Existing System

This is the camp that the majority of you will be in. You've already got the rig you want, but it's a bit too loud for your liking. What can you do without replacing everything? Quite a lot actually.

Replace Coolers and Fans

The actual cooling devices you attach to your components will be making the majority of noise in your case, so a good place to start in quieting down your rig is there. As a general rule of thumb, the bigger the heatsink, the slower the fan needs to spin as it has a larger surface area to pass air over, and is as effective as passing a lot of air over a small surface area. One method you could use is simply fitting a slow spinning fan to your already installed heatsink, but if the fan doesn't move enough air over the fins, you could face overheating so it is best to buy pre-built units unless you are certain that the fan you're purchasing can move enough air to keep your components cool.

Case fans can also be replaced, either with larger versions or with more efficient ones (move the same amount of air at lower decibel levels). If your case can't handle the larger fans, adaptors are available to go from 80mm to 120mm, or 92mm to 120mm. While this isn't an ideal solution, changing out noisy fans can have a big impact on the noise levels of the rig.

Difficulty Level	2/5
Equipment	Aftermarket coolers, larger fans
Time	15 minutes - 1 hour
Cost	£15-£80 depending on the number of coolers bought
Effectiveness	4/5

Screw Everything down

This is one of the simplest ways of reducing PC noise, as it can reduce vibrations. If components are loose because they aren't screwed in correctly, or have simply become loose over time, they can move around and therefore when a vibration occurs the screws themselves can rattle, or the components they are attached to can potentially rattle around also. Making sure everything is secured correctly is one of the first steps to ensure you have a silent PC.

Difficulty Level	1/5
Parts Needed	Screwdriver
Time	10 minutes
Cost	None
Effectiveness	1/5

Rubber fan mounts, PSU/fan surrounds

PSU noise dampener
Click to enlarge

While keeping everything tightly screwed in does reduce vibration to a point, you can go one step further and use rubber mounts for your fans. These absorb vibrations far more than standard screws and can help reduce the overall vibration of individual fans. These are often sold as part of a noise dampening kit that comes with PSU and fan surrounds which are essentially strips of rubber that fit between the fan and case, reducing vibrations that little bit more.

Fan Controllers

Fan controller from a ZEROtherm GPU cooler
Click to enlarge

Fan controllers allow you to manually "control" the speed of the fan(s) it's attached to. This enables the user to adjust the fan speed till they are comfortable with the noise level. Again though, users must be aware that lowering the fan speed too much may cause the components to overheat so it's wise to keep an eye on temperatures while finding the sweet spot between acceptable temperatures and bearable noise levels. Depending on how many fans the controller can handle, it can add a lot more cabling to the interior of your case so extra cable management might be needed.

Difficulty Level	2/5
Parts Needed	Fan controller
Time	10 minutes
Cost	£10-20
Effectiveness	2/5

Low Noise Adaptors

Noctua fan with LNAs and rubber fan mounts
Click to enlarge

Low Noise Adaptors (LNAs) are voltage reducing cables that simply reduce power to the fan, causing it to spin at a slower speed. They're a simpler, and slightly cheaper way of lowering fan speed than a fan controller. However, they force the fan to spin more slowly, and it cannot be increased without removing the adaptor. Considering the low cost of fan controllers, LNAs are largely redundant, but those that don't want a dial on the front or back of their case could choose this as a low profile option.

Difficulty Level	1/5
Parts Needed	Low noise adaptor(s)
Time	5 minutes
Cost	£2.50
Effectiveness	1/5

Difficulty Level	2/5
Parts Needed	Rubber fan mounts/noise dampening kit
Time	15 minutes
Cost	£5-£10
Effectiveness	1/5

Hard drive dampeners or enclosures

While they don't give out a constant noise like fans do, hard disks - especially the faster drives - can make quite a loud rumbling, rattling noise when heavily accessed. The best way to reduce this noise is to place them within enclosures within the 5 1/4" bays. This has it's problems though as without extra cooling, the HDDs can get a lot warmer due to the enclosed space; they can also be expensive.

Another option is to use hard drive dampeners like the X Swing from Noiseblocker. This employs silicone or rubber mounts to sit between the HDDs and the case, reducing drive vibration. Some cases also come with elastic suspension strips which absorb all hard drive vibration and are by far the most effective HDD noise reduction method.

