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How to build a quiet computer from scratch?

I like to build my own computers, but because I go for high spec parts they always end up being quite noisy.

I am always jealous of computers I use at work as they always seem very very quiet. However, I look on the suppliers website and they usually have a major caveat, such as no room for extra memory or no extra PCI slots.

Is it possible to build high spec PC's which run very quietly?

How to judge noise level when configuring a computer on dell.com or hp.com

The last desktop I bought from Dell (Dimension XPS) was much noisier than I would have liked. I am planning on buying a new desktop soon and would like to consider noise level when configuring a system. I did not find much relevant info on dell.com.

Is there a way to judge how much noise a particular configuration will make when configuring a system on dell.com or hp.com? I'd be even OK with a way to simply compare various configurations to each other (this config is more loud) if absolute numbers are hard to obtain. I do not need the system to be super silent. I just don't want to be surprised when I plug it in.

Also, are particular product lines known to be more quiet than others (dell stuido, xps, various models of hp Pavilion)? I need something with an i7 processor and at least 8GB of memory. Everything else is not super important.

Does UPS make any sound when not powering computer?

I would like to buy UPS, but the review I read:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/apc-smt1500-cyberpower-cp1500pfclcd-tripp-lite-smart1500slt,2785-12.html

make me alert of one thing -- the noise of UPS. So, I understand when powering computer (from batteries) UPS fans kick in, making some noise. OK.

But in normal mode, when there is no blackout, and UPS is working in passive mode (not from batteries), does UPS make any noise (I think about its fans)? In other words -- do they work (spin) all the time?

Just in case, I have CyberPower CP900EPFCLCD or APC Smart-UPS 750VA (SMT750I) in mind particularly.

Update

I bought APC Smart-UPS 750VA (SMT750I) and it is noisy all the time -- the noise is similar to grasshopper or older models of HDDs. When I close the windows (so all the street traffic is muted) the noise of the UPS is a bit annoying, but since fans in computer are louder I don't blame UPS for discomfort. Also I find that constant hum of the fan is more disturbing, that the ticking of UPS (as I said, it is similar to grasshopper).

My computer makes a odd buzzing noise when chrome is open

I whenever I open google chrome or firefox on my pc I get a really annoying buzzing noise.

I've been trying to pinpoint the noise - I removed all hard drives and swapped them all for new ones. Doesn't seem to be the hard drives. I have an SSD, so I ran only that drive and the noise still existed, so I ran just a normal Sata drive and same problem, still the noise.

Furthermore with the case open, when I listen around the case the nosie seems to be coming from between the processor on the motherboard and the connectors on the motherboard (for things like USB etc.)

I've tried unplugging my USB devices one by one to see if it is that. It's not though.

Here's what I have:

CPUZ Info click here

Summary:
Intel Core i5 760
8GB DDR3 Ram
NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GS
Gigabyte P55A-UD3R motherboard

Do you have any ideas of what could make noise in the computer while chrome is open? Can you make any suggestions for me of what I need to replace??

Should I worry about the noise my PC makes after installing a second GPU?

I recently installed a second graphics card (ATI 5770 in crossfire), and cleaned out a lot of dust from the PC. For some reason however the 'fan noise' is much louder, and I can only think of a few reasons:

• The two graphics cards have paired up to be noisy.
• The powersuply is working overtime to feed my power hungry cards.
• The whole box is hotter, making the CPU work harder to stay cool.

Which of these is most likely, and how can I make it quiter? FWIW my powersupply is a corsair 650W (maybe 750W, but I don't think so) and my CPU is a Phenom II X4 955.

Update:

I've just installed SpeedFan on my windows boot for t his machine, and the temps are up around 60-80c That 80c is on my second GPU. I'm guessing that's not good What can I do in light of this?

CPU Whine with USB mouse inserted while on battery

I have a Lenovo Thinkpad Edge E520 that emits a high pitched whine from the top lefthand area of the keyboard when a 2.4ghz wireless USB mouse is inserted. The sound is a lot louder while on battery power. The noise goes away after removing the mouse, and inserting it causes it to start back up again.

Disabling "CPU Power Management" in the BIOS solves the problem so I assume it is related to CPU sleep states as I've read around the internet. I don't want to leave this disabled as it decreases battery life.

I posted on the Lenovo forums and they were not much help. I had the exact same model that exhibited this behavior and I exchanged it for a new one which has the problem as well. Anybobdy have any ideas?

edit: The sound lasts as long as the mouse is inserted and the cpu is relatively idle. Also, the noise occurs with multiple 2.4ghz wireless mice I have... bluetooth mouse does not cause issue.

What could cause a desktop power supply to "hiss"?

