Quieting HAF-912?

[sleezeep]

Let me start by saying that this system is by far the quietest I have ever owned. Although I do want to make it a little bit more silent under higher temps. I have a haf 912 which I know is not optimized for silence, but I love the amount of airflow it has. I have a nh-d14 with the stock fans and I have xigmatec 200mm fans in the front and top which I like and seem to be fairly quiet. I have been reading some of the posts on quiet 200mm fans and there doesn't seem to be much difference between most of the brands. Are these fairly decent fans or should I consider upgrading? Or even going to dual 140mm fans in both locations? I am going to replace the rear exhaust and side intake with corsair af 120 quiet editions which I imagine will help out a bit from what I have read. Do you guys have any other suggestions for making this my system as quiet as possible? I was considering a silicone psu mount and possibly silicone hdd washers but I don't really even hear them now, or would it be better to get some sound deadening material for the side panels? I was looking on amazon at a lamptron kit that had silicone fan mounts, rubber case feet, and silicone hdd washers. Has anyone used this kit or would it be better to buy all those parts separately? Sorry for the amount of questions, and the somewhat rambling nature that I asked them in but that's kind of how my brain works. Any input is greatly appreciated. 

 

[airdeano]

so what is making the noise and what kinda noise are you having to begin with?

 

fan noise is mainly couple of areas of concern:

air-noise

vibration

mechanical

 

air noise is usually the windy sound that is produced by the blades moving the air

 

vibration is the fan frame (chassis) is actually vibrating on a surface causing noise

 

mechanical is usually a buzz, click or grinding noise

 

airdeano

[sleezeep]

Well, i am definitely getting noise from the side fan, both wind and a clicking noise, i can turn that fan off and the noise is gone completely. I can hear my Hard Drive whenever it is being used (the usual sort of grinding and low buzz noise). I recently re-arranged my case and took out all the unnecessary HDD bays i wasn't using since i am only using the Seagate 1 Tb, and a Samsung 830 SSD, and that eliminated a sporadic rattling which was obviously from the metal on metal. The most noticeable wind noise that i get from the computer is from the Noctua fans. Albeit it really isn't loud its just a constant whirring noise, and i am running ULNA on both of those fans. I also have my ASUS mobo set-up to where none of the fans are running very fast until it reaches about 60C, and during regular use the fan noise is not a big deal except that pesky side intake.  So i am definitely going to replace the side and rear fans with the corsair af 120 quiet editions to get rid of the issue with the side fan. I guess what i am really asking is if i go through the whole computer and add silicone washers to the HDD, add a gasket to the PSU, and maybe line the side panels with some sound dampening foam  will that bring the noise level down another notch? I feel like i am nit-picking because as i said before it is by far the quietest system i have ever had and none of these sounds are really even noticeable unless you are listening for them, with the exception of the HDD, and that side fan but i would love to be able to quiet down the HDD either by adding some rubber feet to the case, adding silicone mounting hardware to it, or by further insulating the case, or even all 3.

[airdeano]

...and i am running ULNA on both of those fans.

 

if you have the ULNA harnesses installed and still have fan noise, you'll have it just a bad or worse

with any other fan.

 

a picture or diagram of rig build would be a help to "see" your issue and make a proper diagnosis.

 

airdeano

[sleezeep]

Alright here are a bunch of pictures, i also made a very low quality video with my system running at various levels of activity. Thank you for your help!

 

Just the case closed up.

 

Inside case side panel off

 

Inside case from backside

 

Close up of the HDD and SSD cage

 

Close up of top of case and CPU cooler.

 

And like i said before this is a very poor video sort of demonstrating the system from idle, to a regular load with the fan curves set-up with Fan Xpert, and finishing with a sound clip of the HDD while defragging. You may have to turn up your speakers/headphones to hear it right.

 

Sorry about the quality of all this, as you can tell i am not a photographer, or much of a video editor. But i truly appreciate the help!

[M4XvPA1N]

Alright here are a bunch of pictures, i also made a very low quality video with my system running at various levels of activity. Thank you for your help!

 

Just the case closed up.

 

Inside case side panel off

 

Inside case from backside

 

Close up of the HDD and SSD cage

 

Close up of top of case and CPU cooler.

 

And like i said before this is a very poor video sort of demonstrating the system from idle, to a regular load with the fan curves set-up with Fan Xpert, and finishing with a sound clip of the HDD while defragging. You may have to turn up your speakers/headphones to hear it right.

 

Sorry about the quality of all this, as you can tell i am not a photographer, or much of a video editor. But i truly appreciate the help!

Even at your fans at the highest rpm the only thing i could honestly hear was my own pc next to me lol. Good job.

[ERSCreeper]

That screen :D

[ChaoticWeaponry]

I've had this case for a while now. The side intake creates a really annoying whine sound. At least for mine. I had to put a fan filter on the side to disrupt the noise. Try removing the side fan and see if that helps at all.

[sleezeep]

I've had this case for a while now. The side intake creates a really annoying whine sound. At least for mine. I had to put a fan filter on the side to disrupt the noise. Try removing the side fan and see if that helps at all.

 

I have thought about cutting the honeycomb "grill" out as well because like you said it does create a weird whine, but you say a fan filter helps out with that? I have tried removing it and it does quiet it down, although i would like to have a fan installed there it really helps my gfx card from having to ramp up its fans more than i like.

 

 

That screen :D

 

Lol i know its my old trusty rusty, using it as a secondary until i can afford a second LCD, although it was made in 1996 and the color still looks better than it does on my TN LCD screen haha.

[ChaoticWeaponry]

I have thought about cutting the honeycomb "grill" out as well because like you said it does create a weird whine, but you say a fan filter helps out with that? I have tried removing it and it does quiet it down, although i would like to have a fan installed there it really helps my gfx card from having to ramp up its fans more than i like.

Lol i know its my old trusty rusty, using it as a secondary until i can afford a second LCD, although it was made in 1996 and the color still looks better than it does on my TN LCD screen haha.

I used a normal Silverstone fan filter on it. It was still a bit noisy, but it helped. I've since moved on to a better case :p no more annoying whine sounds.

The whine is caused by air turbulence though. Cutting the honeycomb out will stop the noise.

[sleezeep]

I used a normal Silverstone fan filter on it. It was still a bit noisy, but it helped. I've since moved on to a better case :P no more annoying whine sounds.

The whine is caused by air turbulence though. Cutting the honeycomb out will stop the noise.

I would love to move to a new case like a define R4, but on the other hand i like a challenge, and if i can get this not optimized for silence case to be fairly quiet i will be happy with that as well, but i might just cut the honeycomb out and but a filter and mabey a blow hole.