Search found 307 matches

by speedkar9
Mon Jul 26, 2010 7:47 am
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Antec P183 vs Fractal Define R2
Replies: 17
Views: 14929

Then get the P183 for its more solid build, and swap the fans. You'll look back after you build it and note that it was worth the extra investment, especially if your going to keep it for a few years. Just remember though, its not the case that determines a PC's noise character, its the components i...
by speedkar9
Mon Jul 26, 2010 7:36 am
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: P150 Gamer system - somehow it all fits
Replies: 8
Views: 5366

That was perhaps a rushed opinion. My 8800GTS (G80!) has been working for two years with no temp issues. Solo isn't perhaps the most breathable case, but it is just enough :) Yeah, my 4850 running passive with an Accelero gets 41C idle and 54C load in a Solo. You just need to know where to place yo...
by speedkar9
Sun Jul 25, 2010 7:23 pm
Forum: Fans and Control
Topic: My simple fan controller
Replies: 3
Views: 4296

My simple fan controller

After fiddling with many PWM and voltage controllers based on a timer circuit and potentiometer input, I decided to go back to basics to control my AC PWM CPU and Exhaust fans in my Solo. I simply used a 3 position toggle switch and some 1N4002 diodes in series to reduce the fan's voltage. An RPM he...
by speedkar9
Sun Jul 25, 2010 5:14 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Final (?!) Setup ... any last opinions?
Replies: 9
Views: 3495

Re: Summary of all responses

Games will only play at low resolution on integrated graphics.
According to system requirements, you should look at discrete [passive] video cards for what you will be doing.
What resolution is your display? This also plays a big factor in video card choice.
by speedkar9
Sun Jul 25, 2010 4:53 pm
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: Mad Men Computer?
Replies: 27
Views: 16460

I like it, simply elegant and neat.

Where houses the optical drive and front panel I/O? Or does it use remote start :P?
by speedkar9
Sun Jul 25, 2010 6:10 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Final (?!) Setup ... any last opinions?
Replies: 9
Views: 3495

Re: Summary of all responses

What exactly do you define as "mid level gaming"?

If your considering integrated graphics, I'd go for an AMD 785G based setup... It might be able to play WoW or something if thats what your after.
by speedkar9
Sun Jul 25, 2010 6:04 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: 5 years away from PC's, want a new build, please help.
Replies: 5
Views: 3133

The Gangrel wrote:I'd like to cap spending on processor at about £70, so choice comes down to a higher end AMD dual core vs budget AMD quad.
In that case, get a Phenom II X2 or X3 with 6MB L3 Cache; bonus points if it unlocks to a quad core :P.

Read this recent review on many AMD chips in your price range.
by speedkar9
Sat Jul 24, 2010 10:57 am
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: P150 Gamer system - somehow it all fits
Replies: 8
Views: 5366

Re: P150 Gamer system - somehow it all fits

Thats must be quite a loud Solo/ P150 :lol:

I'd clean up the wiring, suspend the hard drives, and get rid of that cathode :wink:.

Looking forward for some better pics (try XP mode for compatibility?), there aren't that many new P150/ Solo builds in the gallery anymore.
by speedkar9
Sat Jul 24, 2010 9:30 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: 5 years away from PC's, want a new build, please help.
Replies: 5
Views: 3133

OK, given their prices SSD & quad core cpu are out of contention.Also wondering about usefulness of tri-core AMD cpu... How about AMD Athlon II X4 6xx series of QC cpus? Since you may be doing processor intensive tasks however (VMware, etc), consider a CPU with more L3 cache (Phenom II X2, X3 or X4...
by speedkar9
Fri Jul 23, 2010 5:47 pm
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Antec 300 Front Muffle
Replies: 13
Views: 6946

Or, for anyone who wants to maintain a bit more of a 'gamer' look, use clear acrylic instead of aluminium for the plate, with a 240 rad grill cover screwed on top or some design cut into a second layer of opaque acrylic. Backlight it with a couple of LEDs if that is your thing. Thats exactly how I ...
by speedkar9
Fri Jul 23, 2010 3:17 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Final (?!) Setup ... any last opinions?
Replies: 9
Views: 3495

Re: Final (?!) Setup ... any last opinions?

lirsch wrote: - Play mid-level graphic games ...
GPU Sapphire Radeon HD5550 1GB GDDR2 Ultimate-Passive PCI-E
I'd go with something a bit more powerful for the games, say a 5670 or higher paired with an aftermarket passive cooler like the Accelero S1.

A Pioneer drive might be a bit quieter than the Asus.
by speedkar9
Fri Jul 23, 2010 11:57 am
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Antec 300 Front Muffle
Replies: 13
Views: 6946

Hi speedkar9, Another solution: cut an aluminum plate and replace the fan grid, without damaging the front panel Then that essentially blocks all airflow coming in the front... Sorry for the bad explanation, maybe these pictures explain more of what I meant; a piece of metal or something that sits ...
by speedkar9
Thu Jul 22, 2010 5:49 pm
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Antec 300 Front Muffle
Replies: 13
Views: 6946

Thanks Mike, What I meant to achieve was a more "professional" mod to the very popular and cheap Antec 300 that mimics the way quiet cases (like Solo and P18x) block hard drive noise, by allowing air to enter the surrounds while direct noise is muffled. This (and the fact that 300 doesn't have suspe...
by speedkar9
Thu Jul 22, 2010 8:50 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Need help with components for new computer
Replies: 17
Views: 7883

This all sounds too familiar, I recently did 2 builds , one i7-860 and one X6... including monitor they totaled $1500. Mind you they weren't built with super quiet operation in mind, but it gives you a ball park figure to what you can get for $1500. 2) I do a lot of numerical computations and progra...
by speedkar9
Thu Jul 22, 2010 5:38 am
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: carboard baffles?
Replies: 4
Views: 2027

Use plastic from a cheap binder like Ralf Hutter did with a PSU duct.

