Quiet PCs… shhh

The advent of PCs in the living room has spawned a new breed of tech maven — the silencer! — a growing group of dedicated hobbyists whose sole quest is to choke out every last whiz and pop generated by your hapless PC. SilentPCReview.com founder Mike Chin says the most annoying sounds are the whines and hums from spinning parts and vibrating metal or clicks from defective fans. However, gentle whooshing tends to fade into the background 'cause "it's the sound of trees, it's the sound of waves" (and coincidentally the sound of bubbling bong water, eh, Mikey?). So if submerging your running computer in a fishtank of mineral oil (yes, permanently) or spending $1,200 on a 70-pound computer case to go from whisper-quiet to Nirvana-inducing "normal breathing" sounds reasonable, then this might be the hobby for you — or maybe some implant therapy could help.