hi, i am currently working on a conputer-based recording studio in my basement. i built my computer late last year and have been VERY happy with it up untill now. My problem is that the 3 case fans i have (2 90mm and 1 80mm) plus the cpu and power supply fans are EXTREMELY LOUD. my computer sounds waay too much like my vacum. my power supply is a 430 watt. here's the link to the case/power supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811164066 i know its very cheap but it has worked for almost a year no problem. should i get a new, quieter power supply? does any one know of some reeeely quiet cooling alternatives? i wont rule out liquit cooling. (my processor is a 939 socket amd 3200+) keep in mind i need this to be absolutely silent or very close to it. any suggestions would be much appreciated thanks! -tom

I would try another power supply. That's worth a shot. One time I had a loud CPU fan and I was able to get a drop of oil on the shaft with the bearing and that helped for awhile. Becareful with that though.

i had similer problems with many of my clients computers, they would complain about noise. 1. buy a seasonic power supply, they are the quietist on earthand you will barly hear it running, if ur more then 6 inches from it you wont even know ur computer is running. well worth the money. 2. Eliminate all fans by using liquid cooling. get dual pump system so if one fails your comp wont fri. after that you wont ven know ur comp is running with out looking at it.

The best way to cut noise if you're going to go with an air cooled system is use oversized fans at half (or so) rpm. It's mostly the wind speed through the blades that creates the noise. If the rpm is cut then the wind speed is cut, and if the fans are oversized then you do not lose the needed cooling power. This is a little way out but I should also mention I have a friend that has his computer setup conveniently near his forced air household furnace intake. He took a 3" duct, cut a hole the case opposite the cpu fins and connected the case to the furnace intake..... I told him he has WAY too much time on his hands, but aside from that, The cooling ability is nothing short of amazing and it's whisper quiet.

I'd agree with black bill, but it requires a lot of case modification and does not address the ps issue. I think it is undisputed that watter cooling is the quietest, but if you did not want to go that route black bills idea with over sized fan will prob work. I would recommend a seasonic ps either way as your ps probably makes the most noise. blackbill also mentioned a guy piping his comp into the furnace intake, that's not as crazy as it sounds. I know others that have piped it into the house central air, but if ur gonna go to that trouble just get watter cooling lol.

are you able to pinpoint which fans have gotten noisy? is it all of them or just one or two? I'd replace that power supply anyway, not just beause of the fan, you've asking for trouble..you don't have to buy a seasonic though, there are plenty of other good brands that cost a lot less. if the bearings in your fans are making the noise, then you may be able to quiet them with a drop or two of oil on the bearing as previously suggested, just peel off the sticker on the fan and put a drop or two down onto the shaft..water cooling really isn't worthwhile..good air cooling works just as well and isnt as expensive Gigabyte GA-K8NS Athlon64 3000+ Venice E6 Zalman CNPS7000B-Cu LED X800XL 256MB AGP 1GB Corsair VS 120GB WD/160GB Maxtor Aspire Chameleon 550W

HDD also could make a lot of noise. I thought my CPU fan was making all the noise. Recently PSU and the HDD both got fried without prior warning. So listen to HDD and back up your data. CPU: Intel 2.8 GHz; HT Mobo: Intel DB865GBF