Results

Installing the foam blocks is a very straightforward process.

Although we placed the materials in logical and safe locations, I remain with unconditional beliefs that the temperatures of the motherboard, chassis and processor have risen. To monitor thermal activity, we installed Asus' PC-Probe utility and watched carefully as we browsed the Net and played a handful of CPU-intensive games. Subsequently, the temperatures inside my PC rose simultaneously. Noting these temperatures and then placing them in comparison to those prior to the installation of the AcoustiPak foam, I was greatly content.

The testbench machine's motherboard showed a mean increase of roughly 1.5°C, while the CPU showed absolutely no influence of temperature at all. The only area I noticed a true increase in thermal activity was generally in the chassis itself. Temperatures rose above normal (roughly 8%, with a partially coated case) when under the stress of games and SiSoft Sandra's burn-in, although no drops in game play frame rates were noted.

Regarding the most important factor of this installation, noise, I was generally very impressed. Nearly all vibration from my DVD-RW and CD-RW drives was eliminated due to AcoustiPak's foam blocks. The improvement did not stop there however. While running the computer through various tests I noted the vibration on the upper part of the chassis prior to, and after, installation. Vibration on the top of the chassis (primarily the power supply unit) was completely cut off, consequently dampening the rattling of various components inside the PC (chiefly loose bits).