Difficulty Level	2/5
Parts Needed	Enclosure / HDD dampener
Time	15 minutes
Cost	£20-£30 / £10
Effectiveness	1/5

Bios Adjustments

There are several options in the BIOS that can aide the intrepid silence enthusiast in achieving their ultimate goal. The most simple one is to make sure dynamic fan controls and dynamic clock controls are turned on (not recommended for overclocked systems) as this will allow the system to raise and lower the fan and CPU speeds only when necessary. Some BIOSs will allow you to set a temperature threshold for the fan control yourself, and it really just depends on how hot you mind your components getting. As a general rule though, I wouldn't allow your CPU or system to reach more than 60 degrees celsius.

Warning: XSR does not recommend you attempt this step without reasonable knowledge of your computer's BIOS. However, if anything goes wrong for whatever reason, reset your CMOS.

Difficulty Level	3/5
Parts Needed	None
Time	5 minutes
Cost	None
Effectiveness	1-3/5

Underclocking the CPU

NB. Be aware that underclocking the CPU speed will negatively effect PC performance.

Underclocking is the practice of lowering the speed of a processor in order for it to run cooler and therefore make it possible for it to run using passive cooling or at least a slower spinning fan. To do this, find the section in your BIOS responsible for CPU speed and either lower the FSB or CPU multiplier; it's the complete reverse of overclocking (surprise surprise). After you have lowered the frequency of your CPU you may be able to lower the voltage (usually called VCore) and this will further reduce heat output. By reducing the heat output of the CPU it should allow your CPU fan and system fans to spin slightly slower as there is less heat to dissipate.

Warning: XSR does not recommend you attempt to underclock your hardware without reasonable knowledge of overclocking and your computer's BIOS. However, if anything goes wrong for whatever reason, reset your CMOS.

Difficulty Level	4/5
Parts Needed	None
Time	15 minutes
Cost	None
Effectiveness	Depends how much you underclock 1-3/5

Physically clean out PC

It's surprising how fast dust can build up
Click to enlarge

It's surprising over time how much dust, dirt and grime can build up inside a PC case; especially if the system in question is smoked around. Giving the inside of your case a clean, can - depending on the amount of dust - drastically reduce temperatures and can therefore allow for lower fan speeds resulting in a quieter PC. This is especially prevalent in computers with a single fan as many older packaged systems do.

To clean your PC case as thoroughly as possible, follow these steps:

• Make sure your PC is switched off with the power cable removed
• Use a vacuum cleaner with a brush head and gently pass it over all reachable areas
  
• Wipe down bare metal areas of the case with a dust cloth
  
• Use compressed air to clear out hard to reach places - do not use on sensitive electrical components
  
• Remove all heatsinks and clean all dust from fins using pipe cleaners

Difficulty Level	2/5
Parts Needed	Vacuum, dust cloth, compressed air, pipe cleaners
Time	20 minutes
Cost	£10 assuming a Vacuum is already available
Effectiveness	Depends how much dust was present before cleaning 1-4/5

Warning: Make sure to ground yourself by touching a piece of metal before touching anything inside your case. Cleaning the inside of a PC requires the handling of many important internal parts, be extremely careful.

Cable management

Click to enlarge

Cable management is a underrated art in the world of PC hardware. It involves reducing the amount of excess cabling inside the main case sections. This makes air flow through the case much easier and can aid in the exhaust of hot air out of the back; by doing this, temperatures are reduced. By doing this it allows fans to spin slower as there is less heat to dissipate. Some cases come with compartments and clips to aid in the management, however, if you don't have such a case, simple techniques for tidying cables are:

• Push excess cabling behind the motherboard tray
  
• Route Optical and HDD power cables behind 5 1/4" drive bays
  
• If you have a modular PSU, remove unneeded cables
  
• Remove unused case front connector cables (USB, audio, firewire etc.)
  
• Twist fan cables to keep red, yellow and black wires together
  
• Use cable ties or tape to attach excess cabling to case panels

Cable management also has the added benefit of making the interior of your PC look a lot neater and a lot more professional.

Difficulty Level	2/5
Parts Needed	Tape, cable ties
Time	20 minutes
Cost	2
Effectiveness	1-2/5

Warning: Make sure to ground yourself by touching a piece of metal before touching anything inside your case.

Optical drive speed change

Although there isn't a lot that can be done to reduce noise output from optical drives, one option is to reduce the speed of the drive using software. While this isn't an ideal solution as it can drastically reduce the performance of your drive, if you want a silent PC this is your only real choice.

Some good pieces of software to use for this are CD Break and Nero Drive Speed.

Difficulty Level	2/5
Parts Needed	Software
Time	5 minutes
Cost	None
Effectiveness	1-2/5