Search found 27 matches

by norman-ramsey
Fri May 23, 2014 1:25 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Silverstone Fortress FT02 ATX Case
Replies: 76
Views: 66053

Re: Silverstone Fortress FT02 ATX Case

... you'd be surprised just how quiet the WD Red 3.5" drives are; I think they are quieter than most 2.5" drives. And their high areal density makes them very fast, faster definitely than most 2.5" drives. Mike, I wanted to follow up about your suggestion with the WD Red. I made two changes at the ...
by norman-ramsey
Sun Mar 09, 2014 2:22 pm
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: FT02 Hard Drive Mounts
Replies: 3
Views: 2929

Re: FT02 Hard Drive Mounts

Yes, the hard-drive mounts are awful.
by norman-ramsey
Sun Mar 09, 2014 1:14 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Silverstone Fortress FT02 ATX Case
Replies: 76
Views: 66053

Re: Silverstone Fortress FT02 ATX Case

The thread at http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=65849 suggests that the Reds for sale now are not as quiet as they once were. I never know what to do with information like this---would you be concerned? Or is there some FUD going on? The measurements from Lawrence Lee's review...
by norman-ramsey
Sun Mar 09, 2014 12:42 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Silverstone Fortress FT02 ATX Case
Replies: 76
Views: 66053

Re: Silverstone Fortress FT02 ATX Case

Thanks, Mike. I hadn't thought about popping out the Velociraptors (I have two each for different operating systems).

Perhaps I will combine suggestions and look for a quiet, capacious 2.5-inch drive and suspend it!
by norman-ramsey
Sun Mar 09, 2014 11:11 am
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Silverstone Fortress FT02 ATX Case
Replies: 76
Views: 66053

Re: Silverstone Fortress FT02 ATX Case

Mike, I guess I didn't read the review very intelligently. I have a relatively cool CPU and VGA card, so I seem to have purchased exactly the wrong case for my needs. The drives I have include Two 150GB Velociraptors, model WD1500HLFS One Seagate Barracuda 1TB, 7200RPM I have several newer, slower, ...
by norman-ramsey
Sun Mar 09, 2014 6:49 am
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Silverstone Fortress FT02 ATX Case
Replies: 76
Views: 66053

My disks are too loud!

TL;DR: How do I quiet the noisy damn disks? EDIT: Mike got me sorted out with a WD Red. Also, using two more of the hot-swap disk plugins that are screwed to the case also made a difference. I am now much, much happer with this case. Back story: I had been happily using an Antec Solo for many years,...
by norman-ramsey
Sat Jan 30, 2010 9:50 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Antec Minuet has no standoffs -- danger of shorting?
Replies: 2
Views: 1744

Thanks. I will give it a run.
by norman-ramsey
Sat Jan 30, 2010 12:48 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Antec Minuet has no standoffs -- danger of shorting?
Replies: 2
Views: 1744

Antec Minuet has no standoffs -- danger of shorting?

I'm building an HTPC in an Antec Minuet case. Although the manual says to use brass standoffs, there are no standoffs in the case, and experiment confirms what I find on the Internet: if I use standard standoffs, the mobo is mounted too high to fit the output panel. The screw holes are however on li...
by norman-ramsey
Tue Jan 05, 2010 5:16 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: uATX CPU cooler in Antec Minuet: Shuriken or Big Shuriken?
Replies: 2
Views: 1797

swivelguy2 wrote:The Big Shuriken is designed to clear standard memory sticks, and there's also low-profile RAM.
Great information! Thanks kindly.
by norman-ramsey
Tue Jan 05, 2010 10:36 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: uATX CPU cooler in Antec Minuet: Shuriken or Big Shuriken?
Replies: 2
Views: 1797

uATX CPU cooler in Antec Minuet: Shuriken or Big Shuriken?

I'm building an HTPC in an Antec Minuet and am looking for a low-profile CPU cooler. I read the favorable review of the Scythe Big Shuriken but am concerned about the difficulty of installation. I'm going for a cheap motherboard with only 2 memory slots, and if the cooler blocks one slot, I am hosed...
by norman-ramsey
Tue Jan 05, 2010 10:19 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Antec Minuet build: choice of CPU and cooler
Replies: 3
Views: 2365

Both CPU are very power efficient, the difference under load is 5-10 watts. Thanks for that info. I think with only 5-10W penalty I may go for the extra core. It will come in handy if I want to do some transcoding. I remember the Big Shuriken being a few degrees cooler than the Shuriken. Both shoul...
by norman-ramsey
Mon Jan 04, 2010 9:18 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Antec Minuet build: choice of CPU and cooler
Replies: 3
Views: 2365

Antec Minuet build: choice of CPU and cooler

I'm looking to build an HTPC in an Antec Minuet case. I will be running Linux and I want Nvidia's VDPAU support for HD video, so I will be getting a GT 210 card (fanless) which will be an additional source of heat in the case. I would like advice about which CPU to purchase and how best to cool it. ...
by norman-ramsey
Thu Nov 05, 2009 5:30 pm
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: recommended quiet GPU for Dragon Age: Origins?
Replies: 8
Views: 4589

David,

Thanks so much for your info. That's just what we'll do!


Norman
by norman-ramsey
Wed Nov 04, 2009 8:45 pm
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: recommended quiet GPU for Dragon Age: Origins?
Replies: 8
Views: 4589

recommended quiet GPU for Dragon Age: Origins?

