Search found 238 matches

by QUIET!
Fri Aug 14, 2015 4:36 pm
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: Skylake thoughts
Replies: 81
Views: 59481

Re: Skylake thoughts

I have been looking at motherboards and reviews in anticipation of an i7-6700k purchase. Two have caught my eye. First was the MSI Z170A Krait Gaming. Second is the Asus Z170A. The Asus is slightly more expensive but it has some nice features. It's M.2 slot can take a 110mm card. That is important i...
by QUIET!
Thu Aug 13, 2015 1:13 pm
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: Passive GTX 960
Replies: 15
Views: 9962

Re: Passive GTX 960

You could remove anything that interferes by hacksaw.

Or else just install your ram before your GPU.
by QUIET!
Wed Aug 12, 2015 10:38 pm
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: Going to the Flash Memory Summit tomorrow, what to ask?
Replies: 4
Views: 4537

Going to the Flash Memory Summit tomorrow, what to ask?

Personally I want to learn about Samsung SM953 NVMe M.2 flash drives and 3D Crosspoint from Intel/Micron.

Are there any other interesting topics I might want to look in to?
by QUIET!
Wed Aug 12, 2015 9:58 am
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Help: silent, "shielded", mATX case to be put ontop the desk
Replies: 28
Views: 16553

Re: Help: silent, "shielded", mATX case to be put ontop the

Choose your battles wisely, one of my friends has a neighbor whose wife has similar issues. First they moved out to the forest (across the street from my friend) and then they clad it in a shell of sheet metal (except the roof). Firstly, she is crazy, secondly they made a perfectly nice cabin look l...
by QUIET!
Tue Aug 11, 2015 11:07 am
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: Passive GTX 960
Replies: 15
Views: 9962

Re: Passive GTX 960

Well that wasn't too hard really. The card is within the kind of TDP bracket that an Accelero can do, the S3 just adds the backside heatsink versus the S1 Plus which is just a reboot of the original S1 and screwing that to a G92 used to be pretty common. I think people now are too nervous about aft...
by QUIET!
Tue Aug 11, 2015 10:51 am
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Quiet ATX Gamer, R5 Version
Replies: 71
Views: 74677

Re: Quiet ATX Gamer, R5 Version

The i7-6700 is a 65 watt CPU and the GTX-970 is maybe 150 max. A 300 watt PSU would be a good choice if you don't have a lot of power hungry HDDs or something. You fall in to that same zone as most people, relatively low power needs and a crummy selection of truly appropriate PSUs. I will probably w...
by QUIET!
Mon Aug 10, 2015 4:16 pm
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: G-Sync article
Replies: 16
Views: 13926

Re: G-Sync article

That sounds about right but I would expect that software like games and anything using 3D graphics should be able to toggle the setting on and off.
by QUIET!
Mon Aug 10, 2015 1:52 pm
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: G-Sync article
Replies: 16
Views: 13926

Re: G-Sync article

It seems to me that g-sync might have a slight technical edge but the cost of adding the hardware and being non-standard makes me think it will go down like Betamax. I think the technology makes the most sense in notebooks where the combination of GPU and monitor never changes. I would like to try it.
by QUIET!
Mon Aug 10, 2015 1:35 pm
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Old horizontal HTPC case (full ATX)
Replies: 33
Views: 20091

Re: Old horizontal HTPC case (full ATX)

I have been waiting to get at least a motherboard for it before I take pictures. Honestly, it's pretty plain (which isn't bad). The front looks like 1/4" aluminum plate that has been nicely machined and anodized. I was looking through the bag of goodies and found that it does have an ODD button that...
by QUIET!
Sat Aug 08, 2015 5:07 pm
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: Skylake thoughts
Replies: 81
Views: 59481

Re: Skylake thoughts

I think the focus is on the i7 for two reasons. In general usage, the hyper threading let's you multitask more smoothly so it is an upgrade. For gaming, DX 12 is going to lead to video games with much more effective multi threading and when that happens, the i7 with 8 threads is going to have an adv...
by QUIET!
Fri Aug 07, 2015 11:12 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Mini ITX gaming on a tight budget.
Replies: 19
Views: 6754

Re: Mini ITX gaming on a tight budget.

