Re: quiet mITX with mid range hardware
Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 4:21 pm
muah ah ha....Btw evil CA_Steve made me buy a 750ti with all his reviews links...
Discussions about Silent Computing
https://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/
https://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=67547
muah ah ha....Btw evil CA_Steve made me buy a 750ti with all his reviews links...
I like both choices, but as said before, if you feel you might benefit from a high end gpu, its your call.myselphabet wrote:CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K
GPU: MSI N750Ti TF 2GD5/OC Twin Frozr Gaming
R9 270X consuming up to 150W and GTX 760 200W, wow! Let's face it: overkill, overheat, I take the GTX 750 TI. If it's really not enough, I will get another card.
I like a lot crucial for memory, been fairly reliable in mulitple builds. Personally i like more the ballistic sport out of really low height and 1.35V, but i also consider the tactical and also almost bought it, here its up to you, the difference will be small in performance.myselphabet wrote:RAM: Crucial Ballistix Tactical LP DIMM Kit 16GB, DDR3L-1600, CL8-8-8-24, low profile
I just took the cheapest low profile 16GB kit, timings and clock should be sufficient?
Its a nice motherboard, i like the layout and design. C2 is just the new stepping of the chipset to avoid the USB3 bug that the C1 had, my motherboard is a C1 and i dont have any issues, but if you can get a C2 to avoid the sleep bug. Weather the Impact or the deluxe are worth it.... is something you have to decide on your own on the features, personally i dont think they are but depends on your needs. The Z87i Pro has 4 fan headers, 3 are CHA_FANs 1,2,3 and one CPU_FAN, so given that it already comes with so much connections, i would suggest you test the NODE 304 fans first, since FanXpert2 will controll all fans individually, you will be able to drop them to the lowest just by running FanXPert2 and its tunning, and if the included fans dont furfill your quiet desires, you can upgrade them later.myselphabet wrote:MB: ASUS Z87I-Pro (C2)
Since ASUS has the best layout (I trust in you, I didn't google any measurements ) and I rely on W-LAN, I found this. What is the difference between C1 and C2? C2 doesn't have a "stand by USB bug"?. The other ASUS board i found was the ASUS Maximus VI Impact. About 40% more expensive, worth it?
Case: Fractal Design Node 304
Well, nothing to say, as expected and I was struggeling for about one week...
I have no experience with be quiet PSU, not that common in the US, but i read good things about them, as pointed before me, Corsair RM450 should be a good option. There are builds that have gone fanless on the Node304 on the PSU, and the 92mm should give some fresh air to it so if you want go fanless i don't think you will have any trouble, that said for gaming builds or 24/7 running, i prefer to have a semi passive PSU that can turn on the fan if its needed. If you want a smaller length PSU, you also have the Seasonic G360 that its 140mm but none modular, so you will have to get a little creative hiding all the unused cables.myselphabet wrote:PSU: be quiet! System Power 7 450W ATX 2.31
Just searched for a PSU with >90% efficiency, 150mm max length. 160mm are the maximum but I just don't want to risk it.
Most of the ssds are extremly fast as it is, and i doubt people can tell the difference between brands without checking the hardware. Crucial has been a solid contender in the past years on ssds, i have own mulitple M4 and been perfect, with some issues that have been handled really fast. That said atm im mostly buying samsung because they also have released really good ssds, and its one of the companies that does everything on their ssds, from the NAD, to the controller and firmware so they have control of all the chain. But atm Crucial is clearing the M500 for the M550 so you can find very good deals on the web, either choice is fine.myselphabet wrote:SSD: Crucial M500 240GB
Maybe I shout go for a Samsung 840 EVO/Pro 250GB? If so, why?
Scythe Mugen 4 would be a good alternative, just crosscheck the height of the fins would fit with the side daughter board of the Z87i Pro. Another good cooler is the prolimatech Megahelms, but its also a little expensive, but in some countries other coolers are just as expensive, so depends a lot into what you have available. Dont go with Thermalright HR02, while a great cooler, it will not allow you to use the back case fan as its asymetrical and grows toward the back flush from the cpu, another viable option is thermalright true spirit 140 (i would swap the fan for NF-A15 PWM).myselphabet wrote:As for the CPU cooler, it is kind of hard to find a Noctua NH-U14S . Is there any list out there, which contains fitting cooler? (I have to admit, I didn't google it, yet)
Sadly this list doesn't seem to be up to date I am upen for some other suggestions. Also, I will try to find some myself.
