I think that all the listings and charts in the previous posts are still valid. IMO no need to rediscuss them again.

Just to point out that the TR fan is not bad at all at its lower speeds (SPCR tested it, from 7V and under it's a good performer), I mean it cannot go lower than about 700rpm but it's pleasantly very quiet at that speed: the only concern is whether or not EasyTune 6 (or SpeedFan) can drive it properly (I don't know how much those modern GB BIOSes are effective).

But eventually I don't see any substantial drawback to choose directly the Scythe Mugen 3: according to what I see, it should be around 33-34gbp (just for example, systo.co.uk), while the TR is around 23-24gbp, not a huge difference for a quieter fan (i.e. for a bit of more peace of mind).

However, if every penny is a concern, please take also note that the fanless HR01 should cost you even more, I guess.

I was hoping you'd reply again quest_for_silence as you were so helpful



This is over my head, but I believe SpeedFan is Windows software - are you implying I'd need something like this to make the fan as quiet as possible, which may not be possible for me running Mac OS X?



Yes, it'd be worth it to me. I'll probably go with that then - but will it fit my case? According to Systo its dimensions (WxDxH) are 130 x 108 x 158 mm. But if you look at my most with pictures you'll see the ruler's showing 152mm at a point well within my case (ie. where you see the 6 inch mark, before the cable running over the ruler. So I could probably fit something 158mm high in and still get my case cover on top, but it's not obvious...

If this fit isn't wise, are there any obvious smaller candidates for my needs?



£23 + £8 so similar.

Thanks again,
tog22

SpeedFan is Windows only software, no version has ever been released for any other OS to my knowledge. Similarly, GigaByte's fan control software is also solely for Windows. So only the BIOS fan control will be available to you.


The SPCR review of the Solo II gives the maximum CPU cooler height as 174mm, so 158mm will be no problem at all. Source: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1218-page4.html.

This is the first time you talk about running an Hackintosh: sorry, I can't help, maybe google could do it.

But generally speaking you always need a tool to control any fan speed, which can be alternatively a piece of hardware (usually a rheobus), a software (like a fully fledged program with a gui, or a script like fancontrol on Linux), or a BIOS control, and usually a piece of software is the more flexible solution among them.

It couldn't for me. But I've checked here - hopefully that link'll help any hackintosh users who come across it.

Reply from that forum:

Ok, but where is your question? If there is any question, of course.

My question is the one in bold in the link I provided:

Will my motherboard be able to control the fan speed on these CPU coolers, making it as low as possible to prevent overheating? Is that controlled by 'software' built into the mobo itself, or does it happen at OS level? If the latter, is the fact that my computer's running OS X as a hackintosh an issue?

I am not sure whether or not I'm misunderstanding you, but I think that lodestar has already answered you a long while ago.

That Gigabyte board has a somewhat limited form of fan control, based on three not very flexible presets in its BIOS: if it's enough smart to keep the things quiet for you, well, you will discover when you will run your Hackintosh.

The only alternative to do so, it is to not run the hackintosh at all (providing that MacOS on PC hw is compatible with a very few boards).

You can help a bit the board (and yourself) choosing for the case and the CPU heatsink some low speed fans with inehrent low noise.
There's a recent roundup (#6) on SPCR about quiet fans, give it a reading.

You can use the easy tune Gigabyte software to fine tune the curve of the fan speed. It remembers this in bios.

Granted it would be better to have more control in bios, but the default isn't bad either. The Asrock boards I've used for builds have a 1-9 rating that works pretty well too. With good/quiet fans this is really a non issue for most.

I guess he can't use Windows software, the OS is MacOS.

If it remembers the settings in BIOS, I should be able to boot in Windows once and run the easy tune Gigabyte software once, and these settings should then persist into future boots into Mac OS X.

I have some doubt it may actually "remember a custom fan curve" in BIOS, however, I can't check any how that feature, so if you're sure about it, I can't say nothing further about.

I'm hardly sure - I'm completely new to this (hence my having to ask in this forum), so just going on what Mr Spocko said.