So i was determined to build a new computer. i love my Dual P3 Xeon box to death, but i need a number cruncher for audio mixing/editing/recording/playback. thus sparked my newest computer, which i've had for a while, but never got to make a topic on [although i thought i did].
contents in the box:
Pentium D 940 [3.2ghz, 2x2mb L2 cache 800mhz FSB]
MSI Neo-F P965 motherboard
nVidia GeForce FX5200 128mb DDR PCI [temporary, but i like it]
M-Audio Audiophile 24/96 [found in a workstation at the local dump]
WD 250GB SATA-I [borrowing]
Benq DVD+/-RW 16x [taken from other build]
Apevia X-Dreamer [the same case i've always used]
Fortron Source 300W PSU
1GB DDR2 667mhz Dual Channel [2x512mb]
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_1366.jpg
^that would be the HDD/GFX cooling fan...suspended in the bottom, running at 7v, also helps cool the northbridge
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_1446.jpg
^old pic of the back. now theres the sound card at the bottom, all RCA, no 1/8" plugs until i got to the speaker.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... eedfan.png
^speedfan and CPU-Z
i haven't taken any recent pics because i may swap its case for the one i got today [a workstation oriented case from a dead workstation from the dump.
dump diving has provided the sound card, its quite nice, drivers work, and it works in adobe audition so far. haven't tested OS X or Linux yet because i haven't the time.
yes, i triple boot this machine, OS X/Ubuntu/XP natively on the single drive [made it happen after much trouble]. tomorrow i'll be finding out the capabilities of the sound card as i'm recording two bands at a local event, i may post samplers of the audio for quality. from a loopback record i did earlier the song was note for note.
the case change may only be because i need something with less flare up in my room [where this computer will go]. currently i have 7 USB ports, however i'm going to unplug the bottom two from the front [as i never use them, i have higher up front ports, and i'll add another 4 in the back [where most of my USB usage is. in the future, i'll be getting a larger capacity SATA-II hard drive, a dual head graphics card [dual SVGA or DVI] and lastly a second gig of RAM [or if cheap enough a dual channel 2gb kit]. then i'll be done. a C2D would be nice, but for my budget, it was out of the question.
i might have more pics of this thing in action tomorrow, but as for now, it stands as it does.
Audio box. 'nuff said (no more 56k Warning)
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bonestonne
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Audio box. 'nuff said (no more 56k Warning)
Last edited by bonestonne on Sat Dec 19, 2009 2:20 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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jaldridge6
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<------ audio dude too... I use cubase4/renoise/maxmsp/sound_forge. you should check out the headphones I found for mixing at night. they're killer. I used to have mackie hr624s but they use so much fucking electricity to keep on... like 130 watts each, at any amplitude!! I need to find a better pair of monitors so until then I've been mixing on headphones.
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bonestonne
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lemme tell you, if the motherboard didn't have a buldging cap and a burst cap i would have kept it. some Gigayte Dual Bios board, with 4 IDE channels, socket 478, with 512MB RDRAM. M-Audio Audiophile 24/96, nVidia MX 450 AGP, and two CD burners...doesn't sound like much but damnn, i didn't think it was much until i popped it open. i just looked at all the gigabyte dual bios boards and couldn't find it...i don't think it was a production board, but i wasnt about to even start messing with the caps.
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for my headset i shot for a Skullcandy Ti Black...i had a low budget, i almost wanted the sony pair more, but the skullcandy was just cooler..how many people have a skullcandy set? i've used it for mixing before, hasn't had a single problem yet. actually, this skullcandy set beats what i used to use, because i've turned this all the way up [yea, it shakes the brain] but it wont start to sound crackly.
for applications, i tend to opt for Adobe Audition because i cant return my license for it, and i use it in school...i'll be trying out Soundtrack Pro in OS X if i get audio working, but although it says the Audiophile is OS X compatible, it wont work for me...maybe an update to leoppard will help?
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eventually [and that could be years from now] i'll have a 19" padded rack, i'll put this computer in a 4U case, 2 amps, 2 EQs and a mixer. that'll be the day.
setting up the card is pretty easy i have to say..at first [without the manual] it was tricky setting the inputs and outputs, but its working fine...also without the midi plug i can't use any midi devices, but i'm hardly worried about that [its not like i use midi anyway].
as per the dump, lets just say there are good days and bad days..i got my thinkpad T22 there, but the battery is no good anymore, and the board had to be replaced, currently i can't use it [as the BIOS has a password]...later in the week i'll hack it, and then go back to using Ubuntu on the laptop.
