Need help, inherited a gaming PC. Fans too loud under load.

[JCE3000GT]

First let me say I am easily 8~10 years behind on case (cooling) technology. And I know even less about case fans! Ok so my brother gave me his gaming rig he built about ~2 years ago, which I've put in my 2 SSDs and 1TB HDD on top of his SSD and 3TB HDD. (PC specs below)

AMD Phenom II X4 965 @ 3.45Ghz
8GB PC1600 ram
2x nVidia GTX 560 Ti 1GB GDDR5 cards (SLI)
Antec (no idea what model) case with a series of Antec case fans (120mm & 140mm)
Some sort of radiator with two 140mm fans

Here is my problem, under idle the fans are spinning ~2000 RPM which keeps the CPU temp @ 25~27C and the external noise level low. When I fire up the only game I play on this PC (as of yet) which is Skyrim the fans attached to that radiator spin up so loud I literally cannot hear the game audio. I NEED this to be quiet since I do not have a desk or cabinet to stuff this case in! Pictures are attached, I was hoping I can get some advice on how to quiet this thing! Should I buy fans that are low dB and have a low max RPM?

 

[ShrimpBrime]

Need help, inherited a gaming PC. Fans too loud under load.

Good cooling comes with sacrifice. Get a really nice pair of head phones probably cheaper than replacing all the fans to quiet.

I do not have a desk or cabinet to stuff this case in!

Nah, you want the air flow.

Less cooling, higher temps, possible problems. I'd say leave it cool.

Perhaps some fan controllers for the front panel. Control them manually?

 

[JCE3000GT]

Good cooling comes with sacrifice. Get a really nice pair of head phones probably cheaper than replacing all the fans to quiet.



Nah, you want the air flow.

Less cooling, higher temps, possible problems. I'd say leave it cool.

Perhaps some fan controllers for the front panel. Control them manually?

Honestly I could care less about raising the temp a bit if I can get quieter. It is running very cool as-is so I'm not worried about that. Funny you mention headphones, I get a severe headache when I wear them. The front fans and top fans aren't that loud and I do have the switches set to the lowest speed. It's solely the fans attached to the radiator that are the problem.

 

[rayraysfunhouse]

If i'm not mistaken the 560 was a pretty loud card. What do your temps get up to?

Also, work on a little cable management to free up the airflow through the case.

 

[JCE3000GT]

If i'm not mistaken the 560 was a pretty loud card. What do your temps get up to?

When I alt-tab out of Skyrim it crashes and the fans start to spin down so I do not know if I get accurate readings. I was going to run another test tonight and just open SpeedFan and start Skyrim in windowed mode so I can try and get consistent readings under full load and then do the same with various non-gaming programs. I do not believe it is the video cards that are causing the fans attached to the radiator (connected to the CPU) to get louder under load--and these are the only fans that make excessively loud noise and it does occur outside of a game if I'm multitasking in Windows a bit too much. I've had the case open on a table to hear what's going on inside and those are the fans that are very loud, the three fans up front and the two at the top make almost no noise with the switch on "low".

Also, work on a little cable management to free up the airflow through the case.

I agree with that. Sadly, that picture is an improvement on how they were before. lol I can take another picture of the entire inside of the case so you can see what I have to work with. : / I'm not sure how to route some of this stuff.

 

[Blaylock]

JCE3000GT First off Welcome to the forums!

The first thing I notice is the push pull fans on your radiator. The Corsair that I can see is set as an intake fan. This should be turned around to be an exhaust. Also verify that the other fan is in the same orientation. Just in case your brother installed one fan backwards. That WOULD make them very loud.

Second, you didn't post what motherboard that is but by looking at the heatsinks it resembles an older Gigabyte. If your Rad fans are plugged into the CPU_FAN header you should be able to go into BIOS and change your smart fan function to slow those fans down at idle. You'll want them to ramp up as the temps climb, but ~2000rpm at idle is rediculiously annoying I'm sure.

Third as RayRay mentioned also, a little cable management really helps internal case temps. This will keep everything else cooler which will keep the fans spinning slower and quieter.

