Hi Akustyk -

My parts arrived and I built the system -- not without some teeth gnashing and hair pulling when it came time to securely fasten the fan (and keep it fastened) to the Thermalright H-02. But it's whisper quiet. Just what I wanted. I'll post more details and observations at a later time.

Unfortunately, I am having issues with the Intel DP67BG motherboard and would like to compare notes with you. I'm not sure of the best venue to do that in. Please advise - I'd hate to hijack this thread to discuss motherboard quirks. This is my first experience with an Intel branded motherboard.

For info on ONE issue I'm having you can see a thread I started over at the Intel desktop motherboard forums here:

http://communities.intel.com/message/138186#138186

It concerns the USB 3.0 ports. Today I RMA'd the board. Hopefully what I've been experiencing is limited to this individual board and not inherent in Intel's overall design.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sure, I'll PM you my email address. Please, feel free to email me and we can chat then.

Regarding the issue with USB 3.0, I have not been able to replicate it. I, as you, was curious to test USB 3.0 immediately after I installed the system and updates. I also updated BIOS to the latest version (not sure which, as I am currently not at my desk), if that helps. I have had no stability problems with that port, or any other USB port. It could be your board, especially that it is exhibiting other quirks. But it could also be another, seemingly unrelated component. It's awfully difficult to troubleshoot such quirky issues.

I had only one issue with this board, and that was the Patriot Gamer 2 Series RAM (4x4GB), but the errors were not indicative of RAM explicitly. For example, I couldn't install Windows due to a DVD drive failure, but I also couldn't install it from a USB stick, with the same error message. I have immediately swapped the RAM with one type of Corsair, no problem; then another type of Corsair, no problem. So I knew it had to be the RAM. I bought Kingston HyperX Gray series and it works perfectly. Not sure if the ram was bad or not compatible.

I was afraid of potential problems with my OCZ SSD (Vertex 2), but it works better than in any other system I've put it in. True, with each firmware update, the SSD has worked more reliably, and now, it is finally rock-solid. This is why I decided to stuck with it for this build, despite faster SSDs being available. The reviews of the Vertex 3 scared me a bit.

Hope that helps. My advice would be to not waste any more time and replace the board, perhaps with another model altogether.

Akustyk, can you explain me in little bit more details, how you
what materials do i need?

I used a piece of acrylic 120mm square, I drilled four holes, exactly in the same locations as a fan. You can use a 120mm fan as a guide. I bought a rubber fan gasket like http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0352592, and put it between the acrylic and the top panel. I screwed it in place with regular fan screws. That's it. The edges of the acrylic don't need to be perfect because the gasket goes over them anyway .

I was a bit disappointed with the cable routing in the present build. I didn't like how the front-panel connectors and the USB3 cable had to run, exposed, along the bottom of the motherboard chamber. I took the bottom out by drilling out the rivets. Then I drilled two cable routing holes, one for the front panel connectors and USB, and the other for the exhaust fan (Aux fan header) and the USB3 cable. I used a 1-inch fine-tooth hole saw to make the holes and used 1-inch rubber grommets to finish then. I had to cut the grommets in half because they were interfering with the plastic sliding "door" that comes with the Antec P183 case. I re-attached the bottom with a pop rivet gun.

I took a picture of one of the holes with, and without the cords routed through. It's a minor improvement, but the exposed cables don't bug me any more

I got the EVGA Z68 SLI to test and use for a new build. I decided to give it a try because of the support for multiple PWM 4-pin fan headers. The board is nice. It's stable, it's fast. It has a very good layout. The I/O shield rocks! However, only three fan headers fully support PWM fans: the CPU, the POWER, and the CHASSIS fan headers. The remaining fan headers run PWM fans at full speed. I am quite disappointed. The Intel DP67BG still has, in my opinion, the best PWM implementation of the 1155 boards I've tried. Of course, I haven't tried them all

Three PWM headers is better than average. You can always add more fans using the AC12 PWM daisy-chain feature...

True, but the fact that the motherboard has seven 4-pin headers is somewhat misleading. Neither the owner's manual, nor the spec sheet mention anything about it. Intel is clear about using PWM technology for fan speed control. I also haven't found anything about PWM support in the reviews I'd read, but I am sure I missed something. It is a good board, please, don't get me wrong. I just wish it had PWM support for all of the fan headers, like Intel does. I don't like this "mixed" fan standard on most motherboards.

I decided to make another slight modification to the Antec P183 case. My Intel DP67BG has the 24-pin input in a slightly unusual place, closer to the top of the motherboard, rather than, roughly, in the middle. Thus, you have to run the huge 24-pin cable up through the existing cut-out in the motherboard tray. This mod makes it much easier and tidier to run route the 24-pin cable. It's not necessary, by any means, but I thought it would make cable management easier. I used a 7/8-inch hole saw, and a Dremel tool to make the cutout. Then I put in a Corsair grommet that I happened to have. Here's the photo:

Hi, just a quick question if I may: how does the Thermalright TY-140 fan speed change with PWM signal? It's spec says 900~1300rpm and everywhere I can find it just repeats that but I would hope with a low PWM, eg 20~30% that it should run much slower?
[The official PWM spec say that fan must go on slowing down to 30% and the speed must be within 10% of the PWM setting of the maximum speed, ie (30%+10%) of 1300rpm <= 520rpm]
The reason I ask is I may end up with one or two as CPU fans and for sure 900rpm on 140mm fan will be too loud.
Many thanks, Seb

On my MiniMi Build (check sig) the lowest setting that intel board allows me is 700rpm and the fan is fine at that, barely spins, not silent but good enough for me, i seen in the forums someone else that was close to 600rpm (i cant go that low), but i havent seen anything close to 500. Either way its my favorite fan, really good cooling and low noise.

Thank you for the info, Seb

By the way, this machine may be very quiet, but with 5 fans and at least one hard drive -- it is not silent.