Noisy PC

[JayJay]

Hi,

I had bought a PC at the beginning of July. Yesterday, I handed it back in
and fortunately was able to get my money back. The PC was built by the shop
where I bought it. The main reason for asking my money back was the fact
that the PC was so noisy that it sounded more like a vacuum cleaner. It was
simply impossible to work with this PC. It made at least 5 times the amount
of noise than any other PC I had even seen before.

The PC guys said that the main reason for the noise was the P4 3.0 Ghz
Prescott, which dissipates more heat than it's predecessors, and the Radeon
9800 Pro card that was put in the PC. Now, I know all of that but that
should still not result in a machine that nearly starts hovering over the
desk! I got many colleagues and friends that also buy pretty powerful PCs,
but not nearly as noisy.

The question I have is: is it really impossible to get a P4 and a Radeon
9800 card in a PC that does not sounds as if it is going to take off without
any extremely expensive cooling systems? I am thinking of going for the Dell
Dimension 8400 this time, about which I have read that this is supposed to
be "pretty quiet" in PC here:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1614214,00.asp

What are your thoughts on this?

Regards,
Jay

 

[kony]

Hi,

I had bought a PC at the beginning of July. Yesterday, I handed it back in
and fortunately was able to get my money back. The PC was built by the shop
where I bought it. The main reason for asking my money back was the fact
that the PC was so noisy that it sounded more like a vacuum cleaner. It was
simply impossible to work with this PC. It made at least 5 times the amount
of noise than any other PC I had even seen before.

The PC guys said that the main reason for the noise was the P4 3.0 Ghz
Prescott, which dissipates more heat than it's predecessors, and the Radeon
9800 Pro card that was put in the PC. Now, I know all of that but that
should still not result in a machine that nearly starts hovering over the
desk! I got many colleagues and friends that also buy pretty powerful PCs,
but not nearly as noisy.

The question I have is: is it really impossible to get a P4 and a Radeon
9800 card in a PC that does not sounds as if it is going to take off without
any extremely expensive cooling systems?

Define "extremely expensive".

You can either:

A) Settle for hotter-running PC that will fail sooner (all
things being equal), or,

B) Spend more $$ on system with optimized cooling (that is,
specific parts chosen for lower noise, including case, fans,
modifications to case, and/or rework existing components to
improve airflow).

I am thinking of going for the Dell
Dimension 8400 this time, about which I have read that this is supposed to
be "pretty quiet" in PC here:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1614214,00.asp

What are your thoughts on this?

Regards,
Jay

Not a bad choice but you are stuck with THEIR choices.
It is good to have 120mm rear fan, but that can also be hand with
many roll-your-own cases, like many Antecs. Primarily a Dell is
a good deal if/when you can take advantage of rebates/discounts,
and if a small price overhead is worth it for receiving the
bundled software.

Certainly when choosing higher-heat parts there is more of a need
for addressing airflow (and the resulting noise). It could
simply be that the local shop (or you) chose the wrong case and
fans. As mnetioned previously, you might want an Antec case with
rear 120mm fan and any/all other fans to be Panaflo
FBA0(n)a12L1A... "n" is width in CM.

 

[JayJay]

Hi,

Thanks for your response! Actually the case WAS too small and unadapted for
the pieces that were put in it, but that is what they only told me when I
had been having trouble for a couple of weeks already. Even though I had
complained about the noise and asked for advise from the beginning, and even
though the PC had been at the shop several times again (PC sutting itself
down because PSU insufficient, Abit motherboard failing, ...) they have
failed to tell me this. I was not an expert so I could not have known what
case I should have, so I just went along with their initial suggestion.

What was worse is that before telling me the truth about the case, they
installed new Antec fans without asking me for advise and they charged me 75
EUR for this ... only to find out that the noise had changed tone but the
noise level was still about the same.

After I had been having so much problemns I managed to get my money back.
This was actually not the first time I have had problems with an assembled
PC. This is why I now only dare to go for Dell, or any other large OEM
manufacturer, as there PCs have already been built many times before and
problems are likely to have been solved already before I buy.

I have had a Dell Dimension 4100 for 4 years now and have always been happy.
I thought I might choose a different approach now, ... never again. I know
it IS definitely possible to build a good PC, but I will just not take the
risk again.

Thanks!

Jay

 

[Chris Stolworthy]

Hi,

I had bought a PC at the beginning of July. Yesterday, I handed it back in
and fortunately was able to get my money back. The PC was built by the shop
where I bought it. The main reason for asking my money back was the fact
that the PC was so noisy that it sounded more like a vacuum cleaner. It was
simply impossible to work with this PC. It made at least 5 times the amount
of noise than any other PC I had even seen before.

The PC guys said that the main reason for the noise was the P4 3.0 Ghz
Prescott, which dissipates more heat than it's predecessors, and the Radeon
9800 Pro card that was put in the PC. Now, I know all of that but that
should still not result in a machine that nearly starts hovering over the
desk! I got many colleagues and friends that also buy pretty powerful PCs,
but not nearly as noisy.

