I found a Super Flower FanMaster that has 4 controlers and 4 thermistors. Downside is the 7-12v range and the top quarter of the knob rotation is useless. The rpm range depends on the fan. The CM low speed 120mm bottoms out at ~700 rpm. TriCool on high.. not that slow. The Sunbeam rheostat is a good...

The GPU and CPU are fairing better with the side openings.. at the cost of more noise. You could experiment and monitor the temps of the seperate components with a indoor/outdoor digital thermometer ($10) or through software. Rear fan creates the vacuum.. any additional fans would be for directing a...

Not sure what all the buzz is about. We have 2 setups using the D-Link DI-524 (Revision A2) and haven't heard a peep out of either one ?

USB wireless was a little funky on one but the replacement transceiver works fine.

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This might help narrow it down..

Calibrate Your CPU Temp Reporting

*edit room/case temps*

I would tend to believe the cpu idle temp is ~8C more than case temp in a reasonably ventilated case.

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Just tested a SP-450 in the Sonata II with Prime95 and the rear fan kicked in when the inside fan rpm hit 1175. Case temp was 30C.. thermister monitoring PSU intake was the same. I don't recall it ever going above 40C.. even under load with all the fans on low.

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A digital thermometer thermistor on the back of the card behind the GPU would be the next best thing.

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tomthebomb wrote:I need something with stable voltages.. I'd like to stay modular if possible

Maybe the SmartPower 500W is what you're looking for.

Example SP-500W review

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How about a good used one

SPCR Scythe Ninja

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Compared to the Sonnata II, the Thermaltake Tsunami Dream looks pretty good. The dual door system and sideways removable HDD cage are really nice features. Side fan.. not so much (escaping noise). Sonata II is OK too. Sideways HDD cage makes it very easy to swap IDE drives (get a 24" IDE cable and m...

TruePower II 430W cables are very long. It makes a sort of pleasantly quiet, whiny whoosh sound. All the info is here. An MP3 file too :) TPII-430W Relative info: 20" sleeved cable for main 20+4-pin ATX connector 20" cable for 4-pin 12V AUX connector 20" cable for 6-pin PCIe connector 2 x 27" cable ...

The 5/12v current ratings are usually listed on the HDD label. Just a matter of doing the math.

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Never mind... not worth the mod in my case. You can delete this thread if you want. Listing your experiment is more valuable than you might think. Someone else might come up with different solution as a result of it. I know my case airflow/ventilation experiments occupy me constantly. As for heated...

AFAIK sound is handled the same way as graphics in gaming.. there's hardware acceleration involved. Couldn't get specifics on your board sound chip other than it's 5.1 (6 ch), but would imagine it can hold it's own. CPU use might be software related too? I'm using onboard sound now (ADI AD1985 Sound...

Another option is to use a three or four way splitter at the source (3dB per split?). The cable company around here lays out a line for every device this way. We have 1 broadband and 3 for TV in the house (no extra charge). Check your service for more info on that. As for tuner/capture cards.. I'd g...

I had the same dilemma and ended up with the Sonata II. Apart from price and availability, the biggest selling points were the side mount HDD cage, intake filtering and a half decent PSU (it's actually better than that). Just lose the ACAG and stuff a filter in there too. As for silence.. that's a f...

One vote for TruePower.. only because you're gaming (future SLI). Better voltage regulation and the 3.5v, 5.0v and 12v lines are independant. Big pluses for the Seasonic are efficiency and the power factor control, if that's important to you :) No PCIe connectors ??? If overpower is an issue.. get a...

Like Tephras states.. the 20+4 (2x2 main connector) is different than the 2x2-12v auxillary connector. That one should be on a long lead by itself. The connector is to the lower left of the CPU socket in the picture. There appears to be a molex connector too.

P4S8X 12v aux connectors

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They make adapters for just about anything.. although a lot of PSUs are 20+4 pin. The end (2x2) doesn't slide or snap off? If it actually fit on your board without interference, it should work. My unattached +4 is just hanging there.

What model Seasonic is that ?

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A year later... LOL.. you're getting closer morkys. I have the ATI VIVO and PVR-250. VIVO is good for short clips.. the PVR for movies and programs. Both are hooked up to a digital tuner via composite and svideo (interchangable). Don't use the PVR tuner at all. Ends up the PVR gets more action thou...

A drop of engine degreaser on a coffee filter, especially if it's an old thermal pad.

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The thing about a X700 purchase is you'll probably buy a X800 later on. I know, I did. It's a taste of the gaming power. X700 XT was top of the line ( higher core, mem). The 'Built by ATI' (BBA) PRO version is middle ground and has 256MB of 2.0 ns (500/1000DDR). Also VIVO if you're into it. Can't co...

The X800 comes in many flavors. From low (X800 plain) to high (X850XT), the graphics processing speed can almost double. Here are 2 that 'popped up' at ZipZoomFly. (searched 'agp' 'decending' as an example) $224.99 - 6800GS $199 - X800 GTO You could go a lot cheaper and still find a good card. X700 ...

Could be a jumper switch on the motherboard too. Look for any identifying numbers or a FCC ID. You could also pause the boot screen and write down the alpha-numeric string at the bottom, then do a search. If it's a branded computer there should be model tags somewhere too. It'll be much easier if yo...

Only one I could find locally was the SuperFlower FanMaster SF-609. It has a lot of nice features, but the same issues eg. 7-12v and last quarter turn is useless. It also didn't turn on during boot once and all the fans were dead. I think I may have accidentily loosened the connector the night befor...

They're good for 6W so you could run a 2 or 3 of them in parallel, if you want.

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If you're worried about the 7v.. you could always use an inline resistor. I think they're 1.5W so something ~70 ohm would do. A pair would get 6v each if they were in series.

A 50 ohm (3W) rheostat would handle a couple of them nicely too.

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Looks like an interesting project you have there n00btard :) Can only speak for the 7000B AlCu on a Prescott 3.0. It's very close to the stock fan for cooling, although the Zalman has the distinct advantage at low rpm. At 7v (FanMaster), idle was ~40C, and 12v load ~50C. I found the fan similar to t...

Have you tried setting the drive jumpers to 'Cable Select' instead of 'Master' and 'Slave'? I haven't noticed this issue with the SP0802N, although I currently have a DVD pair on IDE2 and HDD pair on IDE1. I was getting a similar issue with a recent repair. A HDD worked as master or slave, then neit...

I'm lost (as usual). Thought you meant the PSU in the Sonata II was changed. Going to a TP-380 in the 'I' was a pretty big LEAP then

If they were clearing them out.. that would be the way to do it.

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They closed up the side panels (perforated Antec logo) and opened up the front bezel.. amoung other things

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