Really quiet non gaming PC option?

[meiam]

For the longest time I've been using an imac for my non gaming PC (ie browsing internet and storing picture/movie) but it got really old so I had to change it. I had my old gaming PC I wasn't using anymore so I figured I'd switch to it, but after switching I realized the imac was really quiet, you can barely hear it while its running but the PC is actually pretty loud when not playing game.

I tried removing the GPU from my old PC and lowering the fan speed in the BIOS, but I can't lower my CPU fan below a certain speed for some reason (50% seems to be the minimum), and I'm not quiet sure if that's a limitation of the fan or some other component, maybe CPU/MB will not go lower than this? Tried using 3rd party software to control fan directly but none would even detect the fan.

So I'm wondering if there's anything I can do to make it quieter (it has one SSD for windows and one HDD for everything else, maybe the HDD is also part of the general noise issue)? Otherwise, I thought about maybe trying to find some cheap miniPC to replace it, but I'm not sure if there are any that accept regular size hard drive (both SSD and HDD) and are pretty quiet.

 

[Chimpzy]

You could try replacing your cpu cooler with a fanless one, or your case with one with an integrated heat sink. Tho since you mentioned the PC being older, I don't know how hard it'll be to find either that are compatible. Also, depending on the max tdp of the cpu you're running, you might still end up cooking it.

As for the HDD, yeah, it's a mechanical device with moving parts, so it's going to add to the PCs noise level. Nothing much you can do about that other than ditch it, or replace with an equivalent capacity SSD.

Since you're not Apple averse, you could also perhaps consider a Macbook Air, maybe secondhand. They're fanless, should be real quiet. The ones with M1 or M2 chips are also just really solid performers.

 

[Phoenixmgs]

If you don't care about gaming, the mini desktops are great options and what businesses use. And if you get an AMD one, it can do somewhat decent gaming because it has an APU. I know HP and Lenovo make them, not sure if anyone else makes them.

---https://www.amazon.com/HP-405-G8-PRO-5350GE-Quad-core/dp/B0BXVRL93W/ref=sr_1_1?c=ts&keywords=Mini+Computers&qid=1704489034&refinements=p_89%3AHP%2Cp_n_feature_twenty-eight_browse-bin%3A23724149011&rnid=23724143011&s=pc&sr=1-1&ts_id=13896591011

---https://www.amazon.com/HP-EliteDesk-Mini-Desktop-Computer/dp/B08L9NB7RD/ref=sr_1_2?c=ts&keywords=Mini%2BComputers&qid=1704489034&refinements=p_89%3AHP%2Cp_n_feature_twenty-eight_browse-bin%3A23724149011&rnid=23724143011&s=pc&sr=1-2&ts_id=13896591011&th=1

 

[meiam]

Humm didn't know they made fan less cooler, but there doesn't seems to be many options, I can only really find 2 and they're pretty pricey at 100$+, cheaper option don't seem to be made anymore. My part are only about 10 year old, cpu is an i5-4460, so they should be compatible with most modern stuff.

Yeah realized the HDD would make some noise, but was hoping they wouldn't really make any when not directly in use but that doesn't seem to be the case. I shouldn't have been cheap and spent a bit more and gotten an equivalent SSD, but I don't think that's where most of the sound come.

I'm trying to avoid laptop since I like being able to easily re use and replace the harddrive, and I'm kinda trying to move away from paying the apple tax for everything, it gets expensive.

I can't see the link you posted phoenix, but yeah mini desktop are something I could see using, but I don't know how quiet they actually are (don't want something small with a fan running really fast to keep up) and I wanna be able to use desktop hard drive rather than laptop mini one.

Thanks for the help.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

If the gaming PC is old, then the noise might be at least partially caused by worn or dirty fans and general dust clogging (the latter of which would force fans to run faster to remove heat). Has it been given a good cleaning?

 

[meiam]

If the gaming PC is old, then the noise might be at least partially caused by worn or dirty fans and general dust clogging (the latter of which would force fans to run faster to remove heat). Has it been given a good cleaning?

I'd clean them once a year before but not since coming out of storage, I can try that.

 

[Drathnoxis]

I remember someone here talking about getting a case with a really big fan in it, like 6" or something, because it could run at lower speeds and be very quiet.

Personally I'd find that uncomfortable. If I unplug my laptop cooling pad it feels unnaturally quiet.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

If the gaming PC is old, then the noise might be at least partially caused by worn or dirty fans and general dust clogging (the latter of which would force fans to run faster to remove heat). Has it been given a good cleaning?

Yeah, this is a big thing. Older fans make more noise because of wear and tear, and if your computer is dirty and clogged with dust the fans are going to have to spin faster to cool it.

You could replace the fans with higher quality ones. If your case allows I would also recommend larger fans. The larger a fan is the slower it needs to spin to move the same volume of air, so the quieter it will be.

