Where are they actually available for purchase? The wiki page lists them as BGA, or directly-soldered components. The Fuzzy mobo has a socket for the CPU. Are these chips actually in stock anywhere using a pin grid array (for a socket)? Thanks! That's a good question. Back a while I go I froogled t...

Edit: the MSI Fuzzy 945GM2 has 3x GigE ports talking over 1x PCIe. Yeay! The only problem is that it isn't available with an ultra low power CPU (which only seem to be available as BGA (soldered) options). I evaluated this board for a file server project of mine a little while ago. You can get an u...

Do you know if your current motherboard uses the same BIOS revision as the old one did? Either way I suggest you update to the latest official revision, because I've noticed that the reported temperatures depend heavily on BIOS revision. To give you some background... when I first got these motherbo...

You're welcome -- if you got something out of them, I'm happy :) The "wind tunnel" goes like so: http://cache.jungle-fire.com/misc/iri-sr107-1.jpg http://cache.jungle-fire.com/misc/iri-sr107-2.jpg Here's a close-up of the two drive-bay tunnels, the part that's covered under foam in the above picture...

I'm running a pair of identical dual-Opteron 246 workstations. There's an old thread about them in the general gallery, but unfortunately most of the pictures are lost. The condensed version is that there are two first-gen, hot-running Opteron 246s in a modified Chenbro SR107 4U/pedestal server chas...

If only it were so simple :( AMD has the clear technical advantage and Intel is playing catch-up. However with AMD's current offerings you lack an evolutionary upgrade path to anyone's next-gen platforms: Intel already uses DDR2 memory, and AMD's next-gen platform will use DDR2 as well. If you go wi...

I don't see anything obviously wrong with those. The processor might run hotter than an X2, but the Zalman is probably up to the task.

Y'welcome

If you're not wanting to do any modifications on the motherboard in order to make it passive, I'm sure Asus' A8N-SLI Premium or Abit's AN8 Ultra would do just fine. Both have passive cooling on the motherboard out of the box. And, what ^^^ he said about dual-core processors.

How about an AMD Athlon64 X2 3800+ paired with an Epox EP-9NPA+ Ultra motherboard? The motherboard has a fan on the north bridge, but it looks to be in a spot that allows you to replace the fan with a passive heatsink without it interfering the 16-lane PCI-e slot . This combo would probably set you ...

FWIW, overclockers.com reviewed the HR-01 . According to their " P4 testing results " with a fan it performed about even with Scythe Ninja. I am not sure how comparable the results are though, since it seems that two different fans were used: Adda fan on the Ninja and a Delta fan on the HR-01. The f...

Yate Loon D12SL-12 fans are great! By all accounts they're the same fans as the Nexus "Real Silent" 120mm fans, which seem to be the reigning champions of 12V 120mm fans, except that they run ~300 RPM faster and haven't gone through the extra QA by Nexus. I also have some Panaflo L1A and M1A fans th...

I already have a Pro sound "card" (actually a rack) for recording music (vocals, guitars, bass etc.) and editing, it's connected via firewire. However, I would like a soundcard primarily used for listening to music (ripped from my CDs and converted to FLAC/APE) and gaming. Pardon my ignorance, but ...

Admittedly they've been in modest systems without much stress, hence the question mark with the Tyan fully loaded along with a bunch of drives. Aye, that's a good question... a fully loaded thing could get power hungry, though I've a Seasonic Power Angel in the outlet powering my system and while I...

Irianta - thanks for the reply, that's really good to know, some passive cooling would be really welcome because the case and PSU are already going to end up with more than enough fans noise-wise, it doesn't sound like there are any drawbacks of the Ninja approach. You're welcome :) One thing to ke...

On the topic of cases, have you taken a look at the Chenbro SR105? It was on our list of candidates before we ended going with the SR107 instead. 105's internal design isn't as well suited for a dual-fanless-Ninja setup, but in return you get a case with smaller footprint that can take a power suppl...

SMRGroup,

Replied in your thread

There are a couple of differences in set-up I can see, the Opteron 246 isn't dual-core so will, I think, run cooler and I doubt passive heat-sinks like those Scythe Ninja would cope. The newer CPUs are less power hungry though so that's something I'd have to check up on. I think the setup I have wo...

Well, the allure for me is that they're removable. We've this habit of removing the hard drives from our systems and putting them in the safe when we leave home for extended periods of time like, say, a vacation. Removing and re-installing suspended drives is an enormous hassle, so the idea of quiet...

Irianta.... What PSU did you end up getting? ... I'm in a similar boat as you as I plan on getting a Chenbro SR107 as well ... so far my plans are to get: <snip a cool system> I'm leaning towards the Fortron/Sparkle FSP550-60PLG or FSP550-SLI since they seem to be recommended by Chenbro ... but I w...

Good thing I didn't jump for that PSU...

Maybe when you have had enough of the Fortron, enough time will have elapsed for you to have better passive choices. I won't be making my commitments until June, but if nothing better comes along, I will probably opt for the Seasonic Super Silencer 460W. Seasonic's track record looks better to me t...

It does diminish the cable-hiding possibilities, but IMHO the open space next to the drives more than compensates. The mobo space would not be nearly as clutter-free if that space didn't exist, even with meticulous cablegami. I'm really happy with this case. Originally the SR105 was my first choice ...

Sorry for taking so long to respond! I was whisked away to my sister-in-law's wedding in Pennsylvania, and Internet-access was sketchy at best. I'll try to make up for it by adding a follow-up. Those are very favorable temps and I suspect your Fortron is running very quiet. You might not need to bot...

I am surprised that the PS shelf is indented, allowing in MB heat and thus providing mainly structural support. Also, the back grill below the fan seems counterproductive to air flow. Aye, the PS shelf is a bit of a bummer, but it's nothing a sheet of metal, cardboard, or plastic can't fix. I'm goi...

very curious tho as to how your temperatures are impacted bythis setup?? how much have your HD temps increased (or decreased) putting the hd's this clsoe together???? That's a good question. Surprisingly, both drive temperatures have dropped 10°C, down to 28°C and 29°C in ambient temperature of abo...

Here'y my solution :) It's part of my efforts at building dual-Opteron workstations that don't sound like leafblowers . The cases came with two removable drive cages, and they're just the right size so you can suspend a couple of drives vertically. I bolted the two drives together just to make their...

Seasonic's been pretty professional about this. There was an assuring sense of urgency in the emails I got from them when I first approached them about this issue. I'm very glad they've taken this stuff seriously, and that they've communicated about what's going on.

You are absolutely right in that Phantom 500 would fit the bill. It was on my short list for these systems, but unfortunately all Antec power supplies in the U.S., prior to the NeoHE, seem to have passive PFC. Only the European models have active PFC. That was one of the requirements I imposed on th...

Heh, yeah, dual Ninjas is cool! And big. And dual-dual core is definitely in the plans :D I actually have a Seasonic S12 powering my old system and I agree that it'd be plenty quiet with all the necessary connectors. The big problem with the S12 series, though, is the 120mm fan in the bottom: in the...