Totally Positive Antec Aria...Ver. 2

Show off your quiet rig.

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cAPSLOCK
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Post by cAPSLOCK » Thu May 11, 2006 9:39 am

mmmm fil-ter :lol:

Some clean work there!

Bluefront
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Post by Bluefront » Sun May 21, 2006 9:57 am

My new fan control system is now in place.....no more manual controllers or fan-mates. I'm using a mimiNG controller. The review of this project is here. This controller allows an idle voltage of about 4.5V @ 33C. It automatically increases to about 7.5V @45C under heavy benchmarking. Ambient for these numbers was about 25C. Doubt if I can run the Globe fan much slower. At this slow speed the CPU temp is ok, but the other temps start to go up. But it's virtually inaudable from the front, and only audable from the rear at less than two feet.

I added a little bling to the case with an external LCD temp display, which doubles as the fan controller housing. Very unusual looking setup.....really different. :D

Image

Image

Image

adobian
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Post by adobian » Fri May 26, 2006 8:14 am

There is a 500W fanless power supply, the brand is Magnum XG. It's heavy. But I think It couldbe a good idea to replace the DC-DC converter and the 12V Power Supply that Bluefront use.

Bluefront
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Post by Bluefront » Fri May 26, 2006 2:46 pm

Welcome to SPCR......and yeah there are fanless power supplies around, but there is no place in this Aria setup for a standard PSU. It would have to be mounted externally with a heavy bunch of cables attached to the Aria.

And besides what possible benefit would I receive? This setup doesn't even need the 200W converter I'm using. I probably use less than 150W at all times......

adobian
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Post by adobian » Fri May 26, 2006 7:19 pm

I probably will build a fast Pentium D system with an Aria. So I do I need more power. Following yours closely.

I will probably do something similar to yours. Been wondering how the heat are drawn out. Could you explain a bit more ?

The fanless power supply will be placed at the same spot as you 12V power supply. The cables will be run in a tube or something to bunch them all together before entering the case. I prefer to have lots of power ready. :-)

adobian
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Post by adobian » Fri May 26, 2006 7:24 pm

Is there a fan controller that is cheaper that the one you used ?

Bluefront
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Post by Bluefront » Sat May 27, 2006 3:01 am

The last picture on the first page of this thread shows the passive rear vent. I have left the stock Aria side vents in use.....but almost all the heat rises up, off the board, and exits at the top rear vent. The discussion on this technique is here.

The cheapest way to get decent fan control is to buy a board with built-in control, or one that can use Speedfan. Can't help you out there. Maybe start a new thread in the "Fans and Control" section and ask that question.

Really good fan controllers like the mimiNG or T-Balancer don't come cheap....... :(

adobian
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Post by adobian » Mon May 29, 2006 11:41 am

I noticed that my friends Dell PC was real quiet. Then I realized that it has a fan controller, and the fan would turn only when necessary. But the hard drive failed within 18 months. I guess the controller sensed only the temp of the CPU . The hard drive built up heat and failed.

Be careful BlueFront, you might experience the same thing. Cause when the fan isn't spinning, the HD won't get any cool air

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Post by Bluefront » Mon May 29, 2006 11:55 am

Ain't gonna happen.....I'm using a laptop drive which run cooler, and survive higher temps better. Plus the drive is mounted to a solid copper plate which is the top of the intake duct. That plate is always room temp, so the drive mounted to it only runs a few degrees over room temp.

Example.....today the room temp is 28C. The drive reads 32C. Can't get much cooler even with water cooling. The way the airflow is configured, most of the hot spots of the computer, including the video card, get a constant flow of room temp air......using only one fan.

I probably am concerned about temperatures more than 99% of people on SPCR. Don't worry about me..... :lol:

adobian
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Post by adobian » Mon May 29, 2006 2:32 pm

That would be true if that fans idles all the time at min speed. If the fan stops spining, say at CPU (no load), the copper plate might not be at ambient temp if fan isn't spinning.

theyangster
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Post by theyangster » Mon May 29, 2006 3:03 pm

adobian wrote:That would be true if that fans idles all the time at min speed. If the fan stops spining, say at CPU (no load), the copper plate might not be at ambient temp if fan isn't spinning.
believe me, bluefront KNOWS what he is doing ;)

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Post by Bluefront » Mon May 29, 2006 3:38 pm

adobian.....the fan control I'm now using is a miniNG. It never stops running while the computer is on. It idles at about 4.5V and when the cpu heats up, the fan speeds faster. This globe fan can run about 1800 rpms at 12V, but needs only about 7.5V to keep the heat around 45C. I'm pretty safe here.

adobian
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Post by adobian » Mon May 29, 2006 7:58 pm

I soon will build a new PC, portable and fast, and quiet . Been reading. Taking steps slowly :-). Thanks for all ideas.

My idea is to keep the stock heat sinks and fans. A 120MM will be inside a tube branching out to the CPU heat sink and the VGA heat sink (those fans will also be contained somehow by the end of the tube branches to contain the noise..) Not sure if the 120mm fan should suck in from the branches or blow out to the branches.