Recognized brands are Noctua, Prolimatech and Scythe, right?
On the fans, its up to you, while i didn't like the Fractals, they are not bad, specially if you are running them all on fanXpert2, and more so because you are buying a very capable motherboard with 4 fan headers, so you will be able to control all your fans independently, my suggestion is to test the included fans first connected directly to the motherboard, install AI Suite III, and run FanXpert2 tuning, it will establish the fans rpm range and drop them as low as it can under idle, later you can do your own graphs or modified the existing, and if you find them not to your liking in terms of noise, then its very easy to just buy new fans and swap them out.myselphabet wrote:I will change the fans in the case; 2 x 92mm and 1 x 140mm. I will decide including these lists: 92mm and 140mm. The most quiet available at the shop I'm ordering is it going to be. Mabye 2 x 140mm if the CPU cooler allows 140mm fans.
Evil... Evil.... Evil =)CA_Steve wrote:muah ah ha....Btw evil CA_Steve made me buy a 750ti with all his reviews links...
myselphabet wrote:I just took the cheapest low profile 16GB kit, timings and clock should be sufficient?
- RAM: Crucial Ballistix Tactical LP DIMM Kit 16GB, DDR3L-1600, CL8-8-8-24, low profile
myselphabet wrote:What is the difference between C1 and C2? C2 doesn't have a "stand by USB bug"?.
myselphabet wrote:The other ASUS board i found was the ASUS Maximus VI Impact. About 40% more expensive, worth it?
myselphabet wrote:Just searched for a PSU with >90% efficiency, 150mm max length. 160mm are the maximum but I just don't want to risk it.
- PSU: be quiet! System Power 7 450W ATX 2.31
I guess this PSU is just overkill for my system? Could even a fanless PSU be an option, or will it be too hot and I need the PSU airflow?
myselphabet wrote:
- SSD: Crucial M500 240GB
Maybe I shout go for a Samsung 840 EVO/Pro 250GB? If so, why?
myselphabet wrote:As for the CPU cooler, it is kind of hard to find a Noctua NH-U14S . Is there any list out there, which contains fitting cooler? (I have to admit, I didn't google it, yet)
myselphabet wrote:Ok, I hope I am finally hitting the home stretch and ordering tomorrow.
Why is that? Abdula suggested ASUS for its very centered CPU sockets. As i finally looked at some brands it also seems to me that ASUS gives the most space into every direction for a huge heatsink. Asrock has the second best position but it is far more on the outside.The only advantage I see is the distance to the PCIe slot, but so it is close to the border of the mainboard/case.ggumdol wrote:Well, I have been constantly recommending Asrock motherboards particularly for Haswell CPUs.
To be honest I will raher go overkill and use every cm³ in this case I can than risk it and get a warm CPU or a noisy system. Will also google the NH-U12S after this post.ggumdol wrote:Noctua NH-U14S might turn out to be an overkill [..] coolers like NH-U12S, not that I mean that NH-U12S is "not" gigantic.
quest_for_silence wrote:You may use lots of slim coolers: among the cheaper but quiet you can look for Noctua NH-U12S, Scythe Kotetsu, BeQuiet Dark Rock Slim, but the various Prolimatech Armageddon, TR True and probably the mighty Archon should work very well (the TR deserve a fan swap).
I fell in love with the Prolimatech Heatsinks. At least the Megahalems isn't as expensive as the NH-U14S but I have to purchase a fan with it. I remeber that the Megahalems only fits if the brace of the NODE 304 isn't mounted as well. This results in 0 HDD/SSD mountings meaning I would have to tape the SSD somewhere (probably PSU). I might be wrong and will check it again.Abula wrote:Scythe Mugen 4 would be a good alternative, just crosscheck the height of the fins would fit with the side daughter board of the Z87i Pro. Another good cooler is the prolimatech Megahelms, but its also a little expensive, but in some countries other coolers are just as expensive, so depends a lot into what you have available. Dont go with Thermalright HR02, while a great cooler, it will not allow you to use the back case fan as its asymetrical and grows toward the back flush from the cpu, another viable option is thermalright true spirit 140 (i would swap the fan for NF-A15 PWM).
