SPCR

Here it is !



Cable management was not easy, but all in all, I managed to pull it off quite nicely.

The Air Penetrators are set to High and controlled with SpeedFan.

The overall picture is as follows:

1. Idle:
   • CPU Cores: ~30-35°C
   • GPU: 37°C
   • CPU fan speed: ~560RPM
   • Case fans speed: off
   • GPU fan speed: 1080RPM
2. Prime95 + Furmark:
   • CPU Cores: ~50°C
   • GPU: ~75°C
   • CPU fan speed: ~560RPM
   • Case fans speed: ~600RPM
   • GPU fan speed: 1080RPM

These are amazing results, compared to what I got with my P183 ! The GPU fan is completely stable at its minimum speed, as well as the CPU fan. Turning on both chassis fans on lowest speed is enough to keep it all way cooler than needed at full load !

It really looks like this Fortress with its 90° rotated motherboard works miracles !

Congrats. I'm guessing the predominant noise at idle and load are the 1080rpm gfx card fans.

Superb build. I'm more and more interested in this 90degree flipped design.

CA_Steve wrote:Congrats. I'm guessing the predominant noise at idle and load are the 1080rpm gfx card fans.

Well, the whole thing is downright inaudible, really. The GPU fans have been measured at 13-14 dB by SPCR, so it's not surprising.

EDIT : Here are the measurements from SPCR for all my components :

* GPU fans (@ 1080 RPM) : 13-14 dBA
* CPU fan (@ 550 RPM) : < 12 dBA
* Case fans (@ 600 RPM) : 22 dBA

So I'm guessing that the main source of noise at full load is the case fans. At idle, it should be completely inaudible in most (if not all) real world environments, even the quietest.

I'll try to tune down the case fans a bit to reach 550 RPM at full load (and 19 dBA).

So, I went on with my upgrade and installed an Asus Strix GTX 970 (Overclocked)... The results look even more amazing ! The GPU is litterally stuck at 65°C running Prime95 + Furmark, with all the fans at their minimum (~500 RPM for the CPU and the case fans, 850 RPM for the GPU fans).

There is some coil whine when running Furmark, though, but I didn't notice anything when running real-world applications.

Another problem : for some reason, I cannot force GPUTweak to use my User Defined Settings, it always reverts to the default ones. Furthermore, I cannot go below 40% of the fan speed (~1100RPM), whereas if I leave it in Auto mode, it starts spinning at 30% (~800RPM). Trying to use the user defined mode ends up in poor hysteresis management and the fans spend their time turning on and off (0%/40%). The default settings are fine : the fans are off in all situations but gaming, where they do not go above 30%, and I cannot hear them.

Overall, an amazing card in an amazing case !

Test the AP181 with Speed fan in both high and low, as the fan behaves differently with the switch.

Torajirou wrote:for some reason, I cannot force GPUTweak to use my User Defined Settings

Give a try to MSI Afterburner or EVGA Precision if they can load your settings at startup.

Good to see your posts.
Thanks for posting the useful information.