The 6th Incarnation of Talula

Show off your quiet rig.

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee

Post Reply
Fat_bloater_dave
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 288
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2005 10:39 am

The 6th Incarnation of Talula

Post by Fat_bloater_dave » Sun Apr 06, 2008 2:35 pm

I’ve been coming to these forums since 2005 and posted my first silent system in December of 2005, since then I have gone through many iterations of PC (see here and here) getting new hardware, new cases new cooling going from single to dual and now to quad core. Now it’s time for the next generation of my Quiet PC

According to what I have counted this is now revision 6 of my PC, one or two of those were just a rearrangement of cooling not all hardware revisions and this site has taught me allot over the years. So much in fact that I don’t really come here all that much any more, I like to read theodd review but I don’t come to the forums that much I feel I now have a good grasp on what makes a quiet PC. But I do like to come back and share what I have learnt by showing the new PCs I build. So without further ado here is the latest incarnation of my girl Talula.

Components
  • Case: Antec Solo
    Mobo: Asus Maximus Formula
    Processor: Intel Q9450 @3.2GHz
    Graphics: Geforce 8800GT
    RAM: 2x1GB Corsair Twin2X
    Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 160GB
    Samsung Spinpoint 500GB
    Samsung Spinpoint 500GB
    PSU: Seasonic S12-430
Image

Cooling
  • CPU: Scythe Ninja Plus RevB
    Scythe Slipstream 120mm
    GPU: Artic Colling Accelero S1 Rev. 2
    Nexus 120mm
    Case Fans: 2x Nexus 120mm
    PSU: 1x Yate loon 120mm
    Fan Speeds
    CPU Fan: 750 RPM
    GPU Fan: 650 RPM
    Front Fan: 500 RPM
    Back Fan 750 RPM
Image

Temperatures (oC)
  • Idle
    CPU: 33
    GPU 40
    HD:
    Sys: 32
    Store: 29
    Store: 28

    Load
    Idle
    CPU: 49
    GPU 53
Image
All temps are taken from Speedfan
The System is loaded using 3x CPU burn and 1x rthdribl.

The sound level as you might expect is very low the hard drives are the loudest parts of the system and as computer noises go it is quite pleasant I can’t hear any clicking or whining only a slight woosh. While the hard drives are running the fans become inaudible as they are spinning at such low speeds.

And here are some pictures of the system for you to see how I have put this together.

An Overview of the system
Image

The CPU and RAM
Image

Rear intake for the Graphics card
Image

Front intake for and Hard drive cooling
Image
And From the other side
Image

Exhaust and PSU fans
Image

CPU Fan
Image
Image

And finaly the outside of the case with my Snazzy draw
Image
Image

andyb
Patron of SPCR
Posts: 3307
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2004 12:00 pm
Location: Essex, England

Post by andyb » Sun Apr 06, 2008 3:18 pm

Nice setup Dave, I love the Drawer BTW :lol:

Why do you have the Scythe fan on the Ninja bloing down and not up, it seems a very odd thing to do.


Andy

angelkiller
Posts: 871
Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2007 11:37 am
Location: North Carolina

Post by angelkiller » Sun Apr 06, 2008 4:11 pm

andyb wrote:Nice setup Dave, I love the Drawer BTW

Why do you have the Scythe fan on the Ninja blowing down and not up, it seems a very odd thing to do.
Yes, I too think the drawer is pretty sweet. Haven't seen that before. :)

IMO, you should make some fan positioning changes. The slipstream should blow to the rear exhaust fan. You want the CPU heat leaving the case, not in the PSU. The intake fan can double as a fan for the 8800GT. Simply move it down so its airflow hits the S1. That would eliminate the need for the GPU Nexus. I think that would make a better airflow path.

Yes? No? Maybe? :wink:

bonestonne
Posts: 1839
Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2007 2:10 pm
Location: Northern New Jersey
Contact:

Post by bonestonne » Sun Apr 06, 2008 4:15 pm

you'd get better temps making the slipstream blow towards the rear fan rather than cooking the GPU with the heat of the CPU.

nice drawer, reminds me of the ones you could buy, but yours is deeper, and lined with duct tape, which makes it a squillion times cooler.

but you're kinda messing with the airflow having the slipstream in the position its in.

props on the Uni Jetstream. my favorite pen.

ntavlas
Posts: 811
Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2007 2:35 pm
Location: Greece
Contact:

Post by ntavlas » Sun Apr 06, 2008 5:10 pm

I agree that the intake fan could also cool the vga, while the slipstream blowing backwards should keep the psu cooler (cpu temps don`t seem to be an issue).

Here`s a thought though: the backs of vga cards can get quite hot so the airflow from the h/s fan might actually be beneficial.

Wibla
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 779
Joined: Sun Jun 03, 2007 12:03 am
Location: Norway

Post by Wibla » Sun Apr 06, 2008 5:49 pm

About speedfan, can you actually control all the fans individually? I'm considering this combo (Maximus formula + 45nm quad core) myself, but im abit sceptical as to how speedfan is working with the motherboard.

