Reduce noise from G4

[Dot]

There's a whole site dedicated to G4 fan noise. http://www.g4noise.com

I'd recommend the Verax APPLE MDD Upgrade-Combined Kit from http://www.veraxfans.com/ [ click on the Mac section ]

I have the kit installed on my G4 dual 1.42. My G4 is quieter than my G5.

[monads]

Yes, check out the Verax kit. I have the full-kit installed on my G4 dual 1.25. Very quiet

[tluke]

Mmm, thank you Dot and Monads. Quite helpful. I thought there must be a lot of talk on this, it's really F'ing loud.

If you were going to buy this kit for your dual processor G4... would you consider getting a G5 instead? Or would you say a good G4 will be a fine machine for your purposes for some time?

Also, lastly, if said noise in audio tracks comes from the fan, would this (at least practically speaking) pretty much eliminate it? Because i'm talking about two different manifestations of this problem... as i'm sure you know; the fan's noise just acoustically in the control room, and the buzz it creates in an audio track.

Thank you again very much for your help.

[Dot]

My dual 1.42Ghz G4 kicks ass! Tight as a rock. Has never crashed.

My G5 is currently for sale on Ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...743797936&rd=1

tluke, your electrical problem could be coming from different areas. You might need power conditioning. Maybe you've got AC and audio cables running in parallel. G5's have fans, too. Man, and you wanna talk about loud! When a G5's fans goe off - it's like a ****ing 747 taking off.

I'd try to troubleshoot your problem some other way than getting another computer. I'm not an EE. Maybe you know someone with some electrical experience who can help you troubleshoot. Good luck with it!

[monads]

Dot's right on. The noise could be coming from somewhere else. I've personally avoided the G5 because of the noise problems I've heard about with revving fans and some odd chirp from the motherboard? I've read you can disable the chirp using Chud tools or something like that but who knows.

It's really a trade-off for more processing power. If you're going to be running lots of softsynths and native plugins then maybe the G5 would be a better compromise for you. On the other hand if not, G4 is fine, pick up maybe some DSP cards UAD-1 or PowerCore and your good.

[tluke]

Thanks to both of you for your sage advice. I like the G4... it's pretty powerful. The reason i'm reasonably sure it's the fan, or in large part due to the fan, is that with the computer off and my mixer cranked, i don't hear that buzz noise. I can hear white noise of course, but it's clear that there is a separate buzz from the G4.

With the computer on, when the fan comes on, i begin to hear the buzz.


No matter what, it would be well worth it for me to get rid of the G4's noisiness in the room. It really is too loud. So, i think the Verax fan is worth it for me.

I'm mostly seeing the Verax fan prices expressed in Euro's... so i'm looking for a good deal in the US.

Many thanks.

[Knastratt]

When it comes to the "physical" noise of a G4 I've found only one perfect solution. I punched a hole in the wall and placed the computer in the next room.

[tluke]

You know i actually considered this. I thought of leaving just the front panel in my control room. I would gladly trade convenience for quiet.

Is that what you did Knastratt? Just left the front of the machine flush with the wall? If not, it's a bit of a pain reaching the CD rom tray, yeah? I think i'd still get noise from the fan though... so i'd probably get the Verax kit too, for which i am looking for North American dealers right now...

Thanks,

T

[keyboardman]

Originally posted by tluke
I'm mostly seeing the Verax fan prices expressed in Euro's... so i'm looking for a good deal in the US.

Try here

I just ordered one, hasn't arrived yet.

[Agli]

I have a G4 that was driving me crazy. Turned out that the noise was coming from the hard drive. I installed a new disk (like this: http://www.westerndigital.com/en/pro...asp?DriveID=66 ) and the noise was reduced by probably 60-70%. I just didnt realise that all that noise was coming from the disk.

[David R.]

It's time to make things more quiet in my life.

I'm gonig to do this to my dual 1.25 and the fan mod to my Alesis HD24XR.



Shhhhhhhhhh.

[karatemanjohnny]

When it comes to the "physical" noise of a G4 I've found only one perfect solution. I punched a hole in the wall and placed the computer in the next room.

I was looking to see if someone else suggested this - I'm a PC user, but I spent $160 on computer quieting, only to eventually put a hole in the wall and move the computer into the next room.

It definitely adds to the peacefulness of my home studio. The 'studio side' has foam over the hole in the wall, so it's all good.

- John

[tluke]

Thanks keyboardman. I emailed the gentleman there and he was helpful, but he doesn't have the M10 (or the kit with M10 and power supply) in stock.

Does anyone know another source for Verax fans? I'd like to get this thing in the mail. Thanks again to all,



Tluke

Originally posted by keyboardman
Try here

I just ordered one, hasn't arrived yet.

[Reptil]

I don't know if its an option for you, but I put my G4 1.4DP outside my control room in a 19" box with marathon rack, so no fans at all inside!
with firewire and dvi(= the bottleneck), you will be able to extend the cables at least 5 mtrs no problem
(almost bought an Amek CIB, but found out it has fan, shame for such a nice box)
I can hear my tft screen now, and the fridge of the neighbours, its that quiet!

as a plus, when removing a CD, I get some exercise

hope this is a solution, it saved me a lot of time/€£¢

BTW I'm never going to get rid of this G4, its the best I ever used

[tluke]

That's interesting; put the tower outside the control room in a rack.

For those of you that have installed the Verax fan and power supply, is the difference pretty huge? Much quieter?


Where it sits now, i could have my cousin cut a hole in the wall and just slide it backwards about three feet. One issue is though, that's out in the cellar. Not the friendliest environment.