I <3 stupid people
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for my headset i shot for a Skullcandy Ti Black...i had a low budget, i almost wanted the sony pair more, but the skullcandy was just cooler..how many people have a skullcandy set? i've used it for mixing before, hasn't had a single problem yet. actually, this skullcandy set beats what i used to use, because i've turned this all the way up [yea, it shakes the brain] but it wont start to sound crackly.
for applications, i tend to opt for Adobe Audition because i cant return my license for it, and i use it in school...i'll be trying out Soundtrack Pro in OS X if i get audio working, but although it says the Audiophile is OS X compatible, it wont work for me...maybe an update to leoppard will help?
-------------------
eventually [and that could be years from now] i'll have a 19" padded rack, i'll put this computer in a 4U case, 2 amps, 2 EQs and a mixer. that'll be the day.
setting up the card is pretty easy i have to say..at first [without the manual] it was tricky setting the inputs and outputs, but its working fine...also without the midi plug i can't use any midi devices, but i'm hardly worried about that [its not like i use midi anyway].
as per the dump, lets just say there are good days and bad days..i got my thinkpad T22 there, but the battery is no good anymore, and the board had to be replaced, currently i can't use it [as the BIOS has a password]...later in the week i'll hack it, and then go back to using Ubuntu on the laptop.
I <3 stupid people
When I worked recycle at the dump,I got assorted old cases,cables,
lots of bike parts,but no M Audio. Had to buy my M Audio Revolution new. Great cards.
Run it through a REAL stereo amp and some quality speakers and you'll be amazed at how nice they are relative to Creative or on board.
I'd have gone with an AMD Brisbane rather than a P4. Otherwise-you're doing okay. Audio will take a lot of HDD. I like putting my storage drive in an external....I can turn it off if not needed. I can also locate it further from my ears.
Check out Parts Express if you want to BUILD some quality monitors. You want sheilded components. Tang Band makes very good,detailed,small woofers. Mine are less than 12" from my monitor with no problem. I favor planar tweeters or Titanium domes. My Dayton Titanium Domes are great for detail.
Used a salvage JBL crossoves from a pair I got for $5 at the Goodwill Barn,the woofers were damaged but they have great crossovers.
I do have the Sennheiser headphones I got about 25 yrs ago-but I like speakers.
lots of bike parts,but no M Audio. Had to buy my M Audio Revolution new. Great cards.
Run it through a REAL stereo amp and some quality speakers and you'll be amazed at how nice they are relative to Creative or on board.
I'd have gone with an AMD Brisbane rather than a P4. Otherwise-you're doing okay. Audio will take a lot of HDD. I like putting my storage drive in an external....I can turn it off if not needed. I can also locate it further from my ears.
Check out Parts Express if you want to BUILD some quality monitors. You want sheilded components. Tang Band makes very good,detailed,small woofers. Mine are less than 12" from my monitor with no problem. I favor planar tweeters or Titanium domes. My Dayton Titanium Domes are great for detail.
Used a salvage JBL crossoves from a pair I got for $5 at the Goodwill Barn,the woofers were damaged but they have great crossovers.
I do have the Sennheiser headphones I got about 25 yrs ago-but I like speakers.
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bonestonne
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i just went for the 2x2mb L2 cache...my server has it [although instead of two cores its two CPU].
Xeons took hold of me early on, and after running Xeon compared to AMD, i'll take the Xeons...of course i couldn't afford a Xeon [and still can't] i got what i could for the price.
i haven't gotten to use my card for playback on other than my stereo speakers [through an RCA to 1/8" female adapter]. its already loads better than onboard [however i need to use onboard for OS X and Ubuntu] but i can't just disable it.
i have a pair of 8" monitors up in my room that aren't being used yet, but they're in a much larger housing than 8", so theres no room for them down here [you should see this desk, its puny]. i will be moving this computer upstairs however as soon as i get airport working in OS X [if i decide to keep it on], and upstairs i have a huge stereo system, 4 mains, 4 surrounds, 1 center, 1 sub, and they sharing outputs of the receiver, but it still sounds amazing, i haven't gotten to use this upstairs yet, so i don't know what i'm in for.
right now i'm set with my 250gb internal drive [even with 4 different partitions] and my 400gb external. as soon as i get about $10 more, i'll be buying a 320gb samsung SATA-II, and moving everything onto that [for the speed] and i'll be using the 250gb as storage [i hate carrying around the external, it was a gift, and its fan is dying, so its louder than my computer by a lot].
