What does a quiet office mean? A quiet office can mean more tranquility and productivity. But achieving that can be difficult and the issue isn’t just your raucous coworkers either. Some of the fault lies with your computers, which can beep, buzz, and hum all day long. Most of those noises are caused by the CPU cooler, power supply, case fans, and the case itself. To help you reduce the amount of noise emitted by PCs, be quiet! offers components and accessories that promote silent running. We run through several of their products to help you achieve the ideal silent office.
CPU Cooler
Your CPU cooler can be one of the loudest components in a computer system, with some models reaching up to 60 or 70 decibels or more at full load. This is more common among power users that demand high performance from the processor. As the CPU works harder, it generates more heat and needs additional cooling. So to keep temperatures low, the CPU cooler pushes more air through the heat sink.
The amount of air a CPU cooler moves is measured in cubic feet per minute or CFM, and to increase CFM, the fan needs to spin faster. This has the downside of raising the noise level (rated in decibels). Some users find that OEM AMD and Intel CPU coolers come up short for CFM throughput and rely on aftermarket solutions. Unfortunately, many non-OEM coolers can be just as loud if not louder than OEM.
The be quiet! Dark Rock 3 offers excellent cooling while not causing a commotion. Hardware reviews show the Dark Rock 3 to be one of the quietest coolers on the market at 25%, 50%, and 100% loads. With the fan at full speed, the Dark Rock Pro 3 is rated to produce only 26.1 decibels. That is the equivalent of a quiet neighborhood or a whisper in a quiet office.
Power Supply
be quiet! Straight Power 10 (500 Watt, 600 Watt, 700 Watt, and 800 Watt)
The power supply also contributes a fair amount of noise, especially during continuous heavy load usage. For silent PC builds, the be quiet! Straight Power 10 power supply creates only 23.1 dB at 100% load and is available in 500 W, 600 W, 700 W, and 800 W variants. For more powerful multi-GPU builds, it is certified 80Plus Gold and supports CrossFire™ and SLI™. Reviews report excellent voltage regulation and as-advertised near-silent running.
PC Case
PC case fans and insulation directly affect decibel output. More fans mean additional noise while insulation dampens sound waves. Few cases have insulation, with the exception of those marketed as silent cases. However, you can customize a case’s fan configuration and insulation to suit your quiet office.
be quiet! Noise Absorber
Metal by itself doesn’t dampen sound effectively, which means you can hear the internals of your computer through an aluminum or steel chassis quite well. be quiet! offers a Noise Absorber kit that allows you to improve the sound dampening properties of any computer case, provided you install it properly. The kit features several sheets of sound-dampening foam that you affix onto the inner walls of a case. They can be cut, shaped, and folded to fit a case’s internal dimensions.
be quiet! Silent Wings 2
Case fans play an integral part in keeping internal case temperatures low by drawing in cold air and pushing out hot air. For details on achieving optimal computer case air flow, see our case fan setup guide for more information. But once you have your optimal cooling path planned out, it’s all about choosing the right fans to minimize the noise.
The Silent Wings 2 fan operates at a barely audible level and further reduces mechanical sounds with vibration dampening mounts. The mounting points can cause audible vibrations when there is not a perfect seal between the fan and case. The Silent Wings 2 sports a rubberized frame to eliminate those annoying vibrations.
Storage
Samsung 850 EVO SATA III 3D Vertical NAND Solid State Drive
It is worth upgrading to a solid state drive just for the performance alone and silent operation is just a side benefit. Because SSDs contain no moving parts, they do not generate very much heat, do not emit any noise, and are more reliable. The Samsung 850 EVO is one of the most highly rated SSDs on the market, with a maximum sequential write speed up to 520 MBps and read speed of 540 MBps max. For a quiet office, replacing hard drives with solid state drives can help eliminate that trademark hard drive whirring.
Final Words
The products above from be quiet! can help you quiet your computer down to levels barely audible in a library. After using such a quiet computer, you’ll start to wonder how you ever get any work done with several loud fans whirring away. And with barely audible computers, the goal of a quiet office is that much closer.
