PC noise

[Anson Chan]

I was wondering if 58-60 db is loud for a PC. My PC is 58-60 db on idle and under load. It doesn't change throughout the day whether i'm gaming on apex or just watching youtube. I was also wondering how loud other's PCs are. If you are asking for my case and fan speed i have the: NZXT h510 elite. 2 140mm fans both at 1000-1100 rpm, 1 140mm fan at 750-800 rpm, 1 120mm fan at 700-850 rpm and cpu fan from ryzen 5 2600 at 1000-1200 rpm.

[PyroTheWise]

I have a Ryzen 5 3600 and a 2070 super.  At idle, light and medium usage the PC makes very little sound.   I haven't really stressed the PC under high loads yet but I don't think it would get that loud.

 

I did have to change out my CPU cooler and case fans along with setting up fan curves to quiet the system down.

 

I don't have a way to measure decibel sound of my PC.  It does sit right next to me when I game and I can barely hear it.  I do not use a headset either.

[SolarNova]

Yea thats rather noisy.

 

Generally speaking at idle ur PC shouldnt be much higher than the ambient noise floor. A barely audible hum or woosh of air is all u should hear.

Ambient noise floor will depend on ur environment but generally speaking we're talking anywhere between 30 and 50 db

 

ofc at load it can be as loud as you tune it to be depending on the fans u use.

 

My system for example, while i dont have a sound meter, is very quiet at idle with just a mild hum of my pump and a small amount of 'airflow' noise.

At load the airflow noise is louder but still well within the realm of 'quiet' as i use Noctua NF-A12x25 fans and they usual max out at 1300-1500 RPM when the system is at load.

[Gibs960]

I couldn't tell you the exact decibels that my PC generates, but it's not really too audible above normal room noises, and that's with it about a foot away from my right ear. 

 

Under load, it doesn't really get much louder because of how my fans are tuned.

[SolarNova]

I just got an app for my phone (most certainly not the way to get an accurate reading to be fair) and based on my particular phone (Samsung j5) and the app used (Decibel X) i had to add a -20db offset, which sounds about right.

 

My room, with people around the house (in the next room) talking and watching stuff, and my system idling, is about 36db. At load its somewhere in the region of 38db.

Turning my PC of brings it down to 32db.

 

For reference a normal conversation is around 60 - 70 db, and the quietest place in my house has things like a barely audible noise of wind and a distant bird outside chirping, thats about 31db, very quiet.

EDIT: Nighttime, everyone asleep, no electronics on = 30db

 

Again must stress this is using a mobile phone app,, thats been calibrated by ear ..so ..take with a grain of salt.

[Anson Chan]

On 5/11/2020 at 11:55 AM, SolarNova said:

Yea thats rather noisy.

 

Generally speaking at idle ur PC shouldnt be much higher than the ambient noise floor. A barely audible hum or woosh of air is all u should hear.

Ambient noise floor will depend on ur environment but generally speaking we're talking anywhere between 30 and 50 db

 

ofc at load it can be as loud as you tune it to be depending on the fans u use.

 

My system for example, while i dont have a sound meter, is very quiet at idle with just a mild hum of my pump and a small amount of 'airflow' noise.

At load the airflow noise is louder but still well within the realm of 'quiet' as i use Noctua NF-A12x25 fans and they usual max out at 1300-1500 RPM when the system is at load.

is there a reason why my pc could be this loud at all levels? i have pretty decent cable management and my cpu and gpu temps are usually around 25C at idle and 40-55C when gaming. This is also a new gaming pc i got last month if that helps.

[SolarNova]

54 minutes ago, Anson Chan said:

is there a reason why my pc could be this loud at all levels? i have pretty decent cable management and my cpu and gpu temps are usually around 25C at idle and 40-55C when gaming. This is also a new gaming pc i got last month if that helps.

Fan control profile.

 

If u haven't set one up yet it is likely running at either max speed via direct power from the PSU, or is running on the default motherboard bios profile if the fans are plugged into the motherboard headers.