NOOOOOOOOO! I just had a sleepless night thinking about the 750Ti vs R9 270X dilemma. No I tend to the 270X AGAIN. And this post just gives me positive feedback.Abula wrote: I like both choices, but as said before, if you feel you might benefit from a high end gpu, its your call.
Awesome fan control, I love it! You are right, I should try the fans comming with the case anyway. I still can upgrade them later on.Abula wrote:The Z87i Pro has 4 fan headers, 3 are CHA_FANs 1,2,3 and one CPU_FAN, so given that it already comes with so much connections, i would suggest you test the NODE 304 fans first, since FanXpert2 will controll all fans individually, you will be able to drop them to the lowest just by running FanXPert2 and its tunning, and if the included fans dont furfill your quiet desires, you can upgrade them later.
I will be reading this post again if I am going to swap the fans.Abula wrote:Now if you are set on swapping the fans, then consider an Antec True Quiet 140 for the back, and Nexus Basic 92mm for the frontal, both have been reviewed by SPCR and are recommend fans, they should also play very well on FanXpert2, both undervolt very well.
Germany. I am buying everything at "Mindfactory" so i try to really get EVERYTHING from there. If there is no replacement for the NH-U14S (whch i doubt), I will order the cpu cooler from another websiteMats wrote:That BeQuiet PSU is 140 mm deep, not 150 mm.
I got the impression that you live in Germany? Link to the heatsink: http://geizhals.de/noctua-nh-u14s-a929404.html
Or is it the UK? http://pricespy.co.uk/product.php?p=1822028
Are you joking? I wouldn't wonder if this thread is annoying tons of people at this point.quest_for_silence wrote:myselphabet wrote:Ok, I hope I am finally hitting the home stretch and ordering tomorrow.
Don't be in a hurry right now!
Well, now it really is in the closing stages!ggumdol wrote:Well, I have been constantly recommending Asrock motherboards particularly for Haswell CPUs.
I'm sorry for my rather terse answer without any pointers. To make the long story short, Asrock motherboards for Haswell CPUs provide fully functional and unprecedentedly fine-grained BIOS fan control. To grasp what I'm saying, you will have to peruse the following thread.myselphabet wrote:Since someone told me he had problems with ASUS W-LAN I am a little bit in doubt about the mainboard, that's why I asked:ggumdol wrote:Well, I have been constantly recommending Asrock motherboards particularly for Haswell CPUs.
Why am I not entirely convinced that it is really in the closing stage?myselphabet wrote:Well, now it really is in the closing stages!
I'm unbelievably strongly opposing this choice as I'm suffering from distinctive whining noise from Seasonic SS-400FL2 in my HTPC. It's only bearable because I'm usually sitting at least 2 meters away from it. Not only I oppose this choice, I strongly recommend you to opt for one of Corsair RM Series, unless you are an ardent environmentalist, which I'm not. They are proven to be whining-free & electrical-noise-free PSUs. Well, to be fair, if you attach (literally) your ears to them, you might hear something but they aren't audible as long as you are 10cm away from them.myselphabet wrote:PSU: Sea Sonic G-Series G-360 360W ATX 2.3
Whether you go with 270X or 750Ti, it will be the very noisiest component unrivalled with any other part of your suggested build. I think you should consider possible modding of your graphics card in the future, which means that there must be room in the chassis for accommodation of modded bigger graphics card, in light of which, the potential interference between PSU and graphics card in Fractal Design Node 304 does not sound desirable. I haven't even skimmed through SPCR review of Fractal Design Node 304 but why don't you just opt for a bit more spacious chassis? A few other options such as BitFenix Phenom Mini-ITX cross my mind.myselphabet wrote:GPU: MSI R9 270X Gaming 2 GB
Tending to the R9 270X, 122W average consumption. I may decide for the GTX 750 Ti (61W average) but if so, it will be last minute.
If you guys have anything to say which could comfort me (122W, easy heat handleing - 122W? Are you crazy, that will be really hard to control!), do so, please.
So the posts where it is getting interesting (for me on this topic) are:ggumdol wrote:I'm sorry for my rather terse answer without any pointers. To make the long story short, Asrock motherboards for Haswell CPUs provide fully functional and unprecedently fine-grained BIOS fan control. To grasp what I'm saying, you will have to peruse the following thread.