Thanks again to all,



Tluke

[James Lehmann]

Originally posted by Knastratt
When it comes to the "physical" noise of a G4 I've found only one perfect solution. I punched a hole in the wall and placed the computer in the next room.

Absolutely. This is really the only solution with a guaranteed result. I am often amazed when I go into large studios who have spent $$$ on precision monitoring systems, only to see (hear) a G4 and a stack of noisy drives on the floor grinding away loudly! Makes no sense to me.

BTW, my stop-gap solution was to build a semi-soundproof enclosure out of MDF and carpet liner for the computer into which I also fitted fans (set to extract). This reduced the noise by at least 60-70%.

[sarza73]

My CIB has got no fan ?????

[Reptil]

eu that's interesting
I read that in a review in an old issue (79 sept 2000) of The Mix (now discontinued) I looked it up, and yes they mention an audible fan
could it be that this was an early production model?
is it worth the 1200 euro pricetag over here, in your opinion?
is it your main channel strip?
thanks for the info

[logichead]

I have a Dual 1.25 G4 that I use in OS9 and OSX. It is quieter in OSX - I think OSX is able to control the fans more carefully. In OS9 it sounds like a hair salon.

I also have a Dual 2.5 G5. That machine is very quiet, and "feels" a bit more refined. Highly reccomended.

I have both machines because of a large amount of unfinished OS9 projects - still working on ending my OS9 involvement!

Best...H

[keyboardman]

Originally posted by tluke
That's interesting; put the tower outside the control room in a rack.

For those of you that have installed the Verax fan and power supply, is the difference pretty huge? Much quieter?
Tluke

OK, I just put my M11 kit in yesterday. And, holy shit, its "Night and Day" (you are the one) difference. I made a couple of audio samples. Let me figure out how to upload and you guys can check them out.

The case fan does not get replaced in the upgrade and that continues to be the loudest thing other than the drives. I may augment the Verax with a PCI fan (about $10) to keep that case fan from kicking in so often.

Putting it in another room is always a good idea and that's how I've usually done it. However, I've just built a new room that's a good 50' away from anywhere else to put the thing. Running high-quality cables that far will cost one as much as an ISO boxx...major bummer. However, with the Verax kit, I might be able to get away with a little less isolation and just stick it in the bathroom.

Hopefully, everyone will practice good marksmanship.

[Knastratt]

Originally posted by tluke
If not, it's a bit of a pain reaching the CD rom tray, yeah?

No, not at all. That is spelled "external cd".

And yeah, just made a hole for the cables. Dead silent.

[tluke]

So, (torment won't be through...) i'm looking forward to hearing your clips, if you get a chance to post them.

Keyboardman, do you think your computer would have been noticeably benefited from the combo kit, M10 and M11?

Either way, glad to hear the difference is so vast.

[keyboardman]

It did. I'll post the results when I get a chance.

[sarza73]

Originally posted by Reptil
eu that's interesting
I read that in a review in an old issue (79 sept 2000) of The Mix (now discontinued) I looked it up, and yes they mention an audible fan
could it be that this was an early production model?
is it worth the 1200 euro pricetag over here, in your opinion?
is it your main channel strip?
thanks for the info

It´s well worth the money yes. Do a search on "CIB" and you´ll find usefull opinions regarding the CIB. I turned to Gearslutz when i was about to buy myself the CIB.

The preamp & EQ are great and the compressor is usable in the recording stage for controlling the levels into your computer......it has no character though IMO. The CIB is included in my to go vocalchain.

Manley Ref Card-> AMEK CIB-> UA1176LN

The modell with a fan might be an older version yes

[tluke]

Hi guys,


i installed the fans from the M10 kit in my dual processor G4. The dual fans over the heat sink/dual processors is running nicely.

My question is:

The smaller one, down beneath the CD rom... that's just supposed to have the one power lead coming from it, that plugs to where the original fan plugs into, right? There was a cable left over... But that small fan has its cable plugged in snugly, just as the original did- the one it replaced. The only reason i ask is, it aint coming on.

And now i wonder... there's another fan, one not replaced by the M10 kit, that sits on the side, top left of the tower, facing directly the CD rom... and that one is whining. My understanding is that it is now overcompensating and i need to change its voltage to 5 v. The only thing though, is that the directions don't tell me how to do this! Can you tell me? Thank you!

[monads]

The full kit came with replacement fans for the PSU (M11), CPU and one next the Hard drives (M10). There was no replacement fan for the small CD-Rom fan.

The little one (CD-Rom fan) is not supposed to be plugged into it’s original location otherwise it will rev up. You’re supposed to use the 5V adapter cable + extension cable for this fan. Once you hook it up, it will not rev. Hope this helps.

monad

[tluke]

Yeah, thanks M. I hooked th elittle fan up with the 5v cable. Quieter now. The twin processor fans and small cd rom fan are working great.

My only concern is, why is the smaller (80mm?) fan i installed, the one that replaced the Mac fan beneath the cd rom trays... why is that one not coming on? It just doesn't need to? Thanks very much.

[monads]

If it's not coming on something is wrong. Check the wiring. It runs dead silent and can be hard to tell it's even on.

[tluke]

Thanks Monad. I checked that it isn't coming on a couple times... i know the other one is... i gently dip in a piece of paper. The dual processor fan is coming on. The (80mm) fan i installed isn't. I disconnected and reconnected it a couple of times... what could be wrong? Is the fan defective?

Thanks,



T