The question I have is: is it really impossible to get a P4 and a Radeon
9800 card in a PC that does not sounds as if it is going to take off without
any extremely expensive cooling systems? I am thinking of going for the Dell
Dimension 8400 this time, about which I have read that this is supposed to
be "pretty quiet" in PC here:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1614214,00.asp

What are your thoughts on this?

Regards,
Jay

What purpose is this PC for? Like Kony said the dell is a good choice as
long as you don't mind paying a little overhead for bundled software you
will probably never use. Personally if I was going OEM I would still buy
something high end, regardless of the noise and then plan on spending a
little extra $$$ on some different fans and maybe a new heatsink, that
"should" eliminate 80% of the noise problem.

HTH
-Chris

 

[JK]

Why not get an Athlon 64 system instead? You get great performance at
a great price, and the ability to upgrade to 64 bit software without changing
any hardware. Imo 64 bit computing will be big starting in early '05.

 

[JayJay]

Well, I am not sure where you are getting your hardware, but in Belgium,
Dell is actually pretty competitive, depending on the model you buy. The
8400 is their high end model and has everything I need. I do not see major
price differences with the local shops who are selling custom made PCs, even
if Dell supplies all kinds of software I do not need.

The main purpose of the PC is that it will replace my wife's PC, a 4 year
old Dell Dimension 4100. This has been a great PC, but last year the hard
disk failed and my wife, who is a freelance translator, lost quite a lot of
data + time wich got her into trouble.
The new PC will as such be her new business PC, where she will work on 8
hours a day, and we will keep the 4100 as a backup, linking the two in a
network for easy backuping of data. In the evenings though I want to be able
to play some of the most demanding games like Doom 3 and Half-Life 2,
therefore the need for a descent graphics card. I will also be editing a lot
of videos, therefore the need for a large hard disk.

As such the PC does not have to be absolutely silent, but the criterion is
that it has to be possible to work 8 hours a day without going crazy or def.

Regs,
Jay

 

[kony]

Hi,

Thanks for your response! Actually the case WAS too small and unadapted for
the pieces that were put in it, but that is what they only told me when I
had been having trouble for a couple of weeks already. Even though I had
complained about the noise and asked for advise from the beginning, and even
though the PC had been at the shop several times again (PC sutting itself
down because PSU insufficient, Abit motherboard failing, ...) they have
failed to tell me this. I was not an expert so I could not have known what
case I should have, so I just went along with their initial suggestion.

Keep in mind that any monkey can manage to fit a card into a slot
if practiced enough... the beginnings of a PC and a good finished
product are two different things. When having a local shop build
a system I'd advise you to ask to see an example system using
similar/same parts, then check noise level, power supply, fan
quality, motherboard make, etc, etc. At that point you can
discuss noise levels... remember that THEY don't have to live
with the system and so will do whatever seems easiest or most
cost/profit effective if that's their inclination.

What was worse is that before telling me the truth about the case, they
installed new Antec fans without asking me for advise and they charged me 75
EUR for this ... only to find out that the noise had changed tone but the
noise level was still about the same.

That would've been a warning to me right away because they're
using parts with 3rd party markup... Antec doesn't make fans,
they just relabel 'em and add a premium markup... their fans are
no better than many other (fan-manufacturer) name-brands.
In other words, shop wastes money due to inexperience, both you
and they paid more for no gain.

After I had been having so much problemns I managed to get my money back.
This was actually not the first time I have had problems with an assembled
PC. This is why I now only dare to go for Dell, or any other large OEM
manufacturer, as there PCs have already been built many times before and
problems are likely to have been solved already before I buy.

There are two sides to it though, for particularly difficult
troubleshooting and support you can't beat a good local shop.
Local shop may be able to troubleshoot and "fix" a Dell too, but
not being familiar with the box ahead of time it can easily cost
more, especially so after the warranty is expired, if/when
replacement parts are needed. That's not really a reason to
avoid Dells, just that there are plenty of reasons to go either
route, Dell vs. local shop.

I have had a Dell Dimension 4100 for 4 years now and have always been happy.
I thought I might choose a different approach now, ... never again. I know
it IS definitely possible to build a good PC, but I will just not take the
risk again.

Most of Dell's "PCs" are pretty quiet, but your 4 year old system
likely produced less than half as much heat, it should've been a
lot easier to cool without excessively noisey fans.

 

[Mac Cool]

I am thinking of going for the Dell
Dimension 8400 this time, about which I have read that this is
supposed to be "pretty quiet"

I have a Dimension 4550 that I bought because it is so quiet. All the Dell
systems I have worked with were very quiet.

Use this utility, HDD Health, available from http://www.panterasoft.com/
to keep an eye on your hard drives.