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Post by Bluefront » Tue May 30, 2006 2:41 pm

Well that technique using multiple tubes branching out of a central fan location has been thrown around before. Can't say I ever saw a working example.....your's might be the first. Post about it if it has any promise.

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Post by Bluefront » Mon Jun 05, 2006 10:59 am

I've been curious as to the current draw that this ARIA has both on the 200w converter, and the 180w 12V power supply. I don't own a Power Angel, but I do have several accurate Amp guages.....well I rigged one up mounted on top of the power supply.

At max usage.....TV tuner on, two instances of CPUBurn running, the max draw is about 7.5A. That's only 90 watts, well within the specs. And since this guage is analog, I can easily tell if there are any large current spikes, like at boot-up. There are none.

I have a few ideas left than may use some of this excess current. Maybe a second computer running off this one 12v power supply. Heh....

Image

adobian
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Post by adobian » Tue Jun 06, 2006 10:38 am

How about upgrading your CPU , BlueFront ? :-)
That should take care of the extra current.

Anyway BlueFront, I found a software called speedfan. It display information. I was wondering if there are some motherboard out with built in fan controllers ? I thought have seen something like that somewhere.

Also, do you know any small Motherboard with either CrossFire or SLI ? I want to explore using quad monitors. :-)

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Post by Bluefront » Tue Jun 06, 2006 11:45 am

As far as I'm concerned, this computer is maxed out with a P4-2.8, hyper-threading enabled, 1gb dual-channel ram. I don't need anything faster in this Aria.

There are plenty of newer boards that have built-in fan control. There is also a big thread on these forums that list the boards that SpeedFan works with....controls fan speed. Unfortunately I don't own any of these boards. So I can't really comment on this newer stuff.

alphabetbackward
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Post by alphabetbackward » Fri Jun 30, 2006 10:03 am

I was wondering...

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... age=family

Is that the power supply you were referring to?

Bluefront
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Post by Bluefront » Wed Aug 23, 2006 5:38 pm

yeah...that's it. working good thus far.

mb2
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Post by mb2 » Wed Aug 23, 2006 9:54 pm

just wondering; why not a P4-m? not only do they use less power, but can be picked up much cheaper than the desktop variety on ebay and such.. admittedly u may lose hyperthreading (not sure?)..

Bluefront
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Post by Bluefront » Thu Aug 24, 2006 1:55 am

Well as much as I swap things around, I prefer to stick with one type of processor that I know will work on most every 478 board I have or can get. I hate buying something only to experience compatability problems.

P4 Northwood chips are very cheap now. I paid $100 for a new P4-3.4 the other day....a bargain compared to what they cost new. As long as the setups can handle the heat quietly, why not use the fastest chip you can afford?

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Post by jaganath » Thu Aug 24, 2006 2:22 am

mb2 wrote:just wondering; why not a P4-m? not only do they use less power, but can be picked up much cheaper than the desktop variety on ebay and such.. admittedly u may lose hyperthreading (not sure?)..
Most normal S478 boards will not correctly identify the Vcore of the P4-M and will run it at 1.5/1.6V; this causes it to run just as hot, if not more so, than normal P4 chips. It's only an improvement if you can find a S478 mobo that undervolts, and those are very rare these days, even on Ebay. Also, because they have Speedstep, they only run at 1.2GHz in a normal desktop board.

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Post by mb2 » Thu Aug 24, 2006 11:11 am

They run at 12x.. so on 800 fsb that would be 2.4ghz. There have been directions posted on this site however to bend a pin off which makes it work @ default multi. i'm pretty sure they do work on all 478 boards, and are (iirc) <$20 on ebay. valid point that UV mbs are hard to get, but i'd have thought BF would have had one.
personally i'd have for $100 i'd have gone for newegg's 754 2.4ghz 90nm 3400+ with free mobo, the Gigabyte GA-K8VM800M (is best for ur situation). then u'd still have a s478 mobo ontop. selling both (and even the 6200) would probably cover a new mobo of you choice if that one is rubbish.. (assuming it is planned as replacement?)
just two years ago to get a 2.4ghz A64 u'd have had to pay $700 :shock: , so single core CPU prices have (rightly) gone through the floor. but to find a benchmark of 2.4ghz/512 754 a64 v 3.4 NW is almost impossible.
As far as I'm concerned, this computer is maxed out with a P4-2.8...
did u have a change of mind or is the 3.4 for another build?? :)
nice filtering and ducting (as always).. how long do those filters last before u have to replace them, or atleast clean them?
and where do u get them (other than out a nissan!) and how much?

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Post by Bluefront » Thu Aug 24, 2006 2:55 pm

The 3.4NW is in another computer....and those Nissan cabin filters I use are obviously from a Nissan dealer. They go six months between cleaning with a vacuum. Most car brands use similar filters these days.

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