Nick Geraedts
SPCR Reviewer
Posts: 561
Joined: Tue May 30, 2006 8:22 pm
Location: Vancouver, BC

Post by Nick Geraedts » Sun Apr 06, 2008 8:59 pm

I picked up the Maximus last week, and my experiences have been nothing short of fantastic. I've got all the fans controlled by the BIOS and they're all running below 600RPM while keeping my CPU at 39C.

Fat_bloater_dave
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 288
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2005 10:39 am

Post by Fat_bloater_dave » Sun Apr 06, 2008 10:53 pm

andyb wrote:Nice setup Dave, I love the Drawer BTW :lol:

Why do you have the Scythe fan on the Ninja blowing down and not up, it seems a very odd thing to do.

Andy
And for everyone else who made a comment about this, i know its odd but if you look at the picture of the whole case it is actually blowing up the arrow on the side of the fan is pointing towards the top of the case, and I just checked with a piece of tissue paper and it is blowing that way. I think maybe the fan has been flipped over since that picture, they weren’t all taken at the same time.
angelkiller wrote:Yes, I too think the drawer is pretty sweet. Haven't seen that before. Smile

IMO, you should make some fan positioning changes. The slipstream should blow to the rear exhaust fan. You want the CPU heat leaving the case, not in the PSU. The intake fan can double as a fan for the 8800GT. Simply move it down so its airflow hits the S1. That would eliminate the need for the GPU Nexus. I think that would make a better airflow path.

Yes? No? Maybe?
Thanks, it was fun to make, and I’m happy that it sits nice and flush with the case.

I can’t put the slipstream on the side that RAM that is in there is really tall, trust me I would have put it there if I could have. Also I can’t move the intake fan down because the power cable comes out from the back of the graphics card and there isn’t enough room under it for the fan which is why I have to use a separate fan for the graphics card. But thanks for trying they are all very good ideas if i could do them.
Wibla wrote:About speedfan, can you actually control all the fans individually? I'm considering this combo (Maximus formula + 45nm quad core) myself, but I’m a bit sceptical as to how speedfan is working with the motherboard
You can't control the fans with speedfan annoyingly but they are all being controlled by the bios. which as Nick says
Nick Geraedts wrote:I've got all the fans controlled by the BIOS and they're all running below 600RPM
well mine aren’t kept quite that slow but close enough.

Thanks everyone for the comments and ideas on improvement keep them coming.

Wibla
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 779
Joined: Sun Jun 03, 2007 12:03 am
Location: Norway

Post by Wibla » Sun Apr 06, 2008 11:06 pm

To get speedfan control you have to fiddle around abit, I had to do the same with my P5W DHD back in the day...

configure -> advanced -> winbond (on my P5W atleast) in the pull-down menu -> pwm 1-X mode -> set to Manual PWM (its probably set to smartfan something or thermal cruise), remember to tick off the "remember it" button before saving...

That should do the trick, if it doesnt, do tell...

Fat_bloater_dave
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 288
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2005 10:39 am

Post by Fat_bloater_dave » Mon Apr 07, 2008 2:21 pm

Wibla wrote:To get speedfan control you have to fiddle around abit, I had to do the same with my P5W DHD back in the day...

configure -> advanced -> winbond (on my P5W atleast) in the pull-down menu -> pwm 1-X mode -> set to Manual PWM (its probably set to smartfan something or thermal cruise), remember to tick off the "remember it" button before saving...

That should do the trick, if it doesnt, do tell...
Briliant thanks for the tip, it does work but not perfectly you can control 3 of the fans from SpeedFan Chafan 1-3. But 1 and 2 are controled by the same chip so change at the same time. I hope that helps.

mr. poopyhead
Patron of SPCR
Posts: 376
Joined: Thu Jun 29, 2006 8:37 pm
Location: Mississauga, ON
Contact:

Post by mr. poopyhead » Mon Apr 07, 2008 7:33 pm

wow... the drawer thing is a GREAT idea! maybe you can post a little tutorial on how to get it done...

"talula... sound like a two dolla hooker!" i hope you've all watched the movie cool runnings... or else a lot of people might be offended...

Fat_bloater_dave
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 288
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2005 10:39 am

Post by Fat_bloater_dave » Wed Apr 09, 2008 5:32 am

mr. poopyhead wrote:wow... the drawer thing is a GREAT idea! maybe you can post a little tutorial on how to get it done...

"talula... sound like a two dolla hooker!" i hope you've all watched the movie cool runnings... or else a lot of people might be offended...
Brilliant movie, if i remember rightly doesn't he then say something about that being his mum's name?

I don't think the Draw needs much of a tutorial but maybe i can give a quick overview and a couple of pictures when I get home.

Post Reply