Some background to my problem: My city had a thunderstorm last Monday and when I woke up, I noticed my desktop was turned off. I powered it on. It would stay on for about 20 seconds and then shut off. I figured it was overheating. I opened up the case and the plastic block that that HSF connects to was broken. I ordered a new motherboard and CPU combo (thought I would upgrade anyway). I installed everything last night.

When I power on the machine the power supply makes a loud hissing noise (not whining) that does not stop. I figured it could be something to do with the fan assembly. I did clean/blow some dust out of the power supply before installing the new motherboard (not too much, however). Additionally, last week when I was powering on the machine and it was overheating, there was no hissing sound. I've googled quite a bit to try and determine the source. I wasn't going to pop open the power supply as I figure it could be dangerous (is this true?). In my searches, I learned that it could be a leaking capacitor, but since I'm not an electrical engineer (I'm a recent CS grad), I wasn't 100%.

Could this be something electrical or something stuck in the fan? Is it worth taking the power supply into an electronics shop to fix or could I try myself?

Htpc aka "Media Center": cheap and *silent*?

It may be me, or the place I live (Italy), but it seems pretty hard to get a build or a prebuilt nettop or a laptop that fits the need.

I need something

• silent
• able to playback all h.264 fullhd content without stuttering, and well (and not loosing the hw acceleration because of softsubs...)
• silent
• not ugly
• silent
• and (possibly) cheap.

I'm going the linux route, therefore i'm moving towards a cpu-based or nvida-integrated solution (i don't think ati hw accelerated playback - or the intel "hd" acceleration - is useable yet).

Ion nettop; it's either

• the Acer Revo (but here it's incredibly pricey and it's hard to find the dualcore version) or
• the Asrock Ion 330, that in the current version is rated "silent" at 26Db. 26. Sounds pretty noisy to me!!! the previous version was even worse. was this product really aimed at htpc market??
• the Dell Zino - i think it's ATI based unfortunately.

Laptop:

• correct me if I'm wrong: sub 600€/$ units are quite loud under full load (because of the tiny fans).
• ULW laptops are indeed quite similar: tiniest fans => high pitched noise and the cpu still lacks power for non hd-accelerated video decoding

Handmade build:

• little money can be saved with underpowered cpus, a low-midrange cpu would help in the case of non-hw-accelerated content
• the cases are quite pricey
• the PSU one has to get ranges between 100/150 €/$ minimum to keep the noise down
• a low-mid build, all included, sums up to over 650 €/$ for a still-looking-ugly-unit, without the blu-ray drive.

Please help. What do you advise on this? ;)

Am I ignoring laptops too much, maybe? Are low-priced Acers that noisy/high pitched under full load?

How do I manually "shut down" an hard drive without plugging it out?

I am connecting 1-2 hard drives via E-SATA. Using Windows, is there an option to force "shutting down" that hard drive (until it is needed again)?

How can I make my desktop PC cooler and quieter?

I own a three year-old HP Pavilion Elite housed beneath my desk. Last week, for the first time I opened the case of my computer and thoroughly cleaned the insides.

Since then the computer runs slightly cooler but the fans are just as loud as they used to be. What can I do to minimise the heat and sound energy?

What is the cause of interference noises in my PC speakers and how can I get rid of them?

My PC's desktop speakers are periodically producing interference noises induced by my cellphone.

Even if I move my phone away from the actual speakers, the noises are still present with the same intensity. I have to completely move the phone away from my desk to get rid of the noises.

I know many different speakers and phones are affected by this as this has been an issue for me ever since I owned a mobile phone.

Why is the phone causing these noises even though it's far away from the actual speaker? What can I do to get rid of the noises (while keeping my phone on the desk)?

Static noise from speakers when computer is off

I have a rather old set of Creative speakers called Inspire 2.1 2400.

The original cable that connects them to the computer was of poor quality, and at some point I had to replace it. The original cable had an external volume control (you can see it in the photo). I replaced it with a normal cable.

Since then, I get static noise when the computer is off, so I have to turn off the speakers together with the computer, which is a hassle.

I tend to blame the new cable, but I don't know how to choose a cable that won't cause this noise.

Any solutions?

Edit: following the replies and comments here I did some more tests.

• When I disconnect the audio cable from the speakers, there's no noise.
• When I connect the audio cable to the speakers only (not to the computer), they are very noisy.
• When I connect the audio cable both to the computer and the speakers, and the computer is off, there's noise. But it's less loud than when the cable isn't connected to the computer.
• It doesn't matter if the computer is connected to the power source or not. The noise persists when I disconnect the power cable.
• Finally, the noise doesn't stop when I turn the computer on, only sometime during the operating system start-up.

