i want a quieter pc

[SirTexas]

i decided i dont want my pc making so much noise could someone give me suggestions on how i can quiet it down without losing to much performance?

 

my rig is 

asrock motherboard z370 extreme4

i7 8700k

GTX 1660 ti

8GB DDR4 ram stick i think thats all i need to tell

[dizmo]

Case, fans and cooler are kind of the most important parts. Which you completely neglected to include.

[SirTexas]

1 minute ago, dizmo said:

Case, fans and cooler are kind of the most important parts. Which you completely neglected to include.

large case 6 fans and this CPU cooler specifically https://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-Direct-Contact/dp/B005O65JXI/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2QS29XJX9ERUC&keywords=heatsink&qid=1582160941&sprefix=heatsink%2Caps%2C394&sr=8-4 for the CPU ok not exact but same brand

[Donut417]

5 minutes ago, SirTexas said:

i decided i dont want my pc making so much noise could someone give me suggestions on how i can quiet it down without losing to much performance?

 

my rig is 

asrock motherboard z370 extreme4

i7 8700k

GTX 1660 ti

8GB DDR4 ram stick i think thats all i need to tell

Noctua is your friend. They make some of the quiestest fans in the business. 

[Slayerking92]

4 minutes ago, SirTexas said:

i decided i dont want my pc making so much noise could someone give me suggestions on how i can quiet it down without losing to much performance?

 

my rig is 

asrock motherboard z370 extreme4

i7 8700k

GTX 1660 ti

8GB DDR4 ram stick i think thats all i need to tell

Some more memory should help. your current ram must be running hot and causing your fans to spin up.

[SirTexas]

Just now, Donut417 said:

Noctua is your friend. They make some of the quiestest fans in the business. 

i mean is there a way to make my current fans quieter without effectin performance?

[Donut417]

1 minute ago, SirTexas said:

i mean is there a way to make my current fans quieter without effectin performance?

Not all fans under volt well. Nocuta is known to under volt good. 

[Arrogath]

Just now, SirTexas said:

i mean is there a way to make my current fans quieter without effectin performance?

depends how much thermal headroom you usually have, and how your fans are currently being controlled. Do you use a piece of software or is it just the motherboard doing whatever it wants. Setting custom fan curves can help cut noise without losing too much performance, high quality fans tend to do better in this respect as well though.

There's also the matter of case layout and managing your airflow so you don't have to brute force the fans up to full to keep temperatures down

[Spotty]

2 minutes ago, SirTexas said:

i mean is there a way to make my current fans quieter without effectin performance?

They're plugged in to the motherboard? You can adjust the fan speed through the motherboard BIOS and most boards should also let you set a custom fan curve so they spin low when temperatures are normal while the system is idle but only spin up faster when it gets hotter, like while gaming. This should give you a balance of quiet when you're not doing anything while still maintaining cooling performance while you're putting the computer under load, in which case other fans in the system like the CPU fan or GPU fans are going to be spinning faster and making more noise anyway.

[SirTexas]

Just now, Arrogath said:

depends how much thermal headroom you usually have, and how your fans are currently being controlled. Do you use a piece of software or is it just the motherboard doing whatever it wants. Setting custom fan curves can help cut noise without losing too much performance, high quality fans tend to do better in this respect as well though.

There's also the matter of case layout and managing your airflow so you don't have to brute force the fans up to full to keep temperatures down

i heard if i undervolt the CPU itll make the cpu fan run slower and quieter should that be something i should condcider also will undervolting/underclocking some of my PC stuff make the fans right quieter?

[NeutralHatred]

4 minutes ago, SirTexas said:

i mean is there a way to make my current fans quieter without effectin performance?

You can make them quieter by unplugging them. I hear systems are real quiet that way. Toasty, but quiet.

[SirTexas]

another question is there a way to quiet down a mechanical keyboard so your microphone doesnt keep picking it up everytime you type on it?

[VadersDad]

3 minutes ago, SirTexas said:

another question is there a way to quiet down a mechanical keyboard so your microphone doesnt keep picking it up everytime you type on it?

Nope, change the sensitivity or move your mic. If your mechanical don't click, its Probably not working right.  Or ditch your mechanical and buy a nice membrane keyboard ( not a route I would go, but nonetheless)

[SirTexas]

if i go the watercooling route will that be quieter or just the same amount of loudness as my current air cooling setup?

[Donut417]

Just now, SirTexas said:

if i go the watercooling route will that be quieter or just the same amount of loudness as my current air cooling setup?

You still need fans, plus the pump will surely make some noise. 

 

Also how loud you talking? Newer systems tend to be quieter than they were back in the day. Hell I remember my Athlon XP 3200+ machine sounded like a 747 taking off. 

[Spotty]

5 minutes ago, SirTexas said:

another question is there a way to quiet down a mechanical keyboard so your microphone doesnt keep picking it up everytime you type on it?

Maybe. If the noise is coming from bottoming out on the deck of the keyboard then some o-rings applied under each key may help somewhat. Though if you have a clicky key type like MX Blues then that won't help.

