Dual Core AMD Quiet P180 rig

computergeek22 · Post by **computergeek22** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 7:14 pm

Specs (edited after overclocking and vf900):

Opteron 165 o/ced to 2.61 ghz (1.42v-1.44)
A8R32-MVP motherboard
2GB G.Skill HZ Ram
XFX 7900 GT (560/1600) w/VF900 @ 5v
74gb Raptor
Antec SP2-500
Scythe Ninja w/2 Nexus 120 @ 9v
Creative X-Fi
Benq DW1655
Sony DVD-RW drive

I will post pics up later with my vf900 installed which I plan to get in 3-4 days. Right now, the loudest, most annoying component is the video card fan. Everything else can't be heard because the video card fan noise overpowers everything else. I believe once i replace the stock heatsink on the 7900 gt, my HD and PSU will be the things that make the most noise.

I would like to give a warm thanks to MikeC and the whole SPCR community for aiding me in my build. I appreciate all the help that was given. Thank you, once again!

Mike_P · Post by **Mike_P** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 5:12 am

install Riva Tuner and knock the fan to 50% in 2d mode

BIG difference!!

diver · Post by **diver** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 6:16 am

Mike_P wrote:install Riva Tuner and knock the fan to 50% in 2d mode BIG difference!!

Last time I checked Riva Tuner did not support the 7900/7600 series. Has this changed? (download link pls)

Live · Post by **Live** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 9:56 am

Rivatuner does not support 7900 series and even if it did the fan control is broken on the 7900GT. See this thread for info:
7900GT fan always at 100% sound bomb setting

computergeek22 · Post by **computergeek22** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 10:11 pm

I fixed it - I got a Vf900. Initial impressions of the vf900 are that it is no doubt quiet at 5v but about as quiet if not just a tad less quiet than a nexus at 12v. The vf900 produces a loud whooshing sound of air turbulence which is further aggravated by my x-fi which is in the second to last pci slot. Right now, the vf900 (under quiet mode i.e. both my nexus 120mm are at 9v) is the loudest component. Overall I've managed to make a very quiet overclocked system.

Overclock of Opteron 165 - 2.610 @ 1.375-1.400v (stock 1.8 @ 1.35v)

Temps taken from PcProbe which comes with Asus A8r32 mobo(with botth nexus 120mm @ 12v)

Load: 56C (Prime95)
Idle: 40-42C

All fans full blast (i.e. 2 Nexus 120mm @ 12v and 2 Antec Tricools 12v (i.e. very loud!):

Load 54C (Prime95)
Idle 36-38C

Pictures will be up soon, hopefully this weekend.

computergeek22 · Post by **computergeek22** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 2:22 pm

This is my first ever build and using my knowledge from SPCR, HardOCP, Anandtech, Tomshardware, and Xtremesystems I have successfully built my first computer.

CPU temps are above. VGA Temps are around 55C during gaming and around 47-50C during idle. I have the fan on 5v and my graphics card is overclocked to 560/1600.

Here are the pictures (warning: It's very messy!):

[img=http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/5653/computer1pr.th.jpg]

[img=http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/4726/computer0025dz.th.jpg]

[img=http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/6176/computer0054lq.th.jpg]

[img=http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/853/computer0030qh.th.jpg]

computergeek22 · Post by **computergeek22** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 3:27 pm

It turns out that my vf900 was running about 500rpm above the 5v specification because I hadn't used the fan controller that came with the heatsink. Instead, I had directly plugged in the vf900 to my fan controller. Now I have the vf900 plugged into the zalman fan controller tucked in the spot where the floppy drive would stay and i've plugged the zalman fan controller into my nxp-101 and the overall noise has gone down. I will need to recheck temps later to see if my video card o/c will still be safe under this config with less airflow from the vf900 fan.

With that fixed, the loudest components are my dvd-drives and my hd when seeking. Everytime I restart my computer I have to set the DriveSpeed sppeds again because DriveSPeed doesn't like to remember my set speeds. Does anyone know how to fix that?

Updated pics of case:

[img=http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/6208/vf9000010yr.th.jpg]

[img=http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/9541/vf9000028yd.th.jpg]

DGig · Post by **DGig** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 2:00 pm

Nice job. And I don't find the wiring messy at all!

I'm surprised a little by the idle temps. By any chance are your room temperatures high? Also, are you running with Cool 'n Quiet enabled?

