Sound Proofing for the Computer Case
Easy Installation in the Case
The 1/2" thick Closed cell foam panels were going to be placed on both the left and right side panels, the base, and the top of the case.
A small section of Closed cell Foam was also placed between the bezel and the front of the case in an effort to absorb noise before it escaped through the front of the case. Covering up the front vents wasn't much of a problem for the hardware I had inside the case- temperatures didn't drastically rise for lack of the front vent.
And in any case, to ensure there was some convection airflow entering the enclosure I replaced the bottom PCI expansion slot cover with a honeycomb-perforated type. Both of the rear fan grills were left uncovered, and after some experimentation I settled on just one exhaust fan in the top position. AMD users will probably want to leave the front vents clear, and a couple of rear fans plugged in, but Pentium 4 users (such as the components in this case) have much more freedom in this regard. No areas on the back of the case were covered with any of the Closed cell foam either.
After measuring the size of Closed cell Foam required for the side panels it was a simple matter of transferring those measurements to the raw sheets, and cutting along the lines with a sharp knife. Some double sided duct tape was used to keep the sheets in place on the side panel, and later some painters masking tape went around the edges to keep the fiberglass layer from fraying.
A small piece of Closed cell Foam was also placed on the top of the case as best we could. It is difficult to get in there, but not totally impossible.
The bottom sheet of Closed cell foam was positioned in much the same way after the little clips which hold the drive bay slides were removed.
Lastly, since the front fan intakes were not being used with a fan I positioned a small section of Closed cell foam in the opening in the bezel to absorb some sound there. Rather than doing some complicated cutting for a piece of Closed cell Foam on the inside of the case I simply cut a piece to fit between the bezel, and used some painters masking tape to hold it firmly in place.
The system we were testing this foam on is a Pentium 4 rig, and we did drop in a honeycomb PCI slot cover at the rear of the expansion bay to create an air intake area for the case. However, with only one case fan at rear being used, and one completely open fan port at the rear we were a little concerned about the fans stressing out, or straining to pull air in through the cracks. Ultimately though, the bottom honeycomb PCI expansion slot cover took care of the intake well enough as there were no sounds of straining fans when the case was closed up.
Installation is really straight forward, and the material easy to work with.
I could have added a lot more of the foam to cover every square inch of exposed surface on the inside of the case but didn't. I was really only interested in placing it in the most accessible areas with large sheets so I could get a feel for the sound absorbency of the material.
Original Article Excerpt from Frosty-tech
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