I just turned down my first writing opportunity. Smart Computing asked me to do an article on how to keep your PC quiet (details below.) Well, I’m just not a hardware person so I decided to decline the offer. It hurt, but I just couldn’t talk myself into it. And, if my heart just isn’t in it, I don’t believe I should do it.
PC Project: Peace & Quiet – And Power, Too As computers get more powerful they also seem to get noisier: high-powered CPUs, additional power-draining optical (and other) drives, etc. all mean that the system must supply more power. One result of that power drain is heat, and the way most manufacturers fight heat is to use larger fans, and more of them. In the end, you could end up with a PC that acts and sounds like an F-14 fighter: fast and powerful, but way too noisy to keep in your den. Let’s establish some baselines for “acceptable” noise (explain decibel ratings, etc.), and then take the reader through the process of quieting a noisy system. (Use plenty of photos to help in describing how to install fans, noise dampeners, etc.)
Michael Sauers is the Director of Logan Library in Logan, UT. Prior to this he was one of the founding staff and Technology Manager for Do Space in Omaha, NE. After earning his MLS in 1995 from the University at Albany's School of Information Science and Policy Michael spent his first 20 years as a librarian training other librarians in technology along with time as a public library trustee, a bookstore manager for a library friends group, a reference librarian, a technology consultant, and a bookseller. He has written dozens of articles for various journals and magazines and has published 14 books ranging from library technology, blogging, Web design, and an index to a popular horror magazine. In his spare time, he blogs at TravelinLibrarian.info, runs The Collector's Guide to Dean Koontz website at CollectingKoontz.com, takes many, many photos, and typically reads more than 100 books a year.
Unless otherwise stated, all opinions are my own and are not to be considered those of the City of Logan, UT.
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