Acoustic Absorption foam
I'm considering putting some of the noise dampening foam in my parent's computer. The noise, while tolerable, is louder than they want it to be. Temps shouldn't be a problem, they're operating in the low thirties (case) and high thirties (proc.)
What I was wondering, is this foam something I could buy at Home Depot (or any home improvement store) under a different name for cheaper?
What I was wondering, is this foam something I could buy at Home Depot (or any home improvement store) under a different name for cheaper?
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I did a review for Icrontic (which will be eventually redone here) on a kit.
Normally, the foam in the "noise dampening kits" is dense foam backed with a thin layer of aluminium. The metal layer bounces alot of the soundwaves off and the resultant vibrations in the metal are then dampened by the dense foam.
Temperatures in the kit I tried rose by a couple of degrees C. Not bad. The sound difference was noticable. My reason for NOT keeping it in....??
IT STINKS.. once this stuff gets hot, it starts to really really stink. Like burning rubber. I've read several reviews of different brands of noise-dampening material, that all state the same thing.
Id personally say, get a better heatsink that can take a larger, slower RPM fan which cools the same but with less noise
Perhaps, but you'll have to shop around. Foam is generally good at absorbing sound, but some of the stuff which is sold for computers will be specifically tailored for maximum efficiency. (like Shorty said)
It's up to you, though any stuff you can pick up in a DIY store probably won't be as good as the real thing, though again that depends on the quality of the sound absorbtion material you were looking at in the first place.
If you really can't afford to shell out on the proper stuff... just cut some empty egg boxes in half and glue them to the inside of the case (if there's room). Egg boxes are great for absorbing sound.;)
At the end of the day, it's sometimes just simpler to cut the noise out at the source, instead of trying to combat it.
Cheers
Spinner, we all know about your musical prowess - I was in a band for a while, too.
We practiced in a basement with stone walls. To eliminate the cave-like reverberations we tacked egg boxes all over the ceiling and walls. A little spray paint, and it looked pretty cool.
Prof
(Big News coming soon!)
electronics 101
styrofoam = static electricity
Yea, no recording studio or practice hall would be complete without egg boxes. Still...
I considered getting some acoustic dampening kits for my main rig, but as the majority of the sound, at that time, was coming from the PSU extractor fan, adding it wouldn't have made much difference. Might be an idea to think about what exactly is creating the noise in that system before you go out spending money. Because like I said, if it's the PSU making the racket, adding stuff to the sides of your case won't help quieten that down.
Do you know anyone that does auto body work? The auto stuff might work pretty well. It looks like bad carpet padding with Al on one side.
Hey, maybe cheap carpet pad wouldn't be too bad.....
Sounds like you just came up with the name for a new band...
LOL!
Yeah, the "Acoustic" aspect is to deaden the sound when the guy yells "You're WHAT????!!!!"
Prof:D
Those kits look cheap enough, I'd look in to them. They should be safe, easy to install, and they're more likely to work than something home grown.
Also, if you can find a way to de-couple the fan from the case - tiny rubber bands for example, the case probably acts like a sound-board for the vibrations the fan makes. I've noticed that a fan that's not attached to a case is pretty quiet, and gets noisy once you've attached it to the case.
Also, I've seen these absorbant pads you put under the computer (in case it piddles). No, seriously it's supposed to de-couple the computer from the floor. A couple of old mouse pads should do nicely here. Try picking up your computer and seeing how noisy it is v. being on the floor, or whatever it's on. Maybe some rubber feet might do the trick.
Good luck to you.
http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/scr-10.html