On Bling / Deliberately Loud Components

The forum for non-component-related silent pc discussions.

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Deiz
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On Bling / Deliberately Loud Components

Post by Deiz » Thu Feb 28, 2008 11:18 pm

Am I alone in not understanding this mentality at all?

I'm of the belief that a PC should not be (indirectly) seen, nor heard.

And yet, many PC enthusiasts choose to stick a handful of cold cathodes in their systems, whose output ends up resembling that of a flashlight. (Incidentally, I prefer solid case doors to windows, both for aesthetics and acoustics.)

Going hand-in-hand with that are those who deliberately buy the loudest components possible - Needless Deltas, setting the GPU cooler's fan to full, buying a motherboard with a noisy Northbridge heatsink fan, etcetera.

Some years ago, when I was gaming some thirty or forty hours a week, and had my CPU and RAM on the edge of stability, I had Deltas, because at that time I was using a stock AMD cooler which couldn't handle the heat of an overclocked Athlon XP - And subsequently I jumped from a single stock case fan, to four screaming Deltas.

I wouldn't do it again - It was aural torture. But, ultimately, it did serve a purpose, though in retrospect a better heatsink could have accomplished the same thing with substantially less fan noise.

I realize that much of it stems from the need to be "better" - It's louder and/or brighter, it must be "better". It would seem it's fairly common in traditional case-modding circles. However, there are some who do this in the privacy of their own home, and they wake up to the din of a machine that could take off if it had wings, even though their system would run nearly as cool with fans that put out 10-20dB less.

Tangentially, I've noticed that self-dubbed "extreme air coolers" fail to realize that high-CFM fans only cool effectively until all the air in the room has been warmed - And they do that very quickly unless you've got a window open.

Any other reformed gamers who can help me grasp the concept of needlessly making a PC into a makeshift aircraft? (Hey, it's got both the lights and the noise!)

Techno Pride
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Post by Techno Pride » Fri Feb 29, 2008 2:28 am

there're plenty of those types on the roads as well. Loud, bright. They sound fast, but not quite Ferrari fast. :lol:

Matija
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Post by Matija » Fri Feb 29, 2008 3:39 am

Stickers on windshields add horsepower to car engines. True fact.

JazzJackRabbit
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Post by JazzJackRabbit » Fri Feb 29, 2008 10:11 am

The best explanation I can come up with is that some people view computer as a toy/project, and some view it as a tool.

I view it as a tool. A tool with million of uses (fileserver, music jukebox, entertainment, work, communication), but a tool nonetheless. As such it's best unseen and unheard.

Other people may have a different view. They may view it as their project. Guys often pimp out their cars to look better, women rearrange furniture according to the flow of Chi, adolescent teenagers and geeks that never grew up pimp out computers.

pingu666
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Post by pingu666 » Mon Mar 03, 2008 6:02 am

its a matter of opinion, i quite like abit of fancyness myself :o

CraftyChicken
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Post by CraftyChicken » Wed Mar 12, 2008 9:44 am

Interestingly, awhile back I visited with my attorney and he complained about his computer's noise level. Mind you, this guy is deaf as a post with dual hearing aids. I told him I'd take a look at it sometime, thinking nothing of it until I visited him at home just the other day. Inside his study I saw the beast at last, and he noticed the strained look on my face; something between a swift kick to the groin and watching a curiously funny youtube video. He shrugged and said, "well I turn it off as much as possible." Even hidden under/behind his desk it was quite the eye-sore.

Funny enough this 60+ year old dude had a silver-windowed Chieftec case loaded with loaded with 3 purple-fluorescent bulbs and as many LED fans. After quizzing him on the case he shrugged and said he just walked into the computer store and told them he wanted the top of the line. As far as he was concerned, up until that moment in time, this was what a high-powered computer looked, and sounded, like. Needless to say, they saw him coming a mile away.

