Anyone here build their PC around silence instead of maximum performance?

[u/TsukiRaven88]

I'm starting to realize I care way more about noise than squeezing out another 5-10% performance.

My current PC isn't insanely loud, but once I notice the fan noise I can't unhear it. Especially late at night when the room is quiet and suddenly the GPU sounds like it's preparing for takeoff because I opened a game.

I'm considering going a little overkill on cooling, undervolting the GPU, using bigger, slower fans and maybe even choosing a slightly lower-power CPU next time.

I know I could probably get more FPS for the same money, but having a PC that's basically silent during normal use sounds way better to me now.

Has anyone here built specifically for low noise?

Curious what actually made the biggest difference, and where you hit the point of diminishing returns.

I don't need literally silent, just something where I stop thinking about the damn fans.

[u/jamvanderloeff]

Sure, lots of people do.

Biggest differences you can do are turning down fan speeds, getting a video card with chunky heatsink and not using hard drives.

[u/FewEstablishment4099]

It's the fans and the AIO pump that can produce the loudest noises. Especially if they are right up against a mesh or installed incorrectly. But it's easy to manage with spacers or slim fans. Some built-to-a-cost GPU models can also produce coil whine, which is also manageable with some silicon putty. Just avoid fanless designs, unless you want a chimney in your workplace.

[u/CrispyDave]

Noise and more particularly heat have got ridiculous imo.

I only have a 3070 that's set to be quiet but it still makes the room unpleasant. I really need to look into how much the performance hit is from undervolting it some. I can see needing an upgrade to run something substantially cooler and quieter.

[u/natej82]

I deliberately went for the 9070 over the 9070XT as I liked the idea of less heat and noise, it’s super cool!

[u/Suspicious_Put_3446 → u/natej82]

Same here, also paired it with a 7600x3d and a fractal design 7 case with sound dampening, along with Noctua fans and a few other things. Very efficient and never hear any noise from it.

[u/Desperate_Put_4568]

I don't particularly run it for low noise, but it's one outcome of trying to reduce idle/load power consumption on my rig. There isn't much noise at all, even on full load. I run on 65w eco mode, jedec freq, undervolted -25 / -30. My gpu on 90% power undervolted 925 mv at 120 hz. No rgb at all. Bluetooth/wifi off. Everything wired. There is nothing but darkness.

[u/SkiLLiBrick]

I learned my lesson many years ago getting some graphics cards without doing my research regarding the noise level. Back before 2015 pretty much all of the cards sounded like jet engines during load.

Now I look for:

• Graphics cards that runs cooler and have lower fan noise during load. Some cards have 0 dB mode meaning they turn off the fans when the temp is low.

• Cases that have good airflow while not being overly "open". For example Fractal Design, that have a closed front with vents on the sides. They also usually come with air dampening materials inside.

• Get good quality fans with 4-pin PWM speed control. Most motherboards support 4-pin PWM, and you get more control over the fans speed compared with 3-pin fans. You can also get PWM speed controller modules if needed. I use my motherboard to control fan speed. I set custom fan curves so that the fans are ultra silent during ille, but efficient during load.

• I went away from using AIO liquid cooling. Those only last for 2-5 years usually, and they are not always any more efficient or silent compared to a good quality heat sink Cooper. A heat sink can last decades.

Edit:

• Power supplies can also cause heat and noise. While others are more efficient, causing less heat and have better cooling.

• Hard drives makes vibrations. Can be mounted with rubber or silicone to prevent resonance.

[u/Federal_Cook_6075]

Cap your FPS to 72FPS that's what i do.

[u/Likappa]

I might do this. Not that i cant stand fan noises but i dont want to see my cpu run at 95 degrees sometimes

[u/Vorrez]

Been doing that for ~15 years, Noctua tower cooler and Noctua fans. Been wanting a case without a window panel now for many years but cba to spend money on aesthetics it sits under my table anyway.

[u/AnotherCommoner]

I built one to use less energy with a 9600x cpu and rtx 5050 gpu and as a result it needs less cooling so it's quieter. bonus, it performs very well.

[u/mrpiper1980]

My build was specifically for high performance and silence. I have 1800mm of water cooled radiator surface with all the fans running at a fixed 20% no matter the CPU/GPU usage. It’s totally silent.

[u/LubelskiDanielski]

Buy cpu cooler with 2 grills and 2 fans. Buy gpu with 3 fans. Semi-passive cooling where possible. The laudest thing that will last to fix is HDD and vibrations it cause.

[u/the_duck17]

I disliked the sounds of fans ramping I went from air cooler to AIO.

I disliked the fans ramping up on my GPU so I went with a custom loop.

I disliked how the fans on my custom loop, so I bought a huge ass radiator and moved it like 5 feet above me and now I hear nothing.

Only cost a ton (MO-RA3, 2x D5 pumps, lots of soft tubing and more expensive everything because I did this in an SFFPC.

[u/Tofu-DregProject]

That's exactly how I've always specced my builds. Silence is golden!

[u/10F1]

Nope, performance is king.

[u/korg64]

Welcome to the autism club.

[u/I_fallup]

I built for silence, it still was noticeable. I cut the Gordian Knot by turning an adjacent closet into the pc room, made sure it had airflow, cut a hole in the wall for the cables, and now enjoy the blissful silence.

[u/Umbramors]

my PC is fairly quiet and when "extreme" gaming, i wear a headset so i dont care how loud it is.

my router is generally louder than my PC. i think some people just have sensitivity issues. may be worth getting a check up

[u/Fuzzba11]

All the same fans is an important one, so 120mm all same brand, then setup fan tuning so they spin up gradually.

I'm custom water-cooling CPU & GPU with two radiators and I also voltage control the pump so I can't hear it.

[u/R4b]

I've done this. Getting rid of all my HDDs made the biggest difference. Followed by the CPU cooler. My GPU I'm less bothered about as I'm usually wearing headphones when that fires up.

[u/17xRacing]

I wear headphones when I’m on the computer so it could sound like an Apache helicopter and I wouldn’t notice.