How loud is your CPU fan?

[brawnypandora0]

Mine is as loud as a running refrigerator. Is it true there are some noiseless fans? Like fans in computers in recording studios, where there must be no noise?

[nathan.the.sane]

In space, no one can hear your CPU fan.

[Drenriza]

Mine is as loud as a running refrigerator. Is it true there are some noiseless fans? Like fans in computers in recording studios, where there must be no noise?

Just bought a new CPU cooler with a 12 centimeters fan. And it run at 100% all the fricking time for some reason. So yes i can $hear it, loud and clear.

So my solution will be.
Attach a speed controller and take it to the lowest speed. And pow! no noise :p

It's probably also a crappy fan, so if i bought one of a better quality it would probably be less noisy.

[sffvba[e0rt]

There are many different fans/heat sink combo's on the market... If they are very efficient then the fan will spin slower and there will be less noise. What case and the airflow through it also plays a role.

The cheapest way to go very silent would be water cooling (but there is something about sensitive electronic equipment and water that stops me from going that route).


404

[jocheem67]

Instead of looking at fancontrol or his or her's case or fan, one should probably look at energyconsumption first.
Certainly regarding laptops....

[3rdalbum]

A lot of computer stores that build their own computers, tend to just plug the cheapest CPU and case fans straight into the PSU and hope that the customer doesn't complain about how noisy their computer is.

Make sure your CPU and case fans are plugged into the motherboard, and that the BIOS is set to automatically control the fan's speed.

However, with a really quiet fan, you can have it running at 100% all the time and it will still be nearly silent. My desktop (sadly not with me at the moment) uses a Noctua fan for the CPU, running at 100%, nearly noiseless. In time I'll get a second Noctua as the case fan, and if I'm really adventurous I'll get a smaller third one and modify the graphics card to use it :-)

[CharlesA]

A lot of computer stores that build their own computers, tend to just plug the cheapest CPU and case fans straight into the PSU and hope that the customer doesn't complain about how noisy their computer is.

Make sure your CPU and case fans are plugged into the motherboard, and that the BIOS is set to automatically control the fan's speed.

However, with a really quiet fan, you can have it running at 100% all the time and it will still be nearly silent. My desktop (sadly not with me at the moment) uses a Noctua fan for the CPU, running at 100%, nearly noiseless. In time I'll get a second Noctua as the case fan, and if I'm really adventurous I'll get a smaller third one and modify the graphics card to use it :-)
This pretty much sums it up.

I've got a cheap CoolerMaster cooler that is relatively quiet for it's size - 120mm fan. I cannot hear it over the other three fans in the case and the GPU fan is a bit louder when I push it.

I suppose if you want a truly silent solution, you could check out water cooling, but keep in mind that the radiators need to be cooled somehow.

[brawnypandora0]

This pretty much sums it up.

I've got a cheap CoolerMaster cooler that is relatively quiet for it's size - 120mm fan. I cannot hear it over the other three fans in the case and the GPU fan is a bit louder when I push it.

I suppose if you want a truly silent solution, you could check out water cooling, but keep in mind that the radiators need to be cooled somehow.

so it's possible that the BIOS could be automatically set to NOT control the fan speed, which means the fan is spinning faster than it has to be?

[wolfen69]

I actually find the sound of a system fan soothing. To me, total silence is deafening and unbearable. Bring the noise!

[t0p]

My desktop pc is pretty old, and the fan on the tower is unbelievably noisy - I swear, my refrigerator is quieter! And, because of my internet service provider's traffic-shaping policies, I often do heavy downloading overnight. Meaning the computer is running, its fan rattling away, in the same room I'm trying to sleep in!

My lil old EeePC netbook is pretty quiet, but its baby CPU gets upset when it stays up late.

[mikewhatever]

I don't have a CPU fan. ):P

[Dry Lips]

In space, no one can hear your CPU fan.

Let me fix that for you.

In space, no one can hear your CPU fan scream.

[toyoracer]

Quiet, really quiet Arctic F12 Pro PWM running under 800rpm on light loads 6° above ambient and 1300rpm 17° C benchmarking. Bios control works very well. :D

[TBABill]

Interesting question. I have 2 Dell laptops with Core i3 processors and Intel graphics. They would get moderately warm in ubuntu. In Win 7 my wife's fan was as loud as what was described by the OP. I ran CCleaner, which I allowed to fix the registry and clean out everything....runs so quiet now. No idea why, was just a shot in the dark to try it.

Now, I have moved on to an Acer with ATi graphics and quad core AMD processor. It never ran hot, but it ran warm. Now I have installed 10.04 again with the fglrx driver and the fan almost never makes any noise at all. Coolest any Linux machine has ever run for me, especially laptops.

[Dry Lips]

My brother has got two graphic adapters in his computer, and apparently they tend to make a lot more noise in Ubuntu than in Windows.

[Old_Grey_Wolf]

I have 5 computers on or under my desk at the moment. I do hear some of the fans when the computer's CPU is loaded heavily; however, they are not very loud. Other noise around me like a TV or radio in another room are a lot louder. It could be the frequency of the sound some fans produce. I'm 63 so I can't here the "Mosquito" ringtone either.

:lolflag:

[underquark]

HP t5730 under the TV running Puppy Linux 5.2.8 - no fan, no noise at all; only moving part is the on/off switch.
Main PC running ubuntu 10.04 - 3 fans but a whole lot quieter than previously since I replaced the fan inside the power supply unit and it now sounds like a quiet jumbo jet in steady flight (which I find quite soothing as I anticipate the snacks and drinks).