A Skylake i5 should not cost much more except that budget motherboards are not available yet. DDR4 isn't that much more expensive than DDR3 either. mITX motherboards never seem to make it to the budget category so I think you should actually price it out, you may be surprised. Z170A also has some fe...
by QUIET!
Fri Aug 07, 2015 11:03 am
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Old horizontal HTPC case (full ATX)
Replies: 33
Views: 20091

Re: Old horizontal HTPC case (full ATX)

It seems like three places have listings for the i7-6700k but no one has them in stock.

One place wants $550 but doesn't have stock...

I am lucky that I can get an IDF badge through work.
by QUIET!
Thu Aug 06, 2015 11:48 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: SilverStone Grandia GD09 & GD10 HTPC Case
Replies: 19
Views: 22733

Re: SilverStone Grandia GD09 & GD10 HTPC Case

This case is similar to one I'm building in except mine has a few advantages. Mine is an oddball Accent HTPC case with a similar ODD location, similar height (mine also has 80mm fan slots above the ATX shield) but the big difference is the PSU mounting behind the ODD. That removes most HSF clearance...
by QUIET!
Thu Aug 06, 2015 8:25 pm
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Old horizontal HTPC case (full ATX)
Replies: 33
Views: 20091

Re: Old horizontal HTPC case (full ATX)

So Skylake is here, sort of. Reviews are on the web and i7-6700k looks like what I want. The problem is no one seems to be selling CPUs. i5s are out there but places like Newegg are selling them bundled which isn't good if you want to wait and see which motherboards work well. My ace in the hole is ...
by QUIET!
Thu Aug 06, 2015 10:54 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: How important is choice of Processor TDP
Replies: 3
Views: 1971

Re: How important is choice of Processor TDP

Pretty much what he said. Big tower heat sinks with big low rpm fans are pretty quiet and if the fan profile is right, it will barely tick over when the CPU is not heavily loaded. Problems can occur when you don't have enough space for a big cooler or you don't have enough air flow in and out of you...
by QUIET!
Wed Aug 05, 2015 2:27 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Mini ITX gaming on a tight budget.
Replies: 19
Views: 6754

Re: Mini ITX gaming on a tight budget.

Reading about Skylake today I saw something interesting, the Braswell i5 with Iris graphics might be a compelling choice for a system that doesn't need huge graphics power. It's GPU seems to beat AMD's APU graphics power with less TDP and an i5 CPU instead of AMD. It's an oddball but this might be i...
by QUIET!
Wed Aug 05, 2015 8:09 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Mini ITX gaming on a tight budget.
Replies: 19
Views: 6754

Re: Mini ITX gaming on a tight budget.

Intel is pretty good on power. The TDP number is the maximum, not a typical load. If you use the box heat sink fan, its not exactly silent. People who want silent usually add the biggest and best heat pipe heat sink that will fit with a large low rpm fan. Really low budget cases are usually not very...
by QUIET!
Wed Aug 05, 2015 7:52 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Passive while working, quiet while gaming
Replies: 12
Views: 4563

Re: Passive while working, quiet while gaming

If you are going to have a CPU fan, there isn't much point getting rid of the PSU fan. Without adding more fans, there is nothing else blowing hot air out of your case. Some PSUs have fan profiles that turn off at very low load, that combined with a low power GPU that also stops its fan at idle shou...
by QUIET!
Mon Aug 03, 2015 5:58 pm
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Fractal Design Core 500
Replies: 25
Views: 21926

Re: Fractal Design Core 500

That design is interesting. I think they missed a trick with that ODD location. A laptop drive mounted under the PSU would have made a lot of sense. The front would be cleaner with better GPU clearance inside. ODDs are rapidly becoming legacy devices with software and content mainly delivered by the...
by QUIET!
Mon Aug 03, 2015 11:18 am
Forum: The Silent Front
Topic: Passive Cooling vs Silent Cooling for my purposes
Replies: 25
Views: 22071