i'm slowly making my way to what i really want to have...i'm waiting for my school to start throwing away a few things [specifically an amp and a 4U rackmount case]. i do audio recording and editing, i began last year when i recorded my schools rock show [and you can tell i used a creative sound card for it]. now i've got the M-Audio, and i feel like i can do a much better job...its more than just me saying i got it free, its me saying i can finally do the job i pictured myself doing. of course i need to be in a controlled environment, but even if i do have a little trouble with it, its not too bad.
since its my week off i'll try to make a video of how i do audio editing in the three OSes i use. in each OS i use a splitter to split the output going to speakers and then return the feed to the input, it allows me to test my quality using iTunes [in OS X] or WinAmp [in windows] or Totem [in linux] for playback. i'm tempted to uninstall my realtek hi-def drivers in windows [as i dont use it anymore].
i guess the one thing about why i found that card is because people would rather replace a whole system than fix what they have. my old P4 1.4ghz had a fried CPU, i put in a new one, works fine. from the computer i got the M-Audio from, i gave it a RAM upgrade to 512mb [it uses RD RAM], and i just stuck XP on it as a back up for recording my radio show. and i haven't payed a think for that computer, the hard drive, sound card, graphics card, RAM, case, optical drives...its all free. even most of my audio cables were either free or i made myself.
i'm pretty choosy about what i'll spend my money on...i was actually close to asking my parents for an X-Fi...now theres no need for it.
Xeons took hold of me early on, and after running Xeon compared to AMD, i'll take the Xeons...of course i couldn't afford a Xeon [and still can't] i got what i could for the price.
i haven't gotten to use my card for playback on other than my stereo speakers [through an RCA to 1/8" female adapter]. its already loads better than onboard [however i need to use onboard for OS X and Ubuntu] but i can't just disable it.
i have a pair of 8" monitors up in my room that aren't being used yet, but they're in a much larger housing than 8", so theres no room for them down here [you should see this desk, its puny]. i will be moving this computer upstairs however as soon as i get airport working in OS X [if i decide to keep it on], and upstairs i have a huge stereo system, 4 mains, 4 surrounds, 1 center, 1 sub, and they sharing outputs of the receiver, but it still sounds amazing, i haven't gotten to use this upstairs yet, so i don't know what i'm in for.
right now i'm set with my 250gb internal drive [even with 4 different partitions] and my 400gb external. as soon as i get about $10 more, i'll be buying a 320gb samsung SATA-II, and moving everything onto that [for the speed] and i'll be using the 250gb as storage [i hate carrying around the external, it was a gift, and its fan is dying, so its louder than my computer by a lot].
i'm slowly making my way to what i really want to have...i'm waiting for my school to start throwing away a few things [specifically an amp and a 4U rackmount case]. i do audio recording and editing, i began last year when i recorded my schools rock show [and you can tell i used a creative sound card for it]. now i've got the M-Audio, and i feel like i can do a much better job...its more than just me saying i got it free, its me saying i can finally do the job i pictured myself doing. of course i need to be in a controlled environment, but even if i do have a little trouble with it, its not too bad.
since its my week off i'll try to make a video of how i do audio editing in the three OSes i use. in each OS i use a splitter to split the output going to speakers and then return the feed to the input, it allows me to test my quality using iTunes [in OS X] or WinAmp [in windows] or Totem [in linux] for playback. i'm tempted to uninstall my realtek hi-def drivers in windows [as i dont use it anymore].
i guess the one thing about why i found that card is because people would rather replace a whole system than fix what they have. my old P4 1.4ghz had a fried CPU, i put in a new one, works fine. from the computer i got the M-Audio from, i gave it a RAM upgrade to 512mb [it uses RD RAM], and i just stuck XP on it as a back up for recording my radio show. and i haven't payed a think for that computer, the hard drive, sound card, graphics card, RAM, case, optical drives...its all free. even most of my audio cables were either free or i made myself.
i'm pretty choosy about what i'll spend my money on...i was actually close to asking my parents for an X-Fi...now theres no need for it.
