Search found 397 matches
- Sat Mar 05, 2011 7:12 pm
- Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
- Topic: Changing fan on the HD6950
- Replies: 107
- Views: 66727
Re: Changing fan on the HD6950
Yeah, unfortunately, a good S1 setup will take about 3.5-4 slots. But the result is well worth it, IMO.
- Sat Mar 05, 2011 7:11 pm
- Forum: Silent Storage
- Topic: Max safe temp for hard drives?
- Replies: 103
- Views: 693799
Re: Max safe temp for hard drives?
Heat is a huge deal. So much so that I have my drives mounted in the three 3.5 inch slots in the front with the center drive bay empty and the cover off entirely. That's my intake. I can touch the drives and they aren't even warm to the touch. The same drives without air flowing over them almost sin...
- Sat Mar 05, 2011 7:05 pm
- Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
- Topic: Last few components for HTPC/Mid-level gaming system
- Replies: 28
- Views: 8074
Re: Last few components for HTPC/Mid-level gaming system
You're of course free to feel that way. But a slot fan with no major back-pressure due to about an inch of free air space between it and the cooler is going to have a more pleasant overall tone and volume to it. That's the thing that they forget - that these 3D video cards get going and after a few ...
- Sat Mar 05, 2011 12:33 pm
- Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
- Topic: Last few components for HTPC/Mid-level gaming system
- Replies: 28
- Views: 8074
Re: Last few components for HTPC/Mid-level gaming system
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=slot+fan&x=0&y=0 Most are really loud, so you want a high efficiency one that you then under-volt it to 5V or 7V. Ads you can see, you have to take the case apart to get at the fan as dust gets in it and you...
- Fri Mar 04, 2011 11:59 pm
- Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
- Topic: Last few components for HTPC/Mid-level gaming system
- Replies: 28
- Views: 8074
Re: Last few components for HTPC/Mid-level gaming system
IMO the hugest passive cooler can't cool adequately (I mean safely and in every conditions) a 250-300W card (but IME neither a 200W one and I'm playing around a Thermalright Spitfire, right now). True. You're kind of boned if you are running a heat monster like that. But a lot of cards can be had t...
- Thu Mar 03, 2011 10:36 pm
- Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
- Topic: Last few components for HTPC/Mid-level gaming system
- Replies: 28
- Views: 8074
Re: Last few components for HTPC/Mid-level gaming system
When either the ATI or NVidisa cards go into 3D "gaming" mode, the fans typically ramp to upwards of 40db or more as tested like SPCR does it (most sites register DB above ambient, which is misleading). A huge passive cooler with a fan on it or near to it is a superb solution to make the video card ...
- Thu Mar 03, 2011 8:10 am
- Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
- Topic: First silent desktop build - looking for any/all suggestions
- Replies: 29
- Views: 5926
Re: First silent desktop build - looking for any/all suggest
[ What? That's a Sandy Bridge Core i5-2500 he's selected! It can probably do two 1080p videos simultaneously and still have enough power for ... a firewall. What kind of Firewall are you using? And what do pop up windows have to do with the GPU? What's an i5-2500 cost? $210 from what I can tell(shi...
- Thu Mar 03, 2011 7:58 am
- Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
- Topic: Last few components for HTPC/Mid-level gaming system
- Replies: 28
- Views: 8074
Re: Last few components for HTPC/Mid-level gaming system
Not really. Over the last generations, most graphics cards have become very quiet when they're not running any stressful 3D-applications. While this is true, it is all still relative. With typical low noise PCs coming in at 20-25db on average, the video card can still be a sore thumb that sticks ou...
- Thu Mar 03, 2011 7:52 am
- Forum: The Silent Front
- Topic: fanless products
- Replies: 13
- Views: 12606
Re: fanless products
You need *some* airflow. But our ears are among the worst in the entire animal kingdom. This is actually a good thing as it means that even a single fan running at a constant 500-700rpm is enough to make a "purely passive" design work properly and still be too quiet to hear at distances of more than...
