Search found 35 matches

by Atragon
Sat Sep 09, 2017 9:49 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: The Ten Year PC Build
Replies: 34
Views: 31697

Re: The Ten Year PC Build

I second most of this. I'm a gamer, so my desktop regularly gets upgrades, but at the same time I am writing this post from a 9 year old laptop. My current desktop is 6 years old, an I7-2600K in which I've upgraded my SSD, RAM, GPU, and added a sound card. I'll probably upgrade GPU again in a genera...
by Atragon
Sat Jan 02, 2016 12:59 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Quick PSU recommendation requested
Replies: 5
Views: 4814

Re: Quick PSU recommendation requested

Having run the numbers based on jonnyGURU's measured efficiency values, it looks like the RM650i is between $10 and $20 cheaper over 5-10 years compared to the P2 650W. Having said that, it sounds like the P2 stays fanless for longer based on TomsHardware's reviews of the RM750i and the P2 650W, and...
by Atragon
Fri Jan 01, 2016 2:16 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Quick PSU recommendation requested
Replies: 5
Views: 4814

Re: Quick PSU recommendation requested

I'd question whether the increased price is worth it solely for the 3-6% efficiency bump below 100W of draw, and ~1-2% under load from the jonnyGURU review. If it has other redeeming features (ie, higher ceiling on fanless operation), or if I'm missing something, I'd love to know about it.
by Atragon
Fri Jan 01, 2016 12:19 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Quick PSU recommendation requested
Replies: 5
Views: 4814

Quick PSU recommendation requested

I'm putting together a mini-itx HTPC at the moment, and am trying to decide between a few different PSU options. I am also open to other options in the price range. I am aiming for a fairly quiet system, which will primarily be used for watching movies or streaming games from a different PC via Stea...
by Atragon
Sun Jan 02, 2011 8:13 am
Forum: Fans and Control
Topic: Pros and cons for various Scythe & Noctua fans?
Replies: 7
Views: 3734

Re: Pros and cons for various Scythe & Noctua fans?

Regarding the noise and performance characteristics of the fans, Martin over on XtremeSystems has been doing a roundup of various 120mm fans when mounted on a radiator. While not directly comparable to open-air tests, it is a fairly comprehensive list that has the fans you're looking at on it. The b...
by Atragon
Wed Dec 02, 2009 12:30 pm
Forum: Quiet Prebuilt, SFF and Barebones Systems
Topic: Help needed - choosing a low cost, quiet HTPC
Replies: 2
Views: 3558

I don't care about size, as I said, I've got an ATX system in a mid tower case at the moment, so any size that fits my needs is fine. (recall, full-height PCI slot for existing tuner, or cost savings sufficient to buy a replacement tuner).

Ideally the system would also have an optical drive.
by Atragon
Mon Nov 30, 2009 6:34 pm
Forum: Quiet Prebuilt, SFF and Barebones Systems
Topic: Help needed - choosing a low cost, quiet HTPC
Replies: 2
Views: 3558

Help needed - choosing a low cost, quiet HTPC

Unfortunately for me, I just discovered that my previous HTPC is well and truely dead, random freezes while navigating Windows even after an OS reinstall. So, I need a replacement. Unfortunately, my budget is minimal, so I need some help in choosing the lowest cost option that meets my needs. The sy...
by Atragon
Tue Dec 20, 2005 8:49 pm
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Torn between Zalman 9500, XP-120, XP-90, & XP-90C
Replies: 16
Views: 7119

Personally, I'd highly recommend either the Scythe Ninja or the XP-120, both of which work extremely well with the nexus 120mm fans. According to my CPU's diode temperature, my 3000+ (downclocked to 1.4 atm) is running at a max of 30 deg C under full load, ambiant air somewhere between 15 and 18 deg...
by Atragon
Sun Oct 30, 2005 8:13 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: New passive PSU: Magnum 500/600W
Replies: 34
Views: 29255

So to sum it up, this PSU is about as loud as a radeon 9700 with stock cooling?
by Atragon
Sat Oct 01, 2005 7:50 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Anyplace to buy right-angle SATA and Molex power connectors?
Replies: 6
Views: 3698

Is this the type of thing you're looking for?

http://www.adpmods.com/case-modding/Rig ... c-172.html
by Atragon
Mon Sep 19, 2005 3:12 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Replace my DFI chipset HSF!
Replies: 11
Views: 5880

Personally Bob, I would suggest doing both the VM700 and NB-47J at the same time since the flower nature of the VM700 pushes air over the chipset heatsink keeping both of them cooled without an extra fan. Depending on which card you have, you may not be able to connect the VM700 to the fan header on...
by Atragon
Sun Sep 18, 2005 7:21 am
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: ASUS A8N-E Chipset Fan Removal for Zalman NB47J
Replies: 11
Views: 8193

Interesting, I didn't know any NF4 motherboards used shims on the chipset...
by Atragon
Sun Sep 18, 2005 6:08 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Replace my DFI chipset HSF!
Replies: 11
Views: 5880

I've done the mod in question, I took a NB-47J, cut off a row of pins, and bent the other ones out to make a mini flower. This way I can use the top PCI-E slot for my X800XL with a VF700 on it... which just happens to push air over the chipset heatsink. According to the ITE Smartguardian software my...
by Atragon
Sun Sep 18, 2005 6:04 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: OCZ or Kingston?
Replies: 15
Views: 6558

And I was about to suggest returning the RAM and smacking the guy around some for not getting you what you ordered. ;)

