Search found 38 matches

by LiquidRain
Thu Dec 01, 2011 11:11 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Coil Whine with a Seasonic X/Gold 560W
Replies: 6
Views: 4635

Re: Coil Whine with a Seasonic X/Gold 560W

I have no idea how to measure either factor, actually. I'll pop open the outlet today to see if it's grounded, but I have no way I know of to check the line quality. (and I'd be loathe to buy some $200 home theatre line filter :) )
by LiquidRain
Thu Dec 01, 2011 10:14 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Coil Whine with a Seasonic X/Gold 560W
Replies: 6
Views: 4635

Coil Whine with a Seasonic X/Gold 560W

Hey guys, I'm getting persistent coil whine from what sounds like 2 places in my PC. (lord knows it's hard to pin down) One of them is definitely from my PSU, though, as I can put my ear next to the intake that's exposed at the top of my case. Here's the full specs of my PC before I continue: Case: ...
by LiquidRain
Tue Nov 29, 2011 8:44 am
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: Finally got my Xtreme Plus II
Replies: 7
Views: 3769

Re: Finally got my Xtreme Plus II

My only worry with an Xtreme Plus II is the weight. I once had a Thermalright HR-03 GTX installed and it literally bent the graphics card out of shape. The card survived many years like this but it always made me uneasy. What's your experience? Where's the weight centred on the card? Does it bend?
by LiquidRain
Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:09 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Silent Gaming System Build Guide
Replies: 36
Views: 44130

Re: Silent Gaming System Build Guide

danimal wrote:i can't hear any coil whine on the gtx460's that i'm running, fwiw, and i play a lot of crysis.
It's like power supplies. Some do it, some don't.
by LiquidRain
Mon Nov 22, 2010 6:58 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Silent Gaming System Build Guide
Replies: 36
Views: 44130

Re: Silent Gaming System Build Guide

Interesting. I had absolutely no idea that turning on v-sync fixes coil whine. Where did you find this information? That's not what I said - I said it will fix the coil whine during the intro movies and menus of Crysis, as they put undue stress on the graphics card due to no framerate limitations. ...
by LiquidRain
Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:50 am
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Silent Gaming System Build Guide
Replies: 36
Views: 44130

Re: Silent Gaming System Build Guide

You probably noticed coil whine from the video card while playing the intro and menus of Crysis because, by default, Crysis does no v-sync and does not frame limit while playing movies. If you turn on an FPS measuring program, such as Fraps, you'll see your framerate head north of 300. This causes i...
by LiquidRain
Thu May 14, 2009 2:55 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Zotac GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi: Good Things Come in Small Packa
Replies: 57
Views: 54358

Maybe I missed it, but what was the state of the WiFi when you took the idle power reading? Just wondering how many watts the wireless circuit needs. You missed it. Bottom of page five. The absolute maximum it can pull is 5W anyway. Actually, USB devices can request more power from the motherboard,...
by LiquidRain
Thu May 14, 2009 11:14 am
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Zotac GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi: Good Things Come in Small Packa
Replies: 57
Views: 54358

I was honestly hoping to see more info on heatsink compatibility - I'd love to be able to see if one of these things can handle something low-power/efficient like an E5200 without a fan at all if equipped with a large enough heatsink. (hey, if my old Socket939 Athlon64 X2 can run without a fan on a ...
by LiquidRain
Tue Feb 24, 2009 7:56 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Asus M3N78 Pro: Geforce 8300 & HybridPower Explored
Replies: 33
Views: 28549

Just finished installing Vista. The fan is not turning off on my GTX 260, even though Power Save mode is selected! Latest BIOS and drivers. Going to give it a reboot and see what happens. It's worth noting I don't have the M3N78 Pro, but the M3N78-VM. Similar enough chipsets, I would think. edit: ev...
by LiquidRain
Mon Feb 23, 2009 6:58 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Annoyed by S12-II Whine - Recommendations?
Replies: 6
Views: 4452

My biggest concern is the ATX 12v lead length in a P182 case. Is there any way this thing will reach? The connector is pretty much on the top of my motherboard. I had a problem reaching around the back of my Mini P180 with the S12-II. It just barely made it and there was some fairly high tension on...
by LiquidRain
Mon Feb 23, 2009 12:47 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Annoyed by S12-II Whine - Recommendations?
Replies: 6
Views: 4452