"Quiet gaming setup"
As far as I'm aware, there is minimum PWM thresholds in ASUS motherboards (I'm sorry I haven't ever used any of them) around 20%-25% which lead to chassis/CPU fans rotating at unnecessarily high speeds. However, you can easily (!) circumvent these issues in ASUS motherboards, as far as I have gathered (correct me if I'm wrong). That is, you will be able to fine control fan speeds as long as you opt for only Noctua PWM fans because they rotate at 300-400 rpms (utterly inaudible) at 20-25% with their proprietary so-called "low noise filter", which are nothing more than resistors.
Post 2,Post 3logion wrote:How about fan control on today's motherboards? I know I can use the fan controller built into the Define R4; but nowadays alot of motherboards ship with fan control as well (which could run the FANs on lower RPMs than the R4's fan controller)?
This thread on SPCR contains a wealth of information about Asus Fan Expert2; however I don't like the fact that Chasis fans can't be lowered below 60% in the BIOS. I plan on using both Windows and Linux and would want a quiet system for both operating systems (so the Fan Export2 windows only software is of limited value to me). I've also read Abula's comments vouching for fan controlling possibilities in the BIOS on MSI motherboards. Maybe a MSI board could be a better fit for my needs?
Ideally I'd like a motherboard/component that can control three to four 4-pin PWM fans and that can actually drive the FAN via the fourth PWM pin. As I see it PWM fans that are controlled via their fourth PWM pin can spin significantly slower than 3/4 pin FANs that are controlled by modulating their +12V pin? Does anyone know of a product that meets these requirements? Also related, I guess the built-in fan controller of the Define R4 doesn't regulate PWM fans via their fourth pin?
The problem with the Corsair RM Series is that I've only found 160mm + modular cables which will collide with the video card. Otherwise I would have considered them.ggumdol wrote:I'm unbelievably strongly opposing this choice as I'm suffering from distinctive whining noise from Seasonic SS-400FL2 in my HTPC. [...] Not only I oppose this choice, I strongly recommend you to opt for one of Corsair RM Series, unless you are an ardent environmentalist, which I'm not. They are proven to be whining-free & electrical-noise-free PSUs. Well, to be fair, if you attach (literally) your ears to them, you might hear something but they aren't audible as long as you are 10cm away from them.
Well, I aim for quiet while gaming and very quiet while not gaming/idleing. For a real silent build I wouldn't even consider such hardware and go completely passive.ggumdol wrote:Whether you go with 270X or 750Ti, it will be the very noisiest component unrivalled with any other part of your suggested build. I think you should consider possible modding of your graphics card in the future, which means that there must be room in the chassis for accommodation of modded bigger graphics card, in light of which, the potential interference between PSU and graphics card in Fractal Design Node 304 does not sound desirable. I haven't even skimmed through SPCR review of Fractal Design Node 304 but why don't you just opt for a bit more spacious chassis? A few other options such as BitFenix Phenom Mini-ITX cross my mind.
As written I don't aim for a nearly silent rather than a very quiet build. I hope I am not shooting myself in the foot ignoring your advice.ggumdol wrote:[...]Anyway, my point is that you need headroom for aftermarket coolers for your graphics card just in case.[/b]
Don't assume such thing, please!ggumdol wrote:Why am I not entirely convinced that it is really in the closing stage?myselphabet wrote:Well, now it really is in the closing stages!
myselphabet wrote:Ok so let's do this:
myselphabet wrote:Alternative: Prolimatech Megahalems with a Noctua NF-S12A PWM Fan
myselphabet wrote:
- Thermal Compound: Coolaboratory Liquid Pro
myselphabet wrote:If you guys have anything to say which could comfort me (122W, easy heat handleing - 122W? Are you crazy, that will be really hard to control!), do so, please.
myselphabet wrote:
- PSU: Sea Sonic G-Series G-360 360W ATX 2.3
Alternative: be quiet! Straight Power E9 400W ATX 2.4
Someone told me that the Sea Sonic PSU has the advantage in technology, someone else told me, Sea Sonic tend to emit noise from the coils.
myselphabet wrote:Sadly the Corsair RM Series RM450 is modular and 160mm long ⇒ it would collide with the video card.
