Reducing vibrations and noise - ANTEC 300

[The_Ollienator]

Hey there,

Recently got an Antec 300 and loving it - keeps everything nice and cool. Only it comes with a price - its really loud; if i try and watch a DVD at night i have to turn the volume up really loud just to hear it from a couple metres away.

What specifically can be done to reduce sound? I don't think the fans themselves are loud. All thats in their currently is the two standard tri-cool ones (top fan on low, rear exhaust on full (doesnt seem to make any difference that one) and a Hiper 120mm (rated at 19Db, 49.7cfm)

Also, for specific things, could you link to the things i need? (rubber fan mounts etc, where do i get those and can they be used with the pre-attached fans?

Thanks,

[Biscuit]

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Shark...-PC-components)

There are some rubber mounts to try and lower vibrations however i think the ones for case fans can only be mounted on fans which dont have a tube running from top to bottom on the screw holes.

I persoanally didnt particualy like the tricool fans, i much preffer sharkoon and even basic asaka fans which can be found here

What about your power supply what brand/model is it?

[matty-hodgson]

get some sharkoon's like Biscuit said, they're much quieter and actually come with rubber fan mounts.
also, that rear fan does actually make a difference when you put it on full.
if you struggle to find another 140mm fan, just mount that Antec one with rubber mounts cos it's vibration against the case that causes most of that fan's noise.

[The_Ollienator]

UPDATE** You are right, putting that fan on full makes a difference. I did some simple listening tests; low to medium i can't tell any difference, but low/medium to high makes alot of difference. So i left it on medium along with the top one on low.

I also found some little circular foam pads in my draw of stuff (like a washer but the actual circle cutout isnt as wide) and put those on all my fans and i found that makes a small, but noticable difference.

Biscuit, why did you not like the tricool fans? just because they are loud? Would you happen to know what their Db rating is?

When i search tricool they come up with clear fans, but mine are black - although both have the speed options.

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Shark...-PC-components)

Shame it is out of stock, but i think ill hold off on buying my gtx260 55nm and buy them together when they are back in stock. Thanks alot.

I just saw these http://www.sharkoon.com/html/produkt.../index_en.html but i cant find any for sale.

[Biscuit]

I would ignore the dB rating manufacturers claim on their producs as they eachg measure a different way (ei at a different distance etc) you really have to go by others advice or by testing yourself. So far i have managed to test yate loon, sharkoon, akasa, coolermaster, antec and xigmatek. The most efficient where the yate loon and the quietest was the sharkoon.
I found tricool fans noise level was higher than similar fans with a higher CFM. They are by no means terrible fans they are just not the best. Im getting some enermax fans delivered which have some rather optomistic noise and CFM levels so i will test them out and get back to you if you wish

[looney]

I have the 300 using the tri cools at low and have yate loons on fan controller and can not even hear it when playing games or watching videos etc.

If yours is that bad then perhaps changing the fans might be good you can find 1400mm fans, chilledpc have some yate loons and there nicely priced.

Only Vibration sound ive got is with the top fan, you can test it out by pressing down on the top area near where the dvd drives would be and you can see that when you press down the sound dampens slightly, so perhaps you could add some sort of material to dampen that? I'm also gonna use some grommets on the fans when I go into 'phase 2' of my cable mods.

[The_Ollienator]

Im getting some enermax fans delivered which have some rather optomistic noise and CFM levels so i will test them out and get back to you if you wish

That would be great if you could do that. Thanks. I just checked sharkoons website for the 120mm golf ball 2000 and its rated at 36,1 dB which seems a little high doesnt it? EDIT** the 1000 seems to have a nice rating though.

Do yate loons or sharkoons come with fan screws?

I have the 300 using the tri cools at low and have yate loons on fan controller and can not even hear it when playing games or watching videos etc.

If yours is that bad then perhaps changing the fans might be good you can find 1400mm fans, chilledpc have some yate loons and there nicely priced.

Only Vibration sound ive got is with the top fan, you can test it out by pressing down on the top area near where the dvd drives would be and you can see that when you press down the sound dampens slightly, so perhaps you could add some sort of material to dampen that? I'm also gonna use some grommets on the fans when I go into 'phase 2' of my cable mods.

Well, i also have an acrtic freezer 7 whizzing round in there so that may be a contributing factor

[Biscuit]

That would be great if you could do that. Thanks. I just checked sharkoons website for the 120mm golf ball 2000 and its rated at 36,1 dB which seems a little high doesnt it? EDIT** the 1000 seems to have a nice rating though.

