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So since this is the "Silent Storm" We did put that to the test as silence, or more specifically noise, can be measured.
Above you can see a DBa meter at work. Now the case fans are turned off and you are looking at default ambient sound. Despite what your brain is telling you, there is always noise in the background, from the streets and other things.
The human hearing system has different sensitivities at different frequencies. This means that the perception of noise is not at all equal at every frequency. Noise with significant measured levels (in dB) at high or low frequencies will not be as annoying as it would be when its energy is concentrated in the middle frequencies. In other words, the measured noise levels in dB will not reflect the actual human perception of the loudness of the noise. That's why we measure the dBa level. A specific circuit is added to the sound level meter to correct its reading in regard to this concept. This reading is the noise level in dBA. The letter A is added to indicate the correction that was made in the measurement.
We inserted a PSU and hotwired it to get voltage on the distribution rails, connected the fans and measured the ambient noise again. Let's have a look at the next photo.
We measure roughly 40 dBa which is to be considered in-between a quiet to moderate noise level coming from the PC. Inside the PC there is a good portion of airflow coming from the three 120mm fans though.
TYPICAL SOUND LEVELS | ||
Jet takeoff (200 feet) |
120 dBA |
|
Construction Site |
110 dBA |
Intolerable |
Shout (5 feet) |
100 dBA |
|
Heavy truck (50 feet) |
90 dBA |
Very noisy |
Urban street |
80 dBA |
|
Automobile interior |
70 dBA |
Noisy |
Normal conversation (3 feet) |
60 dBA |
|
Office, classroom |
50 dBA |
Moderate |
Living room |
40 dBA |
|
Bedroom at night |
30 dBA |
Quiet |
Broadcast studio |
20 dBA |
|
Rustling leaves |
10 dBA |
Barely audible |