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bonestonne
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new pictures as of 5 minutes ago? only two though, cameras battery is almost dead.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_1644.jpg
^M-Audio running a loop-back with the output...since i'm running OS X i have to use onboard right now though.
you can also see that i cut off most of the fan grill, i just kept the mounting holes for 80 and 92mm fans because i used to have a 92mm rear fan for it [and didn't want to overcut it]. now i have a 120mm and i'm just procrastinating cutting the rest off.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_1645.jpg
^side shot, the window is dirty yes...i'm being lazy and haven't cleaned it in quite a while. you can see i have all the USB headers in use...10 USB 2.0 ports total. do i need them? no. do i want them? yea! i will need them once i start building the audio rack though, i'll have at least 2 USB mixers and a few USB mics to use for [hopefully] high quality recordings.
i'm not the biggest fan of where my graphics card is, and would love to move it, but i can't...once i get a PCI-E card my cooling problems at the bottom of the case will end. i might just get an x1 card because i don't game at all. x16 is pretty much a waste for what i do.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_1644.jpg
^M-Audio running a loop-back with the output...since i'm running OS X i have to use onboard right now though.
you can also see that i cut off most of the fan grill, i just kept the mounting holes for 80 and 92mm fans because i used to have a 92mm rear fan for it [and didn't want to overcut it]. now i have a 120mm and i'm just procrastinating cutting the rest off.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_1645.jpg
^side shot, the window is dirty yes...i'm being lazy and haven't cleaned it in quite a while. you can see i have all the USB headers in use...10 USB 2.0 ports total. do i need them? no. do i want them? yea! i will need them once i start building the audio rack though, i'll have at least 2 USB mixers and a few USB mics to use for [hopefully] high quality recordings.
i'm not the biggest fan of where my graphics card is, and would love to move it, but i can't...once i get a PCI-E card my cooling problems at the bottom of the case will end. i might just get an x1 card because i don't game at all. x16 is pretty much a waste for what i do.
Last edited by bonestonne on Sat Dec 19, 2009 2:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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bonestonne
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new case, new heatsink!
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_1661.jpg
^thats a full interior shot with the stock heatsink still, much neater, and cooler.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_1701.jpg
^case with ninja installed. a very tight but manageable fit...for those wondering, i still haven't removed the paper from the backplate, and its not on my to-do list.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_1704.jpg
^not much RAM clearance, however i've reseated the fan, and now its sitting with more clearance, noticably.
CPU fan @ 12
rear fan @ 7v
front fan @ 7v
lower side fan @ 7v
CPU idle = 22C [it goes as low as 17, however jumps between 18 and 22 more often]
CPU load = *untested so far* my computers rarely reach load, i'm not sure if i'll test this.
nothing's changed much though other than the case and heatsink. we'll see how it lasts in my room after this week when school starts and it begins to take a massive beating recording two 3 hour radio shows a week & mixing them both down to .mp3 before i go to bed
my ninja is literally cool to the touch no matter where you put your hand, so i'm more than pleased.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_1661.jpg
^thats a full interior shot with the stock heatsink still, much neater, and cooler.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_1701.jpg
^case with ninja installed. a very tight but manageable fit...for those wondering, i still haven't removed the paper from the backplate, and its not on my to-do list.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_1704.jpg
^not much RAM clearance, however i've reseated the fan, and now its sitting with more clearance, noticably.
CPU fan @ 12
rear fan @ 7v
front fan @ 7v
lower side fan @ 7v
CPU idle = 22C [it goes as low as 17, however jumps between 18 and 22 more often]
CPU load = *untested so far* my computers rarely reach load, i'm not sure if i'll test this.
nothing's changed much though other than the case and heatsink. we'll see how it lasts in my room after this week when school starts and it begins to take a massive beating recording two 3 hour radio shows a week & mixing them both down to .mp3 before i go to bed
my ninja is literally cool to the touch no matter where you put your hand, so i'm more than pleased.
Last edited by bonestonne on Sat Dec 19, 2009 2:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Build this rig 2 weeks ago, lurked on here for some advice so thanks.
Haven't gone all the way down the silent fan route at the moment, just the recommended components, may look to improve if it affects and future mic recordings
Spec:
Q6600 GO
Asus P5K
4Gb Crucial Ballistics
Ninja
P182
Corsair 520 PSU
36gb Raptor system drive
320gb Seagate data drive
Nvidia 7800 fanless
2x Samsung 20" Widescreen (yeah, greedy!)
M Audio Audiophile 192
Adam p11a Monitors
Cubase SX, Ableton Live, Soundforge etc
...
