Search found 109 matches

by AlpineCarver
Mon Sep 14, 2015 9:47 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Horizontal case for a file server
Replies: 4
Views: 2979

Re: Horizontal case for a file server

sorry for the late reply; i only stop by here sporadically. another option to consider: AMD socket AM3+ processors. they support ECC, and a cpu + micro-atx motherboard is half the price of a comparable xeon E3 cpu + motherboards. i've built half a dozen systems using ASUS socket AM3+ motherboards wi...
by AlpineCarver
Thu Jul 15, 2010 11:01 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: help me design a dedicated linux firewall
Replies: 8
Views: 4625

Why bother with a hard disk drive? Boot from USB flash and you could have a system with no moving parts. since i want to experiment with software, i was concerned that i might end up with something that writes to the disk periodically and thus wears out something like a USB drive. this may very wel...
by AlpineCarver
Thu Jul 15, 2010 12:42 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: help me design a dedicated linux firewall
Replies: 8
Views: 4625

thanks very much for the advice. i ended up ordering: [from logicsupply] Intel D945GSEJT motherboard - 60W power brick M350 case - I/O backplate and PCI riser for M350 with D945GSEJT - mounting brackets for M350 [from newegg] Kingston 1GB SO-DIMM DDR2 667 - KVR667D2SO/1GR WD scorpio blue 80 GB 5400 ...
by AlpineCarver
Sun Jul 11, 2010 7:44 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: help me design a dedicated linux firewall
Replies: 8
Views: 4625

help me design a dedicated linux firewall

i'm in need of advice.i have a bit of experience spec'ing and building quiet desktops and servers, running windows and linux. now, i'd like to build a small dedicated firewall, but i'm completely ignorant of available options and best practices for small form-factor machines. i've done a modest amou...
by AlpineCarver
Fri Dec 04, 2009 9:29 pm
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: which memory: faster clock or lower latency?
Replies: 7
Views: 3121

thanks, everyone, i really appreciate the help.
by AlpineCarver
Thu Dec 03, 2009 10:03 pm
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: which memory: faster clock or lower latency?
Replies: 7
Views: 3121

which memory: faster clock or lower latency?

i'm thinking about a possible new build, using: motherboard - Asus M4A785TD-M EVO CPU - AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W no overclocking. i have two 2x2GB ECC memory choices from crucial: CT2KIT25672BA1339 • CL=9 • Unbuffered • ECC • DDR3-1333 CT2KIT25672BA1067...
by AlpineCarver
Thu Oct 22, 2009 9:37 pm
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: New study of DRAM errors and ECC memory
Replies: 16
Views: 10836

New study of DRAM errors and ECC memory

here's a study of memory error rates which was conducted recently: http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~bianca/papers/sigmetrics09.pdf it claims to be "the first large-scale study of DRAM memory errors in the field," and it "covers the majority of machines in Google's fleet and spans nearly 2.5 yrs," which ad...
by AlpineCarver
Fri Apr 03, 2009 8:43 pm
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: Mini P180, M3A78-EM, Phenom II 940, swappable drive bay
Replies: 18
Views: 15844

speedkar9 wrote:Idle CPU: 34, MOBO: 41, GPU: 59, HD: 38. Load CPU: 52, MOBO: 42, GPU: 90, HD: 38 *C.
gpu's a little warm there.
maybe time to install a 92mm in the lower front fan mount of the solo?
by AlpineCarver
Thu Apr 02, 2009 10:09 pm
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: Mini P180, M3A78-EM, Phenom II 940, swappable drive bay
Replies: 18
Views: 15844

You say that you cannot install a thermalright HR-05. Have you tried? Are you sure? How about a thermalright HR-05 SLI or xigmatek PTR-N881 HDT. i did not actually remove the stock northbridge heat sink, but i did place an HR-05 IFX directly above the stock heat sink, to see where it would lie on t...
by AlpineCarver
Wed Apr 01, 2009 9:20 pm
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Looking for small, high-quality case
Replies: 27
Views: 20570

i agree with all your criticisms.
the A03 is inferior to the NSK-3480 in every way, including looks.
but it is encouraging that they'd make one with this small a footprint; let's hope that trend continues.
by AlpineCarver
Mon Mar 30, 2009 7:26 am
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: Mini P180, M3A78-EM, Phenom II 940, swappable drive bay
Replies: 18
Views: 15844

did a search thru the 600 reviews at newegg for the M3A78-EM. confirmed the behavior i'm seeing. need a PWM fan to get Q-fan to work.