 

[JCE3000GT]

Thank you!

JCE3000GT First off Welcome to the forums!

The first thing I notice is the push pull fans on your radiator. The Corsair that I can see is set as an intake fan. This should be turned around to be an exhaust. Also verify that the other fan is in the same orientation. Just in case your brother installed one fan backwards. That WOULD make them very loud.

Now this makes a great point. So to confirm what you're saying in the simplest way possible is that the side with the sticker needs to be facing out of the case (in this case to the left) correct?

Second, you didn't post what motherboard that is but by looking at the heatsinks it resembles an older Gigabyte. If your Rad fans are plugged into the CPU_FAN header you should be able to go into BIOS and change your smart fan function to slow those fans down at idle. You'll want them to ramp up as the temps climb, but ~2000rpm at idle is rediculiously annoying I'm sure.

You're correct it is an older Gigabyte, sorry I don't have the model number of that on me right now since I'm at work but when I get home I can check CPU-Z and post the results. I know it is an AM3+ but not really sure of the other details.

That is definitely annoying yes to have the fans on at ~2000rpm for idle, so how fast would they then speed up to make that deafening noise? I'm hoping I can try and find out tonight with SpeedFan. Should I consider buying quieter fans with lower rpms that still have some airflow? Would downclocking my CPU also help with keeping the temps cooler and thus the fans at a lower speed? I honestly just want to play vanilla Skyrim (and DLC) and maybe FFXIV at some point. Every other game I play will be old (1998-2010), using DOSBOX, or using emulation (PSX/3DO/SAT/etc) since I am a vintage/old game collector.

Third as RayRay mentioned also, a little cable management really helps internal case temps. This will keep everything else cooler which will keep the fans spinning slower and quieter.

I totally agree, I'm really not sure what the best way to route this stuff to be the most efficient. I'm really behind on case knowledge and experience. I'm used to my cases having minimal wiring and a large open space in the middle, even with smaller cases versus this new one. So I may need help here... I've got plenty of zip-ties!

 

[Blaylock]

1. Basically yes. The fan frame will always be the exhaust side. There should be 2 arrows on the side of the fan frame also showing rotation direction and airflow direction.

2. I would guess they are 2000rpm fans and are just running at max speed. I see a daisy chain of molex 4pin connectors there. If those fans are plugged in there then that's a constant 12v supply. Unplug them from there and plug them into the CPU_FAN header on your board. This will allow you to adjust the speeds in your BIOS. Possibly set the speed based on CPU temp. This will depend solely on your MoBo and Bios version.

3. That case looks to be a decent one. You may be able to route the cables behind your MoBo tray and out the access holes to where ever it need to plug in. Here is a link to a long running picture thread of wire management. You can use it to get some good ideas on how it should look when done right. Just click on the last few pages of the thread(unless you like to look at some vintage rigs. LOL)

 

[JCE3000GT]

1. Basically yes. The fan frame will always be the exhaust side. There should be 2 arrows on the side of the fan frame also showing rotation direction and airflow direction.

Awesome, thanks for that tip. That's going to help.

2. I would guess they are 2000rpm fans and are just running at max speed. I see a daisy chain of molex 4pin connectors there. If those fans are plugged in there then that's a constant 12v supply. Unplug them from there and plug them into the CPU_FAN header on your board. This will allow you to adjust the speeds in your BIOS. Possibly set the speed based on CPU temp. This will depend solely on your MoBo and Bios version.

Those 4pin connectors are for the front fans and the top fans if I remember correctly. Either way I need to redo all of that stuff. : /

3. That case looks to be a decent one. You may be able to route the cables behind your MoBo tray and out the access holes to where ever it need to plug in. Here is a link to a long running picture thread of wire management. You can use it to get some good ideas on how it should look when done right. Just click on the last few pages of the thread(unless you like to look at some vintage rigs. LOL)

Thanks, it certainly looks cool and has tons of drive bays. So you would suggest running the cables behind on the bottom side, interesting idea I like it. What do you think about adding additional sound insulation to reduce noise and or vibration?

