Silent, and I mean silent computer power supply.

[ctmsound]

I'm gonna get one if I can afford it. My power supply is one problem I'm having with noise.

http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=24350

[AnalogElectric]

A friend of mine told me he recently bought a Power Supply for his PC that advertised itself as "silent" (it wasn't cheap) and he said it made just about as much noise as his old one. I don't know what brand/model he got tho... I should've asked.

I have to tell you that the new G5's fans are amazingly quiet (except when it periodically kicks in during heavy operations--but only for a few seconds do they whirr a little more gusto other than that the tower is super quiet). My PC is really noisy but considering it's my knock-around "everyday" computer it doesn't bug me too much.

Considering my friend's distain over his purchase if I were in the market for a "silent" PS I'd have to hear it (err, um, NOT hear it) in person first.

Have you had experience with the PS you linked? Just curious.

-- Adam Lazlo

[DJDM]

Very cool. I'm in at the next upgrade.

[Slider]

I put Zalman's in my whole system, then I bought a "silent" Antec PS.
My computer is still way too noisy.
It's way better than it was, but it's still noisy.

This is a Dual Opteron PC. I think the G5's run much quieter, so you may have better luck with them.
I've given up on making my system quiet enough to track vocals with it in the same room.
I'm looking into silent case in Oakland Ca.
They seem to make nice silent boxes for Mac's and PC's.
Not cheap though.

[SgtServe]

FYI, the best way (imo) to make a PC silent is to do 2 things:

1. Reduce the amount of fans. I use Panaflo L1A's for this. They do not produce much (if any) audible sound. These fans make no noise from the motors themselves, all you hear is the rushing of air. If i want a silent PC I also look at the options for my CPU's. Zalman makes some heatsinks that require no fan. But using them without a fan must be well-planned, since some CPU's (Prescott P4's, Opteron's) are well above 80W. Make sure that you have good ventilation.

2. Buy/Build a silent case. You can buy one from silent PC, or get a rack and then build your own baffle. Either way works, but a baffle is the best way to get rid of the "rushing of air" and HDD seeks/reads/writes noises that are almost impossible to rid.

[ctmsound]

Ya, but this Antec has NO fans. Nothing noisy about it.

A friend of mine told me he recently bought a Power Supply for his PC that advertised itself as "silent" (it wasn't cheap) and he said it made just about as much noise as his old one. I don't know what brand/model he got tho... I should've asked.

I have to tell you that the new G5's fans are amazingly quiet (except when it periodically kicks in during heavy operations--but only for a few seconds do they whirr a little more gusto other than that the tower is super quiet). My PC is really noisy but considering it's my knock-around "everyday" computer it doesn't bug me too much.

Considering my friend's distain over his purchase if I were in the market for a "silent" PS I'd have to hear it (err, um, NOT hear it) in person first.

Have you had experience with the PS you linked? Just curious.

-- Adam Lazlo

[drliebs]

The problem is for a lot of us home recordists is getting the computer out of the room with the mics (which are usually the same) Getting the computer far away from the monitor and peripherals is a bit more chalenging then moving a tape machine, monitor extension cables often degrade the picture, and usb runs are limited in how far they can be.

If you want to spend a lot of money, there is a case that works completely on heat dispersion and has no fans. Read the review on Tom's Hardware Guide (my second favorite website after TapeOp) http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/20040115/index.html

There are also water cooling solutions that are near quiet. A cheaper solution was mentioned above and that is putting the computer in a baffle case. Just make sure there is a way to get fresh air into it or it could overheat.

I also try to isolate my voice over mic with a baffle divider between the mic and the rest of the room, but my room is small and the result is not perfect.