Sound Proofing The Case

[lennytiger]

Is it possible to add some material to the case sides so that it will absorb all that noise that my fans are making???


This could be usefull so if anyone has info please post!!!

[zoopa_man]

I'v heard that Dynamat Extreme worked for some one. It's a rubber mat with sticky stuff on one side so it's self adhesive. What it does is deaden sound. If you try to put it on the sides and bottom of your case I'm willing to bed you'll notice a difference in the noise of your computer. It can be found on any audio web site. More specs are at www.dynamat.com You could order it form www.crutchfield.com but many other places have it.

[Warlord2]

that stuff is alot of $$$


is there anything else out there that is cheaper?

[Utini]

www.sounddeadeningmaterial.com

[CrackedSKull]

I guess you could use any kind of insulation foam. Hardware stores sell many diffent types and it's probably a lot cheaper, but it might be to thick for your case(I don't know how thin it comes; my dad uses this kind of foam thats about 2 inches think in walls for insulation lots of times). It also might raise case temps since it's insulation. I've never tried myself, but would think it would be good sound absorber.

[funnyperson1]

it might actually help lower temps because it will isolate the air, say youhave a side exhaust, that will be good

[el]

search in the alt modding section and you will see the details. the stuff I used is cheap dynamat rip off about a 10th the cost and works great kinda heavy and you need about 1mm so make sure you have that much extra room for your case to close.

[cool_hand_joe13]

:D Even cheaper than that and less of a headache to install,rubber sink washers for Home Depot.They take up the noise and are very cheap.

[ocman]

I have the same Case as Ian over a 2cooltek and bought some of his sonex sound foam as well and duplicated his approach. I really did not notice much difference. The panaflo's I swapped into my system are what made the real difference.

[Pinky]

I almost did an article on this months ago.

Alas, it was a no go... but I think the only thing to guarantee a quiet case is 1)Default CPUs, 2)no case fans, and 3)No OC'ers.com :p.

[Rick G]

I just picked up on this thread as I'm looking to dampen the fan noise as well. I was searching the forum posts for something I read a few weeks ago...Perhaps it was a tech article somewhere.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone has tried using mouse pads (& some sort of adhesive) as case insulation - for sides & bottom. The underside of mousepads looks like it would absorb sound quite well, and they're typically pretty thin, not to mention easy to come by inexpensively. And if so...How did it work out?

[Mictlan]

You can always put rheostats to your noisy fan so you can lower your rpms!!!!!

Anyway if you want to insulate your case you can always use foam (the one that comes in spays can do wonders) or use the stuff they use for packing (I really don't know its name in ENglish, here in Mexico we call it unicel). This stuff is sold in sheets. YOu can get one sheet, glue it to your side panels. If you want more sound deadening you can always trap air between two sheets. Say you cut two equal pieces and put some rubber washere in between. One of the best sound deadning materials is air itself.

[sids666]

If you want a quieter PC you could try out www.quietpc.com - they are based in England but they will ship worldwide.:beer:

[Ploaf]

With regards to Dynamat. I used this in my old case and with some of that white foamboard it seemed to help out. I have a new case now Antec sx1030b, which is actually pretty quite when run with the same number of fans but I have all of the available fan slots full and have the PS fan plugged in as well. It's making enough noise that I thought I'd give it another go.
Looking at the dynamat it made me think of rolled roofing material which is what I think it really is to some extent. THe only difference that I can see is that the dynamat comes in a smaller package, is missing the sand that allows you to walk on shingles, and has a Dynamat stamp on it.
I was in Home Depot yesterday since they had a 40% off the yellow tag sale and decided to check out the roofing material section and wouldn't you know that I came across a product that looked almost identical to Dynamat Extreme. That is- A thin tarry material that sticks to the point of sealing water (It's for gutter/roof repair and seals very well) similar to dynamat in weight and even had that foil on top. I'm not 100% positive what the differences are since I can't get Dynamat extreme anywhere around here, although Circuit City carries regular Dynamat in the car stereo installation section. It was still 15$ for about half the material and kind of expensive, but I bought it anyway just to see what it was. I have no way to measure decibels though and don't know how to go about it but I suspect that there won't be much difference between Dynamat and some roofing materials in performance since the material itself appears to be identical. Other materials cost less but this one was just stairing me in the face. Anyway. The question- Where can I get some relatively inexpensive equipment to measure db so that I can find out if this stuff works?

[zoopa_man]

Last I knew Radio shack carried a Db meter that will run you a good $30 for the cheep one and a real good Db meter can cost as much as a hundred bucks. You can also try looking on ebay, sometimes they are listed there. Another place to try may be www.crutchfield.com they carry a large amount of car and home audio products and are a very reputable company.

[Wicked Klown]

Dynamat now makes a sound deadener for computers. Also for a DB meter they cost any where from $30 to over a $1,000.

[Wicked Klown]

Originally posted by Ploaf
Looking at the dynamat it made me think of rolled roofing material which is what I think it really is to some extent.


Are you talking about Tar paper or Roll roof. Cause Tar paper is to help the shingles stick and to help water proof the roof and roll roof it used on low pitch roofs.

[Diggrr]

A couple of thoughts...

I think dynamat is a viscous rubber sheet. When the metal it's stuck on vibrates, it's meant to dampen the vibration. Keep this in mind while shopping for a cheaper alternative. I believe the foil is meant to absorb some ambient sound waves and isolate the metal underneath it.
An insulation material can help quiet a case. There's a lightweight 1/4 inch posterboard with a foam filling that would be cheap enough for this. Easy to glue on too.

You can isolate the source of the vibration more easily by just using rubber grommets to mount the fans. The power supply fan could be mounted the same way, and so too can the hsf's fan (sometimes, depending on it's mount). You can find rubber grommets at the local hardware or www.caseetc.com in the fan accesories. This however does little for the a hardrives whine or the screaming Delta.

There's my .02 worth...Happy modding all.

[Ploaf]

OK still enough noise but it dropped 3 dB according to the Radio Shack dB meter(Thanks for the tip :)). but... Not worth the effort. :(
anyway. The roofing material I was talking about wasn't tar paper, but the asphalt type of materials in general. I had to use rolled roofing before on the low pitched roof over my front porch, which happens to be part of my living room thanks to the engineering prowess of the idiot that owned the house before me. Anyway. The roof was leaking and needed fixed and it was cold and the only chance I had so I ran up there with some rolled roofing and put it down ral quick It worked :) Got a new roof in the spring and helped the guys who were here to put the roof on which is how I was exposed to the materials.
The stuff I eventually used is about half the thickness of Dynamat. It also has a dimpled foil covering it and the self adhesive back is incredibly sticky. It is made for roof and gutter repair and is supposed to be that way so that it can stop a leak. I purchased a 6" x 25 ft roll for about $15US. It did make the panels heavier and I think that it also helped to reduce case vibration, but maybe not as much as the dynamat would have. I was able to apply it very liberally since it was less expensive and I still have half a roll left. Maybe a second coating would work since it's so thin. Not sure.
Other thoughts along this line have been corkboard, acoustic foam, wood, foam board(which I tried with limited success). I tried the dynamat before. For me the issue wasn't the cost so much as it was to see if an alternative material would do the job. Just for the heck of it, really.
The noise from around the system is in the 55dB range. It is quite a bit lower from a few feet away, but it's still enough to bother me. Oh well. I tried, maybe something else next time