- Thu Mar 03, 2011 7:48 am
- Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
- Topic: Advice on New Build and Air Flow
- Replies: 10
- Views: 4412
Re: Advice on New Build and Air Flow
Also, since you are guying a very expensive power supply, you just need a metal box for the computer. The single most expensive part in your build list is basically a fancy steel and plastic box. $50 would suffice here. Also, buy it locally as shipping is insane. You'll pay more to ship the case tha...
- Thu Mar 03, 2011 3:17 am
- Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
- Topic: First silent desktop build - looking for any/all suggestions
- Replies: 29
- Views: 5926
Re: First silent desktop build - looking for any/all suggest
The on-board video is not really adequate. Now, that doesn't mean that you need a massive gaming card. A good $50 HDMI capable card with a passive heat-sink will easily suffice. You need about 2x the onboard video's power to really do 1080P seamlessly and run anything else at all at the same time.(b...
- Thu Mar 03, 2011 2:53 am
- Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
- Topic: Silencing a multi-purpose computer
- Replies: 19
- Views: 7480
Re: Silencing a multi-purpose computer
I went with the old standby for GPU cooling, an Accelero S1. Blowing some air across it is enough to keep it cool. Nearly no noise is a great thing. But these things to require a full depth case to install.
- Thu Mar 03, 2011 2:47 am
- Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
- Topic: Last few components for HTPC/Mid-level gaming system
- Replies: 28
- Views: 8074
Re: Last few components for HTPC/Mid-level gaming system
The most important thing about a case is actually how well it is sealed. Every hole in it lets sound out from the inside. It also disrupts airflow planning. This means you want something with as few intake slots in the front aside from where the front fan would be, and no side panel opening at all. ...
- Thu Mar 03, 2011 2:30 am
- Forum: CPU Cooling
- Topic: Is Passive CPU Cooling Best for Silent Computing?
- Replies: 48
- Views: 114912
Re: Is Passive CPU Cooling Best for Silent Computing?
Just to remind people that it is possible to make a custom bracket to mount a fan that points at the motherboard and still run a passive CPU cooler. Though, it has to be a huge thing with a Celeron or similar to get away with it. 500-700rpm is enough airflow. Often most of the CPU fan noise is the b...
- Thu Mar 03, 2011 2:25 am
- Forum: Power Supplies
- Topic: Can a PicoPSU power this PC?
- Replies: 21
- Views: 6167
Re: Can a PicoPSU power this PC?
Another option, which is often good, is to have two of the Picos in the same case. One powers only the video card and the rest is run off of the other. It's a bit pricey, though. But I do hear that there are Pico type PSUs that are in the 200W range.
- Thu Mar 03, 2011 2:20 am
- Forum: The Silent Front
- Topic: fanless products
- Replies: 13
- Views: 12606
Re: fanless products
You need one fan at least. If you want to find out why, just stick a 60W bulb in an empty PC case and leave it there for an hour. Be careful not to singe your fingers. There are plenty of 1 fan systems that you can build that will be essentially noiseless, though - under the noise floor of most home...
- Fri Jul 30, 2010 12:28 am
- Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
- Topic: GTX 460 launched today
- Replies: 93
- Views: 70423
- Mon Jun 07, 2010 6:44 pm
- Forum: The Silent Front
- Topic: Non-optical USB mouse?
- Replies: 78
- Views: 143591
That Kensington trackball has mechanical sensors in it like a mouse - or at least the original design until a few years ago did. There might be an optical sensor, but it would be no different than a typical mouse with a ball in it.(low voltage light beam through a tiny wheel with slots in it vs a hi...
- Fri Jun 04, 2010 11:32 pm
- Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
- Topic: Upgrading PC to go silent, need some help
- Replies: 4
- Views: 1746
The basic "silent" design goes like this: Quiet as possible power supply and low power as practical CPU(check compatibility lists to see if a newer better CPU with a smaller die will work - often the newer ones will run as fast but generate 20-30W less heat. \ Video card - http://www.arctic-cooling....
