How important is the sound your tower makes to you?

[Aquinus]

Everyone builds their towers with their own goals in mind. Some people want performance, some people want a low cost build and, some people might just want a tower that works but, ultimately a generalization doesn't always fit with what someone wants (or demands,) from a computer. So I would like to ask a fairly generic question, one I've started grappling with myself, is this:

How important is it for your computer to be quiet?

For me, it used to be the case that I just wanted my tower to be fast. I would settle with having headphones on and not really having to deal with the sound my tower makes and just opting for the performance option. As I've had a family and I've started to look forward, I'm starting to realize that the hearing in my left ear isn't quite the way it should be. I'm not sure if this is because the driver side window always being cracked open on the highway on my 45 minute commute or if it's because my incredibly loud computer is sitting to my left at my desk. Either way, I've started to realize both how loud not only my tower is but, how how loud my gateway server is in the living room (I bet my daughter and wife love me for that,) is as well. So as I've gotten older, had a family, and have started to shift from the "loving to tinker and screw around with technology" mentality to the, "I usually just want it to !@#$ing working work" mentality, I would like to pose this basic question to everyone.

Why do you think what you do about this and how do you justify it to yourself? I find it fascinating how my own view of this has changed and I honestly want to completely rebuild my machine in my office to be dead silent (the one in my specs,) as well as the gateway server in the living room. So, I would like to get a little bit of feedback on what you think about how much sound your tower makes and if you're own view has evolved as you've gotten older... if you've had time to think about such things in life.

 

[alucasa]

Any components in my PC have better be near silent or it's outta there, period. At least while in idle or near idle.

I am willing to tolerate some noises when my PC is rendering as it's doing its work at full load.

 

[Caring1]

I spend a large portion of my day at my computer, I want it to be reasonably fast, yet not give me a heart attack when the power bills come in, I also prefer it to be a calm background white noise that isn't distracting, particularly as it is in my bedroom and runs 24/7 crunching.

 

[R-T-B]

I don't care, as my computer is literally in another room from my workspace. So loud, noisy, and cool.

 

[Frick]

As silent as fiscally realistic.

 

[64K]

I chose the last option because I have 2 answers. For my gaming rig I don't care if the fans make noise and the HDD clicks away because I can't hear them over my speakers when gaming unless I try to and generally I'm immersed in the game and don't notice much else.

For my work PC and laptop I don't want a lot of noise but I've never had a laptop or work PC that I considered noisy or distracting.

 

[blobster21]

Once i have found the less annoying humming sound on my 2 computers, i stick to it once and for all. An android sonometer app hovers beetween 38-41db all the time in my room.

 

[agent_x007]

I got two Delta PWM fans on CPU cooler... and closed over-the-ear Headphones (not noise cancelling level, but still really good)

Basicly : I don't care about the noise my tower makes.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

sonometer app

i never heard of that before (no pun intended).....thanks.

I only care about noise at the point it becomes annoying.

 

[Aquinus]

I only care about noise at the point it becomes annoying.

Of course and the same was with me but, at this point what I considered to be acceptable is now more like it's not.

 

[silentbogo]

An android sonometer app

Haven't used it for the purpose of measuring desktop noise, but it worked fabulous for measuring my uncle's yelling across the house


On topic:
My PC is in my bedroom, so I tried to build it as quiet as possible (both in working mode and in standby).
My old Zalman PSU suffered from coil whine in standby (though no whine when loaded), so I replaced it with quiet EVGA 500W.
I only have 1x140mm fan inside my ITX case, and it spins at 900rpm max. CPU heatsink is near silent, especially if you consider that it costs less than $20 new (Deepcool HTPC-200).
The loudest part in my PC is the GPU. It's an ITX version of ASUS GTX950, but it will be soon replaced with a dual-fan 1060.

 

[P4-630]

I voted "A balanced approach is the right way to go."
I must say my system doesn't make more noise on load, the noise stays the same as when idle.
My system is noise insulated and it doesn't have any whining or any HDD noise,
I just hear the back exhaust fan moving some air at around 7-800rpm and my case sits at about 50cm from my right ear.

My CPU core temps are never higher than 50 degrees on load. (during summer, 27 degrees ambient)
My GPU temp has never been higher than 62 degrees on load. (during summer, 27 degrees ambient)

 

[Hnykill22]

I have this thing to.. cant stand a high pitched computer with lots of small fans just at full rpm making noises. good airflow case to start with.. have a Corsair Obsidian 450D. Kraken X61 cooler and a Palit GTX 1070 Super Jeatstrem card. 2x 140mm fans blowing in at front. and 2x 140mm fans Noctua on The Kraken cooler blowing hot air out. big fans. low rpm.. thats the way.