It was the same story with the components too. Poor wiring, loud fans, loud HDDs, 1KW PSU, and a cheap/ineffective chassis. I gave him some advice, told him to check out Puget and Endpcnoise for his next system, but he seemed to just begrudgingly succumb to the fate of a computer that looks, and sounds, like something out of the Fast and The Furious. Apparently he tried to replace the system with his old unit he gave his wife, but she wise to the matter and quickly pulled the old "switch-er-rue." I just hope next time he looks for outside counsel.

kittle
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Post by kittle » Thu Mar 13, 2008 12:43 pm

I cant help but wonder how typical that example might be.

Ignorance can go a very long ways. Those of us here can and do tinker with thier PCs. But I think CraftyChicken's lawyer friend looks at a computer much like people do a TV or a Microwave. Its something you turn on when needed.
And when you want a new one.. you goto your fav store and say "I want the best ____ " you have. You choose your color(s) mabye a few options, Pay the bill and take it home.

but I dare say your correct - the salespeople saw the attorney comming a mile away. Since he didnt have any (or enough) existing knowledge with a PC. he took it and made do.

mbetea
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Post by mbetea » Sat Mar 15, 2008 8:23 am

I share the same view of computers that JazzJackRabbit has for the most part. Exceptions are if someone does something that is truly unique. I might not personally like it or would ever think about doing it, but I can appreciate the skill and craftsmanship that went into designing/building something unique.

Like this: http://www.badgerpackaging.com/heavymetal/

What I get lost on is when people take readily available components and do very little to no mods and then act like their system is completely unique and god worthy (bragging). As if hundreds or thousands of other people don't have that exact same setup. It might be a heck of a system, no doubt, but someone's OC'ed Core2 with 4gb ram and 8800gt(s/x) is about as unique in computers as my mustang hatchback (with no aftermarket parts) is in the car world.

Sizzle
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Post by Sizzle » Sat Mar 15, 2008 9:24 am

JazzJackRabbit wrote:The best explanation I can come up with is that some people view computer as a toy/project, and some view it as a tool.
I would classify active members here as viewing pc's as a project. You don't obcess of pc silence like we do and not say our computers are more than tools.

thejamppa
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Post by thejamppa » Sat Mar 15, 2008 11:58 am

Few years back Silence wasn't "in" as its now. It was a lot cheaper to strap 40mm screamer than use more aluminium to cool things passively. But cold cathodes and strapping delta's... that is just believing that light's make it cool and Delta's cool things much better than Nexuses.

And also using light's and such can be blaimed general computing culture and Lan's. in Lan's you want to differ your computerr from other's so using light's is natural way to do it. And all media and advertises use this in their products. like in Fatal1ty products by Zalman etc. Its like you can't be gamer without bling. I thank God that Razer has put option on their newer mices to turn off bling if needed.

I personally think making computer that is unheard and unseen requires much more skill and understanding than pumping case full of delta's and light's making space ship of the Close Encounter's of The Third Kind embarrassed next to average LAN goer's bling machine...

mbetea
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Post by mbetea » Mon Mar 17, 2008 8:50 pm

I hated the days when there wasn't a 120mm fan in sight. The first aftermarket heatsink I ever bought was the Swiftech MC462 for my 1.4 Tbird. At that time I had no idea about fan speeds/ noise levels/ etc. Until then I considered retail heatsinks quiet. But at the time, the Swiftech was said to cool exceptionally well. I ran that heatsink/fan all of 2 minutes before I shut the computer off, took the fan off the heatsink and smashed it out of principle. I never knew something that small could make such an obnoxious sound. Those were bad days.

AzNightmare
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Post by AzNightmare » Tue Mar 18, 2008 11:53 am

Gamers = bling and lights
just like how street racers = bling and lights

It's really a misconception.

You don't need your case to look like a flashlight to think it's cool and a powerful gaming machine.

And neither do cars need racing stickers all over with underglow lights to be cool and fast. (Hope Fast and Furious figures this one out soon).

Personally, I have done both. I did put underglow on my computer case. I had a gamer case before. But then after I got a P182, my focus was just making the case as tidy as possible, and those cathodes are just messy. Didn't want those lights anymore. Only lights I have now is on my keyboard which I turn up when I game at night.

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