Why go silent?

I usually wear head/earphones if the thing I'm doing (music, film, youtube, gaming, whatever) will be worse with the noice of the PC. IOW, if I'm doing something where the noise of the PC matters, then I just wear earphones
 
I have a $20 pair of earvines that seal themselves in my ears, so I can hardly hear anything except the fact that my soundcard needs to be replaced with one that isn't dependent on the CPU :(. Darn static...
 
Motoxrdude said:
Lol but it's such a pain to have to turn it back on and wait for it to boot.
Click to expand...

Haha, it takes what, 30seconds to a minute to boot most computers nowdays?

Just wondering, I see in online stores and such "silent" fans and all that, what exactly makes them quieter? They are the same size and RPM, but probably a bit more expensive (although not by much), is it really worth it?
 
awildgoose said:
Haha, it takes what, 30seconds to a minute to boot most computers nowdays?

Just wondering, I see in online stores and such "silent" fans and all that, what exactly makes them quieter? They are the same size and RPM, but probably a bit more expensive (although not by much), is it really worth it?
Click to expand...

Different bearings and fin design, so they spin more smoothly, and can spin slower to move the same amount of air as one moving more quickly.

Most cheap fans will use sleeve bearings, which are the loudest and have the shortest life. But you can also get rifle bearings, which are the same as sleeve, but have a groove to draw lubricant through, so it doesn't run dry, so it stays quieter and lasts longer

More expensive again are ball bearing fans, which are near silent and have a very long life

Then you can get very expensive ones with either magnetic or fluid bearings, which make no contact, so have silent running and last a hell of a long time. Fluid ones sit on a layer of hydrostatic fluid, so the gap is always there, and always the same. Magnetic ones have a ring of repelling, or attractive magnets, so the same force is exerted all around the bearings, keeping the fan in the centre, but never touching anything
 
Aastii said:
Most cheap fans will use sleeve bearings, which are the loudest and have the shortest life. But you can also get rifle bearings, which are the same as sleeve, but have a groove to draw lubricant through, so it doesn't run dry, so it stays quieter and lasts longer
Click to expand...

Actually at low rpms sleeve fans are quieter than your standard ball bearing fans. However sleeve bearing fans do not run correctly when placed flat and will fail quicker in high ambient temperature.

awildgoose said:
Just wondering, I see in online stores and such "silent" fans and all that, what exactly makes them quieter? They are the same size and RPM, but probably a bit more expensive (although not by much), is it really worth it?
Click to expand...

Bearings, fan design, material etc can all make a fan quieter. I have 2 Noctua 120mm fans and they are probably the best quiet fans on the market.
 
Ahh that information is interesting, because my two 120mm x 40mm fans have ball bearings in them, and they are goddamn loud, but then again, they have a pretty big "motor" (I dunno what it is called, all I know is that it is electromagnetic lol) and they push a damn good amount of air.
 
Aastii said:
Different bearings and fin design, so they spin more smoothly, and can spin slower to move the same amount of air as one moving more quickly.

Most cheap fans will use sleeve bearings, which are the loudest and have the shortest life. But you can also get rifle bearings, which are the same as sleeve, but have a groove to draw lubricant through, so it doesn't run dry, so it stays quieter and lasts longer

More expensive again are ball bearing fans, which are near silent and have a very long life

Then you can get very expensive ones with either magnetic or fluid bearings, which make no contact, so have silent running and last a hell of a long time. Fluid ones sit on a layer of hydrostatic fluid, so the gap is always there, and always the same. Magnetic ones have a ring of repelling, or attractive magnets, so the same force is exerted all around the bearings, keeping the fan in the centre, but never touching anything
Click to expand...
True, but a lot, if not the majority, of the noise is caused by the turbulence created by the fan blades themselves.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top