Depending on the kind of CPU cooler you have you may also want to replace that. The stock coolers that come with Intel and AMD CPUs have pretty small fans, and upgrading them to tower cooler with a 120mm or 140mm fans should reduce the noise.

Another reason that your PC might be louder than a Mac is because Macs are generally pretty sealed up whereas current PCs tend to have a lot of mesh for better airflow, but mesh wouldn't block noise as much as solid panels.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I remember someone here talking about getting a case with a really big fan in it, like 6" or something, because it could run at lower speeds and be very quiet.

Personally I'd find that uncomfortable. If I unplug my laptop cooling pad it feels unnaturally quiet.

That was me.

My last 2 PCs have used 200mm (7.9") case fans, and they're great, super quiet.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

Since you're not Apple averse, you could also perhaps consider a Macbook Air, maybe secondhand. They're fanless, should be real quiet. The ones with M1 or M2 chips are also just really solid performers.

A good suggestion, if a tentative one in my opinion. I have an M1 Air myself, and while it's great, it's no major powerhouse. Definitely depends what level of gaming Meiam wants to do, cause it won't do stuff like Ultra on the latest games at max resolution and FPS. It can game though, and do it pretty alright.
I do really like it as an overall package though, it's been fantastic... but one thing I will say I highly regret is getting the 8GB RAM version. It was enough for my use case at the time, but 2 years later that's changed a bit and it's been my biggest and most frustrating bottleneck and I can't change it.
DO NOT SKIMP OUT. I know the 16GB upgrade is a gouge but it's worth it if you want to do more than the entry level of... anything; gaming, photo/video editing, etc, even just using your usual list of programs.
On a fresh reboot I already use 6.5GB of the 8GB of RAM available with the usual low key stuff I daily like my ultrawide monitor, browser, chats, a few other little apps as well. RAM starts getting cached and Swap'd pretty quickly

 

[Gordon_4]

Humm didn't know they made fan less cooler, but there doesn't seems to be many options, I can only really find 2 and they're pretty pricey at 100$+, cheaper option don't seem to be made anymore. My part are only about 10 year old, cpu is an i5-4460, so they should be compatible with most modern stuff.

Yeah realized the HDD would make some noise, but was hoping they wouldn't really make any when not directly in use but that doesn't seem to be the case. I shouldn't have been cheap and spent a bit more and gotten an equivalent SSD, but I don't think that's where most of the sound come.

I'm trying to avoid laptop since I like being able to easily re use and replace the harddrive, and I'm kinda trying to move away from paying the apple tax for everything, it gets expensive.

I can't see the link you posted phoenix, but yeah mini desktop are something I could see using, but I don't know how quiet they actually are (don't want something small with a fan running really fast to keep up) and I wanna be able to use desktop hard drive rather than laptop mini one.

Thanks for the help.

My kids each have a HP G3 Mini strapped to the back of a monitor on an arm as their computers. The things barely make any noise at all. The keyboards are louder.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

HP

Jokes aside, I really like compact mini PCs like this. They're neat. Considering I can get one of those G3 Minis for $160 and change in Canadian fun bucks it might not be a bad idea to nab something like this one day

 

[Gordon_4]

View attachment 10471

Jokes aside, I really like compact mini PCs like this. They're neat. Considering I can get one of those G3 Minis for $160 and change in Canadian fun bucks it might not be a bad idea to nab something like this one day

If HP isn’t your jam, Dell and Lenovo make them as well. Or if you have loads of money to burn you can build a NUC.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

If HP isn’t your jam, Dell and Lenovo make them as well. Or if you have loads of money to burn you can build a NUC.

HP shouldn't be anyone's jam, honestly... Sometimes they make ok stuff and sometimes it works just fine, but generally their stuff is pretty crap, their printers especially. Anecdotal evidence comes into play of course, but I've not heard enough good about them to ever recommend HP to anyone. That goes for Dell too. Their enterprise stuff is decent, their consumer goods... not so much. Lenovo seems to be alright on a baseline (except for the one time they bundled Superfish on their computers)

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

If HP isn’t your jam, Dell and Lenovo make them as well. Or if you have loads of money to burn you can build a NUC.

Dell sucks even more than HP, and I have my own gripes with Lenovo.

Back in college my dad bought me a Lenovo thinkpad, and like 5 months in the motherboard died. It was under warranty, and a known fault with the motherboards used in that generation (which I only found out later) and Lenovo still refused to fix it. Fuckers.

Ended up replacing it with an Acer laptop for $750, and that laptop still works 15 years later. I actually played Overwatch on it with some friends a couple of years ago when I was moving and didn't have my desktop set up, and I was shocked that the game even ran. It ran at low settings at sub 30fps, but still about as well as it would on a Nintendo Switch.