How do you balance noise and performance?

[Rich Edmonds]

PC hardware has come a long way over the past few decades and with the possibility of overclocking, things are really heating up in-game and intense applications. And by that, we also mean actual heat. While some are rocking water-cooling solutions, many still rely on air cooling but both can become rather loud when the system is put under strain.

Do you balance noise and performance by unlocking your machine's full potential and wearing headphones to drown the sound out, or do you prefer a more silent experience by toning things back a little?

 

[ThxMAD]

I always prioritize performance over noise.

My last two builds, I went for an hybrid air/liquid configuration. My current build has 3 intake fans (2 front, 1 bottom) and 1 exhaust (back). Then I have a closed-loop CPU liquid cooler with 2 fans in push configuration as exhausts (trying to balance the airflow in the case).

I have both a sound bar and a headset, but I usually only wear my headset when gaming with friends so we can talk to each other. I never found myself using my headset because of my PC's noise. By the way, my tower is right on top of my desk, so it's not the best location noise-wise, and it never bothered me.

I'd love to have my computer liquid-cooled with a custom loop, but I find it's too much maintenance and I would be worried for leaks. The hybrid build gives me acceptable noise levels while delivering great performance.

 

[fdruid]

PC hardware has come a long way over the past few decades and with the possibility of overclocking, things are really heating up in-game and intense applications. And by that, we also mean actual heat. While some are rocking water-cooling solutions, many still rely on air cooling but both can become rather loud when the system is put under strain.

Do you balance noise and performance by unlocking your machine's full potential and wearing headphones to drown the sound out, or do you prefer a more silent experience by toning things back a little?

I've had noisier systems than my current one, and while it's mildly annoying, generally don't care that much. Of course, nowadays components consume a lot less power, and are designed to be silent or aim at minimal noise, so it's easier.
But yeah, I wouldn't go so far as using liquid cooling or go out of my way to make an ultra silent system because I can stand a few dBs, even more if I'm running a beast of a setup.

 

[xfatalx zero]

Just buy some really good headphones with noise cancelling options and problems solved.

 

[BikemanAMD]

PC hardware has come a long way over the past few decades and with the possibility of overclocking, things are really heating up in-game and intense applications. And by that, we also mean actual heat. While some are rocking water-cooling solutions, many still rely on air cooling but both can become rather loud when the system is put under strain.

Do you balance noise and performance by unlocking your machine's full potential and wearing headphones to drown the sound out, or do you prefer a more silent experience by toning things back a little?

Fan Noise doesn't bother me as if i'm gaming I usually have headphones on, Those most of my components are silent in my newer system, Still afraid of leaks with Water cooling, so still using Air cooling with 1 Intake, 1 Exhaust in rear, and big side panel vent in my Asus G11CD Intel Desktop

Overall system performance is great, and stays pretty cool even with the Stock Intel Heatsink on the Processor, In the future if I have any cooling issues maybe will look into closed loop water cooling for the CPU if I feel safe enough it's not gonna leak

 

[Monte Constable1]

I have moved to low RPM fans and AIO liquid cooling for the CPU. The MSI video card I have the fans turn off until.under load so only an issue when gaming, but then game noise drowns it out. Also fanless PSU. And I can still he at 4K so

 

[schlubadub]

I prioritise noise over performance. I have a powerful system, with watercooling on my CPU (via H115i) & GPU (built-in), and both the CPU (i7 6800k) and GPU (GTX 1080 Xtreme) can be overclocked with ease... but I run everything at stock speeds, and usually on "Quiet" profiles. I do 4K gaming regularly, usually without a hitch. I consider the system "future proofed" for at least the next 5 years, as I could easily bump up the performance if I find it lacking in the future. But anyway, my system runs very quietly and it only starts to become noticeable when the GPU creeps above 65 C during long 4K gaming sessions. Of course I could tweak it to keep the fan speeds lower and run hotter, but I'm happy with it as it is.

 

[Hoekie]

Fractal Design R5 case, Scythe Mugen 5 CPU cooling, MSI GTX1070 graphics and SSDs deliver a very low noise PC. Pretty silent when gaming and silent when doing general stuff. Easy noise balancing. Love it.