Re: Passive Cooling vs Silent Cooling for my purposes

Some people have "golden ears". Mine are OK, I can hear some of the differences that the "golden ears" talk about. On the other hand, I seem fairly able to tolerate sonic defects up to and including turntable rumble and a little bit of tape hiss. I am perfectly happy with good enough but I can appre...
by QUIET!
Sun Aug 02, 2015 3:21 pm
Forum: The Silent Front
Topic: Passive Cooling vs Silent Cooling for my purposes
Replies: 25
Views: 22071

Re: Passive Cooling vs Silent Cooling for my purposes

SOTM seems expensive. Those SATA filters might be good for a HDD but I have doubts about its usefulness with a low power SSD (like a Samsung 840 that barely sips power). The USB 2.0 external hub seems more portable than a PCIe USB card and a bit cheaper but I think the CA forums have DIY instruction...
by QUIET!
Sun Aug 02, 2015 2:24 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Do you think I will be able to cool this gaming build passiv
Replies: 17
Views: 8427

Re: Do you think I will be able to cool this gaming build pa

Most passive components like CPU coolers and fanless GPUs rely on some airflow. If you have none, you are relying on radiation which isn't enough to deal with 100 watts. That's about the load you will pull while gaming so your PC will turn in to an Easy Bake oven. If you didn't have a GPU, a heatsin...
by QUIET!
Sun Aug 02, 2015 12:22 pm
Forum: The Silent Front
Topic: Passive Cooling vs Silent Cooling for my purposes
Replies: 25
Views: 22071

Re: Passive Cooling vs Silent Cooling for my purposes

Yes, there are much worse things in a PC creating PSU ripple, RF, etc. There is no solution so the only workable strategy is to get clean data out of the USB port and make sure your USB DAC has a separate, clean power supply. Reading up on the subject, I think most USB DACs are lacking in low noise ...
by QUIET!
Sun Aug 02, 2015 9:02 am
Forum: The Silent Front
Topic: Passive Cooling vs Silent Cooling for my purposes
Replies: 25
Views: 22071

Re: Passive Cooling vs Silent Cooling for my purposes

Yes, CA because I don't trust myself to spell audiophile reliably.

CA_Steve seems downright rational by comparison.
by QUIET!
Sat Aug 01, 2015 10:01 pm
Forum: The Silent Front
Topic: Passive Cooling vs Silent Cooling for my purposes
Replies: 25
Views: 22071

Re: Passive Cooling vs Silent Cooling for my purposes

I would take anything from CA with several grains of salt. Their idea of a music server is a $2,000+ PC with a Xeon CPU and ECC ram. Gross overkill to put it mildly. In my opinion, passive cooling mainly leads to excessive operating temperatures. You can get away with it if the parts are low power a...
by QUIET!
Fri Jul 31, 2015 5:59 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: i7-4790K build, Underclocked and undervolted
Replies: 18
Views: 8397

Re: i7-4790K build, Underclocked and undervolted

Here is the easy way to work out the bugs:

Buy CPU day one, wait to see which motherboards need a Bios flash, then buy something else.

After doing that, the only thing that might cause trouble is the sound card.
by QUIET!
Fri Jul 31, 2015 7:24 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Which ~budget 80+ Platinum
Replies: 12
Views: 7223

Re: Which ~budget 80+ Platinum

It seems like Enhance is the OEM for both the Cooler master and Rose will.

I will have to investigate more closely but at least I have two good options.

Thanks.
by QUIET!
Fri Jul 31, 2015 6:56 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: i7-4790K build, Underclocked and undervolted
Replies: 18
Views: 8397

Re: i7-4790K build, Underclocked and undervolted

Why under clock? Intel already does a pretty good job of throttling when not under load. Do you think you are going to see lower noise levels? I think that is easier said than done. With Skylake coming in a week, I would wait. You can either leap to Skylake or wait for the 4970k price to drop when e...
by QUIET!
Thu Jul 30, 2015 1:17 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Which ~budget 80+ Platinum
Replies: 12
Views: 7223

Re: Which ~budget 80+ Platinum

Where did you find the idle info for the CM V550S?

If it has that much advantage at idle, it's a better choice.
by QUIET!
Thu Jul 30, 2015 11:09 am
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Quiet cooler for Silverstone gd07??
Replies: 7
Views: 5204

Re: Quiet cooler for Silverstone gd07??

I will put that one on my list and wait for a deal.

Thanks.