Though it is undeniable that almost-closed front panel design of Cooltek U2 (ITX) and Cooltek U3 (mATX) is detrimental to the thermal situation inside the chassis, it strikes me that quest_for_silence has been a bit excessively emphatic about its adverse effect. Since you are planning to go with i5 Haswell CPU, the ventilation problem incurred by Cooltek U2/U3 will not be as severe as i7 CPUs as long as you don't overclock them. Also, I have used Lian Li PC-Q11 twice for my builds and PC-TU100 (perhaps the smallest among all chassis discussed so far) and I don't think you need to be concerned about ventiliation issue in case you use proper CPU & VGA coolers. In other words, although ventiliation mechanism of chassis surely affects thermal condition inside chassis, they are never as essential as coolers/heatsinks directly conducting heat from CPUs and graphics cards, especially for mid/low tier CPUs.myselphabet wrote:Also no clear reviews found, so I drop it. I tend to the Node 305 because it has a awesome space/hardwarefitting ratio; but still unsure about it (who would've guessed ).quest_for_silence wrote:Cable messing is addressable carefully choosing the PSU: something like a Corsair RM (with a full set of modular flat cabling) is the way to go. About the Q33, owning a couple of Lian Li enclosures with closed front (A05), I know they give below average results, thermal-wise: so yes, I guess the Q33 will strive to cool quietly the more demanding hardware, but it's only my not-so-educated guess.
The SG08B(-LITE) ist just ugly form the side and can only handle a 147mm (non-LITE 117mm) CPU heatsink, which is kind of a turn off to me.
The U3 is rather beautiful except for the silver power button (on the black (for me) front panel); also I doubt the conditions for the airflow.
Director9 wrote:I have built myself a system :
...snipped out...
My experience with this new build. But do take a look in the OCN thread that has been mentioned, lots of good things to read.
quest_for_silence wrote:I don't understand/agree with your (semi)final choices: IMVHO you're taking the risk of a not so quiet and hot system for a considerable amount of money with those parts. But it's your money and it's your call, so I hope to be wrong (my thought is simple, you know: to run quietly, you need relatively small parts, a neat cabling, and the lowest heat, so the right way for a really quiet rig is going with the Corsair RM with a GTX 750Ti, maybe passively cooled with an Accelero S1 Plus).
myselphabet wrote:If you guys have anything to say which could comfort me (122W, easy heat handleing - 122W? Are you crazy, that will be really hard to control!), do so, please.
Then the Noctua NH-U12S should be sufficient and not taking too much space?quest_for_silence wrote:Stay slim, do not overcrowd the available space with either a larger heatsink or big cables. Slim fans would help also.
quest_for_silence wrote:If you dig into the quoted OCN thread, there are lots of people pairing 160mm PSU with 25-28cm long video cards (just one of the many examples).
The 160mm aren't the problem here, the modular cables are. I don't like the idea of not screwing the PSU in place, it is rather a least choice if everything else seems to fail. Also I would like the PSU to have its own air flow system meaning, fan facing down.Director9 wrote:Some points :
the RM is too long, in the normal position, fan down, it's too long
I could only consider the U3 since the 750 Ti 250mm long. I would have decided for the U3 if there wasn't the silver power button and a nice incomming airflow. I will force myself to reconsidere.ggumdol wrote:I suggest that you reconsider Cooltek U2 and Cooltek U3 (for triple or quadruple slot graphics card possibly with aftermarket coolers). I once researched about Cooltek U3 for quite a long time and I believe it's one of decent options for small builds with Haswell i5/i3 CPUs. As you know, they are made by German company and may be sold at lower prices in Germany.
So quite interesting hardware for me. Even big coolers fit and no matter what, working in the case will be kind of a pita.Director9 wrote:I have built myself a system :
Asus Z87i-Pro in a Node 304 case, Scythe Mugen 4, RM450, and Ballistix VLP
Yes I am looking into the OCN thread now and then but it is really hard for me to stay focused in there and it has 320+ pages Hard to find what really interests me.Director9 wrote:My experience with this new build. But do take a look in the OCN thread that has been mentioned, lots of good things to read.
