Soundproofing and Filters
The only thing left to do is add some
sort of sound-absorbing material to the
inside of your case, and apply porous
filters over all the intakes and outtakes
of your PC. Adding filters, especially to
the fans on the front and top of your
case, can prevent much internal sound
from escaping. (Turn to page 40 for
more on adding filters.)
Several types of sound-absorbing mate-
rials are available for PCs today—Dynamat
(www.dynamat.com) and Magic Fleece
(www.frozencpu.com) are among the most
popular. Dynamat does a great job absorb-
ing noise and is thin, but if your case has
the extra room, nothing beats the thicker
absorbing action of Magic Fleece.
Both materials are easy to apply. First,
look at the space in your case to determine
how much sound deadener you can fit in
different locations. We recommend apply-
ing it to the sides and top of your case, and
whatever areas of the front are accessible.
Use a newspaper to cut patterns of the
area you want to soundproof, then use
these patterns to cut the material. One final
note: Make sure your pieces actually fit in
the desired area before you remove the
adhesive. Use double-sided tape to tempo-
rarily stick the pieces in place, and then try
closing the PC.If you want a completely
silent computer, you have two
options. You either have to
water-cool your rig, or build it
in a case expressly intended to
dissipate heat. Both approach-
es have downsides, but if you
must have peace and quiet,
both techniques deliver.
We haven’t put a Zalman
TNN500A case through its
paces in our lab yet, but we
have spent hands-on time with
a system our sister publication,
PC Gamer, reviewed that uses
the case. By using heat pipes
to transfer heat from the CPU,
videocard, fanless power sup-
ply, memory, and hard drives
directly to the exterior of the
case, and by adding radiator fins to the
outside of the case, Zalman essentially
turns the entire case into a giant passive
cooler. It’s extremely cool, and super
quiet. The downside is that this level of
cooling costs upwards of $1,400. Get
more info at http://www.zalman.co.kr.
If you’d rather make your exist-
ing case silent, we recommend add-
ing a water-cooling kit. Our current
favorite is the Innovatek InnovaSET
( http://www.highspeedpc.com ). It includes a res-
ervoir, radiator assembly, silent pump,
CPU block, and all the tubing and fit-
tings you’ll need to get your coolant
flowing. Cooling blocks are available
for nearly every CPU and videocard.
When you configure a water-cooled
rig, there are a few things to remember:
Always fully assemble and fill
your kit outside your system before
you actually install it. It’s better tofind out about a leaky reservoir
before it spews water all over your
$500 videocard.
Use distilled water and a conditioner
in your rig. Tap water often contains
minerals that can clog your hoses and
corrode your pump. Water conditioner
will keep the liquid in your system
from getting stinky. Plus it’s a cool-
looking neon-green color.
For the first few weeks of opera-
tion, make sure you frequently check
the water level in your reservoir. The
last thing you want is for the water to
evaporate, leaving your precious PC
exposed to the elements with no ther-
mal protection whatsoever.
If you have hot 10,000rpm hard
drives, consider enclosing them in
cooling thermal jackets. The water-
cooled jacket will lower the drives’
operating temperature, insulate them
from sound, and extend their life span.2) Completely Silence Your PC
You have several options if you want to truly silence your PC—
but they’re not for the faint of heartA water-cooled rig eliminates the need for
fans and makes your PC quiet as a church
mouse, but beware of leaks!