Well I'm more concerned about consistency than speed. Once I've set it to a task, fast or slow I really don't care. But I absolutely cannot stand it when my computer gives me the hourglass while the hard drive grinds away desperately trying to catch up. It's like being put on hold. "Dude! I paid $10...

God knows we don't need another heat-producing item inside the computer. I'm getting confused on this issue, so be patient with me.:) I'm under the impression that the "another heat-producing item" you're referring to is the PSU, which to my knowledge has always been a heat-producing item and was n...

I wouldn't think it's a good thing to dump all the heat from the CPU into the case. That means you'd need to depend on the case fan to get rid of that extra heat on top of doing it's normal job. Seems like, unless your case fan was already overkill, you'd end up having to increase it's speed to tak...

From that pic it looks like all the PSU heatsinks will be internal to the case when the PSU is mounted. That means that all the heat from the PSU will be dumped right into the case and will have to be dealt with. Am I missing something here? Nope, from the looks of it you're right on target. That v...

Yeah I'm just kidding. I too am really glad to hear your input on the Raptor, especially its potential for near silence. I'm not keen on sacrificing performance when it comes to hard drives b/c they're often the bottleneck.

gourdo_1 wrote:

Ralf Hutter wrote:Hopefully you washed the boxers first.

Yes, of course they were clean

That was only a mock-up anyway, I'm going to suspend both drives with some fresh elastic.

...from your briefs?

Tom, thanks for the great mini write up and the pictures. I didn't even know about the bend-the-PSU-slats trick, I think I'm gonna give that one a shot. Ralf, I tossed out my air filter b/c I thought it vastly impeded airflow. I'm surprised you left yours in. Does it cut down on noise as well? //edi...

Hi, DGK. Welcome to SPCR forums! If you ordered those stuff from McMaster-Carr you must have been lurking around for a while

DGK

Joined: 18 May 2003
Posts: 1

I'll say. He should be welcoming us to SPCR!

here's a little review...quiet! i don't think so! SR said as much in their review that the whine exhibited in the 1st gen raptor wasn't present in their test sample of the 2nd gen and that this was not really reflected in the dB rating. Also, here's a fellow with 1st hand knowledge of the new Rapto...

You should look for a motherboard that allows the BIOS to be upgraded from within your operating system. Many of the latest motherboards offer this for Windows. In my experience that is the only reason for a floppy. You might find programs that want to create restore flopy disks, etc. Boycott any m...

I see these at Directron if that's what you're looking for...

I found this article while googling around: http://www.arcade-tech.com/arcade/ap-shock___vibration.html Short version: Hard drive manufacturers design the HD with the assumption it's rigidly mounted. Actuators have error correction built in, so if your HD is hanging by strings it'll keep seeking til...

While it objectively measured in at just 42.5 dB/A from a distance of 18 millimeters, the original Raptor nonetheless emitted a continuous high-pitched squeal that was glaringly obvious under our measurement test conditions. Even when placed in a case with (fairly quiet) power supply and CPU fans, ...

The amb is actually a superior case if your going to cut the grills out and replace the power supply with a quieter one. Seems like a lot of folks agree the AMB has greater silence-potential than the BQE. Why is this? I chose BQE b/c side mounted grommets don't cut the mustard for my hard drives an...

rseiler wrote:One or more passes with an Xacto knife won't cut sorbothane?

mmm it's like rubber so it grips the blade as you're cutting and does all sorts of contortions. And it takes more than 1 or 2 passes, this stuff is tough. I can see how a straight edge would help out big time, shoulda thunk of that.

MikeC: BUT the network which has the Vatican at its head -- well, to me, that's just another state with all the apparatus, extremely active financial arm, political BS and out-of-touch ideology -- all with the aim of ensuring its own survival. Jesus' last prayer at Gethsemane the night before he di...

I bought the same chunk of 4x4x0.5 sorbothane. Had a heck of a time cutting it w/ a box cutter but found that shop shears such as these cut through it cleanly and easily.

No, but I used to. You?

There's an Nvidia Quadro2 over at surpluscomputers for $60. Not exactly a gaming card, but still good and fanless. Just got one.

//edit: it's the equivalent of the mx440's i think. the quadro line is tweaked for 3d rendering just like Ati's FireGL's vs Radeons.

Has anyone had any experience with this Triple Peak Melamine foam stuff? I'm real curious to see how well it works as opposed to the flat stuff. McMaster Carr 9162T319 http://members.arstechnica.com/subscriptors/x/raidzero/3_Peak_Melamine_9162T319.gif "Foam is rigid (not flexible). Triple peak foam ...

energy wrote:Yes but nowhere near as quiet

Argh! ...must...resist...buying quieter PSU....

seeing as the True550 has 2 fans, I can see how this would be a bit quiter. But how much I wonder...Would it warrant a return, restocking fee, and cost to upgrade (~$40 USD)?

Ah. Just when I order the Antec True550, I find out about this. Ah well the True550's a bit cheaper, I might just stick with it.

Hmm, for some reason I thought they were longer...anyways, the top one is standard, the bottom one is what I used. That collar fits so snug it successfully transfers most of the vibration to the case resulting in an unwelcome humming. http://members.arstechnica.com/subscriptors/x/raidzero/foam1.jpg ...

I've had this same problem with the Sonata, which I understand has similar, if not identical drive bays. An interim solution for now is using a longer and thinner screw (the snug collar on the stock screws transfers far too much vibration), threading it through foam first, then the grommet, then int...