BTW, my mom has an identical set of speakers and she has the same noise problem.

Edit2: the noise may be described as hum. It's very similar to the 50Hz example.

Any way to disable specific CPU idle (Cx) states?

I just got a new Toshiba Tecra S11 notebook, which has a Core i5 520M CPU, and it appears to suffer from a well-known problem: a high pitched noise when the CPU is idle.

Googling around revealed that this is caused by a specific power-saving mode in the CPU. In most cases, C4 mode is blamed for the noise.

So my question is: is it possible to disable C4 mode (or any other "sleep" mode) using some utility or BIOS setting? I don't mind if it hurts battery life.

I'd appreciate any advice on this matter. It's driving me crazy.

FYI: I'm running Windows 7 64-bit

What would make a noise in a PC on graphics operations on a passively-cooled system?

I have this system based on the Intel D510MO motherboard, which is basically an Atom D510 (dual-core HT Atom w/built-in GPU), an Intel NM10 chipset, and a Realtek Gigabit LAN controller. It's entirely passively cooled. I noticed almost immediately that there was a kind of very, very soft noise that corresponded with graphics operations, sort of the noise you'd get if you had a sheet of flat paper and slid something really light across it — but more electronic than that. I wrote it off as observation error and/or disk activity triggered by the graphics operation (although the latter seemed like a lot of unnecessary disk activity).

It isn't.

I got curious enough that I finally did a few controlled experiments, and here's what I've determined:

1. It isn't the HDD. For one thing, the sounds the HDD makes (when seeking, when reading or writing, when just sitting there spinning) is different. For another, I used sudo hdparm -y /dev/sda (I'm using Ubuntu 10.04 LTS) to temporarily put the disk on standby while making sure that non-disk graphics op was happening in a loop. The disk spun down, but the other sound continued, corresponding perfectly with the timing of the graphics op. (Then the disk spun up again, but it takes long enough that I could rule out the HDD.)
2. It isn't the monitor; I ensured the two were well physically-separated and the sound was definitely coming from the main box.
3. It isn't something else in the room; the sound is coming from the box.
4. It isn't cross-talk to an audio circuit coming out the speakers. (It doesn't have any speakers.)
5. It isn't my mouse (e.g., when I'm trying to make graphics ops happen); the sound happens if I set up a recurring operation and don't use the mouse at all, or if I lift the mouse off the table slightly (but enough that the laser still registers movement).
6. It's not the power supply (or at least, not the big AC->DC part of the power supply, which is an external brick; obviously there is further power conditioning that occurs internally from the 9V DC feed).
7. It isn't the voices in my head; they never whisper like that.

Other observations:

• It doesn't seem to matter what the graphics operation is; anything that changes what's on the screen seems to do it. I get the sound when moving the mouse over the Chromium tab bar (which makes the tab backgrounds change); I get it when a web page has a counter on it that changes the text on the page: I get it when dragging window contents around.
• The sound is very, very slightly louder if the graphics op is larger, like scrolling a text area when writing a question on superuser.com, than for smaller operations like the tick counter on the web page. But it's very slight.
• It's fairly loud (and of good duration) when the op involves color changes to substantial surface areas. For instance, when asking a question here on superuser and you move the cursor between the question box and the tag box, and the help to the right fades out, changes, and fades back in. (Yet another example related to the web browser, so let me say: I hear it when operations completely unrelated to the web browser as well.)
• It doesn't sound like arcing or anything like that (I'd've shut off the machine Right Quick Like if it did).
• Moving windows does it. Scrolling windows (by and large) doesn't.

I have the feeling I've heard this sort of thing before, when all system fans were on low and such, with other systems — but (again) written it off as observational error. For all the world it's like I'm hearing the CPU working (as opposed to the GPU; note the window scroll thing above) or data being transferred somewhere, but that just seems...unlikely.

So what am I hearing?

This may seem like a very localized question, but perhaps other silent PC enthusiasts may be interested as well...

Laptop buzzing (not HDD, not fan). How to hush it?

I have a new Dell Inspiron 15 7547 laptop here. It makes an annoying high-pitched buzzing sound whenever on AC power.

This is not HDD noise (there's a separate, usual sounding HDD noise when the HDD is working). It's not fan noise (that's also present and it's different and quieter). It's not from the speakers (doesn't respond to volume control).

The buzzing noise is correlated with CPU usage: low CPU usage = loud noise; high CPU usage = no noise. For example, continuously scrolling in the browser will shut it up.

I know that electronic components can make a noise, and I believe this is that.

Question: Is there anything I can do to shut it up?

The buzz is just as loud as the HDD noise but it never stops and it gets really annoying.