Silence Series:

     Now that we have the core of the system installed and protected from static, its time to get those drives installed.  Using a few of the 7zoneUSA silence series components we will install the drives and also try to eliminate some of the unnecessary system noise.  Who doesn't want a quieter system?

DIY-ON10 Oscillation Prevented Gum Washer

• Fixing between the hard disk and screw to prevent oscillation and noise
• Thickness: 1 mm x 8 pcs

     These little foam washers are used to dampen drive vibrations.  Not only is the vibration an unnecessary source of noise, it can also effect the performance and life of your hard drives. As you can see, these washers are quite small allowing them to be used in a wide variety of different drive installations.

     Here you can see the washers mounted on my DVD burner.  The washers can be installed on any drive to prevent the noise and vibration associated with normal use. Simply install the drive and place the washer on just before the screw.  With the NZXT Apollo the drive bays are tool-less so a screw is not needed.  However if there is enough space, you can still place the washer between the drive and the tool-less bracket to get the same result!  These washers can also be used for your other drives using the same system.  With high performance or high speed drives, the noise difference is especially noticeable.  Both my Raptors and my DVD unit tend to make a lot of noise at startup, but with the gum washers in place the startup noise is almost inaudible over the ambient system noise.

DIY-ON11 Oscillation Prevented Silicon Washer

• Fixing between the hard disk and screws to prevent oscillation and noise
• Thickness: 2 mm x 8 pcs

     Like the gum washers above, these are used to reduce drive vibrations and noise.  The silicon washers are a bit larger and have more give to them.  These offer an extra amount of cushion for those areas that have the space.

     I used the gum on my RAID and tried these on my 750 GB Seagate drive.  As you can see the silicon washer is thicker and the center hole is smaller resulting in a lot snugger fit.  By placing these on my drive mounts I can just get the screws to reach.  Tightening them down squeezed the Silicon and gives a very secure fit.

     I also attempted to use the silicon washers on my optical drive.  Sadly, with the NZXT case I was unable to get these washers to work.  Between the two I found the silicon a bit harder to work with but the end result is the same; silent drive operation.  I also think the silicon washers will probably have a longer life span overall.  Plus I gotta say the silicon washers just look like they have so much more to them.

Quick Links

  ○ Anti-Dust Series
  ○ Static Series
  ○ Washer Series
  ○ Silence Series
  ○ Cooling Series
  ○ Cable Series