What is the average RPM range for CPU cooler fans? Would anyone ever need 2000 RPM? What would be too low even for idle?

Is it best to have the cooler fan spin according to the CPU temps?

I like to have PWM for all the case fans, but I've usually just let the CPU fan do its thing.

Good points, thanks. I notice the NF-A12x25 is available in ULN, PWM, and FLX like most other Noctua fans. For cooling, are any of these configurations better to have than the other?

Anything different about the 'X' model? And why are the two X models wildly different prices?

What is the 'armor' version? Why do some cards only have one fan? Are these any quieter?

Would all of these slightly different versions all have the same cooling and/or quietness characteristics?

Could someone please explain the difference between these cards to me? https://www.newegg.ca/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=MSI+GeForce+GTX+1060+DirectX+12&N=-1&isNodeId=1 I'm looking at the MSI GeForce GTX 1060 DirectX 12. Newegg has about 6, the top 3 seem i...

I agree, I don't particularly like specs either, since they are just numbers on a promo sheet. Though specs do give us something of a starting point. The real evaluation comes with hands on testing. There hasn't been a SPCR fan round up in years, and it doesn't seem likely they'll be another one any...

The problem with comparing these fans is that the NF-A12x25 is a 2000 rpm fan, the NF-F12 is1500 rpm, and the NF-S12A is 1200 rpm. According to Noctua's spec sheet: https://noctua.at/en/products/fan The NF-A12x25 (4pin PWM) is 22.6 d/BA @2000 rpm.. with 102.1 air flow and 2.34 static pressure The NF...

Not sure if I quite understand the graph.

So, the NF-F12 has a higher static pressure but a lower air flow, whereas the NF-S12A has a lower static pressure but a higher air flow? And the NF-A12x25 is somewhere in between?

Wouldn't the NF-F12 be better for coolers?

What is the difference between static pressure and airflow? Which is better for coolers?

The MBX Mark II designed by Charles Harwood. I remember when they were fundraising for this several years ago. I was on an email list for this case, until I saw the price:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRHG1E42QBE

Linus recently reviewed the Mammoth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Af6bhAkZF0

Olle P wrote:

whispercat wrote:So, in ten years, the price per GB on a SSD has come down by $2.34. or nearly 80%.

And in the same time the required storage space has also roughly five-folded, resulting in the cost for a useful amount of storage to stay approximately the same.

Required storage space for what?

I had a related question, regarding overclocking. I'm looking at getting a Ryzen 5, either a 2600 or 2600X. The 2600 has a base clock of 3.4GHz boosting to 3.9GHz with a TDP of 65W The 2600X base is 3.6GHz boosting to 4.2GHz with a TDP of 95W According to Bit-tech, the 2600 is very power efficient: ...

Thanks. Can you boot from a NAS?

Also, can the bays in a NAS be set to different RAIDs?

For a single user, are there any advantages to a NAS over an external hard drive? I don't play (or store) games or movies, and I don't expect to have much more than about 4 TB of accumulated data in my lifetime.

Is it worth getting a NAS?

Steve, the tl;dr version of that video is....relatively loud at max speed (2000 rpm), but extremely quiet at lower speeds (70% and 50%).

Your welcome

I bought the first mainstream Intel SSD (Intel X25-M 168 GB) back in 2009 for ~$500. (CDN). I'm still using it to run my OS. This was considered the top of the line state of the art SSD at the time, because it had just received TRIM support. I think Intel had a 250GB capacity as well, but it was abo...

Here are a couple of NVMe coolers that are reasonably priced and with good reviews: https://www.amazon.ca/NGFF-PCIe-Adapter-Samsung-XP941/dp/B00RTSFLBY https://www.amazon.ca/EK-3830046991737-EK-M-2-NVMe-Heatsink/dp/B073RHHYCM The famous Angel Wings is much more expensive: https://www.amazon.ca/Angel...

The WD spec sheet for the 1 TB says 184 mb/s: https://www.wdc.com/content/dam/wdc/website/downloadable_assets/eng/spec_data_sheet/2879-800074.pdf I don't know anything about NAS or servers. It should be possible to schedule backups to an ordinary external HDD enclosure using software, no? My concern...

I'm trying to decide between a WD Gold HDD and a Samsung 850 Pro SSD for my external backup drives. Price is a factor, but more importantly I'm concerned about data integrity and bit errors over time. Since the WD Gold has extra buffer cache and is designed for data centers, would it be a more relia...

Interesting. On the ASRock QVL it lists the part number

http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/AB350%20Pr ... asp#Memory

This part number is dual ranked.

https://www.avadirect.com/8GB-Dual-Rank ... t/10733821

It's my understanding that AMD supports ECC memory on all their Ryzen processors by default. (ECC capability is built into the CPU, AMD just doesn't disable it like Intel does for most of their chips). It's up to the motherboard manufacturers if they want to add complementary support for ECC on thei...

I'm having problems finding ECC memory for these two motherboards that I have my eye on for a possible build: ASRock AB350 Pro4 QVL memory list: http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/AB350%20Pro4/index.us.asp#Memory There's only 3 ECC modules listed (highlighted in red) and I can't find 2 of them anywhere. A...

Good to know.

Should the intake fan speeds and the exhaust fan speeds be the same?

Thanks Steve. I think for most 1070s the noise at idle won't matter so much since the fans don't kick in until around 57-60 degrees. I've been reading some good things about the EVGA 1070 SC. (and the black edition). But since I started looking around at general 1070 prices, I think I may have to dr...

Thanks lodestar. yeah, I was looking at that Noctua redux as well.

Ideally, should an exhaust fan have any different characteristics from an intake fan? i.e. air flow, static pressure, etc? Or are they pretty much interchangeable?

Well, according to most of those reviews, the reference GTX 1070 was even quieter than most other 3rd party cards, including the Asus ROG Strix 1070 they tested. https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/zardon/asus-republic-of-gamers-strix-gtx-1070-aura-rgb-oc/27/ The Guru 3D review also sho...

I was reading this review from Techpowerup: https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_1070/ The power consumption impressed me. I'm not that knowledgeable about nvidia gaming cards. Is this a reference card? If so, would the power consumption levels be any different from other 3rd party...

Abula, I have a Fractal R5 case and was wondering if these new Noctua NF-A12x25 fans would be good for intake and/or exhaust?

I was looking at these, as well as the NF-S12A fans.

Just saw the movie A Quiet Place. It's the scariest film I've ever seen since The Exorcist. But beyond the horror and suspense, the movie also is a meditation on sound, and how we take it for granted. All the things we normally do on a daily basis without thinking about the noise they generate. It m...