Other options...

• Move your microphone further away from the keyboard
• Set up a noise gate
• Use Push to Talk
• Don't smack the keys so loudly
• Get a quieter keyboard

[SirTexas]

5 minutes ago, comander said:

Rules of thumb for quiet computers. 

1. 120/140mm fans. More fans running slower is generally better than fewer fans. Also match fan type to use case. High static pressure for heatsinks/radiators, high airflow for casefans.
2. have passing cable management. 
3. don't go to aggressive with clocks.
4. steady fan speeds > fluctuations
5. have a sensible fan layout. I generally try to make "wind tunnels" and I try to have air generally flowing in the same direction in a methodical manner. 
6. Know what your loudest part is and improve that first. 

i think my cases intake air fan is the loudest or my CPU fan

[Bombastinator]

2 hours ago, SirTexas said:

i mean is there a way to make my current fans quieter without effectin performance?

You’ve got 6 fans which is a lot.  Making sure they move air through the case would be useful if they happen to be fighting each other.  

There’s this odd thing about fans: their noise curve is uneven.

 

The way it works is fan noise happens when the Highest speed part of the fan (which is the outer tip of the blade) starts to reach the speed of sound.  Noise builds up fast.  If you can keep that speed BELOW that number fans are often near silent.  This can be messed with a bit with fan blade shape.  Not “sickle” shaped fans effectively move more slowly so they can reach slightly higher speeds, but the change isn’t all that great.  The bigger the fan the lower the RPM before this starts to happen.  My memory was that for 120mm fans the number was between 800-1100 rpm depending on blade shape.  It’s pretty easy to hear though as you ramp up your fans.  The difference is so great some coolers have two fans, not to actually increase cooling but to lower required fan speed enough to get it into that silent range.

 

So if you keep fan speed low there will be little noise.  There may also not be enough cooling of course though.  So messing with fan direction and stuff to make sure there’s enough airflow at lower speed.

 

One thing I notice that may or may not matter is that CPU cooler is a hyper212.  It has a sleeve bearing fan.  Sleeve bearing fans are fins as long as they’re run upright.  If you run them facing up or down they can go bad really fast.  If you’ve been doing that with that cooler the fan may be worn out.  In this case the previously mentioned noctua is a great way out because it’s bearing is position independent.  You can run it in any direction and it’s fine.

 

I should add NONE of this will make your GPU quieter.  If that is the issue more extreme measures often need to be taken.

[Marbo]

I have 6 Arctic fans plus 2 gpu fans in an inwin 101 case. All the fans are set to 25%. I only have them ramp up when the CPU or gpu respectively gets to about 60c most of the time my case fans never get much above that, but my gpu fans get to around 50%. 

 

It's close to silent. Only really the gpu cooler that I can hear when it's being maxed out for anything over about 10 mins. 

 

Most of the time I can hear my hdd over the fan noise. 

 

Sometimes it's only when I shut down the system that I realise it was making any noise. 

 

Tldr: more fans means you can run them at lower speeds. Lower speeds = less whine. 

 

 

[Reytime]

Good fans/AIO coolers and NVMe drives. My rig is literally dead silent.

[LIGISTX]

5 hours ago, Slayerking92 said:

Some more memory should help. your current ram must be running hot and causing your fans to spin up.

This doesn't have any affect on anything really. RAM basically is always the same speed regardless, and its a very minor heat input to the case overall, and no fans are controlled via RAM heat anyways.

 

But, the biggest way to kill noise is water cooling. That is why I do it, simply for noise. My PC is dead quiet under all loads, but I also spent a lot of money doing that, much more than is needed. A good CPU heatsink is really all you need. The GPU likely isn't that bad, and a good CPU heatsink will allow you to turn all the case fans down relatively low, and still keep the CPU "cool enough". There is a tradeoff to be made. More fans = more airflow = more noise but also = cooler temps. You can trade off a bit of noise for higher temps. With something like a Hype 212 Evo (plenty for a stock clocked 8700k, hell, I ran my 8700k @ 5 GHz for a bit on one while I was planning my water cooling, but I run pretty low volts for 5 Ghz.... anyways), a 212 evo with the fans not that high of RPM would result in CPU temps in game load of likely mid 70's, and would be totally inaudible. Turn the case fans down a bit, and try and dial in a good GPU fan curve, and it should work out well.

 

You may end up having to get some noctua fans as others said (they really are the best) as case fans to help exhaust some of the hot air to help keep things managed, but if you step back and don't worry about "shear cooling performance" and balance that with "run a little warmer but keeping it quieter" you will be ok. CPU's can run at 70c no problem. Everyone always makes a huge deal about keeping temps as low as humanly possible, but really, if you want the PC to be a little quieter, don't worry so much about temps. I would be worried if the CPU starts to creep into the 80's.... but until then, its fine. Especially since its only at those temps while gaming.