They are a touch more noisy than normal fans but they move a bucketload of air. Remember what i said though, most fans are a lot noisier than they say although sharkoon are one of the few who tend to be fairly accurate.

Do yate loons or sharkoons come with fan screws?

Yateloons with screws i believe and sharkoons come with screws and rubber mounts

Well, i also have an acrtic freezer 7 whizzing round in there so that may be a contributing factor

Make sure the controller in your bios has it set to slow down when your CPU is at lower temperatures.

[The_Ollienator]

Make sure the controller in your bios has it set to slow down when your CPU is at lower temperatures.

Never done that before so i don't know how to do so, but i will have a fiddle and see what happens. It IS running a 4ghz overclock mind you. Not that it ever went over 45* full load. i can sacrifice a few *

Is there a name for the function?

Cool'n'quiet or something is amd i think, what about intel?

Oh and to the person who asked about my PSU, its in my specs to the left.

spotted these http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/120mm...Retail-Package but ive heard of akasas ratings being iffy.

[Biscuit]

Your waiting for 40nm GPUs thats not for a while yet i dont think, get yourself a GTX 260

i thought cool n quiet was the method AMD chips used to under clock the CPU when it wasn't in heavy use? Intel use speed step for that.

It should be under either power or system monitor option in the bios something like that. Hard to say as im not familiar with the bios for the Neo-F

[The_Ollienator]

Your waiting for 40nm GPUs thats not for a while yet i dont think, get yourself a GTX 260

i thought cool n quiet was the method AMD chips used to under clock the CPU when it wasn't in heavy use? Intel use speed step for that.

It should be under either power or system monitor option in the bios something like that. Hard to say as im not familiar with the bios for the Neo-F

No im not waiting for 40nm GPUs, where'd you get that impression Im buying this: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/896MB...-DL-DVI-I-HDTV but will likely hold off and see what the state of the play with the GTX285 is.

EDIT** There is a setting called CPU smart fan however but i think its temp related as it goes from 40 upwards in steps of 5.

[Biscuit]

i just ordered the 260 SCC il let you know how that is aswell

Yeah it is temp related thats correct. The harder your CPU works the more heat it gives off
I would set the target temp to be 45 or 50, that way whenever your CPU gets above that temp your fan will spin up and cool it down, otherwise it should spin very slowly making it barely audible.

Those asaka fans are not the best but they are good for the money. Your better off spending the little bit extra and getting something else.

[The_Ollienator]

i just ordered the 260 SCC il let you know how that is aswell

Yeah it is temp related thats correct. The harder your CPU works the more heat it gives off
I would set the target temp to be 45 or 50, that way whenever your CPU gets above that temp your fan will spin up and cool it down, otherwise it should spin very slowly making it barely audible.

Those asaka fans are not the best but they are good for the money. Your better off spending the little bit extra and getting something else.

My CPU idles at around 30* and when its under load its about 45*. Shouldn't i set it to 40?

[Pob255]

Yep that's the one.
To be exact (from MSI Neo2-FR bios)
Under: H/W Monitor
CPU Smart fan target = The target temp, ie if the current temp is above this it will increase the fan speed, if it is below this it will reduce the fan speed.
CPU Min fan speed % = this is a minimum fan speed you can set so it will never drop the fan below this speed

Under: Cell menu
Intel EIST = Enhanced Intel Speedstep Technology, ie it reduces the mutliplier of the cpu when it is not under load, which reduces it's power consumption and heat production.

[The_Ollienator]

Hmm, have had a play with it and it doesnt seem to make a noticable difference.

Noticed Coretemp, everest and realtemp all tell me im idling at 30-32* (tjmax 100) and BIOS at startup says 40-45*. I think im inclined to say BIOS reading it wrong here. That and it says System tempurature is 23*, considering its got to be above room tempurature in here (its warm) i doubt that.

Thanks for all the help guys, really helpful. Think i will leave SmartFan off - dont hear it making a difference and i have a hefty overclock i need keeping cool. Thanks alot.

[Pob255]

If you're on the old AC freezer 7 pro then that thing is quite loud at full speed, I had a problem with my old one where it ignored the smart fan thing on the motherboard and just ran at 100% all the time (on an ASRock motherboard) I'm pritty sure I'm not the only one who's had this issue.
I think it's a fault with the fan.

Have you watched the "Pacify Your PC" hexus TV shows? they are very good and full of useful tips for locating and trouble shooting "loudness" issues
http://tv.hexus.net/show/2008/11/Pac...e_s_the_noise/

Go through all the fans and find out which are the biggest offenders, ten look at ways to fix the problems.