Just pick the case!

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lodestar
Posts: 1683
Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2005 3:29 am
Location: UK

Re: Just pick the case!

Post by lodestar » Fri Apr 20, 2012 12:05 pm

Mettyx wrote:Can you even get stock cards in normal stores? I don't think I remember ever seeing such thing.
The first tranche of GTX 680 releases were all the standard card with stock cooler, identifiable normally by the stock GPU speed of 1006 Mhz and memory 6008 Mhz. My local hardware store is listing eleven makes of standard card, essentially the same card with a different name sticker on it. This seems to have been a marketing strategy by nVidia to get the GTX 680 to market (and in reviewers hands) sooner than was possible by waiting for the partners versions of the card. So maybe a one off occasion.

The partner GTX 680cards are now being released and include the Gainward Phantom II, MSI Twin Frozr III, Gigabyte WindForce 3X and Palit JetStream. Apart from different coolers, all the partners are all factory overclocked - the Phantom II and JetStream currently at the extreme for air cooling with a GPU speed of 1084 Mhz and memory 6300 Mhz.

Mettyx
Posts: 182
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 1:00 pm

Re: Just pick the case!

Post by Mettyx » Sun Apr 22, 2012 8:53 am

I just learned something today and perhaps you will too since no one mentioned it before.

There actually exists positive and negative air pressure in PC cases.

Positive pressure is created when there are more intake fans than exhaust fans so what this positive pressure does is it pushes the air outside the case.
Negative pressure is created when there are more exhaust fans than intake fans so what this negative pressure does is it sucks the air from outside into the case.

Obviously positive air pressure is better because not only does it push the hot air outside it also doesn't suck all the dust like negative does.

So, I was thinking, since R3 only has a fan controller for 3 fans wouldn't it be better to just put one extra intake fan at the bottom thus creating positive air pressure?

Does this sound good in practice as it does in my head? :roll:
Also I see that R3 in its specs has a fan controller, but where is it? Carbide has a fan controller outside just where the power button is, but I can't see such thing anywhere on R3, is it in a box inside the case which you then mount into an optical drive bay or something?


lodestar
Posts: 1683
Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2005 3:29 am
Location: UK

Re: Just pick the case!

Post by lodestar » Mon Apr 23, 2012 11:41 pm

If you remember from earlier in this thread
lodestar wrote:The Asus motherboards also allow greater control over load fan speeds, including the ability to set a manual profile if the built-in BIOS options are not sufficient. If more flexibility is needed than the Asus BIOS fan controls allow, the Asus Fan Xpert software will give you further options.
The video is simply showing in practice what the combination of Asus BIOS fan controls and Fan Xpert can do. The newer Fan Xpert2 software allows a greater degree of automation. It means that you can plug the two fans supplied with the R3 into the motherboard fan headers and not bother with the manual control that is supplied by Fractal. I would still recommend that you use PWM fans on the CPU and to replace the rear exhaust, and move the rear exhaust to the bottom fan position. This is because PWM fans typically have a greater rpm range (particularly in terms of their lowest rpm) than three pin fans. But with Asus motherboard fan control and Fan Xpert you can use whatever fans you have or that you can buy in your locality, although the system may not end up as quiet as it could be.

Bear in mind that the degree of fan control varies with the model of Asus motherboard. The board used in the video allows each chassis fan header to be controlled individually, but others in the range (normally the cheaper ones) may only have a control for all chassis fan headers. And at this stage Fan Xpert2 only seems to be for the most recent Asus motherboards with Ivy Bridge Z77 chipsets. Also Asus only support PWM fans for the CPU header, so that if you are using three pin fans on the CPU cooler chassis fan headers will need to be used.

Blood
Friend of SPCR
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Joined: Sat Oct 20, 2007 2:52 am

Re: Just pick the case!

Post by Blood » Fri May 04, 2012 11:50 am

Mettyx wrote:
Interesting, but probably there is no such thing in my country. Last I saw was Palit GTX680 and PointOfView NV and I've never heard of those brands.
Can't tell if you are serious or joking. Stock GTX 680 means a GTX 680 card with the nvidia designed reference cooler. It can be of any brand.

Blood
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 114
Joined: Sat Oct 20, 2007 2:52 am

Re: Just pick the case!

Post by Blood » Fri May 04, 2012 11:54 am

And vote goes to Fractal Define R3. Least work involved to keep quiet. Corsair 550D is a fine choice, too. Pick the one with better price / aethetics

paapaa
Posts: 198
Joined: Wed May 04, 2005 1:24 am
Location: Finland

Re: Just pick the case!

Post by paapaa » Fri May 04, 2012 12:25 pm

I just built Fractal R3. Great case but the included fans suck. I hear a clicking noise even with minimum setting. I removed both an installed single Nexux silent 12cm fan to rear and set it to almost minimum. Works great and now my computer is really quite.

Only moving parts are 2 Nexux fans: one rotating at 1100RPM and this other one maybe at 800RPM or so.

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