Haven't gone all the way down the silent fan route at the moment, just the recommended components, may look to improve if it affects and future mic recordings
Spec:
Q6600 GO
Asus P5K
4Gb Crucial Ballistics
Ninja
P182
Corsair 520 PSU
36gb Raptor system drive
320gb Seagate data drive
Nvidia 7800 fanless
2x Samsung 20" Widescreen (yeah, greedy!)
M Audio Audiophile 192
Adam p11a Monitors
Cubase SX, Ableton Live, Soundforge etc
...
Last edited by FishLick on Mon Sep 17, 2007 9:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
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bonestonne
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thats a pretty sweet rig, glad the thread helped.
if you use condenser mics or directional/shotgun mics, you'll definitely need to be very picky about the fans, a shotgun type microphone can and will pick up just about every sound within 20 feet of it...as i proved today in school, playing a trick on someone filming a project, the good ol' smack the desk then the !&*$ button...gotta love it.
if you're using a normal vocal mic for it, you shouldn't have any problems with sound, a desk could easily mask the sound of that computer.
i had looked into soundforge, but when i thought about it, i really don't need anything that works primarily with midi input, i just record and remaster.
as for my computer, just earlier today i took off the fan from the ninja..so far so good, just 5C warmer than with the fan, still about 7-8C cooler than stock. since i had a broken fan [i'll add pictures of it tomorrow maybe] i had cut the actual fan and posts out of the frame of the fan, so i have this 120mm frame that acts as a duct for the rear fan, i brought it almost right up against the ninja, and it does help.
only thing left is to replace the filters on the front of my system to some that are much better with dust. currently, if you look at my ninja [because i am kinda lazy] there is a fine layer of dust on the fins in the outlined shape of a fan...i do need to clean it soon though...not sure when that'll happen though.
soon as my XP x64 arrives, i'll try it out..is that what you're running FishLick?
if you use condenser mics or directional/shotgun mics, you'll definitely need to be very picky about the fans, a shotgun type microphone can and will pick up just about every sound within 20 feet of it...as i proved today in school, playing a trick on someone filming a project, the good ol' smack the desk then the !&*$ button...gotta love it.
if you're using a normal vocal mic for it, you shouldn't have any problems with sound, a desk could easily mask the sound of that computer.
i had looked into soundforge, but when i thought about it, i really don't need anything that works primarily with midi input, i just record and remaster.
as for my computer, just earlier today i took off the fan from the ninja..so far so good, just 5C warmer than with the fan, still about 7-8C cooler than stock. since i had a broken fan [i'll add pictures of it tomorrow maybe] i had cut the actual fan and posts out of the frame of the fan, so i have this 120mm frame that acts as a duct for the rear fan, i brought it almost right up against the ninja, and it does help.
only thing left is to replace the filters on the front of my system to some that are much better with dust. currently, if you look at my ninja [because i am kinda lazy] there is a fine layer of dust on the fins in the outlined shape of a fan...i do need to clean it soon though...not sure when that'll happen though.
soon as my XP x64 arrives, i'll try it out..is that what you're running FishLick?
? a Shotgun mic is very directional-picks up a pretty narrow pattern....mostly what you aim at. Cardiods are directional but do pick up more off axis than a shotgun---which is often a cardiod with a tube to focus the sound.
OMNI mikes are what you need to have ZERO background noise with. Many of the very pricey studio condensers are omnidirectional....so NO computer noises in the recording area.
Soundforge works with wave files...whether from a digital or analog source.
It's incredibly versatile and one App I consider essential on my puter.
OMNI mikes are what you need to have ZERO background noise with. Many of the very pricey studio condensers are omnidirectional....so NO computer noises in the recording area.
Soundforge works with wave files...whether from a digital or analog source.
It's incredibly versatile and one App I consider essential on my puter.
No just xp pro standard 32bit. Only 3.25gb ram shows up.bonestonne wrote:
soon as my XP x64 arrives, i'll try it out..is that what you're running FishLick?
I didn't get round to researching of cubase runs on 64 bit XP as i've always used 32bit OS.
TBH, were making more electronic music rather than live but we both play guitar and bass so no doubt will be using some of that in future recordings.
Soundforge if used for cutting up and editing samples, I'd record straight into cubase too.
