noise control

[Herman Munster]

My PC (an Audeum from Warren's place) was initially very quiet and now has developed a strange, rather high frequency cyclic sound. It is in a rackmountable case and the sound seems to be coming from the rear near the power supply. I initially thought it was a new hard drive I put in, but that's not it. They put great, quiet fans in these things, and I don't think it's the fan. Any ideas? I track and mix in the same room and don't have a closet, so I need it super quiet again. This is not a loud sound, but I'm afraid it might show up in tracks if I don't remedy the situation. Thanks.

[peeder]

Sometimes the 2nd hard drive spins at a different rate and resonates as it goes in and out of phase with the other one.

Redco extension cables into another room and I don't care how quiet your PC is.

[Herman Munster]

I'll have to run about 20 ft of cable and use a firewire interface. I'm sure there's a way, but how do I do that?

[peeder]

Firewire and USB repeater cables and/or hubs. DVI extension cables. Redco sells most of that; you can get the rest elsewhere if needed.

[Herman Munster]

I honestly just don't have a good place to put a PC except in a closet the next room over. It really might be easier for me to build a small 4x4x6ft enclosure to hold it that is lined heavily with foam, etc. I looked at the isoraxx stuff and although it looks good, I can't afford that. How big of an area do I need to create to isolate it without having to do temp control, ventilation, etc.? I also wanted to repeat that I do not think this is a hard drive. My three hard drives are in the front of the PC and the noise is obviously originating from the right rear of the computer. So, the question is, can I isolate the PC in the mixing room without creating a closet or isoraxx equivalent?

[peeder]

try another hobby.

[Herman Munster]

Thanks peeder. Anyone else have anything useful/constructive to say? By the way, it looks like the cables I need will total about $300. If this is the least expensive and best solution, then I'll do it. The Firewire/USB cables aren't that bad and I don't need a repeater on the Firewire until I reach 33ft.(?affect on signal), so I obviously won't need a repeater(?). What's expensive is the cable for my display. Wow! The link to what I found is here - DVI Kits Wizard Step 1 . Sorry, to be acting so cheap, but I'm shocked at how much the DV cables are.

By the way peeder - probably not a good idea to tell folks to get a new hobby, but you're entitled to your opinion....

[dingo]

Not familiar with the Audeum, but most likely it's fan and less likely it's hard drive. Rule out hard drives by disconnecting power to them before booting. Fans.. often I find it difficult to tell which fan is the problem simply by listening. However, chassis, northbridge, cpu and vidcard fans usually all have connectors to provide power. So, it'll be a process of elimination (careful not to toast your shit). If none of those fans are the cause, you'll probably come to the conclusion that it's the psu fan.

[Herman Munster]

After a great deal of research today, I think you're right peeder. I actually don't think this will cost more than $150 in cables and it's not difficult. I only need about 25ft of cabling, so I think if I'm not mistaken one firewire extender and one usb extender will do it. My monitor is connected via a VGA cable, so that should be cheap as well. Thanks for the help. I'll stick with the hobby for now.....

[peeder]

Sorry i was a grouch, but I had told you what to buy, where to buy it, and what to do with it, and that wasn't enough for you. But I'm glad to see you've figured it out now and welcome back to music-making.