Author Topic: How loud was original cocktail cabs? (Read 2926 times)

rchadd · « **on:** October 12, 2004, 07:49:04 am »

Theres no mistaking that there is a PC inside my cocktail cab when it starts up! - i have two cooling fans (inlet & outlet) plus the CPU cooler. To me it sounds pretty loud - without any game sound playing.

...but I am just wondering how loud the cooling is/was on the original cocktail cabs? how does it compare to noise of modern PC cooling fans?

HaRuMaN · « **Reply #1 on:** October 12, 2004, 08:00:38 am »

Original cocktail cabinets were pretty quiet as far as can remember.

teef two · « **Reply #2 on:** October 12, 2004, 08:31:30 am »

"were" being the appropriate word as opposed to "was".

dmish82 · « **Reply #3 on:** October 12, 2004, 09:08:58 am »

keep in mind that most cocktail cabs were in loud environments, meaning you wouldn't hear any noise generated by the machine. We have a pacman cocktail cab in the Pizza Hut by my house and again, it's a noisy environment (kid's w/ bday parties, the ovens, etc).

Minwah · « **Reply #4 on:** October 12, 2004, 09:33:09 am »

My (Jap/UK style) Galaga cocktail makes no noise bar the game noise (+maybe a bit of screen buzz)...it doesn't have any fans.

I touched on it in another thread but try a blower fan for your CPU - they move more air for less RPM. Intel's run cooler than AMD so if you have a choice go for Intel - you'll be able to run a slower fan. Do you *need* the inlet fan? Maybe monitor your temp without to see if you can go without it.

Check out the low-noise fans etc. here: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/

In my cab I have a Zalman noiseless PSU, 1 Cooler Master exhaust fan (speed controlled by temp) and a Cooler Master blower CPU (P4) fan (set fairly low RPM). With the front door on it is audible, but very quiet. Probably 10 to 20 times quieter than my AMD desktop...

danny_galaga · « **Reply #5 on:** October 12, 2004, 09:34:01 am »

you may want to work on the fan set-up. i have just the cpu fan and a 240v exhaust fan which is super quiet. this is mounted on the (in)side of the cab pushing air straight out, drawing fresh air through vents in the bottom. the vents are strategically placed on the opposite side and directly under the motherboard thus allowing the coolest air to pass that first which then goes through/past the monitor before being sucked through the 240v fan.
i've forgotten how many watts the fan is and i can't have a look at it right now but it may have been 15W. it's a robust aluminium job, very quiet and efficient. (240v fans seems to do the job more quietly). hey, it's almost NEVER under 30 degrees here all year round and my cabs fine so it's certainly sufficient!

RayB · « **Reply #6 on:** October 12, 2004, 10:20:00 am »

Well... alot of cocktails didn't HAVE any fans. Not the Atari ones anyway....

danny_galaga · « **Reply #7 on:** October 12, 2004, 11:03:37 am »

Quote from: RayB on October 12, 2004, 10:20:00 am

Well... alot of cocktails didn't HAVE any fans. Not the Atari ones anyway....

but then they weren't gigahertz hungry pc's either!!

rchadd · « **Reply #8 on:** October 12, 2004, 11:20:38 am »

Quote from: Minwah on October 12, 2004, 09:33:09 am

In my cab I have a Zalman noiseless PSU

oops forgot that PSU has fan as well

Megaweapon · « **Reply #9 on:** October 12, 2004, 08:48:42 pm »

I have often considered getting a really large fan (like a foot or so) then running at a very low RPM (so that it's basically silent). Does anyone know where I might get such a fan?

Bonus points if it can be run into an ATX power supply like a normal PC fan.

holdennut · « **Reply #10 on:** October 13, 2004, 02:12:36 am »

I'm just running a single 120mm 12v fan (running on 7v) in the botton of my cocktail (exaust fan) with two vents near the top and it seems to keep everything nice and cool. And by running it on 7v it is also very quiet.

Wizard of DelRay · « **Reply #11 on:** October 13, 2004, 02:59:20 am »

Megaweapon: Here's a really large fan that can be run from a standard PSU.

It'll probably sound like someone stuck a dustbuster in your cab, but you'll be getting almost 300CFM.

