Anyone bought/built an Iso Box for a PC/Mac?

teamdresch

My PC is a noisy fecker.
This displeases me.

Being completely useless at DIY, I'm wondering if anyone else has dealt with this issue without moving the PC out to a seperate machine room.
I'm renting, so I can't go putting holes in walls to run cables out to another room. Sigh.

studiorat

teamdresch wrote: »

My PC is a noisy fecker.
This displeases me.

Being completely useless at DIY, I'm wondering if anyone else has dealt with this issue without moving the PC out to a seperate machine room.
I'm renting, so I can't go putting holes in walls to run cables out to another room. Sigh.

I built a machine room in the current studio. Was worried at first about the heat, but with 2 computers, a desk power supply and converters in it it's fine.
About 6 by 3 and about 7 feet tall.

The iso boxes run very hot I noticed and make noise anyway!

artvandulet

One of the most popular questions on this forum!!

Mods, sticky an answer!:D

I use this PC BALANCE BOX for large events/shows that require PC audio and have tried several other solutions. This is the best on the market IMHO.

teamdresch

I was referring to the fan noise coming from the PC.

dav nagle

I will share a funny story . I met 'Studiorat' AKA 'The monk' through 'Paul Brewer' AKA 'Paulo' on a web site, I am not sure what website it was. I was suggesting a way to keep your computer from making as much noise because I had a 'pig' as Paulo described it of a pentium 3.0ghz. The 'pig' would growl at me during recordings in the bed room and sometimes even bite me hand off. One time it roared at me and I nearly lost the plot. I opened up the computer and cleaned the fans of the computer with cotton ear buds. Fans get dusty and they can get loud.

So I said this to 'The monk' and he told me to use the cotton buds for what they are meant for and sniggered at me behind my back. I never talked to the rat after that.

2 years on I am learning nothing sitting at home smoking my brains out and I start getting really tired of my recordings so I call 'Paulo' and ask him is there anyone who can teach me Pro tools? Guess what. I had to bite my fat lip and call 'Studiorat' because I needed him. I have never talked about it since but sure hey were all friends now and I am still embarrassed about it. You see, I am very bad at understanding a joke when its a joke.

So thankyou Studiorat your a great man for putting up with my short fuse.


Now my advice to you is to take your pc and sell it. It is a noisey (dont deny it!!!):eek: piece of junk that is making you angry I would guess. Buy a mac pro and you will hear virtually nothing.

dav nagle

studiorat wrote: »

I built a machine room in the current studio. Was worried at first about the heat, but with 2 computers, a desk power supply and converters in it it's fine.
About 6 by 3 and about 7 feet tall.

The iso boxes run very hot I noticed and make noise anyway!

Use a cotton ear bud:eek::eek:

teamdresch

dav nagle wrote: »

Use a cotton ear bud:eek::eek:

All due respect, but I could buy three of the most expensive off-the-shelf ISO boxes for the price of a mac pro. Also my PC has all the horsepower I'll need for the next 2-3 years, so no.
I won't be buying a mac pro.

dav nagle

teamdresch wrote: »

All due respect, but I could buy three of the most expensive off-the-shelf ISO boxes for the price of a mac pro. Also my PC has all the horsepower I'll need for the next 2-3 years, so no.
I won't be buying a mac pro.

Well I take what I said back so, if you have the power than fair dues.

artvandulet

teamdresch wrote: »

I was referring to the fan noise coming from the PC.

Sorry! Didn't read your post right:D

Have you tried replacing your fans with quiet fans or slow run fans?
Try something like The Card Cooler XT


A good idea would be to go to the HTPC forum in the Tech section of boards. HTPC guys are all big into getting PC's as quiet as possible so I'm sure you'll get a good answer there.

dav nagle

I would like to explain why I mentioned buying a new computer. Fans keep a computers internals cool which in turns makes the computer run smooth as we all know. The more you trap the air and cooling that circulates around the computer area the higher chance you have of running into serious overload problems. When a computer over heats it also overloads. Heat can effect your systems performance. For example an extremely hot computer will struggle to run programs efficiently. You may run into lack of plug in power or screen flickering. Your computer might ask you to reboot. So yes you can build a box around the computer but it can reduce the circulation of air and therefore effect the overall system performance so even if you have a powerful computer it might be feeling the strain and need greater circulation. As I mentioned earlier I had computer noise and it is one of the most annoying things ever. I broke a hole in my wall and shoved the pc in the hole and put a plank in front of it to reduce the noise. Then I built a booth.

teamdresch

Unfortunately, I can't put any holes in walls, and I'd rather any ios box/booth was no bigger than necessary.
I'm well aware of heating/cooling issues in computers.

iquinn

I'm sure you've looked into this.....but, i bought some fans and a hard drive iso box from here years ago:
http://www.quietpc.com/ie-en-eur/products

My pc was virtually silent afterwards.

ogy

why dont you mic up your PC, flip the phase and then play it back through a speaker pointed at the PC, the out of phase signals should mute all noise coming form the PC.

(Joke:))

teamdresch

I've got quiet CPU fans, a fanless GPU and so on.
I think the chipset fan might be a real problem, must get around to disconnecting that at some point.
I reckon I'm just at the point where throwing it into a box will take care of it once and for all, hence my interest in anyone else's experience with them.

studiorat

dav nagle wrote: »

I will share a funny story . I met 'Studiorat' AKA 'The monk' through 'Paul Brewer' AKA 'Paulo' on a web site,

Never been "the Monk"...
Studiorat here and on R.A.P.
real name everywhere else...

ISO boxes have fans in the back of them anyway, I dunno how much quieter they are going to be than a clean computer with a decent bit of air to circulate inside it. Big bear had one floating around at one stage €1,500 and that was a return product too.

Is the problem just noise when you are mixing or are you picking up fan noise on the recordings?

teamdresch

studiorat wrote: »

Is the problem just noise when you are mixing or are you picking up fan noise on the recordings?

Just mixing.
The noise of a few low-speed fans to move air in and out of the box would be nothing compared to the noise currently emanating from under my desk.

PaulBrewer

A client of mine leaves his computers and drives in the hallway on a high shelf.

He then runs in his Monitor and USB Keyboard cables through a tiny hole.

All depends on the situation I guess.

iquinn

teamdresch wrote: »

The noise of a few low-speed fans to move air in and out of the box would be nothing compared to the noise currently emanating from under my desk.

ooh err missus!

studiorat

teamdresch wrote: »

Just mixing.
The noise of a few low-speed fans to move air in and out of the box would be nothing compared to the noise currently emanating from under my desk.

har-har!!
Then I'd reckon it's not really worth the trouble. Maybe a new quiet fan or something.

If you move the computer from under the desk to the back of the room or something it mightn't be as big a problem. The desk could be making the problem bigger than it actually is. Have you considered that desk may be amplifying the sound through vibrations and the fact it's more likely to be resonating due to the volume of air between the surfaces of the desk and the floor? Fan noise is wideband so the box you are creating by having it under the desk could be making certain bands more noticeable.

Apart from the fact of course that you are practically sitting on top of it...
Stick it at the back of the room and turn yer monitors up!!!!

dav nagle

Have you considered building a small bunker ?:D