case for high-end gpu cooling (alpenföfn peter)

[drkdick]

Is there anybody out there running this cooler? My previous case is an antec p180 (dual core conroe) but I'm upgrading to i7 ivy bridge and a GTX 660 or 570. Silent cooling will be provided by an alpenföhn peter and I'm looking for a silent case (big slow silent fans) that can accomodate this setup. What are the recommendations?

[quest_for_silence]

What are the recommendations?

Unless you already have that GPU cooler, maybe there are already some relatively quiet cards around.

However, it's not the same thermal load picking either the forthcoming GTX660 or the more power hungry GTX570.

Providing you will pick the former (or the GTX670 also), probably your P180 should be plenty of air, while one the current SPCR champions, namely the InWin Dragon Rider (or the Maelstrom if you won't mind its ugly appearance), would cool better the hotter GTX570 for a relatively modest price (even if, IME also some more constrained enclosure may work, I use a pair of GTX460s inside an Antec Solo with appreciable results, noise-wise).

If you have lots of money, the Silverstone Raven 2 should be even better, but IMHO/IME that case strongly prefers external exhaust GPU coolers (in order to works at its best).

[drkdick]

Thanks for replying,

I'm kind of set on the alpenföhn as I've been led to believe it is potentially the most quiet high end cooler available.
The plan is to fix the fans at the lowest possible RPM that will still cool sufficiently even under high load.

The case has to be as subtle as possible (i even find the p180 a bit "too much") which kind of limits my options.
Fractal design's black pearl (r3) will hopefully accomodate this monstrosity of a cooler. I've seen people running
the same setup but I'm still worried about having a sufficient flow of cool air without having to open up the side
(2 x noctua 120mm as front intakes, one exhaust at the back, one pushing on the aftermarket CPU cooler)

I've also found my "sweet spot" in the GTX 560 TI (high core count, low enough tdp), the only problem is that the
reference models are out of stock almost everywhere here in Europe. I've found an EVGA DS version (superclocked,
dual fans). From what I gather the board is still reference, but can these be easily underclocked to reference speed?
I want to keep down unneccessary heat and power as much as possible (my PSU will be a Seasonic 460 fanless 80+)

Does anybody know if underclocking can permanently turn a superclocked card into a regular one? (I don't run MS
windows but can get access to a system for a one-time fix)

[quest_for_silence]

Thanks for replying

You don't speak english, do you? This looks like an automatic translation.

I'm kind of set on the alpenföhn as I've been led to believe it is potentially the most quiet high end cooler available.

It looks like a rather hazardous bet. The rather vanishing Thermalright Shaman and the Accelero Xtreme are more proven designs.
Perhaps do you have some support to your belief?

The case has to be as subtle as possible (i even find the p180 a bit "too much") which kind of limits my options.
Fractal design's black pearl (r3) will hopefully accomodate this monstrosity of a cooler.

The R3 is about the P180 or even bigger, isn't it?
Probably the smaller enclosures for an high performance graphic card are the Antec NSK3480, the Silverstone TJ-08E and the Lian Li A05: and eventually the Langear cubes. There are several examples in the SPCR gallery.

I've also found my "sweet spot" in the GTX 560 TI

I use 2 GTX 460 and I don't need an R3 or a P183 to host them.

I want to keep down unneccessary heat and power as much as possible (my PSU will be a Seasonic 460 fanless 80+)

The Seasonic is enough to run 2 GTX 560: the GTX 680 consumes even less.

Does anybody know if underclocking can permanently turn a superclocked card into a regular one? (I don't run MS
windows but can get access to a system for a one-time fix)

With Nibitor or Fermi Editor you can edit the BIOS to modify the relevant P-states. I think there are also other tools to do this.

[drkdick]

You don't speak english, do you? This looks like an automatic translation.

I might not be a native speaker and sometimes my sentencing ends up a bit odd, but I've never been mistaken for a google translator before...

It looks like a rather hazardous bet. The rather vanishing Thermalright Shaman and the Accelero Xtreme are more proven designs.
Perhaps do you have some support to your belief?

I can't point out an isolated bunch of reviews supporting this, no. Most alpenföhn reviews I've read have focused on that cooler exclusively and have been in German. (now there's a language that does not auto-translate well into English).
My current stance is mostly a gut feeling from having read a lot of different GPU-cooling reviews. The Shaman was actually my first choice but I didn't find it in stock anywhere, so I began investigating the Alpenföhn instead.
I particularly like the flexibility of being able to completely customize the fan setup (in number and size).

Negative points on the Alpenföhn Peter mostly seem to be about its size and price, not about cooling performance or quietness (which of course comes down to the choice and number of fans used).

The goal for me is to have every single fan in the case customizable and fixed well below 1000RPM at all times. This is like my current setup and that has given me a sonic environment I find acceptable.
I don't have much experience with aftermarket GPU coolers (my current card is a passive GTS 8800) so I don't know if it's possible.

The R3 is about the P180 or even bigger, isn't it?

No it is actually a bit smaller. It is not as tall and my biggest concern is diminished space between the PSU and the GPU cooling fans compared to a P180.

The Seasonic is enough to run 2 GTX 560: the GTX 680 consumes even less.

Ok good, so the PSU isn't going to be a problem then. Unfortunately the 600-series does not appear to be compatible with the Alpenföhn and they are also quite expensive.

TWith Nibitor or Fermi Editor you can edit the BIOS to modify the relevant P-states. I think there are also other tools to do this.

Thanks, I'll look into that.

[quest_for_silence]

You don't speak english, do you? This looks like an automatic translation.

I might not be a native speaker and sometimes my sentencing ends up a bit odd, but I've never been mistaken for a google translator before...

Sorry, I didn't want to offend you: some sentences have misled me (I mean "The case has to be as subtle as possible", "which kind of limits my options", "having a sufficient flow of cool air without having to open up the side", which seemed to me sort of literal translation from another language, as an automatic translator often does). I beg your pardon.

Anyway, even my english isn't such a good one. So, probably, the misleading was due to that!

The goal for me is to have every single fan in the case customizable and fixed well below 1000RPM at all times. This is like my current setup and that has given me a sonic environment I find acceptable.
I don't have much experience with aftermarket GPU coolers (my current card is a passive GTS 8800) so I don't know if it's possible.

Yes, that may be clearly, certainly possible, even if personally I prefer some form of automatic fan control (by BIOS, software or hardware).
But I mean you should need some tool to perfectly develop and tune such a system: ad advanced rheobus (or an external variable DC voltage source plus some suitable zener diodes) I think it's the bare minimum.

The R3 is about the P180 or even bigger, isn't it?

No it is actually a bit smaller. It is not as tall and my biggest concern is diminished space between the PSU and the GPU cooling fans compared to a P180.

I don't see the point (if you want to maximize that distance you have to look either to reverse ATX - like the Lian Li A05 or some big CM - or to a PSU top mounting: but to achieve which measurable result?), however, IMHO you don't need anything bigger than an Antec Solo II or Mini P180/280 to quietly cooling a single 150w-180w card (like the GTX 560 is).

With Nibitor or Fermi Editor you can edit the BIOS to modify the relevant P-states. I think there are also other tools to do this.

Thanks, I'll look into that.

Please take note that while it's certainly doable, it's either not exactly trivial. So, be careful.