hard disk.

We first tried the rubber grommets that came with the Fractal Design Anti-Vibration Kit we’d already splashed out on. These act like padding between the supplied screws and the metal hard disk caddy. However, as the screws and rubber grommets still press the metal of the disk caddy to the hard disk, we didn’t notice much difference by using the rubber grommets. The next step was to give the Nexus DTW 2300B DiskTwin a whirl. The two bars attach to either side of the hard disk, placing a block of rubber between the hard disk and the mounts of a 5.25in optical drive bay. It was tricky to fit, though, and we still heard the hard disk loud and clear. We’d therefore recommend avoiding both of these hard disk quietening devices.