 

Get hold of some fan control software and create a custom profile. You can do this for your GPU fans as well.

A current LTT forum member has created his own fan control software, u may want to give that a try as it far more user friendly than the often suggested "Speedfan" software.

 

[Anson Chan]

3 hours ago, SolarNova said:

Fan control profile.

 

If u haven't set one up yet it is likely running at either max speed via direct power from the PSU, or is running on the default motherboard bios profile if the fans are plugged into the motherboard headers.

 

Get hold of some fan control software and create a custom profile. You can do this for your GPU fans as well.

A current LTT forum member has created his own fan control software, u may want to give that a try as it far more user friendly than the often suggested "Speedfan" software.

 

I already have custom fan profiles for my case set in nzxt cam. with these settings i still run at the same sound db 24/7 

[SolarNova]

2 minutes ago, Anson Chan said:

I already have custom fan profiles for my case set in nzxt cam. with these settings i still run at the same sound db 24/7 

~SNIP~~

 

Check ur GPU. Its fans may be making the noise.

MSi afterburner can control GPU fans if the NZXT software cannot.

 

Another source of noise could be the PSU fan, however unless the PSU has a fan mode button there is nothing u can do to change it.

[Anson Chan]

1 minute ago, SolarNova said:

Check ur GPU. Its fans may be making the noise.

MSi afterburner can control GPU fans if the NZXT software cannot.

 

Another source of noise could be the PSU fan, however unless the PSU has a fan mode button there is nothing u can do to change it.

forgot to mention my gpu (msi radeon rx 570) only has its fans on when it hits 55C. And i doubt its the psu fan because i recently switched out my old psu for a new one and the sound hasnt changed.

[Rem0o]

1 minute ago, Anson Chan said:

forgot to mention my gpu (msi radeon rx 570) only has its fans on when it hits 55C. And i doubt its the psu fan because i recently switched out my old psu for a new one and the sound hasnt changed.

Just to be clear, are you "finding it loud" from your own ears or are you asking if the "case noise" readout in CAM is high? 

If all your fans are around 700 rpm at idle, you shouldn't hear it, or barely, from a working distance.

[Anson Chan]

Just now, Rem0o said:

Just to be clear, are you "finding it loud" from your own ears or are you asking if the "case noise" readout in CAM is high? 

If all your fans are around 700 rpm at idle, you shouldn't hear it, or barely, from a working distance.

Ifind it a bit loud with my own hearing. Also keep in mind that my pc is on the same working desk and is pretty close to me. I think the cam ready is right but im not completely sure

[SolarNova]

3 minutes ago, Rem0o said:

Just to be clear, are you "finding it loud" from your own ears or are you asking if the "case noise" readout in CAM is high? 

If all your fans are around 700 rpm at idle, you shouldn't hear it, or barely, from a working distance.

Indeed good point.

 

Where is the CAM software getting that 58db reading from ?

[Rem0o]

1 minute ago, Anson Chan said:

Ifind it a bit loud with my own hearing. Also keep in mind that my pc is on the same working desk and is pretty close to me. I think the cam ready is right but im not completely sure

What if you set all your fans to OFF in CAM? Do you have 7200 rpm spinning disk hard drives? Those can vibrate and rattle.

[Anson Chan]

Just now, SolarNova said:

Indeed good point.

 

Where is the CAM software getting that 58db reading from ?

im not sure what you mean by where it is getting from but i will try my best to answer. In the NZXT h510 elite case there is the nzxt smart device in the back which monitors the nzxtcam

[Anson Chan]

Just now, Rem0o said:

What if you set all your fans to OFF in CAM? Do you have 7200 rpm spinning disk hard drives? Those can vibrate and rattle.

i have a 7200rpm hdd but i do not hear any rattling but a little vibrating

[Anson Chan]

1 minute ago, Rem0o said:

What if you set all your fans to OFF in CAM? Do you have 7200 rpm spinning disk hard drives? Those can vibrate and rattle.

 

2 minutes ago, SolarNova said:

Indeed good point.

