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 Post subject: Proposed very quiet high power PC
PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 2:51 pm 
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Joined: Sun Oct 29, 2006 8:04 am
Posts: 5
Any suggestions about the following configuration for a very quiet high performance PC

CPU Intel i7 920 (3.4GHz clock)
Motherboard GIGABYTE GA-EX58-EXTREME
Memory 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3-1600
System drive Intel X25-M 160GB SSD
Data drives 2 x Samsung F1 1TB in RAID 1 (for data security)
Hard disk mounts Zalman ZM-2HC2
Graphics ATI DX11 card (5870 or whatever they end up calling it)
with water block
Blue-ray rewriter LG GGW-H20L
DVDRW LG GH22N40
CPU & Motherboard cooler Zalman Reserator 1 V2
Graphics card cooler Zalman Reserator 1 V2
(total of 2 Zalman Reserator 1 V2 coolers!!!)
Power supply Zalman ZM1000-HP (for its quietness at the <400w output)
System Fan Zalman ZM-F3 120mm fan @7v on Zalman BR123 bracket
Case Steel full tower server case lined with AcoustiPack
(The case is an existing one curently occupied by a disused W98 system)
OS Windows 7

(Estimated total price excluding monitor is £2000 - $3200 - ouch)


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 3:53 pm 
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Joined: Wed Jun 03, 2009 3:51 am
Posts: 76
Location: Sydney
I take issue with the hard drive mounts. Others have commented that the Zalman ZM-2HC2 does not reduce vibration, and reviews online suggest that it doesn't do much for cooling either. If you are trying to get rid of vibration then consider softmounting your hard drives using elastic (etc.), if you are trying to get rid of heat, then maybe try a softmounted sandwhiched hard drive?


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 4:38 pm 
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Joined: Fri Dec 26, 2008 10:31 pm
Posts: 822
Location: Melbourne, Australia
A random collection of thoughts:

About the Zalman ZM-2HC2, one option is to do what I did for my gaming PC: install the Zalman ZM-2HC2 to help with HDD cooling a bit, but suspend the whole thing instead of using the included mounts for fitting it into a 5.25 inch bay.

I did this in the bottom chamber of a P182 with the whole thing suspended inside the lower HDD cage and it works a treat. I don't need a fan in the lower chamber, just the PSU exhaust fan (with the other rear vents taped up) is enough for me.

I'd guess that you will be waiting a while for a waterblock that is compatible with a graphics card that hasn't even been released yet.

That Zalman PSU will still probably be overkill for your system, even with your planned overclock. You will lose efficiency at normal usage but if you want your PSU to remain quiet with your system at full load, that's the price you will be paying. (Your call, of course).

While I've seen some people who post here saying good things about the ZM-F3 fans, Scythe and Nexus fans are generally regarding as being very quiet when undervolted, so consider these instead.

_________________
My PCs:
Main PC (E5200, G31, Lian Li Q07) | Gaming PC (E6850, X38, 5870 Vapor-X, P182) | HTPC (4850e, 780G, 3450, NSK2480B)


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 Post subject: Re: Proposed very quiet high power PC
PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 4:21 am 
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Joined: Tue Aug 15, 2006 3:56 pm
Posts: 15
Duncan_Macdonald wrote:
Data drives 2 x Samsung F1 1TB in RAID 1 (for data security)


i'd reconsider this. raid1 won't improve _data security_ in any way whatsoever, it would just slightly improve the availability of your system, and reduce downtime on hard-disk failures.
no kind of live data replication, especially a low-level, transparent to the filesystem layer one like raid1, would improve on _data security_. filesystem corruption would just be duplicated, accidental or malware-induced data loss would be duplicated. if a cheap improvement of data security is what you wish, then keep the second disk outside of your system case, preferrably store it at a physically different location (like a safe deposit box at your local bank), and do your backups on a regular basis.
and don't get me wrong -- raid1 is great, i'm using it alot, but -- as I've already said, and I just can't stress it enough: it's no improvement to the safety of your data.


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 Post subject: Re: Proposed very quiet high power PC
PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 7:18 am 
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Joined: Sun Oct 29, 2006 8:04 am
Posts: 5
It is hard disk failures that I am trying to protect against - I have had too many disks fail on me over the years. I will have a offline backup but hard disks all seem to choose the worst possible moment to fail (normally a few minutes before the backup was due to start !!)
zprst wrote:
Duncan_Macdonald wrote:
Data drives 2 x Samsung F1 1TB in RAID 1 (for data security)


i'd reconsider this. raid1 won't improve _data security_ in any way whatsoever, it would just slightly improve the availability of your system, and reduce downtime on hard-disk failures.
no kind of live data replication, especially a low-level, transparent to the filesystem layer one like raid1, would improve on _data security_. filesystem corruption would just be duplicated, accidental or malware-induced data loss would be duplicated. if a cheap improvement of data security is what you wish, then keep the second disk outside of your system case, preferrably store it at a physically different location (like a safe deposit box at your local bank), and do your backups on a regular basis.
and don't get me wrong -- raid1 is great, i'm using it alot, but -- as I've already said, and I just can't stress it enough: it's no improvement to the safety of your data.


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