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Dynamat Extreme Computer Kit |
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The results - with sound files!
It sounded pretty much the same. The fans hummed, the drives whirred. Dissapointingly, I wasn't greeted with a completely different sounding computer. Nevertheless, I was determined to be at least vaguely scientific about this review, so I pulled out the omnidirectional microphone I had borrowed from the media unit at work and started making recordings.
Before I had applied the Dynamat Extreme Computer Kit, I had taken three 10 second recordings: one at the front left of the machine, one at the front right, and one at the direct rear. I continued recording after the installation of the sheets from the same positions. The 6 recordings are below:
Before:
Motherboard Side - Other Side - Rear
After:
Motherboard Side - Other Side - Rear
As you can tell, there's no huge difference. Why is it so? Well, I'll tell you. The Dynamat Extreme Computer Kit and all that it entails is for reduction of vibration noise, not noise generated from the devices themselves. This is one of the problems with beefy car stereos and the purpose I originally heard of Dynamat being used for - to dampen vibration sound from big honkin' subwoofers, but of course not the music itself. My case never really had many vibration noise problems to begin with, but I had hoped it would quieten the normal PC fan/device noise. My convoluted theory was that somehow the sheets of black gummy gunk would absorb the vibrations from the drives and fans, slowing down the frequency of the vibrations and projecting this energy out of the metal sheets - with the lower frequency of the vibrations generating little or no audible noise at all.
This may happen in a case that has bad vibration problems but not, alas, in mine. My failure to produce tangible results with this kit doesn't mean it's a bad product: certainly, I can feel the mass of the case sides now and imagine how they would reduce vibration noises in a cheaply made case. Unfortunately (or fortunately) I don't have a cheaply made case, and the kit will never reduce the noise of fans and drives moving at speed. If Dynamat were to produce a computer kit that contained a deadening material that covered all the surfaces inside of a case, we could expect some better results. As it is, if you want to reduce/remove a pesky vibration-generated buzz or noise, you could do worse than purchase the Dynamat Extreme Computer Kit. If you want to reduce the general noise levels of your pc, you won't find what you're looking for here. You do get a pretty groovy sticker, though.
If case modding is your thing, check out the Top 10 "best looking" entries in the PCDB!
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All original content copyright James Rolfe.
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