At least the PCB of the MIS GTX 750 Ti Gaming is nearly as long as the cooler resulting in a 250mm length: picturequest_for_silence wrote:Definitely a 160mm modular PSU should - in case - be paired with short cards (like the GTX 750Ti: IIRC the PCB should be about 17cm, just around the motherboard PCB), in order to not incur in some clearance issues.
24dBA idle and 25dBA load. That should be sufficient I think. Source: Techpowerup reviewOut of the Techpowerup review wrote:Wow! I'm speechless. I think MSI's GeForce GTX 750 Ti Gaming is the quietest graphics card I have ever reviewed. Just a step removed from the card, I could only barely make out the fan in a quiet room without any other sources of noise.
One of the most interesting features of this PSU.Director9 wrote:The C-link will also not be availalbe, but don't know how far that connection sticks out.
Now let's cut down to the... mainboard: I searched and found some things. Some say they only are PWM connectors and don't behave like the CPU PWM connector. Fact is at least until mid April it was not possible to get the chassis fans below 40% speed. A Asus coworker wrote that this is due to some users who don't know that some fans need a minimum voltage to start rotating. Seems legit but could be easily fixed (run 100% and then slow down to the speed the user wants).Director9 wrote:For the fans, the 4 fan channels, they are all able (Z87i-Pro) to treat all fans as PWM fans, and controllable.
And Abdula is tending to ASUS and likes to work around theggumdol wrote:Let me just reiterate this: It is now indisputably clear that Asrock motherboards for Haswell chips are superior to all the other candidates from the acoustical viewpoint. All the same, I am really disappointed by the revelation (at least to me) that fan control functionality in Asus BIOS is rather mediocre in stark contrast to their lofty price range.
I'm truly glad to have converted all of you to the denomination of Asrock.
myselphabet wrote:I am/was (depends on the day) just afraid that framerates will drop really low in teamfights. I had a test @ 1080p where fps dropped about 25%. If I apply this on 60fps average @ 1600p this would result in 45fps minimum which shouldn't be noticeable. Everything (but the cost efficiency for the performance) is in favour of the 750 Ti.
myselphabet wrote:Then the Noctua NH-U12S should be sufficient and not taking too much space?quest_for_silence wrote:Stay slim, do not overcrowd the available space with either a larger heatsink or big cables. Slim fans would help also.
myselphabet wrote:The 160mm aren't the problem here, the modular cables are. I don't like the idea of not screwing the PSU in place, it is rather a least choice if everything else seems to fail. Also I would like the PSU to have its own air flow system meaning, fan facing down.
myselphabet wrote:Yes I am looking into the OCN thread now and then but it is really hard for me to stay focused in there and it has 320+ pages Hard to find what really interests me.
myselphabet wrote:At least the PCB of the MIS GTX 750 Ti Gaming is nearly as long as the cooler resulting in a 250mm length: picture
myselphabet wrote:I know I could buy a <170mm long card and get a aftermarked cooler. I will lose warranty and end up with an expensive solution. I will consider this if either the card is really too loud or there are just no other possibilities in the first place.
The 4670 is closer to 40 W AFAIK.myselphabet wrote:Video card + CPU = 60W + 80W = 140W.
I took the official TDP as a lead, just to be sure (everything worst case).Mats wrote:The 4670 is closer to 40 W AFAIK.
Maybe get a pico psu? You know it would make it much more easier to pick a case.
myselphabet wrote:@ quest_for_silence, I really appreciate your advices but I think we just have different views on "what is quiet enough?", since I only have expirience with OEM computer systems I will be excited about the quietness of the upcomming one.
myselphabet wrote:Why do I have such a crush on the MSI 750 Ti Gaming? Because it seems to be very quiet and should be perfect for me. And I hate the fact to modify the video card...
myselphabet wrote:Video card + CPU = 60W + 80W = 140W. Add the mainboard, SSD, fans and put some USB devices ending up at like 200W at full power max.!
myselphabet wrote:Asus vs. ASRock: Can I controll the (3 pin fans I guess) case fans of the Node 304 with a ASUS board?
myselphabet wrote:I think it would be very satisfying in terms of quietness for me
This is a picoPSU (old review from 2006): http://www.silentpcreview.com/picoPSUmyselphabet wrote:It is very hard (for me) to find a non-oversized (pico)PSU. Additionaly the fan of <250W PSUs are typically small and I am afraid that would result in the PSU being the loudes component, at least at load.
