Fixing a noisy PC

By Tobias Hanraths Oct 30, 2011, 4:06 GMT

Munich - Your computer's housing is more than just a shell. More and more people are realizing they have options in this and other parts of the computer once considered mundane.

Granted, most people when shopping for a PC are going to focus on questions of computer speed, memory size and quality of the graphics card. But questions about the workhorse components of a computer - like the housing, power adapter and fan - are all creeping in as people realize they can play key roles in your computer's energy consumption and noise levels.

And don't get caught up in appearances. Designers have, for a long time, been focusing on ever fancier colours and shapes for computer housings. But they don't equal quality.

'A pretty housing can also be designed poorly,' says Siggy Moersch, a Munich-based author who writes books on computer tips. Others note that a poorly designed housing can turn a relatively quiet computer into a real noise box.

And there's more. 'It has to be ready to stand up to certain pressures and jolts. It has to protect against fire and the user from electrical shocks,' notes Harald Frerk, who is in charge of inspecting IT devices at the German Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies.

The fans located at the front and back of the computer's housing and on the CPU are the main sources of computer noise. Graphics cards usually only have one fan. The noise level from the fans depends on the housing.

'It's always bad when rotating elements are directly against metal,' says Moersch. That doesn't apply exclusively to fans, but also to hard drives, which also include moving parts, unless they are solid state drives.

Thus, when you're buying a housing, always make sure that some insulating plastic parts are placed between the housing and the fan or drive, keeping the vibrations from reaching the shell so easily. 'Metal doesn't just conduct electricity, but also noise,' says Moersch.

The best thing to do is really work over a prospective housing before buying it. Don't even consider items with parts that clank against one another. Ditto for housings with sharp corners.

The ATX standard is important to keep in mind if you want to make sure that your housing and motherboard are compatible. There are also Micro ATX boards and housings, which mean smaller computers.

'It means you're a little more limited with the connectors for memory and cards,' says Moersch. But the Micro ATX boards are perfectly good for standard workhorse computers.

The price of the housing should be in line with the computer you have, says Michael Schmelzle of German computer magazine PC Welt. 'About 10 per cent of the entire computer price is a good rule of thumb,' he says.

If the PC you've already got is on the noisy side, there are some tricks you can use to quiet things down. If there's no insulation between the fan and the wall, use rubber bands or erasers to create some. Carefully vacuuming inside the computer can also make a difference.

But if none of that helps, you're eventually going to have to swap out your fan. 'That's pretty easy with modern devices and doesn't usually cost more than 20 euros (28 dollars) per machine,' says Schmelzle. 'Things might get a little more complicated with a CPU fan.'

Schmelzle recommends fans with ball bearings and prefers brand names to generic items. 'They're barely any more expensive and last noticeably longer.' It's a good sign if noise level expectations are printed on the packaging.

A lot of graphics cards and mainboards come with passive cooling, meaning they can do without a fan.

'But those usually aren't the most up-to-date cards,' says Moersch. He recommends against trying to run a computer without a fan. 'You always need a little air circulation.'

The problem gets a little more expensive if the power adapter that came with the housing is the source of the noise. But swapping it out can be useful, especially with older computers, says Schmelzle: 'New adapters are significantly more efficient in comparison to models from just a few years ago.'

For example, they only take as much energy as they need. If you plan to use your PC for a few more years, you can pay for the new adapter with the money you'll save in energy costs.

Size matters if you're building your own computer. 'Beginners will probably want a little extra space for their handicraft,' says Schmelzle. Moersch also recommends housings with heights of between 60 and 65 centimetres. 'You should be able to get everything into that,' he says.