21/10/2013
Let's not forget about the Killers!
Computer hard drives have actually become a lot quieter over the years. The problem with most models is not direct acoustic noise, but the drive's vibrations transmitted through and sometimes amplified by the case in which they are used. This in its self does not represent a big issue, but when building true quiet or even silent PCs with a reasonable amount of storage space - that can not be economically covered by usage of SSDs - this issue gets exponentially pronounced. There are several products on the market that pretend to address this issue, but experienced system builders know that there is no real solution.
The TichePC.sk HDD Vibration Killer
The HDD Vibration Killer is a product that was invented, shaped, designed and manufactured based on the requirement not only to dampen these vibrations, but to completely annihilate them. Hence the name. It is truly unique, it uses a completely different approach to any other product on the market. It consists of extruded aluminum "h" shapes - specifically designed for this purpose by the designer and manufacturer ZoranICS - two of which serve as mounting of the Killer on the drive and two additional parts that provide mounting of the whole assembly in the computer case itself. The shapes are made of aluminum to provide a slight surface extension to the drives to also provide a fair amount of additional cooling. The aluminum parts are connected by four special "U" shaped polysynthetic foam rubber parts - again specifically researched, developed and manufactured for this particular purpose. Unlike with many competing products where the rubber used ages and disintegrates just after the warranty period is over, the polysynthetic foam rubber used in the Vibration Killer has an exceptionally long service life (there are many Vibration Killers older than 5 years still in service).