Rebuilding my cooling system

[Saregon]

So I'm sick to death with my computer's cooling system. Now mind you, it's extremely effective, it's got a outlet on top (large slow fan), one intake the side(smaller and faster) and two in front, and the regular outlets in the back. Thing is, it's very loud, and I'm getting pretty sick of listening to it. So my question is, is it possible to rebuild the cooling system as is, or do I need a new tower and stuff, basically starting from scratch? Or any other advice to dampen the sound?

EDIT: My bad, the top fan is an outlet, not an intake.

 

[distortedreality]

What case are you using? I'm assuming you're just using the fans that came with the case?

The easiest bet is to get new, quieter fans. Or you could go water cooling. Need more info to really provide better suggestions, but I wouldn't think a new case would be the answer unless you're running a generic no-name piece of shit.

Have you cleaned your fans/internals lately? Sometimes the dust build up can make the fans run harder and therefore louder. It could also be that your fans are running at 100% all the time, which generally isn't needed.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Depends on how far you want to go, water cooling is very effective and very quiet.

But if not that then replace some fans, bigger and slower is better then smaller and faster.
Also use foam/rubber mounts for them, because PC cases are all sheet metal they convey noise/vibration extremely well, and a sheet of sound proof foam on the side panel can take off an extra 10-20% noise.

 

[oplinger]

You have an intake in the top...the sides..and the bottom.

..Why?

Learn to use air pressure and temp differences to maximize airflow, you don't just cram as much air into the case as you can.

For example, hot air rises, so put an exhaust fan on top, in the back, the PSU usually does this wonderfully, but if you need more air movement, you can always use another fan. Put an intake on the bottom front of the case, or in front of your hard drives, it'll blow cool air over them, the air will heat, and go up to the exhaust, all the while creating a low pressure environment (colder)

You can reduce the noise, and the number of fans, all while keeping things very cool.

 

[Crises^]

An easy step in to water cooling might be the corsair H series coolers I have an H80 in mine and its great, bare in mind they are good but won't be as good as real water cooling systems.

You can replace your fans with Noctuas as they are extremely good fans, if there a little to pricey for you go with scythes.

Air flow in the case should look like this:

Or if your using the H series coolers do a push pull config where the outside fan attached to the H80 pulls air into the case and the fan on the inside attached pulls it in the case,
Have the fans mounted to the top set as exhaust.
All Fans at front of case should always be pulling air in and mount your hardrives in the bottom slots to allow for better airflow to reach the gpus.

 

[Saregon]

Snip

That was my bad, the top fan is an outlet, didn't think before writing, the fan config is pretty much like the picture in the post below yours.

 

[beyondbrainmatter]

So I'm sick to death with my computer's cooling system. Now mind you, it's extremely effective, it's got a outlet on top (large slow fan), one intake the side(smaller and faster) and two in front, and the regular outlets in the back. Thing is, it's very loud, and I'm getting pretty sick of listening to it. So my question is, is it possible to rebuild the cooling system as is, or do I need a new tower and stuff, basically starting from scratch? Or any other advice to dampen the sound?

EDIT: My bad, the top fan is an outlet, not an intake.

1. You could invest in some Noctua coolers. Those have the best dBA>Airflow ratio on the market. Rather expensive for system coolers, but seriously worth it.
2. You could buy some anti vibration case feet.
3.Next up is an anti vibration psu gasket.
4. Or get a new, more silent psu (still get the gasket anyway though, to be sure).
5. Case vibration is mostly caused by the hdd, so getting some or the other anti vibration mounting kit might be something to look into. Maybe even a sata hotswap bay, so you never have to fiddle around with external harddrives again...

6. Finally, you could also get a fancontroller to turn down the rpms on the existing fans, which is a horrible sollution imho. They look nice though.

 

[Saregon]

What case are you using? I'm assuming you're just using the fans that came with the case?

The easiest bet is to get new, quieter fans. Or you could go water cooling. Need more info to really provide better suggestions, but I wouldn't think a new case would be the answer unless you're running a generic no-name piece of shit.

Have you cleaned your fans/internals lately? Sometimes the dust build up can make the fans run harder and therefore louder. It could also be that your fans are running at 100% all the time, which generally isn't needed.

I'm using an Antec Nine Hundred:
http://store.antec.com/Product/enclosure-gear_for_gamers/nine-hundred/0-761345-15900-5.aspx
with the optional sidemounted fan.

I clean the intakes every time I clean my place (once a week) and the inside of the PC every month or 2, as needed, so I doubt that's the problem.

 

[distortedreality]

What case are you using? I'm assuming you're just using the fans that came with the case?

The easiest bet is to get new, quieter fans. Or you could go water cooling. Need more info to really provide better suggestions, but I wouldn't think a new case would be the answer unless you're running a generic no-name piece of shit.

Have you cleaned your fans/internals lately? Sometimes the dust build up can make the fans run harder and therefore louder. It could also be that your fans are running at 100% all the time, which generally isn't needed.

I'm using an Antec Nine Hundred:
http://store.antec.com/Product/enclosure-gear_for_gamers/nine-hundred/0-761345-15900-5.aspx
with the optional sidemounted fan.

I clean the intakes every time I clean my place (once a week) and the inside of the PC every month or 2, as needed, so I doubt that's the problem.

Yeah, i'd just upgrade the fans, probably all you need to do.

 

[flying_whimsy]

Getting better fans is probably your best bet. However, I'd also recommend looking at vibration reducing fan mounts (rubberized fan buffers and the like, just do a search on a site like newegg); they make for a fairly cheap way to further help reduce noise.