How loud is too loud?

Xevuhtess7 · Oct 8, 2002

does anyone know any kind of guide or something that can tell me how loud the dba levels are? im trying to get an idea of how loud some fans are.

Yodums · Oct 8, 2002

http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/ has a sound room in which you can hear how the fans sound. Set a volume in which you can hear the fans and then compare all fans at that same volume so you get the same comparison and not tuning it.

PhobMX · Oct 9, 2002

Yodums said:
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/ has a sound room in which you can hear how the fans sound. Set a volume in which you can hear the fans and then compare all fans at that same volume so you get the same comparison and not tuning it.

i tried the same thing at its not really reliable...

i hate noise and i can tell you that anything below 40dba is perfectly good, 52dba is the top maximum, anything above that will sound like a grinder...

CyberFed · Oct 9, 2002

i have 2 80mm delta fans that blow 80cfm they push about 50+ cfm and it's LOUD like i have to turn up my music a bit to hear it good, and turn the TV up too, it bugs some people, but not me. You get used to it after a while.

metra · Oct 9, 2002

Im also wondering how loud is loud. I have a dehumidifier and it sometimes i move it (its on wheels) to the room with the comp i use. If a fan sounded like that i wouldnt really get bothered since its not a high pitch but rather bass sound... I hope the fans sound like that... I know that 7200 rpms fans (Deltas) are very high pitch which means its very annoying.

Braindonor · Oct 9, 2002

I myself just got the Vantec tornado and it sounds like I'm gonna start flying soon, but my temps are soooo much lower than they used to be. that can also attribute that to the new heatsink though, but Cyber is right you get used to it

Berenices · Oct 9, 2002

These figues are from Honda, they give you an idear. My opinion is I hate noisy pc`s and will strive to make mine as quite as possible.
Readings are in DB measured at 7Meters
140 - Threshold of pain
- Siren at 100 feet
130 - Jet plane at 50 feet
120 - Auto horn at 3 feet or Rock & Roll bar
110 - Chain Saw
100 - Heavy city traffic
90 - Rotary mower
80 - Inside a car at 50 m.p.h. or inside a busy office
70 - Vacuum cleaner
60 - Normal speech
50 - Private office
40 - Living room, suburban area
30 - Soft whisper
20 - Bedroom at night

How did they measure inside a car from 7Meters?

Xevuhtess7 · Oct 9, 2002

my plan is to get a tornado and strap it to an ax478, do you guys think it'd be a better idea to use a 80-92mm adapter to get the slightly higher cfms? also im under the impression that the bigger the fan, the less high pitched the noise is, so im tempted to use the 92mm so it wont be as high pitched of a sound. what do you guys think?

Berenices · Oct 9, 2002

i agree, bigger fan = more airflow and lower pitched noise. I guess they don`t run as fast as there smaller cousins.

Xevuhtess7 · Oct 9, 2002

does the adapter mess the airflow or performance or anything up? if i do get the adapter for a 92mm, should i get one that has like a funnel kind of thing or one that is just the frame for attaching the fan.

Ugmore Baggage · Oct 9, 2002

Theoretically, each 3 db doubles the sound level.

That means that you must use your head when you add fans.
1x23db fan is as loud as 2x20db fans
I made a web-based calculator on this, I'll see if I can hunt it down.
From what I've seen, 80mm (Panaflo and Pabst) fans give you the most cfm/noise.

found it: (no download required - javascript)
http://ao.tripod.com/decibel.html
please note that the top line has a 20 db fan already. You can write-in or click the additional fans

nealric · Oct 9, 2002

I have found that in general:
less than 30=almost silentlet
less than 25= quiet
Less that 45=average
Above 45=obnoxious
Abouve 55=God Awful
Its hard to take thse exactly because there is no standardized mesurement system. Sure, a leaf blower can be only 25 deciblels... when you are 1/4 mile away.

Berenices · Oct 10, 2002

I know what we should do!!! Get a big plastic box from the hardware shop about3*3*1 feet, put our pcs inside conect the power, monitor etc, then fill it full of concrete!
Now that would be a silent pc.

Xevuhtess7 · Oct 10, 2002

chevy... like a rock.....

Deathknight · Oct 11, 2002

IMHO stay away from the deltas. The high pitch was really causing me to get psycho. After extended periods on the computer I would go friggin nuts and wanna hit stuff. My tornado that I use now is VERY loud but oddly enough I don't find it as annoying.

I think someone mentioned 30dba as almost silent and that has been my experience as well. A 30dba cpu fan is quite enough that the volume of your case fans becomes a concern (as it is now I couldn't tell you if I had case fans on or not. Hell I can't hear the phone ringing now either...)

splash back · Oct 11, 2002

I have 4 80mm Deltas and they r very annoying STAY AWAY from them, however if like me u dont mind the noise they r v. gd

Xevuhtess7 · Oct 11, 2002

last night i did a whole bunch of planning on my case's airflow... my plans look like ill have a 120mm 131cfm intake, and 2 27cfm exhausts. i also want to have a second 120mm 131cfm a mabye like 5 inches behind the intake, but have it tilted at a 45 degree angle upwards so that it kind of turns the air upwards so it flows over the cpu. on the cpu im gonna have a vantec tornado. possibly ill add a 120mm blowhole, but it wont be a 131cfm, ill probably want that to be a vantec stealth, that way i can preserve the positive airflow to get rid of dust.

How loud is too loud?

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