Much belated reply but... On its lowest setting it is probably marginally quieter than the 5850 @ 15% (don't own one, but assume it is comparable to the 6950), but more noticeably the fans have a nicer sound. As the speed ramps up it is much less annoying than the 6950 blower, and nowhere NEAR as lo...

And I can't see a reason to choose this overpriced Zalman thingy over a TwinTurbo Pro, if you ask me... :? The Twin Turbo is not compatible with the 5850. How's that for a reason? :roll: And how can one thing be overpriced if it performs better than most for the same/less price? Regardless, 40 € ...

Update: Removed the shroud. Slight drop in noise level, but not huge. It is probably the removal of the little red tabs over the fan that has made the biggest change in noise. Temps are about the same, so nothing gained/lost there. The card does take up a bit less room though, and looks a lot less g...

My old CM690 had a bottom case fan mount. I believe the CM690II also has the same mount. It is not directly below the GPU (that is power the PSU is located) but probably close enough to significantly improve cool airflow to a GPU (particularly one of the newer kind with a stock cooler at the end of ...

ascl wrote:That said, I do believe its possible to find very quiet pumps, but have no experience with the DDC. Makes we wonder wtf people are talking about when they have 2 of the 18w DDCs and claim not to be able to hear them...!

I've heard if you dip them in concrete they're silent.

I have to agree that the zalman looks like good value. While the stock fans are not quiet, a vf3000 plus replacement fans is still cheaper than a t-rad or mk13 (plus fans). The fact that you can use the stock cooler base along with it is a nice bonus and should help in vrm cooling. That is true onl...

What I don`t know for sure is whether that would cool the vrms well enough with the fans running at an inaudible 800-1000 rpm. 85 degrees are not too bad, especially on an overclocked card, but this is probably at a higher speed. Overclocked and overvolted apparently - which makes 85 degrees even m...

Let's see : http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=252982 Sorry, but two 9,2cm fans at 1300RPM or 2500RPM won't be silent. What is the point of aftermarket cooler if it isn't a lot more silent than the stock cooler ? And with 800RPM those fans would probably fail to provide enough air...

Pumps tend to be very sensitive to how they are mounted. If its not completely de-coupled from the case, it will be very noisy. Also, people, especially people on overclocking forums (which are the most popular WC forums), call all sorts of crazy things quiet or silent... I've heard people say 2000...

I've seen plenty of people zip-tie a case fan over spare PCI slots, but I don't think I've seen a case specifically designed for it! I would be interested in seeing one though. Evacuating GPU heat can be tricky business.

Well, that's what I'm questioning. The Cosmos (that my husband has) is enclosed. No holes in the sides or front (besides for fans). And if the 690 II is going to be significantly louder, I think I need to look elsewhere. It will be. Configuring the CM690 II in a quiet fashion would require consider...

MikeC: Has spcr ever done testing of the noise of watercooling pumps - would be very interesting to see how much noise a ddc 10w in a simple loop without any fans makes for comparison with a good quality fan. YMMV, but I found the noise the 10w DDC too loud. It could be heard over four 120mm S-Flex...

The limitations of WC are ... space. I stopped using water for the last reason more than anything else, because I wanted a much smaller case. Now there's a matter of definition. When it comes to space WC adds (compared to heatpipes) the volume of a pump, some tubing and (usually) a reservoir. While...

The only problem with the CM 690 and its successor is the massive amount of holes it has! There are holes on every single panel - fan mounts back, bottom, front, both sides and top... as well as mesh all up the front and across the top. End result is sound comes out everywhere! My previous setup was...

If you mean that small red thingy in pictures, then yeah, that is the VRM cooler and hell no, it won't be able to cool down HD5850 VRM area. ??? Zalman VF3000A I have plenty of user reviews in forums that prove the opposite. Agreed. Although I'm not using the actual VRM heatsink shipped with the VF...

How does it sound inside the case? Not as audible I hope. Sound volume is definitely attenuated significantly inside the case, though it is worth noting on the lowest fan speed while gaming temps are significantly higher (55-60 degrees C). Still not in danger zone by any means. I can use the PC fai...

It will! But why not just leave the fan where it is and build the duct? The CPU cooling effect will be the same (or better, since the incoming air turbulence induced by the grill get a chance to settle before reaching the fan) that way. What about the dead spot in the middle of the fan? Not worth w...

Bleh. I read 1920x1080 and stopped reading.

No way I'm going to "upgrade" my monitor to something that has a lower vertical resolution, regardless of how good the panel is!

What was wrong with 16:10? That was a great size! Actually I miss the 1600x1200 panels. *hugs his Samsung 204s*

Hmm... $80 left for a quality case, quiet PSU & a CPU cooler? You're going to struggle! ;) There's plenty of PSUs to select from the recommended list (my personal preference is still with Seasonic). For a cost effective cooler, the HDT-S1283 is quite good - even better with an upgraded fan. Silverst...

Hi all, Just after a bit of quick advice on whether I should spend some time re-doing my CPU cooling zone in my new mATX box. I've got a picture of the proposed change here: http://img686.imageshack.us/img686/5858/img2147duct.jpg I'm thinking of moving the fan attached to the heatsink to the white b...

I've just switched back to air from WC, so I can give some first-hand advice/perspective on the issue! The key advantage with WC is cooling high-end, high-heat parts. CPU air coolers are really superb today, and even with an overclocked CPU you can get away with a high-end air cooler to keep it at r...

And water pump. My just-retired system had a "silent" pump that was not silent at all. :S

You can see the crappy overhanging bits in front of the fans - form over function for Zalman! :P I think some tin-snips will fix that up quite easily though. You could just remove the shroud entirely :P Considering it. I suppose I need to do some back-to-back testing to see if the shroud helps the ...

If height clearance is not a factor, nothing can really get close to the venerable Arctic S1 with a good fan on it. And I can't see a reason to choose this overpriced Zalman thingy over a TwinTurbo Pro, if you ask me... :? Twin Turbo Pro was only $10 cheaper here... and as suggested, does not suppo...

Thanks for your feedback! I'm considering it to replace my 5850's stock cooler and was surprised about the lack of interest regarding this cooler :lol: For cooling the VRM couldn't you just use the stock cooling plate? Or is it not compatible with this cooler? If you decide to do any of those impro...

Hi guys, Just thought I'd give you a quick run-down on the VF3000A I recently installed on my 4870 . First things first: the 4870 is NOT on the compatibility list for the VF3000A - but it works just fine. The only thing you can't install is the VRM heatsink, which is designed for the 5870/50 only. F...

Late reply - but I just picked up a 5000AACS - didn't even know they existed until the guy handed it over! (was expecting another KS). He said they'd just come into stock here. Regardless - compared to my existing 5000AAKS it's noticeably quieter. The AACS is hard-mounted and it already makes less n...

...and therefore quieter than my air alternative? Personally I have no argument that air is easier to do quieter. I know this because I've got a noisy MCP350 that I just can't shut-up in my watercooling setup, despite suspension mounting (if hanging by the tubes actually counts as a 'mount'). The W...

I have to ask - why do you want to watercool your drive? If it's for looks/kudos then fair enough, but HDDs don't need to be watercooled in regard to running temperature. They need very little airflow to stay in a safe operating range - the kind of airflow you get from a watercooling radiator anyway.

It's the 10W, AFAIK - although I've also read that some people with the MCP350 somehow got a mislabeled 18W. I'll have to check it tonight. I've thought about it, and the piping does touch the case in one section, somewhat unavoidably. It's difficult to picture, but the case is a server case, and th...