i'm done polishing this apple. it's already a great system in its current form. i'm declaring victory and moving on...
by AlpineCarver
Sun Mar 29, 2009 6:27 pm
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: Mini P180, M3A78-EM, Phenom II 940, swappable drive bay
Replies: 18
Views: 15844

CPU header works fine with 3-pin fans. Set BIOS q-fan to: auto mode start voltage = 5 v or lower auto mode start speed = 30 deg auto mode full speed = whatever AMD says is the max core temp for your cpu using a 3-pin Nexus D12SL-12 fan, connected to the CPU_FAN header, with start voltage 5V, i trie...
by AlpineCarver
Sun Mar 29, 2009 12:27 pm
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: Mini P180, M3A78-EM, Phenom II 940, swappable drive bay
Replies: 18
Views: 15844

well, i decided to experiment with Q-fan, but i was unable to scare up a pwm fan, and the MB doesn't do any voltage control on the CPU_FAN header (i tried). interestingly, when i turn on Q-fan, the BIOS undervolts the CHA_FAN connector. not sure why it does that, but it is just a constant undervolt:...
by AlpineCarver
Sun Mar 29, 2009 9:05 am
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: Mini P180, M3A78-EM, Phenom II 940, swappable drive bay
Replies: 18
Views: 15844

... Given that you don't have a discreet graphics card, nor any hard drives in the upper chamber, why on earth do you have all those fans in there? It strikes me as a bit of overkill. ... i always try to build redundancy into my cooling systems, since i've had several system failures over the years...
by AlpineCarver
Sat Mar 28, 2009 9:39 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: how to cool AMD Phenom II 940 / asus M3A78-EM?
Replies: 2
Views: 2494

finally got the system put together.
see my latest post in the general gallery.

i decided to use an Antec Mini P180, which turned out to be a good choice.
by AlpineCarver
Sat Mar 28, 2009 9:36 pm
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: Removable 2.5" drive bay in Antec NSK-3480?
Replies: 2
Views: 2847

finally got the system put together.
see my latest post in the general gallery.

you're right about the notebook drives being cool. the one i'm using is as cool as a cucumber with modest air flow.
by AlpineCarver
Sat Mar 28, 2009 9:30 pm
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: Mini P180, M3A78-EM, Phenom II 940, swappable drive bay
Replies: 18
Views: 15844

Mini P180, M3A78-EM, Phenom II 940, swappable drive bay

i just put together a system that enables me to have separate systems, securely separated from each other, using a multiple physical drives and removable drive bay. COMPONENTS motherboard - Asus M3A78-EM CPU - AMD Phenom II X4 940 (125W) memory - Crucial CT2KIT25672AA800 - 2x2GB unbuffered ECC DDR2-...
by AlpineCarver
Sat Mar 14, 2009 12:42 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: how to cool AMD Phenom II 940 / asus M3A78-EM?
Replies: 2
Views: 2494

how to cool AMD Phenom II 940 / asus M3A78-EM?

i'm planning a "multi-personality" build with swappable disk drives, using the following components:

motherboard - asus M3A78-EM
CPU - AMD Phenom II X4 940 3.0GHz AM2+ 125W
memory - Crucial 2x2GB Unbuffered ECC DDR2-800 1.8V CL=6
hard disk - hitachi 320GB 7200rpm 2.5â€
by AlpineCarver
Thu Feb 26, 2009 10:49 pm
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: Removable 2.5" drive bay in Antec NSK-3480?
Replies: 2
Views: 2847

Removable 2.5" drive bay in Antec NSK-3480?

i'm putting together a new build that requires booting from a removable 2.5" drive. i intend to use the Startech HSB220SAT25B trayless removable drive bay . i will generally use only one 2.5" drive, which i will put into the top slot, which is open to the air, unlike the bottom slot, which is mostly...
by AlpineCarver
Wed Feb 25, 2009 9:50 pm
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: Is there a problem with head parks on WD Green HDDs?
Replies: 296
Views: 457534

can somebody explain why wdidle3.exe isn't freely downloadable from WD's website? i'm not willing to run a .EXE whose origin i know nothing about except an IP address! i've been a WD customer for years, but their stonewalling on this issue is souring my perception of them as a vendor for future purc...
by AlpineCarver
Tue Dec 09, 2008 8:49 pm
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Looking for small, high-quality case
Replies: 27
Views: 20570

nsk-3480 design with lian li build quality!