P.S. I do like to look at vintage rigs.

**edit**

My case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129087

Also, I really like this:

 

[Blaylock]

It looks to be a really nice case from it's time. Yes, you can/should route the wires through the back. Here's a nice review of your case. They do show the wire management (though poor job IMHO) in the review.

 

[rayraysfunhouse]

Wire management will take a little bit of time. Just be patient make sure you discharge electricity before starting and remember where cables go. It will make it look a whole lot better as well if you case has a windowed side panel. Just have plenty of cable ties and take your time.

 

[JCE3000GT]

It looks to be a really nice case from it's time. Yes, you can/should route the wires through the back. Here's a nice review of your case. They do show the wire management (though poor job IMHO) in the review.

Thanks a TON for that link to the case review. I've got that all saved in PDFs and JPEGs so I can have a reference.

Wire management will take a little bit of time. Just be patient make sure you discharge electricity before starting and remember where cables go. It will make it look a whole lot better as well if you case has a windowed side panel. Just have plenty of cable ties and take your time.

Thanks for the advice, and it does have a windows panel. I'm obsessive about grounding myself before touching components, OCD about it really. I think I've decided to completely disassemble this PC and reassemble it bit by bit so I can better control the clutter and the like. I may also rearrange the drive bays and fans.

I just don't want it to look like this below on the bottom side (under the mobo) when I'm done. I have a hundred zip-ties and OCD on my side so I'm hoping it turns out well. I will be taking before and after pics.

 

[Blaylock]

Nice. Honestly that's the best route anyhow. You can also knock the dust off everything too that way.

 

[rayraysfunhouse]

I've rewired mine I don't know how many times and the back doesn't look perfect but it's not horrible. But in all honesty no one ever sees the back and I have the front looking almost perfect. And every time I pull it apart to blow dust out I do more and more just to try and get it even cleaner.

 

[JCE3000GT]

I'm definitely going to start doing this tonight. I'll update the thread with the before pics.

Nice. Honestly that's the best route anyhow. You can also knock the dust off everything too that way.

Absolutely, especially since my brother had cats and I'm allergic to them... I've already cleaned off the fan blades on half of the fans so I'm good there. Otherwise most of the case seems to be pretty clean.

I've rewired mine I don't know how many times and the back doesn't look perfect but it's not horrible. But in all honesty no one ever sees the back and I have the front looking almost perfect. And every time I pull it apart to blow dust out I do more and more just to try and get it even cleaner.

Sounds slightly OCD, I like it.

 

[rayraysfunhouse]

Dust is your enemy lol. Especially when you're pushing overclocks and your temps are already close.

 

[JCE3000GT]

Dust is your enemy lol. Especially when you're pushing overclocks and your temps are already close.

Oh definitely.

I have to work tonight so I may not get to get started. I will at least take before pics.

 

[xsuperbgx]

Probably your gpu fans are causing most of the noise. Perhaps replace the TIM on the heatsinks and blow any dust out of them.

 

[NiHaoMike]

If i'm not mistaken the 560 was a pretty loud card.

I had a 560 and it wasn't noisy at all, but it had the two fan cooler, not the reference style cooler. The 970 (with a reference style cooler) that replaced it is a bit noisier under load, but the system ended up quieter as the case fans didn't have to work as hard.

 

[JCE3000GT]

I've attached the before picture of the inside of the case, sorry about the lighting it wasn't very bright in that room.

Probably your gpu fans are causing most of the noise. Perhaps replace the TIM on the heatsinks and blow any dust out of them.

I dusted half of the case fans and the graphics cards' fans so I know at least that chore was done. When I had the case open and started Skyrim easily 75% of the noise wasn't coming from the graphics cards but from the 2 fans that are attached to the radiator. The graphics cards actually are pretty quiet, much more quiet than my old 460 or 650. LOL

I had a 560 and it wasn't noisy at all, but it had the two fan cooler, not the reference style cooler. The 970 (with a reference style cooler) that replaced it is a bit noisier under load, but the system ended up quieter as the case fans didn't have to work as hard.

My 560's stay cool and aren't very noisy.