Editing Quiet PC (section)

=== Low-cost methods <span class="anchor" id="ODD"></span>===
A number of methods exist for reducing computer noise at little or no added cost.
* [[Dynamic voltage scaling|Reduce CPU supply voltage]] ("undervolting"). Many of today's CPUs can run stably at their stock speed, or even with a slight overclock, at a reduced voltage, which reduces heat output. Power consumption is approximately proportional to ''V<sup>2</sup>·f'', that is, it varies linearly with the clock frequency and quadratically with the voltage.<ref>{{Citation |first=JM |last=Rabaey |title=Digital Integrated Circuits |publisher=Prentice Hall |year=1996}}.</ref> This means that even a small reduction in voltage can have a large effect in power consumption. Undervolting and underclocking can also be used with [[chipset]]s and GPUs.
* Enable [[Cool'n'Quiet]] for [[AMD]] CPUs or [[SpeedStep]] (also known as [[EIST]]) on [[Intel]] CPUs.
* Reduce fan speed. For newer computers, the speed of fans can be varied automatically, depending on how hot certain parts of the computer get. Lowering a DC fan motor's supply voltage will reduce its speed while making it quieter and lowering the amount of air the fan moves. Doing this arbitrarily could lead to components overheating; therefore, whenever performing hardware work it is advised to monitor the temperature of system components. Fans with [[Molex connector]]s can be modified easily.<ref name=7vTrick>{{cite web |url=http://www.silentpcreview.com/article6-page1.html |title=Get 12V, 7V or 5V for your Fans |publisher=SPCR |first=Michael ‘Mike’ |last=Chin |date=2002-03-26 |access-date=10 October 2008 |archive-date=2008-09-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080918053545/http://www.silentpcreview.com/article6-page1.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> With 3-pin fans, either fixed inline [[resistor]]s or [[diode]]s, or commercial [[fan control]]lers can be used. Software like [[speedfan]] or [[Argus Monitor]] may allow fan speed control. Many newer motherboards support [[pulse-width modulation]] (PWM) control, allowing the fan speed to be set in the [[BIOS]] or with software.
* Mount fans on anti-vibration mounts.
* Remove restrictive fan grills to allow easier airflow, or replace noisy fan grills with quieter versions.
* Use software such as [[Nero AG|Nero]] ''DriveSpeed'' or ''RimhillEx'' to reduce the speed of [[optical drive]]s.
* Isolate hard disk noise, either by using anti-vibration mounts (generally rubber or silicone grommets) or by suspending the hard disk to fully decouple it from the computer chassis by mounting it in a 5.25&nbsp;inch [[drive bay]] with viscoelastic polymer mounts.
* Set the hard disk's [[Automatic Acoustic Management|AAM]] value to its lowest setting. This reduces the seek noise produced by the hard drive but also reduces performance slightly.
* Set operating system to spin down hard drives after a short time of inactivity. This may reduce a drive's life span and commonly conflicts with the OS and running programs, though it can still be useful for drives that are only used for data storage.
* Defragment hard drives to reduce the drive heads' need to search widely for data. This can also improve performance.
* Arrange components and cables to improve airflow. Wires hanging inside the computer can block the airflow, which can increase the temperature. They can be easily moved to the side of the case so that air can pass through more easily.
* Remove dust from inside the computer. Dust on computer parts will retain more heat. Fans draw in dust along with outside air; it can build up quickly inside the computer. Dust can be removed with a vacuum cleaner, [[gas duster]], or compressed air. Special anti-static vacuum cleaners should be used, however, to prevent [[electrostatic discharge]] (ESD). Ideally, this would be done often enough to prevent a significant amount of dust from ever building up. How frequently this would need to be performed would depend entirely on the environment in which the computer is used.

In some cases an acceptable solution may be to relocate the too-noisy computer outside the immediate working area and access it either with long-distance HDMI/USB/DVI cables or via [[remote desktop software]] from a quiet [[thin client]], e.g. based on a [[Raspberry Pi]], a miniature computer that does not even use a heat sink.