Jinn

For those of you with worried about the noise of your computer - why are you concerned?

Perhaps I have a high tolerance for noise, or perhaps it just doesn't sound the same way to me. My computer could hum like a nuclear reactor and I don't think I'd have a problem with it. I've got fans out the ass and they're certainly not quiet, and I don't have any "noise-cancelling enclosures" or anything of that sort. I sleep in the same room as my PC (less than 5 feet away) and I watch movies and game without ever noticing the sound of the PC.

However, there's a huge market for silent, near-silent, or silenced PC parts. I'm honestly curious why those of you concerned about noise are concerned.

Thoughts?

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Meditrina

Not knowing a lot about computers, when ours started humming, I was worried that something was wrong. The computer is running fine, with the extra hum. We have since gotten used to it.

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Dilbert1234567

When you have a silent computer, you will know why. My server in the garage, i could not care how loud it is, as long as I don’t here it inside my house, my media box hooked up to my TV needs to be quiet so it doesn't interrupt the movie or music i am watching or listening too. And my personal computer needs to be quiet because i like classical music and a lot of the music is drowned out by the white noise of fans.

If you were on a cross country car trip, would you rather be in a quiet car, or a noisy car.

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Dragonlich

I cannot stand computer noise; I always try to get silent/near-silent components for my computer.

You may not mind that your computer is noisy, but I certainly do. As Dilbert said: try working with one of those silent (but fast) computers, and see if you still don't mind.

cyrnel

I'm just another geek who's grown up with unnatural levels of ventilation, so I don't mind the noise outright. The whitish noise can mask traffic or other environmental noises, and certainly, sound tells us how things are working. Up to the point they intrude on other needs. Conversations, entertainment, etc., all have their own need for equipment to STFU.

And then there's the mental health of silence. Between birds and the winchester whine, I'll take quiet PC's any day. There's something fatiguing about a full day of head-out-the-window data-center whoosh. My office will never make it since I'd have to radically change too much equipment, but if I were in a quiet neighborhood and had the option it'd be an easy choice.

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CSflim

because it's distracting and irritating?

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vanblah

I use one of my computers to record digital audio.

If I have someone working with me (either on the computer or on the mic) I have the mic in a seperate room so noise from the computer is not a factor.

But if I'm alone it's difficult to 1) hit record 2) run to the other room 3) put on the headphones 4) catch my breath for singing or pick up the guitar and start playing.

It would be nice if when I am doing a quick take on an acoustic instrument or vocal and I don't have someone working with me I could have the microphone right there within easy reach of the keyboard (so I can start/stop recording quickly and easily).

So having said all that:

I am in the process of building a computer using silent fans and also building a cabinet with Auralex foam inside to dampen the noise that does get generated. The cabinet will be vented out the back through the wall onto the back porch. The vent will also be as acoustically sound as I can make it.

Noise is definitely a factor in my case. Even a hard drive click can "ruin" a good take in a quiet song.

KnifeMissile

Most people find unwanted noise irritating. I'd rather hear my music than my computer. I'd rather hear my TV than my computer. I'd rather hear nothing at all than my computer while I'm sleeping or doing anything, really. I believe the majority of people feel this way, even.

You're lucky to not be bothered by your computer's noise although I do find it hard to believe that you can run a vacuum cleaner 24/7 and not be bothered by the noise. What's particularly curious is that you don't understand how the noise can bother other people. It's like asking why people like small portable music players. My MP3 player can be the size of a brick and I wouldn't care!

snowy

I find my current fan too loud, so next time I order computer parts, I'll be ordering a quieter case fan. I'll probably be ordering another heatsink for the CPU, as the fan on that strikes me as too loud too. Of course, on my previous heatsink (the one before the current one), there was no fan, so going from only a case fan to a case fan and a heatsink fan seems a little loud to me.

I like my computer to be quiet. While the white noise is fine when I'm sleeping, it bothers my boyfriend, and when I'm not sleeping, it interferes with my ability to hear the television or the music I'm listening to.

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Redjake

I don't mind loud fans. I remember one of those Thermaltake fans - it was called the Volcano or something like that - it was like a damn vacuum cleaner. I had one on my Barton 2500+.

The thing that DOES get on my nerves is oscillating or revolving noise (rather than constant). I have 1.4 TB of hard drives in my current setup and all of them together are creating some sort of odd, oscillating vibration - think of a computer actually "breathing." It's incredibly annoying; it sounds similar to a CD-ROM accessing a disk, every 5 seconds. Now THAT'S annoying. If it would just stay a constant buzz or whir or whatever, I'd be fine.

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Dilbert1234567

Seagate makes very quiet hard drives, the 7200.9 series is virtually silent except for seeking. 7200.10 is allegedly the same, but I don’t have my 7200.10 in my main computer.

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Lasereth

Ringing gets on my nerves as well as oscillating noises. But constant hums of HDDs or fans doesn't bother me at all, even absurdly loud ones like the old Thermaltake CPU fans that Redjake mentioned above.

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laconic1

For me the thing about computer noise is that I can't escape it if I want to use it. If I'm watching tv and it is too loud I turn the volume down. I can't do that with the computer. Computer noise is also some of the most unpleasant noise there is since it is usually fairly high pitched. I have a Western Digital hard drive that is so noisy I just can't stand it. I cant wait for the new Seagate 7200.10 drive I ordered to arrive.

Plaid13

Some people are just used to it being quiet and cant block out background noise. Personaly i can ignore a train going through my bedroom it wouldnt bother me at all. I used to have a fairly loud computer and it didnt bother me at all now i have one thats almost totaly silent and... it still dosnt bother me. All comes down to preferance.

aberkok

No disrespect intended, but are you going to start making threads asking why water is wet? There must be some misunderstanding here because to me you're asking the question "Why does noise bother you?"

I don't think I need to defend much the position that noise is not a natural state to be relaxed in.

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