OCZ RAM had some problems a long time ago, but since then they have made some good stuff. I suspect you'll be just as happy with the OCZ RAM as the Kingston part you wanted to get.
by Atragon
Fri Sep 16, 2005 10:58 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Quiet A-PFC PSU, with straight-through fan and EPS12V?
Replies: 40
Views: 19962

Just to chime in, I'm also assembling a dual opteron system but for a slightly different purpose. I'm building it as a central server for my home network that will act as a fileserver/domain controller/media encoding (may as well use that second CPU for something...) Current specs are: Tyan K8SE 2x ...
by Atragon
Fri Sep 16, 2005 10:48 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: New passive PSU: Magnum 500/600W
Replies: 34
Views: 29255

Review: http://www.gotapex.com/reviews.php?rev=misc/mgemagnum/index.html Not had a chance to read it properly, but two things caught my eye. 1/ LIFETIME Warranty (I'm not aware of any PSU with a lifetime warranty) 2/ 3000 hour capacitors (= about a years use at 9hrs per day, so is kind of at odds w...
by Atragon
Wed Sep 14, 2005 3:56 pm
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Zalman CNPS9500 review
Replies: 74
Views: 37242

Just a thought about modding this, but why not yank the stock 92mm fan, block the central hole with a plug of some sort and mount a 120mm fan in front of the heatsink? I'd imagine that this would dramatically improve airflow across the fins and/or decrease noise level since it would allow for use of...
by Atragon
Thu Mar 24, 2005 11:50 am
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: X800XL Cooling options?
Replies: 8
Views: 3965

Well, my #1 goal is silence... However, it would be nice to get some good performance out of it too.
by Atragon
Thu Mar 24, 2005 3:46 am
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: X800XL Cooling options?
Replies: 8
Views: 3965

Just to throw some more confusion into the mix... it _looks_ like the XP-120 has a smaller footprint towards the vid card than the Zalman 7700, and I may be able to fit a ZM80-D in there...
by Atragon
Wed Mar 23, 2005 12:21 pm
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: ATI Radeon X800XL Help
Replies: 6
Views: 3714

No, I have no issues swapping HSFs on a video card, just wanted some input as to which one to get, now that I've got my motherboard (a nice new Lanparty Ultra-D), and the HSF for the CPU (XP-120), I can definately see that the Aerocool wouldn't fit, but I believe that a Zalman ZM80-D may fit. Howeve...
by Atragon
Tue Mar 22, 2005 1:39 pm
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: ATI Radeon X800XL Help
Replies: 6
Views: 3714

The X800XL is a good card, just get an aftermarket cooler and you should be laughing.
by Atragon
Mon Mar 21, 2005 5:28 am
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: X800XL Cooling options?
Replies: 8
Views: 3965

Ok, so between the silencer and the VF700 then, which is quieter? Which cools better?
by Atragon
Sun Mar 20, 2005 12:03 pm
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: X800XL Cooling options?
Replies: 8
Views: 3965

X800XL Cooling options?

I just bought a MSI X800XL and after looking at the stock cooler on it, (It's so small, just bigger than the stock HSF on a GF4) have decided to replace it with something. What that something is, I don't know, and am hoping you can help me figure out. So far, I've narrowed it down to: A Zalman ZM80-...
by Atragon
Sat Mar 12, 2005 4:39 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Question on UPS units?
Replies: 7
Views: 4678

I would disagree on that one, if one can't put out the power required to keep the system up and running, 2 wouldn't help as you would have to daisy chain them and you wouldn't be able to get enough juice from them. Just get a bigger single unit. Having said that, if you've got multiple systems you w...
by Atragon
Thu Mar 03, 2005 8:44 pm
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: DFI NF4 Motherboards
Replies: 102
Views: 85793

I would suspect that the reason for the chipset placement is trace length concerns between the 2 PCI-e x16 slots. After all, we are somewhat used to chipset positioning to respect trace lengths to RAM on intel and athlon XP boards, it appears that the same may be true for SLI as well.
by Atragon
Mon Apr 05, 2004 9:15 pm
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: New big case - Cooler Master STC-T01+CM Stacker (E-ATX, BTX)
Replies: 17
Views: 10818

You know what? You're right. And depending on where the blower draws its air from, with the right ducting it could be really quiet.
by Atragon
Fri Mar 26, 2004 11:12 pm
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: ThermalRight: 92mm or 80mm Fan?
Replies: 13
Views: 5795

Regarding the turbulance and deadzone issues, what about slapping a gutted 92mm fan as a spacer between the HSF and the actual fan? Or for the more obsessed, building an adapter to duct a 120mm fan down to the exact footprint of the HSF itself.
by Atragon
Wed Mar 24, 2004 11:24 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: How much power do you really need anyways?
Replies: 9
Views: 3630

Cool, so a SilenX 400W should more than do. Cool.
by Atragon
Wed Mar 24, 2004 11:23 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Help ZM400B-APS!!!!
Replies: 12
Views: 4792

Ah, I understand now, you left everything as it was, except you disconnected the old PSU and connected the new one. Chances are that unless you've overlooked something really obvious it's a dead PSU.
by Atragon
Wed Mar 24, 2004 11:16 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Help ZM400B-APS!!!!
Replies: 12
Views: 4792

So you've got the PSU connected to a motherboard with CPU and RAM on it but nothing else, tried to power it up, and nothing happened? First, make sure that something isn't shorting out the MB, and if it still isn't powering up, you just may have a dead PSU on your hands.