Wizard of DelRay · « **Reply #12 on:** October 13, 2004, 03:10:36 am »

Seriously though, I'm building a bartop so the enclosed space issue is kinda the same for me. I thought about using something like a 92mm Vantec Stealth but I'm going to go with this instead. I'm going to paint it the same black color as the cab and will have one on one side in the back as an exhaust and possibly another on the opposite side of the back as an intake.

rchadd · « **Reply #13 on:** October 13, 2004, 06:09:21 am »

Do these fan dampeners actually make much of a difference?

http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/scan/se=Noise%20Dampening/se=Fan%20Silencers/mp=menu_search.html

Wizard of DelRay · « **Reply #14 on:** October 13, 2004, 06:39:37 am »

Don't know about those dampeners, but I prefer to use rubber grommets.

danny_galaga · « **Reply #15 on:** October 13, 2004, 06:49:32 am »

just had another look at mine. i've lost the info relating to dB etc, but it is 15W, 240V. this is a pic of it attached to a 100mm plumbing fitting. you can see the ipac for scale. it is solid aluminium and i believe that, the depth and coupled with the more effecient running of the high voltage makes it fairly quiet. i just noticed looking at it that its heaps quieter than the CPU fan but maybe a tad noisier than the PSU fan but then it IS moving ALL the air in the cab.

of course this is something i bought years ago for a tube amplifier but i'm sure there are similar things around nowadays.

wizardofdelray, i like that 5 1/4" bay fan. good idea.

Stingray · « **Reply #16 on:** October 13, 2004, 01:49:09 pm »

I've got a Midway Space Invaders cocktail. It has a pretty good sized fan (maybe six or seven inches in diameter) near the bottom. You can definitely hear it humming when the game is in attract mode, but once you start playing the whole world is pretty well drowned out by that lovely Space Invaders bass.

-S

Xelotath · « **Reply #17 on:** October 13, 2004, 11:51:59 pm »

My currenct pc is an Athlon 64 3200+ with the original fan, it's not in a cab but I was tired of the noise my old pc made, so for this one I bought a Antec Black Quiet Super Mid Tower. The temp inside is good, I have 3 HD a good video card and never got a problem. when I type I don't even hear the pc working. : http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=93703

Wizard of DelRay · « **Reply #18 on:** October 13, 2004, 11:59:45 pm »

For the most quiet case, then you need this. Absolutely no noise whatsoever.

MonitorGuru · « **Reply #19 on:** October 14, 2004, 07:19:53 pm »

The key is high volume, low speed fans. You wont find that with anything that runs on DC computer power. You need a beefy 120volt fan with large blades. These spin at a low speed so don't cause whining, yet with large blades can push through a lot of air. They also were mounted on the bottom of the case so you wouldn't hear them. The air came through the grills up closer to the top. Of course an AC fan could cause monitor interference unless you protect it with a lead plate between them.

Megaweapon · « **Reply #20 on:** October 15, 2004, 01:19:40 am »

Quote from: Wizard of DelRay on October 13, 2004, 02:59:20 am

Here's a really large fan that can be run from a standard PSU.

Unfortunately that's not much bigger than a 120mm fan. Since my goal is to run it at very slow RPM this isn't really big enough. I'm thinking of the principles Big Ass Fans uses.

From what MonitorGuru posted it doesn't sound like there's a simple solution. Fans don't work so well with lead plates in front of them.

rchadd: Dampeners like those and special grommets aren't very good. If you really want to eliminate vibration then mount your fans on elastic suspension. For info on how to do this (or how to quiet down any PC component) check out: Silent PC Review Forums.

danny_galaga · « **Reply #21 on:** October 15, 2004, 07:19:54 am »

Quote from: MonitorGuru on October 14, 2004, 07:19:53 pm

The key is high volume, low speed fans. You wont find that with anything that runs on DC computer power. You need a beefy 120volt fan with large blades. These spin at a low speed so don't cause whining, yet with large blades can push through a lot of air. They also were mounted on the bottom of the case so you wouldn't hear them. The air came through the grills up closer to the top. Of course an AC fan could cause monitor interference unless you protect it with a lead plate between them.

see my pic above. AC fan near monitor!! no problems whatsoever


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