Can I get a quieter CPU cooler?

[SpiffGQ]

My computer make quite a bit of noise and it is very annoying. The CPU fan is very loud. The computers at my school are over 2 times faster, yet they are silent. Maybe it is because the computers at school have Intels whereas I have an AMD. What CPU cooler do you use and is it quiet? How can I quiet it down? Thanks for your help.



Hardware specs:

• AMD Athlon XP 1800+
• AsusTek A7V333 Motherboard
• 512 MB Ram
• Sound Blaster 128
• Intel Ethernet 10/100+ card
• NVidia GeForce 2 mx 64mb Graphics card
• Western Digital WD400 Hard Drive
• Generic CD-ROM
• Generic CD-RW
• Generic Floppy Drive
• CPU fan
• Case fan
• Exhaust fan
• Hard drive fan
• 300 Watt Power supply

[lost-and-found]

well, water cooling is an option. I know what you're saying, my school's lab is way quieter than my own PC.

[eclipsera]

what type of cpu fan? how many dba? how many rpms? i would definately recommend upgrading the HSF if yours is stock, or generic. and same questions about the case fan, exaust fan, and hard drive fan. have you tried taking out everything except for the cpu, HSF, and a case fan, to see how loud they are? i did that to my case because i thought the HSF was too loud, and found out it was my slave HDD(15GB western digital)

[SpiffGQ]

Originally posted by lost-and-found
well, water cooling is an option. I know what you're saying, my school's lab is way quieter than my own PC.

I thought about that, but they are expensive options. Also, the computers at school use fans, so it is possible to get sufficient and quiet cooling using fans. Also, water coolers use fans to cool the water.

[SpiffGQ]

Originally posted by eclipsera
what type of cpu fan? how many dba? how many rpms? i would definately recommend upgrading the HSF if yours is stock, or generic. and same questions about the case fan, exaust fan, and hard drive fan. have you tried taking out everything except for the cpu, HSF, and a case fan, to see how loud they are? i did that to my case because i thought the HSF was too loud, and found out it was my slave HDD(15GB western digital)

It is either the cpu fan or the power supply fan. Everything else has been removed (and I'm pretty sure the noise is coming from the cpu fan). I don't know all the specs of the cpu fan. Sorry. It came with the CPU. I think it is a cooler master, but that is about all I can say. What kind of cpu and cpu fan do you have? Is it noisy?

[eclipsera]

i still have a stock HSF that came with my celeron(socket370) and its not very loud at all. its maybe 30dbs at max rpm. if it ever gets that high. but i ordered a volcano 9 and it wouldnt fit tight enough on my socket. and i didnt want it to have the hance of falling off so i am gonna put it on ebay sometime soon. try looking on the front of the fan on the HSF, or on the back of it if ya can get it off without removing the heatsink too.

[eclipsera]

brain locked up.. ehh what socket is your cpu.

[Scott Tiger]

He has a socket A proc.

This is a good question. I've got a 1600+ w/ a HSF fan that's a bit louder than I care for it to be. My problem is going to be clearance. My 80 mm fan is in the back of the case and it's faces the HSF. The aftermarket one can't be much larger than the stock one. I haven't bothered 'cause I doubt I'll be able to find a quiet one that cools well that fits in the space I need it to.

[ragtop]

Do a little browsing at Newegg, or one of the places that specialize in cooling stuff. Check out the dBA rating on various units, and read some reviews if you can find them.

Some of the units with 80mm fans have a good combination of good cooling and low noise - if you have the room for it. I'm hoping Santa brings me one of the Speeze units with the 80mm fan - they supposedly cool well, are cheap, and only put out 26.5 dBA.

[Sweeper]

http://www.zalman.co.kr/english/intro.htm