Silentmaxx HD-Silencer

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Nicholas Hart
Kurtis
Quiet PC
Oct. 17, 2005

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Installation

Now for the fun part - putting it all together. The instruction booklet really isn't and while its folded design would tempt you to turn from page to page during install, you really need to just unfold it. It isn't formatted properly and the pages aren't sequential, turn from page 2 and you get page 4 for example. Anyway, aside from that little feature the instructions are pretty nice. The pictures are all in color and for the most part, the steps are clear and well written.

First things first, screw in the rubber spacers to the holes in the side of the enclosure.

Next we apply the large square sheet of silicon film to the inside of the casing with the sheet stuck flush to the back of the enclosure (there is a white dot on the enclosure to mark the back). This part can be a little tricky with the inside corners of the enclosure. You definitely want to peel the backing away a little at a time to keep it from sticking where it shouldn't. I also found that I could use the rounded edge of one of the plates to make sure the film made good contact even at the corners of the case.

With that finished, screw the front plate, with Silentmaxx logo facing out, onto the enclosure.

Then take the thick foam spacer and put on the inside of the front plate. The spacer is not as tall as the front plate so try and stick it in the middle of the plate. This spacer provides pressure onto the front of your drive to keep it from moving inside the enclosure.

Next, screw on the back plate with the gap facing the open part of the enclosure but do not tighten all the way; just tighten enough so that it stays put. This side has thumbscrews which is nice as you can take it off inside your case if you need a little extra maneuvering room for moving a jumper or what not.

Now apply the thin strip of silicon film to the back plate.

This is the fun part and it's time for another tip. We need to put the drive in the case with the circuit board facing out. The first time I put my drive in, I didn't apply enough pressure on the drive and ended up stripping the silicon film from the back plate. You need to be sure and press hard enough on the drive and compress the foam spacer so that your drive slides down into the case without affecting the silicon film. It's really not brain surgery, but something to keep aware of nonetheless. With the drive in place, you can tighten the thumbscrews all the way.

Now it's crunch time and I mean that pretty literally as that is what will happen to the blue foam spacer when you put the cover plate on. Make sure you have the holes of the plate facing the proper direction and use the remaining countersunk screws to attach it. Screw it all down tight and you are ready to place the enclosure into your case.

The Silentmaxx HD-silencer uses a 5.25" slot inside your case and is meant to be mounted using the included screws. This is where this enclosure disappoints somewhat as it may not work with a lot of cases that use rails for mounting. My Enermax CS-718 uses rails, but still includes mounting holes should you decide to use screws instead. Even this wasn't trouble-free however, as the included screws were a bit larger than the holes were meant to handle. I was lucky and didn't have to take any drastic measures, the screws had to just be threaded through the holes rather than sliding freely.

When the Silentmaxx enclosure is in the case, it looks like it is "floating' as it is shorter and narrower than a normal 5.25" drive. The enclosure also doesn't sit flush to the front of the case, but rather is inset. This allows you to still use the face plate that comes with your case for the slot. While you may think it's a shame to cover up the enclosure, it's really an added measure of sound insulation when you have the face plate in place.

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Page 1: Introduction / First Looks
Page 2: Installation
Page 3: Test Setup / Testing
Page 4: Conclusion

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3 User Comments

1 - Posted by blackjet on November 2, 2005 - 4:52 am

When i saw this i had high hopes.....my long term plan is to have a silent (or at least inaudible) computer, hopefully without having to resort to water cooling. The only thing i haven’t been able to find a good silencer for is my HDD yet. Is it possible to buy a silent HDD rather than trying to silence a noisy one?

2 - Posted by Rich on November 2, 2005 - 7:51 am

some HD have dynamic noise control. Basically they slow down so they don't make as much noise, but they also don't perform as well either.

3 - Posted by Frosty on November 3, 2005 - 3:32 pm

i know kurtis use to have his in his(computer) room, but just out of curiosty why did you have to move it out, or did i miss that part?

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