So, I get my new Samsung 955DF 19" home. What do I notice?

Like the last 3 monitors I've touched (2 NEC Accusync 90s, a Viewsonic A90), it makes an annoying niose. The NECs both made a high-pitched whining sound, and the Viewsonic and Samsung make a low-pitched buzzing sound.

What on earth is going on here? The NEC 19" I had last fall, previous to the above listed ones, was silent until it blew out one day. The noise is still audible when I try them out at friend's houses.

It's not just me, either, as other people say they can hear it. What on earth should I do?

I don't know what to tell you. My Viewsonic A90 is perfectly silent...maybe you just got a lemon, but it surprises me that you'd have such bad luck with multiple monitors.

Here's where buying locally comes in handy!

Good luck explaining the problem. I hope they don't hassle you. If the sound occurs at a totally different location (eg it's repeatable) I think that's a reasonable criteria for return.

I feel your pain. Monitors are a big, giant hassle to return. At least it's not a 21" behemoth.

Install more cooling fans until they drown it out? Seriously, I'd suggest going to CompUSA or somewhere with a bunch of monitors set up. Go late on a week night, so not many folks are around, and listen for the quietest monitor. The display models should have plenty of hours on them, so you will get an idea of what they sound like after a few months. Maybe silence has become a feature found only in certain models.

We've got a Viewsonic that buzzes and bugs me, so it is on the kid's computer now. I use a Sony, and it is nice and quiet, though I'm not entirely kidding about the cooling fans. I have four Sunon fans (3x80mm, 1x92mm) and a GoldenOrb in my machine, and they make more noise than the Viewsonic does. The fans are less buzzy, though, and easier to tune out. I don't know how people stand having something like a FOP32 installed - those things sound like a hair dryer!

'Go late on a week night, so not many folks are around, and listen for the quietest monitor.'

See, that's the problem: I did that with the one I have now, and the instore model made absolutely no noise at all. This was with me sticking my ear directly on the side, mind you.

'I don't know how people stand having something like a FOP32 installed - those things sound like a hair dryer!'

I've been getting pretty obsessive lately about machine noise, but I'll be damned if I can find anything that actually keeps this Athlon 1400 cool under 30 db.

You need that massive Alpha PAL 8045.. the one that takes the larger fans (80mm??). I'm a little leery of having to remove my motherboard to install a heatsink, though-- this one bolts into the four holes in the motherboard.

It's haunted, Jason. The spirit of your old NEC 19" is refusing to depart the premesis. Consider an exorcism (I think you need Samba de Amigo maracas for this to work, though).

"Who's got my golden arm..."

(Ok, so this is a week from being topical. :P)

Change your refresh rate from Optimal to 100mhz.

Do you have speakers or any other electronic gizmo close to the monitor? Try moving them or turning them off.

If that works, you can keep the monitor if some redecorating avoids the problem.

I unplugged everything in my room last night testing. I've developed occasionally ringing in my ears from *something* in my machine; I'm thinking it was the Geforce 3 fan or motherboard chipset fan, both of which I've unplugged.

I can't really hear the buzzing at the moment, so we'll see how this works out.

Google is your friend: Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ

- Alan

Whew, it looks like this monitor only buzzes when it's not plugged into a video source. Now, to order replacement fans.....

Speaking of noisy cooling fans, anybody got any effective PC noise reduction techniques? I just replaced my motherboard and CPU to put an Athlon XP 1700+ in my rig, and the new 7200 RPM fan I put on it is nearly as loud as a jet turbine! I thought my system was noisy before... sheesh. I don't want to nix the fan because this CPU needs some serious air flow to keep cool.

I've been to one site that suggests lining the case with carpet pad, and building a box out of carpet pad to baffle the output from the exhaust fans; has anybody else tried this?

Wouldn't carpet pad cause heat problems?

- Alan

Get a 60mm to 80mm convertor and slap an 80mm fan on it. That's what I'm doing, at least.

Alan: The person who tried the carpet pad said it raised the case temperature by one or two degrees C--not enough to cause problems. I presume this is due to the insulative effect of the padding, preventing conductive heat transfer through the metal case walls.

Jason: Will a bigger fan allow for a slower fan? Mine's mounted on a ThermalRight SK-6 heatsink, so I'm not sure how an adapter is going to work. It was hard enough mounting the fan on this thing as it is. :-P The heatsink seems to work very well... it's just the fan that's amazingly noisy.

http://www.thermalright.com

I note that the fan they list as supplied with the heatsink on their web site is not the one that came with my unit. It's also a Delta fan, but I'm guessing it's probably a 30 or 38 CFM unit.

'Will a bigger fan allow for a slower fan?'

Bingo. This sucker is 15 dbA, and apparently can cool an Athlon 1400: http://www.plycon.com/papst80.htm

Here's the convert thingy:

http://www.overclockershideout.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=o&Category_Code=FA

I opened up the case and had a look. I was right: The fan provided with my SK-6 is a Delta AFB0612EH. Apparently this fan is a champion among high-output 60mm fans, moving 38 CFM. Looking at web reviews after the fact, it is also apparently one of the noisier fans in its class, at 46 dB! I was mistaken about the rotational specs, but not by much: 6800 RPM. My BIOS reports more for some reason.

Given that I don't intend to overclock this monster and therefore probably have a big margin in the cooling department, I will swap the fan out for a slower fan as soon as possible. The noise in here has to be experienced to be believed.

I'm looking at those 80 mm adapters right now... do they typically come with screws?

Deltas are louder than hell, yes; I can't believe computer shops have started fosting those things off on the public lately. You'll probably need to go to the hardware store and pick up some screws to go with the adaptor. Probably the same size/length you have now?

After looking around, I've decided to replace the Delta fan with a Thermaltake TT-6025A. Reviews of the fan look good, and if the specs are to believed, not only will it be a blessed relief from the Delta's jet-like whine, it will even be quieter than the Chrome Orb that sat on my old 900--while pushing significantly more air. I've found at least one local store that carries them, so I'll try to grab one today.

Ahhhh. Now's that's how I spell relief. Noise problem solved. :-)

Note to self: Proofread posts before hitting the 'Post' button...

Same here. About the sound relief, that is. I can't hear the Pabst unless I put my ear about an inch away from it.

This is kinda off topic, but not worthy of a new thread, hope no one minds. I just got a new monitor and was wondering if there is a best procedure and/or background for setting it up. What is mean is, when you go through the myriad of settings for size, pincushion, tilt, etc, is there a best order? Is there a specific background that works best, or should i just pick a plain screen with the most glaring and obnoxious color in the palette?