Hi. I just bought a new Dell for Christmas. Its fast and all, but the fans are obtrusive ++ and it's ruining any listening experience.

Any suggestions to fix or modify?

Thanks, BK

there's a number of questions that need answering... is the motherboard a standard one? (one you could transplant into another case if necessary? however that might void the warranty). and is the Powersupply, HSF, or the least likely, case fans that are the source of the noise?

unfortunately those are all pretty tough questions.

i've only accidentally built my quietest computers... power supplies and HSFs have a lot to do with what creates noise... that and stuff like "cool n quiet" which are controlled from BIOS...

I deliberately had a quiet computer built. Start with a quiet power supply, then a quiet and variable speed CPU cooler, which you can have turned v. low when playing music. There are inserts you can get to quieten hard disk noise. I also got a v. low powered graphics card that was passively cooled.

After all this, it still resonated through the floor and disturbed my Partner On Life's Journey, whose study is directly below mine. So I got an iMac.

I rather think it will be difficult to retrofit your Dell, so you might need to look at building a sound-deadening enclosure that will still allow ventilation, or stick it in a closet with long cables to screen, mouse and keyboard.

Sorry

Michael

Put the computer in another room. Easy if you have mains power outlets built into the wall with the wall actually having a round hole in it. This is an universal solution for any machine, even noisy Pentium 4.

If that's not possible you'll have to build another computer. Even a fully powered Core 2 w/ 4 MB cache can be made almost inaudible using 12cm fans in case and power supply, so that the only noise you hear is the harddisk seeking (haven't had experience with the special pads).

What model is your new system?

If your PC supports it enable cpu frequency scaling. Often it needs to be enabled in the BIOS and in the OS. In Windows right click you desktop, go to properties, power settings and set it to least power usage.

Also check if your BIOS supports PWM mode for fans. You could also uncouple your hard disks from the casing, but Dell maybe already did that for you.

Would small rubbers that are intended to protect the HDD from shock give any audible improvement?

Thanks for your replies.

The computer is a Dell inspiron 530. I am pretty sure its all fan noise but I havn't looked or checked to see which fan.

How do I tell if it is a standard motherboard?

I could get a different tower and replace fans if need be.

I will also call dell Monday and gripe because this thing would be irritating no matter what you were using it for.

Well, most noisy thing on my PC are HDDs (samsun HD501LJ or something) i get silentmaxx HDD silencers, that are probably best, but on top of hdd is hole that shloud not be covered and it will be when i put it in HDD silencer do you have any experience with it - shoud i ignore warning about don't covering this hole?

Does the tower have any removeable metal panels?

I have a Dimension 5150 which has a couple of metal panels, these are what cause the most noise for me because they vibrate sometimes loudly. A quick tap and they're quiet again. With the panels removed the fans and HDDs are suprisingly quiet.

This review claims that the HDD Silencer is more of a cooler actualy.
http://www.thetechlounge.com/article/233-4...axx+HDSilencer/

In different reviews it was described as good in slencing and i allready tryed it and HDD is realy more silent in it - anyway still audible ):. I will try mCubed alternative, when they deliver it to my country . Still i can recomend this as good HDD silencer - it silence hdd and don't rise it's temperature like some other silencers and death HDD is worst of comuter problems.

This is a very good place to start: (forums & articles)

http://www.silentpcreview.com/

Thanks for the link. This was a good site too.Looks like there is hope after all......

http://www.quietpcusa.com/

Quick update.

I spoke with Dell technical support.They require that I open the case and isolate the fans and cables but they will replace the fans with quieter models as required.

I hope their reputation for good customer service holds true.

I agree with J7N above. Putting the computer in another room is the best possible thing you can do, and it will cost less than building a hard box around the computer to enclose the noise, or by buying quieter components. And you can never completely silence the hard drive(s).

Just get a long shielded S-VGA or DVI cable and long USB cables for your monitor, keyboard and mouse, and keep only the latter three components in your audio room. I went a step further and put a USB DVD-R in my studio, but I keep it turned off most of the time so that it doesn't make any noise.

The cheapest alternative of all is to use closed-back headphones, but that's cheating (and it'll make your ears sweat during the day).

Quieter fans are not expensive. And you can put most hard drives into acoustic mode for free. For $75 or less (3 fans and a hard drive box) you should be able to significantly reduce the noise coming out of your computer.

That's what I am hoping. Dell indicates they will replace the fans as required but I have to isolate the offenders this evening.

i hope its not the psu fan because those are trickier to replace.

REDUCE -- not eliminate. My way, it actually eliminates the noise 100%.

I have to occasionally record voice-overs in my home studio, and it's not possible with a computer, a hard drive, or anything that makes that much noise in the room. Go to any good mastering room in the world, and you'll see that almost none of them keep the computer in the same room as the loudspeakers.

You are correct of course, but the inconvenience of having the computer in a different room is significant as well. Their would also be a cash hit for extended cables and such.

Burning a DVD or such would require a walk as well.

So far I am looking at a CPU fan with copper sink, a box fan, and a hard drive sleeve for about 75$ canadian with a SPL of about 20db, which inside my desk would be far less noisy than my fridge and furnace combined.

Things are not going well with Dell. they are going to replace the fans but only with the same fans. I have spoken to customer service and tech support expressing my concern that this would be futile, but no one is authorized to do anything else.

Customer support will refund my money, or send me another version of the same computer (?!)

Tech support is not authorized to change part types,only to replace what is already there. The possibility that it is simply a noisy computer has not reached them yet.

I have offered to buy the silenced gear but would prefer their tech put it in, but they say they will void my warranty if aftermarket stuff is put in.

All in all, they have been very frustrating to talk to thus far.

As it turns out, the problem was not with the fans but with the Bios.

my particular model has had a Bios upsdate available since mid December.

I found it after searching a few Dell forums and flashing the Bios immediately fixed the problem.

It's amazing to me that tech support does not know stuff like this. The tech is still coming and I have tried to call Dell but I keep getting left on hold so long I hang up.

So this guy is going to show up today to replace the fans when it was never required to begin with.