Low noise/high CFM? Put a sock in it!

[1Time]

I've got 6 fans pushing a total of 150 CFM, the temps are good, and although it's not quite a mini-hovercraft yet, I had to do something about the noise. Last night I read a low tech solution somewhere I just had to try. So tonight I took the door knob off the closet door, put my PC in the closet, ran the cables through the door knob hole and put a sock in the hole. I'm sitting less than 4 feet from from my PC (due to the length of my cables) and I can barely hear it running. What a difference! I'll probably exchange a couple of my faster fans for the slower ones I'm now using, get longer cables, throw up a blanket inside the closet to absorb some more sound and then start overclocking. But first, I've got to get my stereo hooked up to my PC... it's way too quiet in here. :D

>AMD XP 1700+ >Epox 8KHA+ >Alpha PAL8045 hs - Panaflo fan >512mb Crucial PC2100 2.5 cas >40 gig Seagate Barracuda IV 7200 rpm >GeForce GTS-V 32mb DDR >LiteOn CD/DVD - CDRW >SB Live Value >Win XP Home >Samsung 19" >Antec case SX635 >Antec 350w ps PP-352X >NIC 10/100 - floppy

[Zazuk]

Does your closet have any ventilation? If not over time it will heat up and all your fans will be for not...:(

[1Time]

Good point and my concern exactly. My idle temps after I put it in there were 39/26 and before were 40/28. Now after being under load all night the temps reached 46/30. Load temps before putting it in there were 46/31. Opened the closet door to check and it still feels cooler in there than out here. The clearance at the bottom of the closet door looks to be enough, but I'll probably end up drilling a hole at the top and back of the closet through to a neighboring hall closet that's vented (the door doesn't shut) and then stick a small pipe through it. So far, so good! :)

>AMD XP 1700+ >Epox 8KHA+ >Alpha PAL8045 hs - Panaflo fan >512mb Crucial PC2100 2.5 cas >40 gig Seagate Barracuda IV 7200 rpm >GeForce GTS-V 32mb DDR >LiteOn CD/DVD - CDRW >SB Live Value >Win XP Home >Samsung 19" >Antec case SX635 >Antec 350w ps PP-352X >NIC 10/100 - floppy

[ButcherUK]

Only 150 cfm? my radiator fan can push 235 (though it doesn't due to noise), MORE FANS :D

[nil_esh]

Yeah, I'm thinking of putting a coupla PCs in a closet for Folding.. But the heat buildup is a little bit of worry. These PCs will be a P2-266 and P1-166..

[AceTKK]

Um, how do you open your closet now? Do you have to disconnect all the cables and run them back through the knob-hole in order to open the closet door? How do you get to your clothes? It seems like it would also be a huge pain to insert cd's / floppies.


-Ace-

[Diggrr]

Speaking as a parent, if he's under 20, his clothes are everywhere but the closet.:D

Seriously though, you can get vent registers (louvered grilles) to put into the door. You can get them 12" x 30" and they have filter screens in them too. I saw them at home depot.

[1Time]

I went about this cooling thing all wrong. I bought slow, quiet fans and thought I could o/c and have the fans not be too loud, but no way. Today I added 4 washers to my Alpha PAL8045 hs, changed out a couple fans and overclocked my 1700+ so my system thinks it's a 1900+. Now am totalling 180 CFM, my temps dropped under load from 46/30 to 41/29 and still can barely hear it through my closet door. :)

To open door, remove sock and hand feed 2 feet of cables back through door knob hole. Fast and simple to do. And yes, without longer cables my door only opens half way giving me limited access to the closet and I half to reach to get to the CD/DVD/CDRW trays. Solution: get longer cables or extensions. Today's laundry day so I'll ask the wife to hang my clothes in the hall closet for now. However, so far this has really worked out very well.

>AMD XP 1700+ >Epox 8KHA+ >Alpha PAL8045 hs - Panaflo fan >512mb Crucial PC2100 2.5 cas >40 gig Seagate Barracuda IV 7200 rpm >GeForce GTS-V 32mb DDR >LiteOn CD/DVD - CDRW >SB Live Value >Win XP Home >Samsung 19" >Antec case SX635 >Antec 350w ps PP-352X >NIC 10/100 - floppy