Hi, it's not really worth upgrading such old components. The memory, for example, will be very expensive compared to modern memory. You could put together a much better CPU/motherboard/4GB memory system for less than $200, which would leave you plenty to spend on a nice CPU cooler that could probabl...

I have this PSU, and while it is true you can hear it when the system is idling, it is very quiet and does not have any annoying characteristics like ticking or buzzing etc. When I put my ear close to the unit I cannot tell how much of the noise is coming from the PSU and how much from the Slipstrea...

it would have been nice to have the system capable of games for when i had guests... Well you are right that if you want to do occasional gaming then the 4670 is probably the best choice, I didn't want to put you off this card totally. If you are careful with your choices for CPU and mb and don't h...

Tower coolers in this height range fit in a P182 no problem. Don't let this issue put you off.

the full system will be: Case: NSK1300 Mobo: [Abit preferred] CPU: [Dual core] + HR01plus GPU: HD4670 + Accelero S1 rev2 RAM: 2gb Corsair 6400DHX HDD: 32gb-63gb SLC SSD PSU: PicoPSU 120W i was hoping to keep it stock rather than undervolt to keep cool&quiet or intels equivalent Do you really need a...

CocoBryce, this review from techpowerup has some pictures of the HIS with the cooler off. The layout seems pretty standard so I guess the S1 fits.

In case we don't find anyone, would be a good idea to have instead of Slip Stream ones, the S-Flex ones (which I have located on a shop)? And another little detail, will it be worth buying some Anti-vibration Fan Gaskets ? The S-Flex fans are also very good. I use Slip Stream in my system but would...

maf718, I just got confused and was not sure I was reading your post right. No problem, and apologies if I sounded rude. I wasn't sure if you were poking fun by pretending not to understand, you did refer to me in a way that reduced my nominal value by 400 units... I just had a look at the article ...

Is the Radeon 4550 good enough for video editing? http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/ ... d4550.html

lol, I think you understand well enough what the maximum on the 12V rail is:

sixzero wrote:12V: max 16A

sixzero wrote:12V X 16A = 192VA

Is the 55nm GTX 260 the same length as the old one? The regular 260 doesn't fit in a Solo without cutting the drive bay, but the 4870 does.

Hi, the total combined figure of 330W does not have to include 230W on the combined +3.3 and +5V rails.

If you are looking for a relatively cheap power supply the Corsair 400CX is pretty good. I think you can get it for $50 after rebate at newegg.

If you are particularly concerned with idle power consumption I would not risk a 4830. The reference card reviewed by SPCR and other sites is not available to buy afaik. All the versions I have seen in retail have a reduced component count to help save a few cents, in what is essentially a budget ve...

Hi, and Happy New Year. The ATX connectors are designed to be forwards/backwards compatible, so your motherboard manual is right that the old style can be used. It is not the ideal solution though and you have identified the reason why yourself, the relatively low amps on the 12V rail, that could be...

Thanks for the link, it's good to see some comparisons in this power range instead of the ultra-high wattages that are usually reviewed. It is nice to see a relatively low budget unit like the Corsair CX400 doing well in the tests. I took a chance on one of these a while back and have been very impr...

Hi, those online calculators always overestimate. I would estimate your real peak load is less than 250W. Here are some real world power consumption tests of various graphics cards in a similarish system.

And a Happy New Year to you too.

I think the performance improvement of a 4830 over a 3870 is approx 20% on average. You also have the advantage that it is a newer generation so is likely to be supported longer with driver improvements etc.

Have you tried a different SATA cable already? It solved an (admittedly different) detection problem in one of my systems.

I didn't say it would idle at 60W, just that it *could*. My 9600GSO has basically the same components as the GTX+, and its no power hog. It is possible that the CPU + motherboard won't idle <60W. My E5200 + G31 can barely get down to 50W idle without a video card. Ok, I think I understand where you...

I think the power consumption in that Bit-tech article is for the whole system, so you can't really add them together. I just checked SPCR's review of the Core i7 and the power consumption for a 3.2Ghz i7 with a GTX260 graphics card (which uses more power than a 4850) is 367W for the whole system. T...

Hi, the graphics card will probably take about 40W at idle and only over 100W at full load. I very much doubt your system, even when overclocked, will draw anything like 509W - in my experience these power supply calculaters overestimate the wattage you are going to need. If I had to guess I would s...

My take on the "best" size for a power supply is to get one that can handle double your peak load. That way it's never going to be stressed beyond 50% so shouldn't get hot and/or noisy. If your revised system is going to peak at 225W then a decent 450W is ideal, probably easier to find than a decen...

My take on the "best" size for a power supply is to get one that can handle double your peak load. That way it's never going to be stressed beyond 50% so shouldn't get hot and/or noisy. If your revised system is going to peak at 225W then a decent 450W is ideal, probably easier to find than a decent...

Hi, this test by the late Felger Carbon seems to suggest the S-Flex beats the NF-P12 as well as the Slipstream when attached to a heatsink. For 120mm case fans it's hard to beat the Scythe Slipsteam, and there is a good 2000rpm 80mm Panaflo that I have used, that can be undervolted, but obviously sa...

I didn't really want much in the way of extra cabling in my case but if I got some of these (the 7v ones) to go along with the fans, would 1200 rpm SlipStreams become the logical choice? Or the 1450 rpm Gentle Typhoons perhaps? Those resistors are not 7V as such, it depends on the resistance of the...

Thanks for the review.

The scenario where the Nightjar would be the ideal solution is in a system set up for positive air-pressure.

Hi, I'm not going to vote because I can see advantages for all 3 methods, although I use no.1 in my Solo. :) One thing you should look out for if you eventually decide on a 120mm PSU: Do not buy one that has any vents on the front(?), ie the side facing the optical drive. In a Solo with negative pre...

Ok, my card was never the quietest, but it wasn't "freakishly aggravating" either. The fan on yours must be damaged or worn, maybe the previous owner cleaned out the dust and put it back in the box with the unused accessories? The S1 certainly will fit in a Solo and the manufacturer rates it as suit...

Hi, that system's max power draw is going to be somewhere betweeen 250-300w so a decent 500-600w power supply would be plenty. If, as you say, you are not a hardcore gamer, I wouldn't even consider SLI. Also, what resolution do you game at? It makes quite a difference to what graphics card you can g...

Hi, I had (actually still have but not using) the HIS IceQ 1950pro and successfully used Rivatuner to control the fan speed profiles. However the noise at idle was never as bad as you seem to be experiencing. I have heard reports of the fans on these cards not ageing well and eventually becoming ver...