quiet PCs

I am looking for opinions and/or suggestions on US-based quiet PC manufacturers/dealers. I am looking for a full-size PC which would be considerably quieter than an average Dell, but I am not trying to get something 100% silent. SSD drives and super-isolated cases would drive the price far beyond more budget.

So far, I found Sweetwater with their Creation Station and a company called EndPCNoise. I trust Sweetwater and their customer support, and they seem to have better warranty included in price, but EndPCNoise offers much better customizability. Has any of you had experiences with any of these? Mybe other suggestions?

Mybe other suggestions?

Having tried a number of "quietening" solutions I came to the conclusion that ultimately I would always be frustrated in my efforts. I had two PCs running in the studio with a multitude of hard drives whirring away, and whatever I did seemed to cost a lot of money for, at times, marginal reward.

So one day I spent about €40 on a variety of cable extensions for monitors, keyboards, USB devices, mice and so forth, made a hole in the wall big enough to poke these cables through, and re-sited the PCs and their hard drives in the room next door. I invested in an external CD/DVD writer for those times when I'm too lazy to get off my arse and go next door (most of the time!), and this does most of the CD and DVD writing and reading as required - it's now the only PC-type thing in the studio which makes a noise (except the scanner).

After years of working in studios with PCs which contribute a constant, even if low-level, background noise, the silence was a little unnerving at first, but I'd recommend it if it's at all possible! Most of the cables you're using will happily run up to 5m in length - with monitor cables capable of going much further. It's quicker, easier, and a lot less expensive than all those 'silent' fans, case insulation, 'quiet' power supplies and so on...

Hi Andrew,

that's definitely a great suggestion, but I am afraid that I can't drill holes through walls in a rented flat...  So I am probably stuck with buying a "quiet PC" from EndPCNoise (I don't feel like I want to assemble one myself). I'll probably get a "quiet" case with sandwich walls, big and slow fans and decoupled HDDs, a low-wattage CPU, a big CPU cooler, and a fanless graphic card.

By the way, I just noticed that I should have posted in Hardware and Soundcards, I don't mind if the post is moved.

Paweł

I had much the same sort of problem as Andrew - three computers in the room, in my case. Not having a room available next door meant I couldn't use his solution (although it would have probably been more convenient).

Instead, as I have a worktop that extends around three walls and already built large cupboards underneath for general storage, I used some of the space for the computers.  There are hinged doors, in front of each machine, for access to drives, etc. and the necessary cables come through a couple of 2" holes at the back of the worktop.  Although not dead silent, the noise reduction was very noticeable and a lot more than a lot of 'quiet' computers I have heard. 

I had some concerns about possible heat build-up.  I deliberately left a fair amount of space around the boxes for this reason and this system has now been functioning for eight years without any problems.  I should note the room itself is air-conditioned and that may help towards the heat factor.

If cost isn’t much of a concern, I remember some boxes referenced in a similar thread a few years back, probably in this forums. A company makes insulated boxes for studios, sized from for a single computer to a large equipment rack. The claim, with figures, was to more or less completely eliminate the noise, what little escaped was well below most ambient conditions. These boxes use some kind of heat pipe passive cooling system that makes no noise of its own. The claim was that the anything inside box would have the same temperature conditions as if it wasn’t in the box at all.

I don’t think this is the same device, but it seems similar.
http://www.norenproducts.com/Acoustilock/gCAB.html

Having built quite a number of PCs over the years, and focused a lot on quiet since getting into the recording thing, I'd say the two biggest factors with nose are the case design and fan selection.

Hard disks need to be grommet mounted.
Fans need to be large and slow running - especially the CPU fan - get a graphics card without a fan.

As far as suppliers of complete machines, I have no idea - I buy pieces.
I'm a big fan (pardon the pun) of Antec stuff.  My computers sport Antec cases, fans, and power supplies.  The fans are all mounted on rubber stand-offs, even if the cases didn't come equipped that way.  Hard disks these days all seem pretty quiet if you stick with 7200 RPM.  The last heatsinks I bought are ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro - they run nice and quiet once the BIOS is configured for fan speed control.

If cost isn’t much of a concern.....
I don’t think this is the same device, but it seems similar.
http://www.norenproducts.com/Acoustilock/gCAB.html

I can't speak for others here, but at $1,490 a pop, this doesn't seem particularly cost-effective to me .

You're right Graeme, the entire computer I think I'll choose from EndPCNoise costs less than that box. With Antec case, and all I described above, even with some extra acoustic barrier/damping lining of the case.

I think I've posted before, and this thing in prototype form is still in my shed, but I built a noise suppressing wooden case, and achieved what I thought was impressive sound reduction.

Basically, it was very simple. A plywood box, lined with the sandwich material used for quieting boat engines, with a convoluted air path at top and bottom.

A bit of guidance for the air direction from the fan(s), and all the other cooling relied on convection.

My prototype had no means of access for the DVD writer, so it would need a door of some sort, but I'm convinced the concept can work. Cables went in and out via the air inlet at the bottom.

The snags were the size and weight and the primitive nature of my carpentry.

Failing dismally at woodwork I, like Zemlin, opted for an Antec P180 case. I decided on the Thermaltake Typhoon VX CPU Cooler and about 4 really expensive and very quiet fans.  As my PC is overclocked it needs more cooling (also 4 cores more heat as well as 5 drives).

I'm extremely happy with the extremely small amount of noise coming from this case.  Case was about $150Aus which is probably worth about $5US nowadays 

Case was about $150Aus which is probably worth about $5US nowadays 

Not really, the current P182 is $130-$150 depending on where you buy it. I was a bit scared by the size and weight of P182, so I am aiming at Mini P180.

Do you think that this thing is any effective in reducing the noise?

"This Thing", once I'd decoded the url, looks like a cheaper more flexible version of the boat engine stuff I used. Mine was offcuts bought from a boat jumble, so was fairly cheap, and was the cheaper heavy-plastic centred version as opposed to the lead-centred version. One side is also covered in a sort of fibreglass cloth and there are real specifications regarding fire-proofness.

I still think a wooden convection chimney sort of box or cupboard is the best economy bet if you have the space. If you just glue "your" stuff to the case, what about the fans?

Sorry about the link, I think I fixed it now.

A wooden box is probably not very feasible due to space and aesthetic constraints. (I know that it could be made pretty, but then it would cost much).

Yes, the lining would not affect the fans. The case is supposed to have big and slow and quiet fans, so the lining would probably help only if something inside the case, like HDDs, generated the most annoying noise. Which I don't know in advance.

It also helps by dampening any vibrations in the panels themselve which will otherwise transmit sound from the inside to the outside.

Ryclark is correct that dampening the panels will help, however (and correct me if I'm wrong) but isn't this stick on stuff the same as building a studio with nicely soundproof walls but neglecting the acoustic sealant where the walls join?

Isn't the noise going to come out of all the other spots where they wouldn't on a purpose built case?

Sounds like half a job to me?