 

Where is the CAM software getting that 58db reading from ?

also remember that i am not monitoring the cpu cooler from the cam software

[Rem0o]

1 minute ago, Anson Chan said:

also remember that i am not monitoring the cpu cooler from the cam software

You gotta go by elimination. Try and stop every single fan, hard disk, or anything that can generate noise and find out which one is the culprit. As for your CPU cooler, you can use my software as linked previously in this thread to slow it way down and see if it is noisy.

[SolarNova]

5 minutes ago, Anson Chan said:

im not sure what you mean by where it is getting from but i will try my best to answer. In the NZXT h510 elite case there is the nzxt smart device in the back which monitors the nzxtcam

Well it must have a microphone on it of some sort to be able to measure noise output. And in the event thats the case, its proximity to the fans and being inside the case is no doubt amplifying the sound, so i highly doubt that 58db is the true measurement from ur seating position. I mean 58db is the kind of sound level u get when talking to someone face to face, at 700rpm i doubt the fans are that loud.

 

3 minutes ago, Anson Chan said:

 

also remember that i am not monitoring the cpu cooler from the cam software

if its not controlling the CPU cooler fans then what is ?  it could be those. if the CPU fans are plugged in to motherboard headers they to should be controllable.

[Anson Chan]

3 minutes ago, SolarNova said:

Well it must have a microphone on it of some sort to be able to measure noise output. And in the event thats the case, its proximity to the fans and being inside the case is no doubt amplifying the sound, so i highly doubt that 58db is the true measurement from ur seating position. I mean 58db is the kind of sound level u get when talking to someone face to face, at 700rpm i doubt the fans are that loud.

 

if its not controlling the CPU cooler fans then what is ?  it could be those. if the CPU fans are plugged in to motherboard headers they to should be controllable.

i will try using an app on my phone to measure how loud it is from where i sit. and i will check the rpm of my cpu cooler through the bios once i find time to reboot.

 

4 minutes ago, Rem0o said:

You gotta go by elimination. Try and stop every single fan, hard disk, or anything that can generate noise and find out which one is the culprit. As for your CPU cooler, you can use my software as linked previously in this thread to slow it way down and see if it is noisy.

i also read that apparently stock coolers are much louder than aftermarket coolers. does that apply to my situation because i have a stock cooler?

[Rem0o]

3 minutes ago, Anson Chan said:

I also read that apparently stock coolers are much louder than aftermarket coolers. does that apply to my situation because i have a stock cooler?

Stock coolers are indeed often noisy due to their small nature and high RPM fan. However, at low RPM, they are quiet enough, though their cooling capacity will be limited. A bigger cooler with greater mass will be able to cool more with slower spinning fans.

[Anson Chan]

10 minutes ago, Rem0o said:

Stock coolers are indeed often noisy due to their small nature and high RPM fan. However, at low RPM, they are quiet enough, though their cooling capacity will be limited. A bigger cooler with greater mass will be able to cool more with slower spinning fans.

Thank you for the help. I built this pc a little over a month ago and the noise has been staying on my mind. I tried to ignore it but i always think of it when i start my pc or take of my headset. 

[Anson Chan]

18 hours ago, Rem0o said:

Stock coolers are indeed often noisy due to their small nature and high RPM fan. However, at low RPM, they are quiet enough, though their cooling capacity will be limited. A bigger cooler with greater mass will be able to cool more with slower spinning fans.

 

18 hours ago, SolarNova said:

Well it must have a microphone on it of some sort to be able to measure noise output. And in the event thats the case, its proximity to the fans and being inside the case is no doubt amplifying the sound, so i highly doubt that 58db is the true measurement from ur seating position. I mean 58db is the kind of sound level u get when talking to someone face to face, at 700rpm i doubt the fans are that loud.

 

if its not controlling the CPU cooler fans then what is ?  it could be those. if the CPU fans are plugged in to motherboard headers they to should be controllable.

UPDATE: i recently just got a sound meter app on my phone and it read from where i am sitting it is at 30 db. I also found out which fans were making which noises and was able to set them lower to eliminate those whirring sounds! Thank you so much!