page_title: Quiet PC
section_title: Hard drive
hierarchical_section_title: Quiet PC / Individual components in a quiet PC / Secondary storage / Hard drive
caption_attribution_description: The silicone grommets used to isolate the vibration from a hard drive in a silent PC. The interior of the case shown here is the Antec P180.
context_page_description: A quiet PC is a personal computer that makes very little or no noise. Common uses for quiet PCs include video editing, sound mixing and home theater PCs, but noise reduction techniques can also be used to greatly reduce the noise from servers. There is currently no standard definition for a "quiet PC", and the term is generally not used in a business context, but by individuals and the businesses catering to them.
  A proposed general definition is that the sound emitted by such PCs should not exceed 30 dBA, but in addition to the average sound pressure level, the frequency spectrum and dynamics of the sound are important in determining if the sound of the computer is noticed. Sounds with a smooth frequency spectrum, and little temporal variation are less likely to be noticed. The character and amount of other noise in the environment also affects how much sound will be noticed or masked, so a computer may be quiet with relation to a particular environment or set of users.
context_section_description: Older hard drive used ball bearing motors but more recent desktop hard drives use quieter fluid bearing motors.
  The smaller 2.5" form-factor hard drives generally vibrate less, are quieter, and use less power than traditional 3.5" drives, but often have lower performance and less capacity, and cost more per gigabyte.
  To minimize vibrations from a hard drive being transferred to, and amplified by, the case, hard drives can be mounted with soft rubber studs, suspended with elastics or placed on soft foam or Sorbothane.  Hard disk enclosures can also help reduce drive noise, but care must be taken to ensure that the drive gets adequate cooling - with disk temperatures often be monitored by SMART software.
caption: Silicone grommets in a computer case for mounting a hard drive to reduce vibration.
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