What's a good sound / decibel meter?

[Cylinder]

I'm looking for a good sound meter. To measure the sound of components in my computer, as well as see if any heavy machinery i have is unsafe to use w/o earplugs.

I don't need it to be fancy, just accurate.

There are 2 on amazon that look identical but they're from 2 different companies. Are these the same thing?

American Recorder Technologies - Sound Pressure Level Meter $70

Extech 407732 Type 2 35 Decibel to 130 Decibel Digital Sound Level Meter - $170

 

[Guest]

These are the leaders in that sort of equipment: http/www.bksv.com/

 

[Cylinder]

These are the leaders in that sort of equipment: http/www.bksv.com/

Those look very good, but out of my price range. Google product search has them listed at thousands of $. I'm looking for something $200 max. The cheaper the better (as long as it works).

 

[jsc]

Radio Shack has 2 meters, one analog and one digital. The digital is about $50.

Keep in mind that two of the things that make some of the meters much more expensive is that they are lab grade meters with calibration traceable to NBS standards.

The Rat Shack meters will work for measuring noise levels around heavy machinery. The analog meter may be sensitive enough to measure computer noise levels. The digital meter isn't.