Updating my Rig with P180 - Advice please

CosmoHorizon · Post by **CosmoHorizon** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 4:54 am

Hi all, first post here, any CnC welcome.

Background

I am upgrading my current rig to a P180, I've been looking around and i thought this is a great forum to ask for advice.

System Spec.
Opty 165 CCBEW 0551VPMW, goes up to 2.4GHZ even with undervolt
ASUS A8N32-Sli-Dlx
2X1GB Kingston Value @ 1T 3/3/3/8
ASUS NV 6600 256DDR2 (transitional till next gen comes out)
2XMaxtor SATA HDD

From what I read, P180 is highly regarded, although people have problem with the front door, but i think mine will be with the new door, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Currently, i am not purchasing any new stuff except for a cooler, i currently have 2 YS Tech silent fan which i must say are quite inaudible and the primary source of noise is my PSU, a Sliverston Strider 400W, great when the ambient temp is low, cuz the temp controlled fan is quiet, but since it's summer in Australia and the ambient is often 26C, it quite audible.

I'll be getting a Ninja, and keep the 2 YS Tech fan (1075 RPM under full power, can downvolt to only 800RPM, 21dB and pushes 44.7CFM). I have tried to underclock my CPU all the way and turn my YS tech fan completely off, yet not notice any difference cuz the PSU is all i can hear.

Question
Alright, so here comes the bit of advice i'll need. My goal is to build a quiet case, i'll be adding foams to it as well and be soft-mounting the fans. I'll have the 2 120MM fans doing intake and exhaust, and my ninja comes with a 1200RPM fan that the vendor describes as "almost completely inaudible".

1st question, with the ninja and the 3 fans i have, what is the IDEAL configuration for my P180?

2nd question, for PSU, will it be better to have the 80mm ones (like Antec Neo),single 120mm ones or a passive (phantom 500W) with an additional fan installed between the HDD bay and the PSU chamber?

Which will be the best of my choice? and out side of the list, what would be recommended? if I upgrade to an SLI config of the next-gen midrange graphic card, what will be the recommended power consumption?

3rd question, will the ninja provide sufficient cooling for my A8N32?

4th question, if the replacement of my current fan is recommended (cuz i have not heard about these YS Tech fans anywhere), out of these fans http://www.pccasegear.com.au/category9_1.htm
What will be my recommendation?

Thanks in advance!

CosmoHorizon · Post by **CosmoHorizon** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 6:04 pm

Anyone?

CosmoHorizon · Post by **CosmoHorizon** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 7:30 pm

Well, i have been reading, it's ok if you guys missed this thread =p

I'm going for a Phantom 500, keeping my YS Tech fan for the time being. Will keep at least 1 of the stock fan to keep the PSU cool, and have the 120mm fan on my ninja.

Top duct will be blocked with foam, so will the side panel, the little venting holes around the back of the case and any non-used space that i can stick the foam on. The fan will all be soft-mounted with SilenX silicone mount.

Once I receive my MX-1 thermal paste i'll start a thread with pics on my final rig for CnC.

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 9:20 pm

Greetings & welcome to SPCR!

I have no experience with the YS Tech fans, but when you run them on their own, how do they sound? Are they making any intermittent noises, or are they smooth? The Antec fan that comes in the lower chamber (the 38mm thick one) is not the quietest, apparently. I'm not sure that I would have chosen the Phantom, but if you can use one of the 25mm thick Antec's (on low) in the lower chamber, then that might be fine.

Ideally, if you can use just one exhaust, then block off the top vent, and enjoy. If you need more cooling in the upper chamber, then I would try putting your quietest fan in the top exhaust, and in the front, and see which one works better. The second 25mm Antec would be (on low) in the rear. Since the Ninja sits close to the two exhaust fans, my guess is that that will be the better cooling solution -- but which one will be the quietest, I have no way of knowing...

CosmoHorizon · Post by **CosmoHorizon** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 2:51 am

Hi there

The YS tech fan...I really have nothing to complain about them, I bought them while i was in Taiwan, and besides ADDA, I really havn't touched Panaflo, SilenX, Nexus or Yate Loon....so i wont know how they compare...

Hopefully, I'll be able to conjure up a dB metre while putting the rig together.

I'm thinking about having the 1200RPM fan that comes with Ninja to go on the other side of the ninja. Say, the rear exahust fan is in the very back, and the ninja sits in between the exhaust and the 1200RPM fan. Don't want a loud fan so exposed.

As for the query about the YS tech fan, i placed them out side and connected the 3-pin cable, it is slightly audible when spinning up, because i can hear a newly registered sound signal, but after that, it is almost un-noticable unless you put your ear less than say, 30 cm away from it. I'd say that compares alright to the nexus?

CosmoHorizon · Post by **CosmoHorizon** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 6:47 am

OK, order all placed, gosh those Nexus fans are expensive, almost double the cost of my YS Tech...will observe the noise level and consider whether they are worth to be replaced.

2 Questions

1. What are the recommended modification to fit a Phantom 500 in the lower bay? do i put the utter-most silent fan down there and front? or are stock tri-cool fans just as good?

2. Should I patch up (with damping foams) the PSU air intake at the bottom of the mobo chamber?

RaNDoMMAI · Post by **RaNDoMMAI** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 7:03 am

Hi

1.I think the Tricool should be fine as i believe your harddrives will be louder then the fan at lowest. i never used the antec500, so good luck with that =P

2. no you shouldnt need to patch anything up. but cant hurt to try if you are not to happy. better simple first.

~RaNDoM

CosmoHorizon · Post by **CosmoHorizon** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 2:52 pm

Honestly, the HD has never bothered me much, probably because the loud 1600RPM fan of the Sliverstone Strider, I have had it running overnight to download Lost Coast from my STEAM, and i honestly didn't notice any difference.

Hard drives are supposed to be spinning even during idle right?

Locklear · Post by **Locklear** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 11:05 pm

CosmoHorizon wrote:1. What are the recommended modification to fit a Phantom 500 in the lower bay? do i put the utter-most silent fan down there and front? or are stock tri-cool fans just as good?

Just a little word of warning. Prolonged heavy usage will make the Phantom hot as hell, and it will ramp up which is a really ugly sound. It's far from quiet. Just one core folding on my comp is enough to keep the fan ramping up and down. I have a nexus blowing straight on it too at ~800rpm. Anything faster then that will lead to noticeable turbulence.

It'll also get pretty tight down there due to the length of the phantom. I switched the 38mm fan with a hard mounted 25mm nexus, and i also dismantled the wires on the phantom and sleeved them to get those extra few cm clearance. The original wiring on the phantom is a total mess.

I'm in the process of switching PSUs as we speak, and will move the phantom to a low power system where it probably will stay silent no matter what.

CosmoHorizon · Post by **CosmoHorizon** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 6:53 am

So, will I be better off with a Seasonic PSU? Because I do OC, and the primary usage for my PC is doing 3D render and gaming, both of which should stress the system load. I am not entirely sure about the power consumption of my opty as opposed to your 4800+, but i assumed since they both have 1MB L2 cache and a clock of 2.4GHZ (currently testing 2.56GHZ on mine) i would say the power consumption would be roughly the same...

Dang, but since i have yet to pick up my PSU, I really would love to hear your oppinion on mounting PSU in a P180.

I live in Australia, and the ambiet temp ranges from 10 at winter and 26 at summer. But i would like my PSU to stay QUIET even during the 20 or so ambient temps.

The S12 500W i currently sold out at my local retailer, and the last thing i would like is to buy a conceptually silent PSU but get quite the contrary.
And, if i use the SI12, what would be cooling my HD in the bottom cage?