 

Also, higher temps doesn't mean less performance. The GPU will run a little slower as it gets warmer due to GPU boost, but the CPU not really. You can watch this with EVGA Precision or MSI afterburner, and see where the clocks start to change at what temp, and set the fan curve of the GPU to maximize clock while keeping temps under control. If the GPU drops ~20-30 MHz worth of core clock cuz its running a little warmer, you will never notice... Its just a balancing act

 

Hope this info helps.

[Bombastinator]

10 minutes ago, LIGISTX said:

This doesn't have any affect on anything really. RAM basically is always the same speed regardless, and its a very minor heat input to the case overall, and no fans are controlled via RAM heat anyways.

 

But, the biggest way to kill noise is water cooling. That is why I do it, simply for noise. My PC is dead quiet under all loads, but I also spent a lot of money doing that, much more than is needed. A good CPU heatsink is really all you need. The GPU likely isn't that bad, and a good CPU heatsink will allow you to turn all the case fans down relatively low, and still keep the CPU "cool enough". There is a tradeoff to be made. More fans = more airflow = more noise but also = cooler temps. You can trade off a bit of noise for higher temps. With something like a Hype 212 Evo (plenty for a stock clocked 8700k, hell, I ran my 8700k @ 5 GHz for a bit on one while I was planning my water cooling, but I run pretty low volts for 5 Ghz.... anyways), a 212 evo with the fans not that high of RPM would result in CPU temps in game load of likely mid 70's, and would be totally inaudible. Turn the case fans down a bit, and try and dial in a good GPU fan curve, and it should work out well.

 

You may end up having to get some noctua fans as others said (they really are the best) as case fans to help exhaust some of the hot air to help keep things managed, but if you step back and don't worry about "shear cooling performance" and balance that with "run a little warmer but keeping it quieter" you will be ok. CPU's can run at 70c no problem. Everyone always makes a huge deal about keeping temps as low as humanly possible, but really, if you want the PC to be a little quieter, don't worry so much about temps. I would be worried if the CPU starts to creep into the 80's.... but until then, its fine. Especially since its only at those temps while gaming.

 

Also, higher temps doesn't mean less performance. The GPU will run a little slower as it gets warmer due to GPU boost, but the CPU not really. You can watch this with EVGA Precision or MSI afterburner, and see where the clocks start to change at what temp, and set the fan curve of the GPU to maximize clock while keeping temps under control. If the GPU drops ~20-30 MHz worth of core clock cuz its running a little warmer, you will never notice... Its just a balancing act

 

Hope this info helps.

This used to be much more true than it is these days.  The issue is if you’ve got a 65w cpu and a 250w gpu (not all that uncommon) and the CPU has a larger cooler than the GPU (also not uncommon) the cpu is going to be a lot quieter than the GPU.  The problem is space.  ATX provides a very limited space for GPU coolers, but gpus are starting to produce not just more heat but a lot more heat than CPUs.  One can do water cooling, which more or less moves the cooling radiator to a different part of the case, but if the cpu is water cooled and the gpu is air cooled there’s going to be a massive difference.  I suspect at this time, that unless the cpu pushes a lot of watts (because I’ve overclocking, or it being a massive chip or whatever) with a sufficiently large gpu it may actually make more sense to watercolor the GPU but leave the CPU on air.

[lafrente]

Put it under the desk, not on the desk.

[Pixel5]

12 hours ago, SirTexas said:

another question is there a way to quiet down a mechanical keyboard so your microphone doesnt keep picking it up everytime you type on it?

there are some key switches that allow you to add rubber rings below the cap to lower the volume.

it works great but you need to manually add them below each key so its a pain in the ass to do.

[LIGISTX]

2 hours ago, Bombastinator said:

This used to be much more true than it is these days.  The issue is if you’ve got a 65w cpu and a 250w gpu (not all that uncommon) and the CPU has a larger cooler than the GPU (also not uncommon) the cpu is going to be a lot quieter than the GPU.  The problem is space.  ATX provides a very limited space for GPU coolers, but gpus are starting to produce not just more heat but a lot more heat than CPUs.  One can do water cooling, which more or less moves the cooling radiator to a different part of the case, but if the cpu is water cooled and the gpu is air cooled there’s going to be a massive difference.  I suspect at this time, that unless the cpu pushes a lot of watts (because I’ve overclocking, or it being a massive chip or whatever) with a sufficiently large gpu it may actually make more sense to watercolor the GPU but leave the CPU on air.

The wattage argument is true, but GPU heatsinks usually so an ok ish job, especially with tweaked fan curves. They certainly dump a lot of heat into the case though. My secondary PC has a 1080 and 6700k @4.6 with a hyper 212, and the GPU isn’t the loudest part of the system. The case fans are.... but since I use it infrequently anyways, I don’t really care about changing anything.

 

Point is, the GPU really isn’t all that loud, and the hyper 212 is very quiet, with some BIOS case fan setting tweaks it actually isn’t that loud, but the loudest fans are certainly the relatively crappy case fans I am using, but they are circa 2010, newer fans will be better, almost regardless of what they are.