Rolled the dice on the Enermax.
by LiquidRain
Sun Feb 22, 2009 11:41 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Annoyed by S12-II Whine - Recommendations?
Replies: 6
Views: 4452

I had issues with my Seasonic S12-II 500W powering my Socket 939 Athlon X2 4400+ system. When under duress, the power supply would simply give up and power off the system entirely. Turning on vsync would always fix this issue. (it was usually when any game would carelessly run a .avi intro movie or ...
by LiquidRain
Fri Feb 20, 2009 8:21 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Annoyed by S12-II Whine - Recommendations?
Replies: 6
Views: 4452

Annoyed by S12-II Whine - Recommendations?

My 2 year old Seasonic S12-II 500W is driving me absolutely nuts with coil whine and buzzing. It wasn't so bad before, but I recently upgraded to a Phenom II X4 940 after holding on to my Socket 939 Athlon64 for 4 years, and the coil whine is not only constant - it's louder than everything in the ca...
by LiquidRain
Fri Feb 20, 2009 7:55 am
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Asus M3N78 Pro: Geforce 8300 & HybridPower Explored
Replies: 33
Views: 28549

I don't have Vista installed at the moment or I'd tell you, but I am definitely having a problem with this board not controlling the fans after buying it a couple of days ago. SpeedFan doesn't do anything, and ASUS Q-Fan's functionality isn't working either.
by LiquidRain
Sun Dec 14, 2008 1:19 pm
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: Thermalright HR-03 GTX & Silenx Noiseless GPU cooler Rev
Replies: 4
Views: 3457

Yeah i agree. I Think revision once was recalled due to overheating VRM's so this isnt a good sign. However, the review doesnt say which version they received. From the review: Although the cooler had been introduced in August already, it took three months before the device was available on the mar...
by LiquidRain
Sat Dec 13, 2008 1:42 pm
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: Thermalright HR-03 GTX & Silenx Noiseless GPU cooler Rev
Replies: 4
Views: 3457

If this is the rev 2 of the HT-03 GTX I've been waiting for, and if that test *is* thorough, that's not very promising indeed. :/
by LiquidRain
Mon Nov 24, 2008 4:05 pm
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: HR-03 GTX
Replies: 12
Views: 6877

akromatic wrote:hmm any idea how can i squeeze a fan in? and does it have to be a 120mm? perhaps i can get away with a scythe kaze jyu(slim)
I have no idea - the product hasn't been released! :(
by LiquidRain
Tue Nov 18, 2008 7:12 pm
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: HR-03 GTX
Replies: 12
Views: 6877

the sad part is that im using a SG03 case that kinda requires you to use the NT06 cooler which means no wrap around for me with the HR03-GTX taking up 3 PCI slots(without fan), thats all my PCI slots available(since most mATX boards have their PCIe 16x on the second slot) and i cant install a fan i...
by LiquidRain
Mon Nov 17, 2008 2:15 pm
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: HR-03 GTX
Replies: 12
Views: 6877

It won't take 3 PCI slots if you use it wrap-around style - that often works even with a Ninja or similar on the CPU. Just gotta make sure to have a case intake fan or something cooling the frontside of the card. The cooler I have (Zalman 9700) with the motherboard I have doesn't give me the space ...
by LiquidRain
Sun Nov 16, 2008 9:05 pm
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: HR-03 GTX
Replies: 12
Views: 6877

Is there any more news on this? It shows unavailable everywhere except Anitec, where it's out of stock/on backorder. End PC Noise, NCIX, and Newegg.ca only have the regular HR-03s. I, too, am desperate for something to cool my GTX 260 silently. Even if it costs 3 PCI slots, I can afford to lose 'em....
by LiquidRain
Sun Oct 21, 2007 10:08 pm
Forum: Quiet Prebuilt, SFF and Barebones Systems
Topic: Old AthlonXP vs C7: Worth the switch for noise/power?
Replies: 7
Views: 5703

