There are three main components which produce noise in your PC. So you need to understand which of these 3 responsible components to have a quiet PC. Lets check the three components responsible for a noisy PC and how to quieten them.
The three main components are fans, power supply and hard disk or optical drives. The fans are used by microprocessors and graphics card which is used to cool the chip-set, which gets heated up quickly because of the high amount of processes happening inside. The strategy is to find the component which is making noise, find out the reason, fix it if it can be done then and there or else replace it with a quieter version of the same component.
The more powerful a computer is, the more work a fan need to do in order to disperse all the heat generated inside the PC. One major reason for making so much noise is the presence of dust which may clog inside, thus interfering with the smooth rotation of fan leaves. Another reason is when the fans are mounted loose on its platform. If it is not mounted properly, this might cause the fan to vibrate which in turn can make the other connected parts to vibrate, creating unwanted noise. These issues can be fixed by cleaning the fan from dust, tighten the screw or pins that is used for mounting, use vibration reducing silicone mounts and dust filters.
In some PC’s there is more number of fans in order to keep it cooler. The combined effort can make the functioning noisier. You can replace these fans with a quieter version. You can also use fan speed controllers which allows to adjust the fan speed based on the temperature generated inside.
When the fans perform vigorously to dissipate the heat, it is natural to create noise. The best way to prevent this is to provide proper ventilation to PC. The computer should not be clogged with presence of stuffs piled around PC, which interfere with the free flow of air. Also it will be good, if you have a cool room preferably an air-conditioned room which helps in keeping the temperature low.
Hard drives/Optical drives
Hard drives over the years have gone through lot of changes and one of the main features is reduced noise generation. To make it quieter, you can mount it inside an anti-vibration drive enclosure. Also you can use an SSD instead of hard disk. SSD drives don’t have any moving parts as it use flash memory to store information. Though costlier than hard disks, they are very fast compared to hard disks.
Also if your hard disk is creating lot of noise, especially sort of click sound of metallic nature, then it might be an indication that it is going to fail very soon. Regular scan of hard disk using the inbuilt operating system tools can be helpful to fix these issues permanently, but mostly it is just temporary solution till the hard disk fails again. Be careful. Understand the symptoms, take backup and be ready to replace the hard disk.
Power Supply Unit (SMPS)
SMPS or the power supply unit is responsible for converting the AC to DC. This process generates heat. The fan attached to SMPS constantly works in order to dissipate heat, thus preventing the over heating of hardware involved in it. The main villain in make noise is the dust clogged in it. This can be prevented by cleaning the fan from dust. Also you can use noiseless sleeve bearing, rather than the traditional ball bearings. Also you can choose temperature regulated SMPS, which only kick start the fan when the heat is above limit.
The noise made by the PC sometimes gets amplified by the case. You can prevent it by providing sound proofed enclosures which are usually costlier than the normal ones. Sound dampening materials can also be applied to the inside of the case which also helps in a quiet PC. These materials are usually non flammable, so don’t worry about getting it burned.
Printers are also another component which is responsible for creating noise while functioning. Like hard disks, with improved technological advancements printers now a day’s don’t make that much noise as they used to before. Some of the latest printers have a quiet mode which reduced the fan speed and reduce the rate at which printouts are taken. You can find it under printer properties. Put a piece of carpet or towel under your printer to reduce the sound caused by the vibration on the desk. If you are using a wireless printer, keep it away from the desk within the wireless range to reduce noise.
Hope these instruction will help you in having a quiet PC.