Hey guys, I need some advice on something, my computer is REALLY loud, it sounds like a jet engine taking off when turning on, and it gets left on 24/7 mostly for rendering, is there a way to shut it up a bit, I can’t really put it in another room as my home is a studio apartment and I only have 1 room
I’m not really the one to ask but it seems to me that the cooling systems in computers make most of the noise. So you could;
A, Clean out the dust in the filters and it’s innards so it gets more airflow.
B, Upgrade to a new cooling system.
But I would suggest waiting for someone a lot more knowledgeable comment on this before you go buying things.
A little more information about your particular computer would help.
In fact, it’d be great if you could go ahead and post some pictures of the computer with the side panel off, I’d be able to help a lot more.
In regards to general culprits for noise, it’s generally quite often either the case fans, or in some cases, the fan(s) on the video card, as they can oftentimes make quite a fuss.
But again, get me some pictures, and I’m 90% certain I can help you quiet down your system.
I’m not sure what type of computer you are using but the best solution would be to purchase a new case. There a quite a few enclosed cases with considerably good cooling encased to muffle as much sound as possible. I am not up to date on my cases but the last one i could remember was the antec p-180 cases. I have heard they run extremely silent, sacrificing visual appeal for features more ideal.
now they have the antec p193:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129176
Sadly, I am not aware of a less expensive solution and less time consuming solution.
I got these and wrote a review for them. Works like a charm. I haven’t had a desktop in half a decade, though (and I haven’t had a tower in eight years); can’t comment on how you’d use it with one of those honking beasts.
A less expensive or less time consuming option would be to either add more fans to the existing case or replace the existing fans with fans with a higher CFM and a lower db output.
And if you are interested in replacing the case, then there are a variety of cases out there geared towards providing quiet computing. The case I have my current rig in, for example. Hands down the best case out there for quiet air-cooling, only downside is the price tag of $250. I have also personally owned an Antec P183 (different version than the P193 linked to above, only the P183 doesn’t have the massive fan on the side, which would definitely contribute to noise), and while straight out of the box the P183 doesn’t have the best cooling, you can add a few more fans at ~$6-$8 a pop and noticeably increase cooling performance. Also, the tricool fans included with the P183 can get quite noisy at higher RPMs, so I would recommend replacing those as well.
I’m curios to know if condensation or moisture build up from the ice would be a problem. And where would be an effective place to put the ice. Inside at the bottom of the tower? or on the window/glass door side of my case? or somewhere near the intake fans? I’m probably going to give it a shot if I find the time. Because where i live it gets much too hot.
Condensation would most definitely build up within the case, and if any of that gets onto any of the hardware inside, you’re SOL.
All kinds of special precautions are taken when employing chilled water-cooling solutions within the inside of a case to prevent these kinds of situations.
Employ this method of cooling at your own risk.
heres the pc specs:
It’s your video cards. The first-gen Fermi cards (GTX 470 and GTX 480) are infamous for the amounts of heat and noise they output. There are a variety of solutions, ranging from replacing the TIM to installing aftermarket cooling solutions on the card, both of which are beyond the scope of this thread.
The next best solution is indeed a new case, if you’re so inclined.
EDIT: WHOA, WHOA, WHOA, you definitely need to get me a pic of the inside of your case, I just noticed the temperature of your CPU, you’re definitely in danger of permanently damaging it by running it for any prolonged amount of time at that temperature.
I already have a new case, but if you saw the inside of my machine you’d understand why i’m hesitent in taking it apart and putting it back together again, it’s like a mass jungle in there with the motherboard and graphics cards burried in there somewhere
I edited my post. You absolutely need to get me a pic of your case, I need to see what sort of heatsink/fan you have on your CPU. If it’s the stock HSF, then you absolutely need to get an aftermarket one on there, you’re going to kill your CPU running at those temps.
really? i thought so long as it’s under 100c it’d be fine?, you wouldn’t like the temp it reaches when rendering then, i’ve seen it hit 108c, the computer shits itself and turns off if i leave it on rendering for too long though.
Righteo then i’ll go about putting the pooter in the new case and report back
I’d never heard of this problem before just now. I’ve been employing the technique for months without a problem. How long would it take to cause destruction?
OK, after much swearing and untangling cables and evicting dust bunnies I’ve finally recombobulated my pc, it is running at a cool 48 - 50c idle and jumps to 60c under load which is fine (or at least i think it is anyway)
There is 1 cause for concern, when booting it makes a single short beep, it never used to do that
is it still loud after you put it back together?
mine was very loud to, ended up being my power supply fan, simple replace and POOF sound gone ;D could be as simple as a bad fan
Well that’s a far more reasonable temperature, though depending how long you’ve had it running at the far hotter temp, you might have done real damage to it by now.
The beep… some bios’ beep on bootup, but you should check up on it, your manual should tell you what the beep means, or try Google. You can usually find a list of beeps and their meaning. But it’s possible you simply have the PC Speaker plugged in properly now when before it might not have been. 
A lot of cases come with really rubbish PSU’s built in, often under powered so they get hot to quickly but also with small noisy fans. Good PSU’s are pretty much silent and have 120mm fans that produce more cooling at lower RPM’s.
Sounds like you got your system down to reasonable temps now though