 

[tabascosauz]

Noise is actually a really interesting discussion nowadays. On my mATX rig, which is a bit older, there's a huge difference between idle / low fan controller speed vs. load / high fan controller speed noise. I generally game with either my M30Xs or M40Xs, so it doesn't affect me, but the triple NF-F12s and first-gen Vapor-X 280X are really a bunch of howlers. The old Vapor-X ranked amongst the loudest graphics cards at the time at something like 50dBa (and also the coolest 280Xs). The G2 750 is a relatively quiet beast but without a semi-passive mode, it contributes its fair share of noise too.

But in my travelling rig, it's a totally different story. The rear NF-A9x14, side intake NF-F12 and D9L cooler fans are all regulated by motherboard PWM, and stay very silent when the temperature inside is low. The 1070's fans don't move unless the card surpasses 60 degrees. The PSU doesn't spin up unless it's at load, and very demanding load at that. So most of the time, I have trouble hearing any noise coming from my desktop unless I put my ear up against the aluminum. I may as well be using my fanless MacBook.

Under load, it's actually not that loud either. It's definitely a different noise level than idle, as now all the fans in the system are spinning, but it's still quite quiet, considering there's no noise insulating foam in my Ncase M1. And it reverts to idle noise very quickly, as in the absence of load, these fans get rid of the heat very quickly.

What a difference 2 years has made in the progress of technology.

 

[Ferrum Master]

I want both. When browsing/music - dead silent. If power needed then go go go...

Most nosy thing is usually the HDD... I have good results with some laptop 2.5inch HDD's on the backside of the case. They are behaving good there 1TB is enough for me.

Wide PWM range Fans, and reasonable intake and outtake fans... voltage switch or motherboard control for them, if you game - switch them on. Combined with Fractal Define noise dampening... the result is really bareble.

 

[P4-630]

I have good results with some laptop 2.5inch HDD's on the backside of the case.

Exactly! I'm using a 2.5" 750GB Hitachi 7200rpm spinner at the back of my motherboard, doesn't make a noise, even if I installed it somewhere else in the case.

 

[Recon-UK]

Balanced.

 

[FYFI13]

I have had a Spahire HD 4870X2, since then i can't hear a thing, even when i want to. I think my current setup is quiet, but yeah, I'm deaf now.

 

[AsRock]

Option 3, as long as it don't interrupt my gaming i don't care

 

[Hnykill22]

Certain noise in the room like from a computer can affect your mood. high frequency makes you tense. the brain hears this and reacts to it. even when you are not aware of it. and shit.. im not even talking about coil whine ! shit that sound hurts.

 

[INSTG8R]

Doesn't care at all I have 5.1 speakers and 2 Noctua Industrial humming at 2K anything over 35C so it's pretty much "full tilt" when I'm gaming anyway. Tho my pump noise at idle is a little annoying...

 

[Dethroy]

I voted for the balanced approach. But it ultimately depends on what specific task the machine is supposed to be doing.

• Gaming machine in a dedicated room? Some noise is acceptable (balanced approach).
• HTPC? It better be dead silent.
• All purpose living room machine (includes gaming)? As silent as possible whilst trying to not lose any performance.
• Server in a closed/isolated room? Who gives a $&@%!

 

[Hnykill22]

Thats exactly the sound from a well build computer.. a gentle humming sound. Big fans, low noise.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Once i have found the less annoying humming sound on my 2 computers, i stick to it once and for all. An android sonometer app hovers beetween 38-41db all the time in my room.

Literally got the same two cases except my server has two high CFM PanaFlo 120mm fans on the HDDs that make a constant whir. I like it because it drowns out all of the other noises.


There's a ratio between RPM and fan size. If it sounds like a turbine most people will get annoyed by it.

 

[rtwjunkie]

I voted for the balanced approach. But it ultimately depends on what specific task the machine is supposed to be doing.

• Gaming machine in a dedicated room? Some noise is acceptable (balanced approach).
• HTPC? It better be dead silent.
• All purpose living room machine (includes gaming)? As silent as possible whilst trying to not lose any performance.
• Server in a closed/isolated room? Who gives a $&@%!

You just hit the nail on the head and echoed my approach to the whole thing.