[bluexrider]

Oh you guys! I have 2-200mm case fans running at 50% and could still hear a pin drop. What is the problem?

[bluexrider]

I have 5 computers on or under my desk at the moment. I do hear some of the fans when the computer's CPU is loaded heavily; however, they are not very loud. Other noise around me like a TV or radio in another room are a lot louder. It could be the frequency of the sound some fans produce. I'm 63 so I can't here the "Mosquito" ringtone either.

:lolflag:
That's funnier than hell. Rock on!

[|{urse]

Depends on which systems i have running, one of them is a btx form-factor system that has passive cooling and its totally silent (other than the hard drive).. I never trust that computer lol.. It makes me nervous to leave it running if I'm leaving the house.

[CharlesA]

so it's possible that the BIOS could be automatically set to NOT control the fan speed, which means the fan is spinning faster than it has to be?

It can be. Mine is set so that the fan speeds up if the CPU is under load.


Oh you guys! I have 2-200mm case fans running at 50% and could still hear a pin drop. What is the problem?

Same. My case has three 200mm fans being controlled by the mobo, the house fan on low is louder than the computer.

[Old_Grey_Wolf]

That's funnier than hell. Rock on!

Thank you. I was trying to find a funny way to say what you said below.
Oh you guys! I have 2-200mm case fans running at 50% and could still hear a pin drop. What is the problem?

It is rare that I hear the fans on my computers.

There is one vintage computer I have that has a noticeable fan noise; however, it is a 9 year old, single-core laptop, that uses 90% CPU trying to play a flash video. I keep the old-thing as a novelty.

:lolflag:

[DS McGuire]

Mine is pretty loud, quite a new build too but I am using the stock heat sink and fan, I am thinking of just changing the fan and seeing how that goes :)

[Dr. Moreau]

The HP desktop my boss bought me roars like a floor polisher. I think they put a leaf blower in there by mistake.

Like fans in computers in recording studios,
Last time I was in a recording studio, the computers were all kept outside of the sound booth. That was a while ago, though.

[Linuxratty]

In space, no one can hear your CPU fan.

:D
Good one!
Mine is only loud when I first put in a live disk...It then sounds like a jet taking off.

[saneearth]

My fan on my Intel Core 2 Duo is typically whisper quiet. It would normally kick in oftentimes during high CPU usage in Windows 7. Hardly ever does in 11.10, though on rare occasion it will rev up and I can't attribute it to high CPU usage. It just does it seemingly without provocation. It is an anomoly I haven't figured out. But as I said most of the time it is whisper quiet.

[QIII]

Same. My case has three 200mm fans being controlled by the mobo, the house fan on low is louder than the computer.

I'll see your three 200mm fans and raise you one. 4 200mm fans in a HAF X, Noctua CPU cooler (not PWM, unfortunately, but the mobo allows me to use voltage control) an extra high CFM 120mm in a converted 4-in-3 Coolermaster drive cage in the front and a 140mm fan out the back.

The whole ridiculous thing makes no more noise than my wife's little Core 2 duo machine with nothing but a stock CPU fan.

Of course, the fact that there are a bunch more machines under and around my desk does produce a modest amount of noise.

(Water cooling? Bah! For 5 degrees difference at full throttle between that and the Noctua, I'm not paying the money or taking the chances of leaks. Besides, you might keep case noise down, but all those fans pushing/pulling air through your 360x360 radiator just moves the noise somewhere else.)

[MARP1961]

Speak up everyone! I can't hear you!

[CharlesA]

I'll see your three 200mm fans and raise you one. 4 200mm fans in a HAF X, Noctua CPU cooler (not PWM, unfortunately, but the mobo allows me to use voltage control) an extra high CFM 120mm in a converted 4-in-3 Coolermaster drive cage in the front and a 140mm fan out the back.

Not bad at all. I think the loudest machine I have is my server, but that's running 4 x 120mm fans set to "high." I don't notice it much anymore, since now it's more of a background sound. :lolflag:

[MooPi]

In space, no one can hear your CPU fan.


Let me fix that for you.

In space, no one can hear your CPU fan scream.

Let me fix both of these, "In space no one can hear a fanless cpu scream"

Actually i have a fan on my cpu but through the radiator on my sealed loop hydro cooling system. Very quite, quite enough to hunt wabbits.

[crazzywolfie]

the fans on my desktop computers are usually silent unless they need to be cleaned out at which point the fans speed up to try pulling air through all the dust.

[imachavel]

my fan is fairly silent, it's a heat sink made for socket 775, I wouldn't say it's a boeing fan like the one made for the i7 processor and socket type. Then again, what would I know? Oh well :popcorn:

[oldos2er]

In space, no one can hear your CPU fan.

At 0K, I don't think you'd need a CPU fan. ;)

[alexfish]

What? I can't hear you over the sound of the CPU fan!

[inobe]

there are louder noises in my house, you have the furnace, the tv audio, the foot steps, the cat meowing, the kids ripping the place apart making all sorts of noise :lol:

do you live by yourself?

[|{urse]

In space, no one can hear your CPU fan scream.

Hahah thats bumper sticker material +1

[brawnypandora0]

Are fans with more blades louder? What about the shape of the blades?