Feature: Make your computer quieter

When you bought your computer, we’re willing to bet that a good deal of thought went into the purchase before money changed hands.

We never tire of highlighting the importance of getting the correct processor, enough memory and handfuls of hard drive, but one characteristic is difficult to get to grips with until it’s too late - ­ the noise it makes.

The average computer makes between 30 and 50dB (decibels) of sound, depending on a number of factors. Thirty decibels isn’t very loud at all if you’re on the other side of a room, but computers tend to be kept close to other components, such as the screen and keyboard.

More often than not, you are sitting next to the PC when you’re using it, with the soft drone of electric fans accompanying your every click and tap.

It’s not just distracting; monotonous noise is stressful and can make you feel tired more quickly. A carefully built computer can be as quiet as 18dB, which is roughly equivalent to the sound of someone breathing next to you.

Noise abatement
One of the reasons that your average off-the-shelf PC is so noisy is because every penny has been spared keeping it cool. An electric fan costs a few pence to a computer manufacturer, but a more expensive one, that does the same job more quietly, isn’t very tempting as it’s unlikely to sell any more computers.

If you pick 10 computers from any 10 houses in the country, the chances are that all of them will be quite noisy, and all will respond to the same modifications to quieten them down.

In no particular order, the worst offenders for noise are the fans fitted to the case to blow or suck cool air across heat-generating components such as the power supply, the fan fitted to the processor to stop things heating up and the graphics card fan.

The more astute of you will have noticed that all of these have one thing in common: they are electric fans. By their very nature, the fans fitted in computers are there to keep things cool. If a computer gets too hot, it won’t work properly.

The answer is better quality fans which are able to cool your computer without deafening you.