After doing a bit of testing, do you think it would be safe to run such a machine off a Pico PSU? At the max speed (2084MHz) and under 100% CPU load ("yes > /dev/null") and the backup 3.5" HDD on, the server seems to consume approximately 85-90W. I know Pico PSUs make 120W models. Just seems strange...
by LiquidRain
Sun Oct 21, 2007 9:47 pm
Forum: Quiet Prebuilt, SFF and Barebones Systems
Topic: Old AthlonXP vs C7: Worth the switch for noise/power?
Replies: 7
Views: 5703

Not worth the switch. If you consider total energy/resources, eco-cost of replacements would easily eat up whatever gains you make in running electricity costs for years. I suggest using the PSU for a system that draws more power (so that it's operating at a more efficient part of its curve) and re...
by LiquidRain
Sun Oct 21, 2007 1:04 pm
Forum: Quiet Prebuilt, SFF and Barebones Systems
Topic: Old AthlonXP vs C7: Worth the switch for noise/power?
Replies: 7
Views: 5703

Old AthlonXP vs C7: Worth the switch for noise/power?

I have a home file/web server that's gets very, very low usage. It is an AthlonXP 2600 on an nForce2, with a crappy old PCI video card, a suspended laptop HDD, and only an extra NIC for components. Its power usage is approximately 30-35W on idle according to my UPS, haven't measured how much it cons...
by LiquidRain
Wed Apr 26, 2006 9:36 pm
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: Motherboard chipset power draw & onboard video?
Replies: 13
Views: 5641

frostedflakes wrote:... however, difference between AGP and PCI-E was usually quiet significant, 5-10w.
That is pretty significant. Good find, I'll have to keep it in mind. You think that if I wasn't even using a PCI-e card (I've got ancient PCI ones kicking around for this purpose) it'd still make a difference?
by LiquidRain
Wed Apr 26, 2006 10:36 am
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: Motherboard chipset power draw & onboard video?
Replies: 13
Views: 5641

Thanks for the advice so far. I wanted to try to keep things internal, as opposed to external, as much as possible, which is why I was thinking of IDE -> CF - but what can you do. :) My original question is unanswered. This isn't surprising to me - I've never really seen tests for measuring how much...
by LiquidRain
Tue Apr 25, 2006 9:13 am
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: Motherboard chipset power draw & onboard video?
Replies: 13
Views: 5641

ULi has the best SATA and IDE performance of any of the chipsets. You might want to look for something using a ULi southbridge. Thanks for the tip. The compact flash interface is basically IDE. However, you can get USB2 to compact flash readers for less than $10. Why not just use CD-Rs for backup? ...
by LiquidRain
Sun Apr 23, 2006 1:56 pm
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: Motherboard chipset power draw & onboard video?
Replies: 13
Views: 5641

What kind of server? If it's just a file server, then the minimum power solution will be a via motherboard with via processor; perhaps a mini-ITX motherboard. They're dog slow for desktop computing, but plenty fast enough for a file server. These will have on-board video already, making your debate...
by LiquidRain
Sun Apr 23, 2006 8:04 am
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: Motherboard chipset power draw & onboard video?
Replies: 13
Views: 5641

I've done both. The video quality from the ancient PCI card was not even good enough to playback normal DVD's (some people said this is because of the restricted bandwidth of the PCI bus). I personally found the GeForce 6100 a little too hot for silent computing; I now use an Asus K8V-MX with VIA i...
by LiquidRain
Sat Apr 22, 2006 4:28 pm
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: Motherboard chipset power draw & onboard video?
Replies: 13
Views: 5641

Motherboard chipset power draw & onboard video?

Two quick questions for the SPCR folk that I can't seem to find an answer for: Which motherboards draw the least power? Do "loaded" boards like the A8N-SLI 32 Premium draw more than, say, an A8N-E? Or is it almost entirely dependant on the chipset and the extras are negligible, and in that case whic...
by LiquidRain
Wed Mar 08, 2006 9:36 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: I'm looking for a very quiet/silent UPS
Replies: 14
Views: 8431

I have an APC Back-UPS XS 800. Great battery life, lots of plugs, but has a low electrical hum. On AC power it's less audible than the hard drive in my server, which is an Antec rubber-grommet mounted Samsung 250GB P120 in an SLK3700AMB. It emits a more audible electrical hum as well as a quiet "squ...