My wife wants Dragon Age: Origins, and even if she takes my fanless GeForce 9600 GT, that probably won't cut it. The ASUS ENGTX260 card that was well reviewed here seems no longer to be offered for sale, at least not at reputable web sites. Can anyone recommend a suitably quiet GPU? Bioware recommen...
by norman-ramsey
Sat Jun 28, 2008 12:16 pm
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: New build; AMD Phenom 9850 running hot?
Replies: 4
Views: 2840

http://plaza.fi/muropaketti/artikkelit/prosessorit/amd-phenom-x4-9850-intel-core-2-quad-q9300,2 Stress temperatures and system power consumptions are under wPrime The temperature in the 90s is scary. I thought the Phenom design limit was 61 degrees? But maybe that's for the ambient temp? I wish AMD...
by norman-ramsey
Sat Jun 28, 2008 12:14 pm
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: New build; AMD Phenom 9850 running hot?
Replies: 4
Views: 2840

9850 is 125W TDP. Asus does not support that processor on that motherboard due to the relative "light weight" VRM design. Actually, I checked before I bought, and at http://tinyurl.com/6ygulz you'll see the Phenom 9850 is supported. It's the only mobo I could find with integrated graphics that supp...
by norman-ramsey
Fri Jun 27, 2008 11:09 am
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: New build; AMD Phenom 9850 running hot?
Replies: 4
Views: 2840

New build; AMD Phenom 9850 running hot?

I've just finished building a new PC with these components: Antec Solo Case ASUS M3A-H/HDMI AM2+/AM2 AMD Motherboard AMD Phenom 9850 BLACK EDITION 2.5GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Processor ThermalRight Ultra 120 Extreme CPU Cooler with Nexus 120mm fan Kingston HyperX 4GB (4 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 106...
by norman-ramsey
Thu Nov 08, 2007 8:10 am
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Why no recommended mini-ITX cases?
Replies: 6
Views: 4185

Looks gorgeous, although for those of us not in the Euro zone, the price is pretty high---my government has been busy trashing the value of my paycheck!
by norman-ramsey
Tue Nov 06, 2007 12:39 pm
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Why no recommended mini-ITX cases?
Replies: 6
Views: 4185

Why no recommended mini-ITX cases?

I was looking over the reference/recommended lists and was surprised to see that there are no recommended mini-ITX cases. Mike, the next time you update this article it would be nice to no if no cases were tested or if you found none that meet SPCR standards.


Norman
by norman-ramsey
Mon May 15, 2006 5:01 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Gigabyte GV-N66256DP Fanless Graphics Card
Replies: 21
Views: 23568

I too can't find this board in stock anywhere in the US. An earlier poster mentioned zipzoomfly, but they are out too. Does anybody know what's up? Has the card been withdrawn?
by norman-ramsey
Sat Apr 22, 2006 9:37 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: quiet cooling for 2 CPUs?
Replies: 8
Views: 3816

Since we're doing research into compiling for parallel machines, no, a dual-core chip won't cut it---we need to be able to evaluate true off-chip costs. In fact, if we can keep within budget we'll go for two dual-core CPUs. But don't worry; the machine will be used by a group of at least 4 people, s...
by norman-ramsey
Sat Apr 22, 2006 9:03 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: quiet cooling for 2 CPUs?
Replies: 8
Views: 3816

quiet cooling for 2 CPUs?

This summer I will be building a new PC for work. My current system has two AMD Athlon(tm) MP 2800+ CPUs. I would like to replace it with another dual-processor system, but quieter . Most of the information on this site seems geared to single-processor systems. I would love suggestions about CPUs po...
by norman-ramsey
Sat Oct 29, 2005 8:07 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Antec SLK3000B: Minimalist Midtower for Quiet PC
Replies: 233
Views: 229101

Has anyone else had problems using the two front USB-ports? In order to get proper access to these ports, I had to bend the metal on which they are mounted. Carefully! Carefully! First time I bent it too far. Everything has to be 'just right' or the ports don't line up (and it's hard to get the bez...
by norman-ramsey
Sat Oct 29, 2005 8:02 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Antec SLK3000B: Minimalist Midtower for Quiet PC
Replies: 233
Views: 229101

Just a short note---as others have noted, the CPU duct indeed does not line up with the CPU on an AMD Socket 754 board (ASUS K8N). A minor irritation is that the power switch is located behind the door on the bezel. For a home system that is turned on and off a lot, I hate to be opening and closing ...
by norman-ramsey
Sat Oct 22, 2005 10:15 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Zalman 7000 vs stock AMD cooler with cool n quiet?
Replies: 7
Views: 4741

Thanks again for all the advice. It sounds as if the Z7000 is the right balance of price, noise, and cooling for my first foray into quiet computing. Mike, thanks for the PS. Lots of changes at Harvard in 20 years. We now have an undergraduate degree program in CS and a spiffy new (5-yr-old) buildin...
by norman-ramsey
Thu Oct 20, 2005 6:42 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Zalman 7000 vs stock AMD cooler with cool n quiet?
Replies: 7
Views: 4741

The Zalman 7000AlCu is far better than the stock, but it's several years old. The newer zalmans (7700 and 9500s will do a lot better), the scythe ninja, or the thermalright xp-90(c)/xp-120. Read the reviews and search for the lowest price, since I'm assuming that's your limiting factor. Any of thes...
by norman-ramsey
Thu Oct 20, 2005 5:20 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Zalman 7000 vs stock AMD cooler with cool n quiet?
Replies: 7
Views: 4741

Zalman 7000 vs stock AMD cooler with cool n quiet?

I'm planning to build an HTPC that will be used primarily to record HDTV, to play back HDTV, and to transcode HDTV for burning to DVD. I will be running Linux. I'm planning on AMD Sempron 64 3100+ Palermo, which provides significant processing power at 67W high load, throttled back to 20W at low loa...