sorry i'm a little late to this discussion, but i've wished for a case with nsk-3480 design and lian-li build quality for a long, long time... since my first nsk-3300 build. perhaps somebody reading this has enough connections with lian li that they could get someone in the company to consider the i...
by AlpineCarver
Sun Mar 16, 2008 12:37 pm
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: ASUS M2NPV-VM - hot GeForce 6150 northbridge
Replies: 64
Views: 47909

I asked about ABIT NF-M2 nView because I have the opportunity to buy a slightly used one and because its heatpipe/heatsink seems to be better than Asus M2NPV-VM one (see http://www.abit.com.tw/page/en/motherboard/motherboard_detail.php?pMODEL_NAME=NF-M2+nView&fMTYPE=Socket%20AM2&pPRODINFO=Specifica...
by AlpineCarver
Sun Mar 16, 2008 1:08 am
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: ASUS M2NPV-VM - hot GeForce 6150 northbridge
Replies: 64
Views: 47909

So, which could be the best solution for cooling my Asus M2NPV-VM motherboard with Athlon X2 BE-2400 CPU inside an Antec NSK3480 case? a) NSK3480 rear stock fan + Ninja Mini fanless + front 92mm fan(s) b) NSK3480 rear stock fan + Ninja Plus Rev.B + Ninja Plus Rev.B stock fan c) NSK3480 rear stock f...
by AlpineCarver
Fri Mar 14, 2008 9:06 pm
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: ASUS M2NPV-VM - hot GeForce 6150 northbridge
Replies: 64
Views: 47909

i'm not up on the pros and cons of thermal adhesive. the fanless ninja will cool the CPU fine, but something like a zalman CNPS-7000 or CNPS-7500 might blow some air over the NB. maybe the stock NB heatsink would work OK with one of those. you'd have to be diligent about keeping dust out of the zalm...
by AlpineCarver
Thu Mar 13, 2008 12:46 pm
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: linux file server - abit AN-M2, antec solo, passive cooling
Replies: 14
Views: 12392

one other little detail that probably most people who read this already know, but somehow escaped me:

if you just put ECC memory into these boards without paying attention to the BIOS settings, it will run just fine, but ECC won't be enabled! you have to enable it manually in the BIOS.
by AlpineCarver
Wed Mar 12, 2008 11:59 pm
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: linux file server - abit AN-M2, antec solo, passive cooling
Replies: 14
Views: 12392

One quick question, how much power does this setup consume? i finally got around to measuring it. i measured total power consumption at the wall plug, with an extech 380935 true RMS clamp meter. at idle, the system constantly varies from 0.31A to 0.35A, averaging 0.33A = 36W. i suspect there's some...
by AlpineCarver
Tue Feb 19, 2008 6:42 pm
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: linux file server - abit AN-M2, antec solo, passive cooling
Replies: 14
Views: 12392

You spent $500 for 2*1TB drives; with RAID5 this would have been cut in half: $250 for 3*500GB drives. ... no doubt RAID5 would have been cheaper. my thinking was that it would be better to have 2 things, rather than 3 things, that can fail, make noise, draw power, generate heat, take up space, and...
by AlpineCarver
Tue Feb 19, 2008 2:06 pm
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: linux file server - abit AN-M2, antec solo, passive cooling
Replies: 14
Views: 12392

Why RAID1 and not RAID5? RAID5 requires at least 3 drives. Also, RAID is not really a backup solution. Wouldn't better than a RAID1 an offline backup on per-week basis? apples and oranges. RAID provides the ability to keep running, without a hiccup, in the presence of a drive failure (a situation t...
by AlpineCarver
Tue Feb 19, 2008 1:13 pm
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: linux file server - abit AN-M2, antec solo, passive cooling
Replies: 14
Views: 12392

i would have rotated the ninja 90 degrees. IIRC, the ninja's fitting for the AM2 socket only goes on one way, so i don't think i have the option. i do agree that it would probably perform better if it could be rotated 90 degrees, but there actually is some vertical airflow there, from the power sup...
by AlpineCarver
Tue Feb 19, 2008 1:02 pm
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: linux file server - abit AN-M2, antec solo, passive cooling
Replies: 14
Views: 12392

digtechis wrote:One quick question, how much power does this setup consume?
it's in service at the moment. might be a day or 2 before i have a chance to bring it down and measure it.