- Fri Jun 04, 2010 11:13 pm
- Forum: The Silent Front
- Topic: Non-optical USB mouse?
- Replies: 78
- Views: 143591
This is the best solution:
http://www.amazon.com/Kensington-Expert ... B00009KH63
Wired, high precision, and immune to most dirt and grime. Worth every penny.
http://www.amazon.com/Kensington-Expert ... B00009KH63
Wired, high precision, and immune to most dirt and grime. Worth every penny.
- Fri Jun 04, 2010 9:55 am
- Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
- Topic: 7v: good, 5v: not at all
- Replies: 6
- Views: 3215
I had the same problem when I built my system. The "solution" was to get a fan that could reliably start up at 5v and still work. I turned off all of the monitoring and the system's fans run at fixed voltages straight from the PS. That said, the biggest improvement was a passive video card cooler. I...
- Sat Aug 15, 2009 8:46 pm
- Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
- Topic: ATI 4870 + Accelero S1 users chime in please
- Replies: 27
- Views: 12307
The real trick is to buy the accessory fans for the S1. They hardly make any noise but the difference is huge I set mine at 7V, hard-wired. I also have a slightly under-volted slot fan as well to suck heat out the back. Not perfectly silent, but no worse than, say, a typical IMac or similar system. ...
- Wed May 20, 2009 4:24 pm
- Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
- Topic: Recommended Hard Drives - a major revision
- Replies: 73
- Views: 101222
- Thu May 14, 2009 11:03 am
- Forum: Newcomers Briefing Room
- Topic: SSD + Virtual RAM Drive
- Replies: 9
- Views: 7174
I don't know of any board that has a dedicated ramdisk memory slot on it, which would be a workaround for the Windows/Intel idiocy. Some boards will work under Vista and Windows 7 though to use on-board CF/flash drives though via ReadyBoost. I have seen various CF to SATA and similar adapters, thoug...
- Wed May 13, 2009 3:50 pm
- Forum: Newcomers Briefing Room
- Topic: SSD + Virtual RAM Drive
- Replies: 9
- Views: 7174
One thing, though, is that Windows XP doesn't work correctly unless virtual memory is turned on. If it IS turned on, it swaps into it like crazy, so you're stuck. A ramdisk is a cheap way to get it to work properly again. And also a dirty method of getting past the 2GB limit in Photoshop, since you ...
- Mon May 11, 2009 12:23 pm
- Forum: Power Supplies
- Topic: Power failures when gaming on a quiet(ish) rig
- Replies: 11
- Views: 3582
I had similar problems with my computer when I built it. I had to increase the stock fan rpm from 5v to 7v.(ie - silent to "makes some noise) Another "trick" is to do the dremel out the rear fan grille. You can also try opening up one of the 3.5 drive bay covers fro a straight-through airflow test. ...
- Thu May 07, 2009 2:23 pm
- Forum: Silent Storage
- Topic: pioneer DVR-216
- Replies: 18
- Views: 12254
- Tue May 05, 2009 10:27 am
- Forum: Silent Storage
- Topic: pioneer DVR-216
- Replies: 18
- Views: 12254
I had one and can verify that the SATA version(216D) isn't compatible with a lot of older hardware. The Pioneer 117D, which is the same thing but in IDE, is a better drive - and just as quiet. No issues with media, mounting/being recognized, or whatever - it just works right out of the box. That sai...
- Tue May 05, 2009 10:24 am
- Forum: Silent Storage
- Topic: pioneer DVR-216
- Replies: 18
- Views: 12254
I had one and can verify that the SATA version(216D) isn't compatible with a lot of hardware and has "issues" with media. The Pioneer 117D, which is the same thing but in IDE, is a better drive - and just as quiet. No issues with media, mounting/being recognized, or whatever - it just works right ou...
- Wed Apr 29, 2009 5:17 pm
- Forum: The Silent Front
- Topic: Apple Noise Patent Applications
- Replies: 31
- Views: 39476