Why Computers Make Noise
Desktop and laptop computers are normally enjoyable to use for music, movies and games. But if your computer is noisy, especially during high-performance sessions of HD video or gaming, it can take away from the experience. There are many reasons why your computer may be making noise, but in each instance it's because of a moving part.
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Fan Noise
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The loudest and most obvious noise that a desktop or laptop computer makes is from the cooling fans. Cooling fans circulate air through the computer housing, keeping the components from overheating. On a desktop computer, the power supply and processor have dedicated coolers with fans, and there may also be one to four circulation fans attached to the housing. Laptops only use circulation fans, with exhaust ports on the side or bottom of the laptop body. Some laptops don't use fans at all, and most only activate them when the computer is under a heavy processor load.
Disk Drives and Hard Drives
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Computers store data on hard drives, which spin like a record when accessing, recording or deleting data. The drive noise is noticeable by the human ear, particularly on laptops. The noise sounds like a gentle whine combined with skipping or light clicking. DVD and CD drives spin their discs, creating a loud noise on both desktops and laptops. If you're not using the CD or DVD, remove it to stop the noise, but if you're watching a movie or installing a program it's unavoidable.
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Cleaning Your Computer
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Cleaning dust from your desktop or laptop is a great way to reduce fan noise, both by clearing the fans themselves and reducing the heat load on the system overall. You'll need a can of compressed air, preferably with an application straw. For desktops, remove the case's access panel and spray all surfaces until clean. Pay particular attention to the case fans, processor fan and power supply fan. If your computer features removable filters, pull them out, scrub them clean with a damp cloth, dry them and re-insert them. For laptops, you can only spray air into the exhaust vents. This will still help with noise and heat levels.
Upgrading Your Desktop Hardware
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If one of your desktop hardware components (case fans, power supply, CPU cooler, hard drive or CD drive) is particularly noisy, you can replace or upgrade it to make a quieter system. Case fans, power supplies and CPU coolers in particular are sometimes marketed in quiet or low-power versions. There's not much you can do about a noisy disk drive, but new SSD drives are effectively silent -- unlike their hard drive counterparts. Be aware that new hardware, especially SSD drives, can be expensive and time-consuming to install.
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