David

computergeek22 · Post by **computergeek22** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 7:32 pm

My room temps are about 24-26C - I live in CA where my parents keep the heater on - always! Another thing that I think is making the temps higher is that my pc is surrounded on all three sides. Cool and quiet is disabled and considering both nexus' are on 9v with the zalman on 5v, my p.c. is very quiet -only slightly audible at around a foot or two away. During gaming i bump up the fans to 12v but this is still very quiet. I think if I ducted the ninja cpu temps would go lower but right now with finals in a month, I just don't have the time! Yet another thing to consider is that I'm using p.c. probe which uses the mobo sensors which might be exaggerating the temperature of my various components. My temp monitor CPU probe was displaced during installing my ninja. One of these days I'll try taking out the ninja, cleaning it again, lapping it, re-applying AS5, fixing the probe placement and slapping it back on. My DDR temps get quite high (idles 48C) but this is normal for the g.skill as I've heard from the NewEgg forums and other places as well. My raptor on the other hand is very cool - when not seeking, it hovers around 32-34C. My VGA temps NEVER go above 54C which I think shows that the vf900 is a very good heatsink and that my low power video card is excellent for price/power/performance.

DGig · Post by **DGig** » Mon May 01, 2006 8:52 am

I think your temps are fine. You just have to remember when comparing your numbers against others you read about that you might be starting 5C higher than them. It's all relative to room temperature after all, and although my room is pretty warm like yours, I think a lot of people never go above 21C.

I'm putting together an Opteron system too, with an intention to overclock. Your 2.6GHz is very nice for a $320 chip.

Are you able to run Cool 'n Quiet (PowerNow!) when overclocked? What's the fastest you think it could have gone at the stock Vcore?

computergeek22 · Post by **computergeek22** » Mon May 01, 2006 3:17 pm

With the stock vcore I think it could go maybe 2.4-2.5ghz. I could have gone further than my current o/c actually. I had my system prime stable at 2.7ghz but I think because of the heat produced by my processor my memory was overheating and failing disallowing me to run a 3dmark05 session even though i was prime stable for 8+ hours. Even right now out of all my components my memory is probably the hottest, and my raptor the coolest.

I haven't tried running cool and quiet with the proc. overclocked. I don't need cool and quiet because my idle temps aren't too bad considering only two case fans are on and that too at 9v.

Personally I didn't want to have the hassle and headache of a overheating computer. 2.6ghz is more than enough for me and considering it is almost silent at 1-3 feet away and virtually inaudible farther than that I don't want to even try for a higher overclock than I have now.

whoatethepies · Post by **whoatethepies** » Mon May 15, 2006 4:07 am

Nice build!

I'm looking (rather conveniently) to build a very similar system soon. Only differences would be (I guess..) an X2 processor instead of an Opteron, no sound card and a less powerfull PSU - plus I'd need a different mobo. Any chance you could let me know what sort of fans your using (they say Nexus but I thought they were orange, not white..!?), plus any other gubbins like enclosures or damping stuff you used?

Good luck with you finals! Coincidently, I've got my last one on Wednesday, then it PC build time!

computergeek22 · Post by **computergeek22** » Tue May 16, 2006 7:49 pm

I haven't used any damping. I have to advise you however that if you live in CA temps will stay pretty high. The black and white nexus fans I have in my case go for approximately 2 dollars more at jabtech or any other silent pc store for that matter. X2 processor are generally cooler so heat won't be so much an issue for you. If you're not interested in SLI/xfire, I've had good experience with Asus mobos. They're great performers and quite reliable.

computergeek22 · Post by **computergeek22** » Sun May 21, 2006 2:19 pm

Recently I pulled my case a little out and started the front tricool and put it on low. It seems that I have a slight airflow problem because there isn't enough fresh air. As a result I opened the top vent and made the fan push in fresh air which lowered temps about 2-3C I also ducted the heatsink which resulted in not much of a difference - maybe a degree or two. I also reapplied some AS5 and remounted my scythe thinking improper mounting was causing the high temps. I was incorrect because temps were similar even with the ducting. I think the only reason for the high temps is that my PC is in a corner and getting fresh air is a problem. The top fan turned on made a slight difference as mentioned above as it brought fresh air into the case. I'm not too worried about the temps because it seems to do fine with them and as long as the load doesn't go above 60c I don't midn the idle temps being high that much.

computergeek22 · Post by **computergeek22** » Sun May 21, 2006 8:43 pm

Okay this is a little better but it's also a little noisier with the top vent open. With the ninja ducted and with a top fan blowing air into the case rather than out. My idle temps are around 35C and my load temps go to about 54C with two instances of prime95.

Top antec tricool is ~7v.
Middle Antec is running on Low
Two Nexus are running at about 9v.

Pretty quiet except the audible hum of airflow as a result of the opened vent. I've decided to close the vent and the top antec when not doing intensive applications.

With that config, the idle temps rise and hover to about 36-38C something I had before so I'm not that concerned.

v1.1 · Post by **v1.1** » Sun Jul 30, 2006 8:27 pm

i like ur ninja setup with those nexus fans

Just wondering would your temp be lowered by added another fan in the bottom chamber ?

I have just set up my p180b and comparing to my bros that does not have a lower chamber fan due to his psu being a bit too large my idle vid card temps are abt 2 degrees lower than his - they are both in the same room