1/8" - 1/4" foam boards might also work.
by speedkar9
Wed Jul 21, 2010 9:35 am
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Need some help silencing my rig but still keep it cool
Replies: 5
Views: 2434

Re: Need some help silencing my rig but still keep it cool

Welcome to SPCR! Soft mount the drives, swap out the fans for quieter, soft mounted ones, swap left panel with the one on the right (if you can) to block direct noise path out of the PC from that side vent. You can probably get away with one front and the two back/ top exhaust fans in that case. If ...
by speedkar9
Tue Jul 20, 2010 9:28 am
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: Solo Bedroom PC
Replies: 41
Views: 38165

That is a good point. One thing this mod really makes possible is blowhole(s) for the PCI area. Thats exactly what I've done here :P. I have to confess there is one downside to this design however, yesterday I was unscrewing my back fan and the screw fell straight down.... plop! right into my power...
by speedkar9
Tue Jul 20, 2010 9:06 am
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: Quiet Overclocker's Antec Three Hundred case mods
Replies: 11
Views: 13205

Re: Build experience and lessons learned.

Fourth, there is no other outlet for all that air below the card slot/video card area except the power supply. Well thats what the 120mm side panel fan was for originally :lol:. If you have a passive video card, you could probably rig up something to have a fan mount in the expansion slots below. I...
by speedkar9
Sun Jul 18, 2010 3:45 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Remove fan to clean heatsink inplace (stock AM3)
Replies: 7
Views: 5951

You can reach behind the fan blades with a cotton swab. You can also try to use paper towel to get in between the fins, but compressed air works best.
by speedkar9
Sun Jul 18, 2010 1:12 pm
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: Solo Bedroom PC
Replies: 41
Views: 38165

This mod totally blew my mind away. One of the best ever, period. I'm seriously considering buying a Solo just to try this out. I've updated my previous post with new pics into a mini-tutorial on how to mod this case. I highly encourage others to give case modding a try, whether its flipping the PS...
by speedkar9
Sun Jul 18, 2010 6:15 am
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: AMD Athlon II X3: An Affordable Compromise
Replies: 11
Views: 8139

Re: AMD Athlon II X3: An Affordable Compromise

Great article, I wished this came out a few weeks ago when I had a chance to upgrade my cpu/ motherboard platform from an old x2 5600. At my $100 target price, I had to choose from the X2 555 BE, X3 720 BE (OEM), and the X4 630. I ended up going with the X2 555 and was lucky enough to get my cores u...
by speedkar9
Wed Jul 14, 2010 5:41 pm
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Antec 300 Front Muffle
Replies: 13
Views: 6946

Antec 300 Front Muffle

I was thinking about how we could mod an Antec 300's front end so that it would be a bit more silent-pc friendly. I came up with the idea to add a piece of metal in front of where the grille would be, leaving the surrounding for air intake. It would be supported by a piece of acrylic mounted on the ...
by speedkar9
Tue Jul 13, 2010 4:52 pm
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: Basement PC with 3.5 to 5.25 conversion
Replies: 13
Views: 13250

mentawl wrote:Really neat paintjob - how did you get the waterdroplet effect?
Lightning and waterdropletsare the two easiest airbrushing techniques, which is why I chose to try them first :) .

Thanks
by speedkar9
Tue Jul 13, 2010 8:25 am
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: Basement PC with 3.5 to 5.25 conversion
Replies: 13
Views: 13250

Update: I did a few mods: -Deriveted, sanded, painted and airbrushed a lightening theme on the case, clear coat -Made holes for cable management -Flipped motherboard/ PSU -Top blow hole 120mm Blue LED fan -Created a small air intake with sound baffle in front -Suspended HD in 3.5 to 5.25 converted ...
by speedkar9
Mon Jul 12, 2010 10:49 am
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Antec 3480: maximizing air flow / minimizing noise
Replies: 15
Views: 6214

Re: Antec 3480: maximizing air flow / minimizing noise

I'm on a medium-low budget but I'd like to have a silent system. Thanks! To make the system quiet on the cheap, I would: Scythe Ninja or Katana 3 with Asus Qfan Cut out rear fan grilles No need for front fans atm since there isn't a graphics card Swap left side panel with right side panel Swap out ...
by speedkar9
Mon Jul 12, 2010 8:48 am
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: Solo Bedroom PC
Replies: 41
Views: 38165

Thanks for the detail explanation, speedkar9. You could go one more step to take the PSU out of the case's thermal/noise equation altogether by cutting a hole directly beneath it in the bottom panel, and flipping the PSU so its fan draws air from outside the case. This might require taller feet for...
by speedkar9
Mon Jul 12, 2010 8:09 am
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: Solo Bedroom PC
Replies: 41
Views: 38165

BlackWhizz wrote:Rep++ (if it could be done here ;))

Looks soo slick. What did you flip. Front panel or back?
Thanks.
Back + mobo tray.
by speedkar9
Mon Jul 12, 2010 8:04 am
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: Solo Bedroom PC
Replies: 41
Views: 38165

Thanks all, I didn't know this would spark so much interest.... Here is a brief walk through on how I modded this case, Stage One Remove the pesky PSU bar by drilling through these rivets, http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/1230/img0733kk.jpg Strip down the case, http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/7...
by speedkar9
Sun Jul 11, 2010 7:35 pm
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: Solo Bedroom PC
Replies: 41
Views: 38165

Update I did a little bit of case modding, http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/5913/img0286jj.jpg http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/7720/img0241zd.jpg http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/6738/img0246vs.jpg Mods Painted interior black Flipped motherboard and PSU upside down Made holes for cable management ...