anyone had experience building your own PC?

[JJretroTONEGOD]

I'm currently thinking of building a customised PC as I'm pretty good with computers, it seems like the best option and cheapest.....

The main reason is that the PC I have has a low but audible ambient noise level, I would like to be able to record an acoustic guitar in the same room with but without any computer noise so it's as close to silence as possible (not that it's terrible how it is). I've already sorted most of the acoustical problems out within the room, killing all the first reflection points and using bass trapping, but as a result this exaggetes the computer noise even more!

thinking of starting my project with this case: http://www.paqt.co.uk/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=2

has anyone here built their own PC and if so what was your experiences? any tips?

regards

Ben

[_tom_]

Sort of, I put some of mine together then my computer techy mate did the rest! The only thing I have trouble with is the psu, it has too many wires and I made a bit of a mess with it initially! It's pretty easy to do most of it though, everyone I know who has built one described it as big lego :lol:

Thinking about building myself up a nice little small form factor (but powerful) pc some time. I imagine the psu wiring on that will be even fiddlier though!

My only advice is don't get an Antec 900 case as they're SO noisy, but looks like you already have the case sorted :)

[Frank]

Fan noise is a right royal pain in the arse. Zalman CPU coolers are they way forward, then a low-noise PSU, graphics card cooler and case fans. It gets hideously expensive and while it reduces fan noise it doesn't completely eradicate it and you may end up having to put the PC in a soundproofed box ... then the soundproof box needs an air inlet and you're back to trading off heat dispersal against acceptable noise.

Easy solution - phone someone like Digital Village and throw money at them.

[Nadz1lla]

I built all my PC's. In fact, my music computer was originally the best parts of 3 broken PC's chucked together and held up with gaffer tape!

My only bit of advice (as you said you know about computers) is ALWAYS wear an anti-static band, even if you don't plan on putting anything into the case just yet. I mean when handling new components and getting them out of their anti-static wrappings etc. Also, NEVER touch anywhere but the sides of the motherboard / ram / CPU / PCI cards.
Oh and another thing, try not to let any of the fans move around when the computer is off. They generate their own charge when they aren't powered if they are spun with your fingers or other movement, and without the power regulation of the PSU, you can easily short other components by building up static charge in the fans.

Apart from the physical side of building PC's with all the precautions you should take etc, building one is usually a painless affair. The only thing I curse every time I have to do it is putting the damn CPU heat-sink fan on. No matter what system the thing uses for coupling it to the motherboard or chipset, it's always bloody difficult. They are by far the most awkward, stupid, lamely designed parts of the computer system to install and are the bane of my entire computer building history. The only advice I can offer here is have a punch-bag set up nearby. It might save you from having to buy a new computer and a new pane of glass for the window you just threw it out of.   :x :x :x

[JacksonRR]

Yeah, I've been building my own PCs from parts for awhile now. As far as cutting down on noise I find it's best to stop it at the source instead of relying on dampening material.
Fanless power supplies can be had at decent prices. Look into them.
Fan noise can be cut down by using high-quality fans and running them on a lower power. Very cheap fan controls can be had and easily installed.
Hard drives are going to be your other issue. SSDs are always going to be the silent option, but you can still obtain very very quiet operation with a standard or a hybrid drive by ditching the hard mounts and using nylon stretchy cable or zip ties to decouple the drive from the PC enclosure. This is very cheap. Here is a pic of the zip tie method, but I found the nylon to work better. This will keep the vibrations from being amplified by the enclosure.



Good luck.

[Frank]

ALWAYS wear an anti-static band

I've only ever zapped one motherboard with static. After that I bought an antistat band and used it every time.

£75 gone literally in a flash is a depressing prospect.

[Sailor Charon]

Yes, I built one... about 8 years ago now. And before that, I helped somebody else build theirs.
It's not too hard as long as you take the right precautions. An anti-static band is a good thing.

[JJretroTONEGOD]

thanks for the great feedback guys, it's a great help ; )

[JDC]

What size fans have you got? Bigger the fan the lower pitch the whine, I would only look at cases with at least 120mm fans

When I upgraded I kept the case but replaced the fans with 25dba ones and the difference was huge!!! I also got a nice big heatsink with a 92mm fan for the CPU (120mm one's were too big, wouldn't fit :( )

I'm presuming a better quality PSU will have a quieter fan too, I know some come with speed controls for the fan

[JacksonRR]

What size fans have you got? Bigger the fan the lower pitch the whine,

Also more airflow when ran on a reduced voltage.

[JJretroTONEGOD]

What size fans have you got? Bigger the fan the lower pitch the whine, I would only look at cases with at least 120mm fans

When I upgraded I kept the case but replaced the fans with 25dba ones and the difference was huge!!! I also got a nice big heatsink with a 92mm fan for the CPU (120mm one's were too big, wouldn't fit :( )

I'm presuming a better quality PSU will have a quieter fan too, I know some come with speed controls for the fan

the paq cases have 3x 120mm fans running at 5v instead of 12v to reduce noise as well as acoustic foam surrounding the case, the paq case I'm getting also would come with an uber quiet PSU, all part of the price, you can get it without the PSU as well but the one that comes with it looks unbeatable...

[ToneMonkey]

I think one of my mates said his computer was a liquid cooled , don't know if looking down that route would be a good idea.  I know nothing about computers, but that sounds a) like a bad idea, and b) expensive

Using my knowledge of other areas, could you use something like a squirell (or other quiet type) fan as a stand alone unit and then use acoustic ducting to link it to the computers normal fan inlets?  Just a thought

[Frank]

Liquid cooling is very tricky to install and the pumps can be noisy. My last housemate tried to put liquid cooling in his gaming machine, ended up with a motherboard soaked in water before giving up and binning it. Never been tempted to try it myself after watching him struggle and rage for hours trying to make it work.

[JDC]

What size fans have you got? Bigger the fan the lower pitch the whine, I would only look at cases with at least 120mm fans

When I upgraded I kept the case but replaced the fans with 25dba ones and the difference was huge!!! I also got a nice big heatsink with a 92mm fan for the CPU (120mm one's were too big, wouldn't fit :( )

I'm presuming a better quality PSU will have a quieter fan too, I know some come with speed controls for the fan

the paq cases have 3x 120mm fans running at 5v instead of 12v to reduce noise as well as acoustic foam surrounding the case, the paq case I'm getting also would come with an uber quiet PSU, all part of the price, you can get it without the PSU as well but the one that comes with it looks unbeatable...

I don't think you can do much better than that for air cooling, just looked at the link again and noticed it's a seasonic PSU. I used have a list grading all the brands and series of PSU and off top of my head I think the seasonics did pretty good on it

One slight concern is if you plan to do any gaming on your build, as a serious high end machine will probably need a few more watts

Just had a quick search and seasonic do fanless PSUs now, but the v12 rail in it looks a bit weak and more aimed at media centre computers

[Alex]

http://www.fractal-design.com/?view=product&prod=32

The Fractal Design R2 Define case is among the most silent and best cases. They have other fine products as well.
Alternatively, NZXT and Coolermaster make some good silent ones.

Get a separate PSU, that way you can get a good one.
Cooler Master, Be Quiet and the NZXT Hale are some good ones. Depending on your system you might need less than 430 Watts. A modular one would be nice, but as long as it has an 80+ efficiency it should be fine.

Lastly, there are many sources of noise. Find the most obnoxious one and work from there. The CPU cooler and the graphics card can be big noisemakers.