How to make a silent CD/DVD Drive

[Gh3tt0PC]

Here ya go Jason, have an article about how to silence your DVD drive ...****, I really should make my own website, but I'm too poor

Well, ever since I got my OCZ powerstream, I've been on a mission to make my PC quiet (about 30-34dba I'm guessing) without losing too much overclocking ability...I used to like tornadoes and everything, but I same very minimal improvement in my OC, and the noise got annoying after a while....

Long story short, my PC is quieter now, and a 52x LiteOn CDRW/DVD Combo (when burning/reading a cd) was incredibly loud compared to everything else in the case, so I decided to fix this problem.

I looked around my room for some basic sound dampening stuff, and found the huge pile of black foam that I salvaged from a huge pile of 9800XT boxes I found, as well as some spare cardboard boxes. This was just what I needed.

I removed the DVD/CDRW drive and started cutting cardboard to size. I cut one piece to fit the top and one to fit the bottom of the drive. Then I cut the same size pieces out of the foam.

Then I put some pieces of double sided tape on the drive, on the top and the bottom, so I could stick the flat side of the foam on the drive. Then I put the cardboard on top of that foam, removed the drive rails on the side of the drive, and used rubberbands to hold the cardboard on as well as squeeze the foam tighter against the drive to hold the sound in. I couldn't find enough strong rubber bands, but the ones I found will work until I can find replacements in the future.

Then I put the drive rails back, but realized that there were still some areas of the drive showing on the rear where the cables go, so I cut some cardboard to fit and doublesided taped it in place.

I had to move the drive from the slot right under my sunbeam fan controller, because it was so thick, so you will need an empty 5.25" bay above AND below to do this mod, but it fits perfectly.

I realized that the front of the drive is still undampened, so I lined the interior of the door on the front of my case with 2 layers of cardboard, being sure to cut holes for all the appropriate LED's, etc on the door. Also be sure to cut a hole for the Eject button on the drive because otherwise when you shut the door, the button will get pushed by the cardboard.

After all the mods, when the drive bay covers are installed, you can't tell the drive is modded at all. Even looking inside the window, it is hard to tell that there is anything out of the ordinary, so don't worry about it making your case look too Gh3tt0.

Overall, this mod took me about 45 minutes, cost me $0, and has been very effective. It doesn't look too bad, except the inside of the door on the front of the case, but most people don't care about that I think...

If you want a silent drive, don't hesitate to try this out!




(rubber bands under the blue drive rail will also stop vibrations from being transferred to the case through the drive rail, which will also cut back on noise)

[nEwB:(ModdEr]

nice guide, but im why did you post it here?

[Gh3tt0PC]

Originally Posted by nEwB:(ModdEr

nice guide, but im why did you post it here?

because members showcase is

"When you want to show off something cool you got or have done. (Pics Required)"

and this is me showing it off...with pics.

just so happens that I'm also showing you how to do it.

[nEwB:(ModdEr]

So you can make it a guide in the cd section? And i already new this a long time ago.

[Gh3tt0PC]

Originally Posted by nEwB:(ModdEr

So you can make it a guide in the cd section? And i already new this a long time ago.

I suppose I COULD make it a guide in the CD section, I just didn't really feel like it because IMHO, it's more me showing off what I did, rather than telling you how to do it, but whatever....

[WhyMe??]

sweet guide, scuse me while i vote for sticky

[Gh3tt0PC]

Originally Posted by WhyMe??

sweet guide, scuse me while i vote for sticky

I don't think it's anywhere near sticky worthy because most people on these forums don't care about noise, and the video card foam isn't something everyone has, but thanks for the vote

[Yahooy2U]

do not report posts that you think should be stickies...that is not what the "Report Post" button is for

[WhyMe??]

Originally Posted by Yahooy2U

do not report posts that you think should be stickies...that is not what the "Report Post" button is for

i thought that we could use the button to ask for stickys....that was said in a post...i think...

[Gh3tt0PC]

Originally Posted by obobskivich

lmao
i would agree, usually a caution symbol is used to denote bad, i would say that button is used to say "this bost sucks, and it's somehow bad"
lol

but that is interesting, i'd do it if:

A) i could get 2 drives into 4-5 bays (don't have that many in a row, 3 on top, and 3 on bottom)
B) i had foam (i didn't know 9800XT came with foam, my 5900 didn't have foam...it had cardboard, now i know why they cost $400+...it's for t3h foam)

You could get it into 5

FOAM
DRIVE
FOAM
DRIVE
FOAM

Like that...You can get foam like this in packing material, hell, I have about 50 sheets about standard 8.5x11" size....seriously I have a crapload....

[infamous]

I'm guessing that this would act as an insulator though, so if you feel like spinning a CD on high for prolonged periods of time, you may build up quite a bit of heat. In case anyone is reading this thinking "I should try this on my HD," I wouldn't recommend it.

[Gh3tt0PC]

definitely not a good idea for HD, but I doubt heat is an issue in optical drives...the drive didn't even get warm to the touch after watching a DVD...

[Maurice]

Thats a cool mod,but you probly wouldnt need the foam that big would you?

[Gh3tt0PC]

Originally Posted by Maurice

Thats a cool mod,but you probly wouldnt need the foam that big would you?

Like I said, I wish I had stronger rubber bands/wire/something to squeeze the foam down because it's pretty squishable....

It doesn't need to be that thick, but I'm not hurting for room, and cutting this kinda foam in half is a pain in the *** and you end up with little tiny foam pieces everywhere....(one side is flat, one side has egg crate pattern)