Yes, the asus motherboard can control the 3 included fans (1x Fractal R2 140 and 2x Fractal 92mm) with its CHA_FAN 1,2,3, via AI suite / FanXpert2, and it will be able to drop them as low as the fans can go, and individually. Whatever CPU cooler you end up buying go with one with a PWM fan, and connect it to the CPU_FAN header, its the only real PWM fan header of all, so its the ideal for cpu heatsink fan (thats if it is PWM fan).myselphabet wrote:Asus vs. ASRock: Can I controll the (3 pin fans I guess) case fans of the Node 304 with a ASUS board? I still like ASUS more but if I cannot control the case fans without switching to PWM fans I have to reconsider and would definitly tend to ASRock.
If you are going with PWM fans, go with Asrock motherboard, if you go with Asus, go with only 1 PWM fan, the CPU FAN (or two if you wish like NF-A14 PWM for the back, it has the same rpms as the fan included on the NH-U14S, so you can use the Y splitter than comes with noctua fans, and connect both to the CPU_FAN header, both will run at the same rpms always), the frontal i wouldnt go for NF-A9 PWM, the main reason is that the other 3 headers (CHA_FAN 1,2,3) are 4pin fake, so no pwm control on them, but they are controlled by voltage, they can be fully controlled fine, don't worry, but they wont be on PWM but on voltage, for this i would recommend to go with the none PWM version of the fan, but i strongly recommend you test the included fans first, specially with a motherboard like the Asus that has 4 fan headers, if its not quiet enough for your liking, just upgrade the fans later.myselphabet wrote:Fans:[/b] 2 x Noctua NF-A9x14 PWM 92x92x14mm + Noctua NF-A15 PWM 140x150x25mm; inlcuding 3 Y PWM splitter to connect to the ASUS mainboard
Yes, i forgot to write about the experience, too. Experience ⇔ expectations are kind of related in both ways.quest_for_silence wrote:With reference to that point, I think the question isn't really the expectations, but some experience: so I adviced you at the best of my little experience, not just according to my expectations about "what is quiet enough".
So SpeedFan is the most powerful tool then? Awesome!quest_for_silence wrote:For sure: to be honest, speaking about 3-pin fans, any motherboard has its own lower limit in the fan speed control. IIRC ASUS should be about 60% using the UEFI control or 40% using FanXpert 2, but you can get rid of those limitations using SpeedFan at system startup.
And that's, what I finally wanted to read, an approval.quest_for_silence wrote:myselphabet wrote:I think it would be very satisfying in terms of quietness for me
I hope so too, anything look like in the right place.
Well they could be talking about the hdd cages pair with the cpu cooler, in some cases the cables are really right next to the fan, thats my guess. My suggestion if you are only using an SSD on the build is to remove all cages, and just connect the ssd to the front, here is a picture of what i mean,myselphabet wrote:quest_for_silence wrote:BTW: I browsed the OCN thread a lot and found something interesting (for me): Nocuta says the NH-U14S only fits on the Asus Z87i-Pro when turne 90° (and on the ASRock with an additionally backplate which I have to order seperatly from Noctua for 0€). It seems they are wrong and there is enough space.
The upcoming Hashwell refresh (also posted in this thread) and the need not to buy the system on tick (yeah, new month, new (enough) money!) were the reasons.ggumdol wrote:Why am I not entirely convinced that it is really in the closing stage?myselphabet wrote:Well, now it really is in the closing stages!
Finding a 140 mm long or shorter ATX power supply was also difficult so we opted to use the SilverStone ST45SF-G, an 80 Plus Gold modular SFX model with a total output of 450W.
So be careful into what motherboard you chose, i think Asus center cpu socket placement works better, but you should try to check other threads like NCASE M1: a crowdfunded Mini-ITX case (updates in first post), for confirming what motherboards people are using on their builds with the NH-C14.NCASE recommends using a top-down cooler and a fanless Noctua NH-C14 would be a perfect choice as it exactly 105 mm tall, the same as the official CPU heatsink clearance height. Unfortunately it interferes with the expansion slot due to our motherboard's CPU socket placement next to the PCI-E slot so a Scythe Samurai ZZ was used instead.