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bonestonne
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- Location: Northern New Jersey
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Hey, haven't been keeping much track with upgrades, but i've had plenty
CPU: Pentium D 940 (hasn't changed)
RAM: 3GB Dual Channel DDR2-667 G-Skill (+2GB a while ago)
Motherboard: MSI Neo-F P965 (hasn't changed)
OS Drive: 250GB WD (hasn't changed)
Data Drive: 160GB WD Caviar (beats the 80gb Hitachi)
Graphics: ECS 9600GT 512MB PCI-e x16 (definitely beats the FX5200)
Audio: M-Audio Audiophile 24/96 (hasn't changed)
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_2411.jpg
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_2412.jpg
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_2413.jpg
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_2415.jpg
the general setup hasn't changed much, but i'm afraid to put the graphics card under load because of my limited power output....only 300W Fortron Source Green...i trust it for movies and faster graphics, but i can't say i'd really game on this bad boy just yet. i'd want more power for, if anything, headroom.
CPU: Pentium D 940 (hasn't changed)
RAM: 3GB Dual Channel DDR2-667 G-Skill (+2GB a while ago)
Motherboard: MSI Neo-F P965 (hasn't changed)
OS Drive: 250GB WD (hasn't changed)
Data Drive: 160GB WD Caviar (beats the 80gb Hitachi)
Graphics: ECS 9600GT 512MB PCI-e x16 (definitely beats the FX5200)
Audio: M-Audio Audiophile 24/96 (hasn't changed)
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_2411.jpg
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_2412.jpg
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_2413.jpg
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_2415.jpg
the general setup hasn't changed much, but i'm afraid to put the graphics card under load because of my limited power output....only 300W Fortron Source Green...i trust it for movies and faster graphics, but i can't say i'd really game on this bad boy just yet. i'd want more power for, if anything, headroom.
Or, you gain headroom by upgrading to a newer cool running CPU, either a E8400 or a cheap E2200. Both of them uses like 30 W. I know I'd rather do that than getting a new PSU.
The E8400 is faster than the X6800, and your 940 is slower than the 965 used in this review.
I think your board can handle the CPU, and it's most likely the best upgrade you can do for your system (except quad core), since Intel will totally change CPU socket and motherboards later this year.
You can alwys wait until the prices goes down a bit though.
The E8400 is faster than the X6800, and your 940 is slower than the 965 used in this review.
I think your board can handle the CPU, and it's most likely the best upgrade you can do for your system (except quad core), since Intel will totally change CPU socket and motherboards later this year.
You can alwys wait until the prices goes down a bit though.
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bonestonne
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well, yes and no.
i don't have the V2 motherboard, i have the original, so my max FSB is 1066 for this board. i've been waiting on a few things, but i'm satisfied right now to keep what i have for a while.
the system is completely stable, but i'm reinstalling everything anyway (spring break gives me the time to) and it'll also let me test a slightly different setup.
i'm thinking of an E6600 when they get really cheap, and that'll be the end of upgrades for me until i get a new motherboard, but i don't need endless upgrades. i don't have the money for that, but i needed a new graphics card badly. the system does well, and i generally only do audio editing, with some photo editing, so the CPU doesn't see tons and tons of load.
loudest component right now is the 9600GT at boot, but once the OS kicks in the fan spins down mostly, and you can't tell its on. i'd love to slap an HR-05 or an Accelero on it, but there's no need yet. but then again, i did just get paid thursday... only part about the 9600GT i don't like is the cooler, the air leaves the card, but it doesn't leave the case initially, so i'm thinking of ways to duct it all out of the case.
i don't have the V2 motherboard, i have the original, so my max FSB is 1066 for this board. i've been waiting on a few things, but i'm satisfied right now to keep what i have for a while.
the system is completely stable, but i'm reinstalling everything anyway (spring break gives me the time to) and it'll also let me test a slightly different setup.
i'm thinking of an E6600 when they get really cheap, and that'll be the end of upgrades for me until i get a new motherboard, but i don't need endless upgrades. i don't have the money for that, but i needed a new graphics card badly. the system does well, and i generally only do audio editing, with some photo editing, so the CPU doesn't see tons and tons of load.
loudest component right now is the 9600GT at boot, but once the OS kicks in the fan spins down mostly, and you can't tell its on. i'd love to slap an HR-05 or an Accelero on it, but there's no need yet. but then again, i did just get paid thursday... only part about the 9600GT i don't like is the cooler, the air leaves the card, but it doesn't leave the case initially, so i'm thinking of ways to duct it all out of the case.
Another choice would be the upcoming 45 nm E7000 series which have 266 MHz FSB.
That is if your board can handle 45 nm at least at 266 MHz.
That is if your board can handle 45 nm at least at 266 MHz.
-
bonestonne
- Posts: 1839
- Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2007 2:10 pm
- Location: Northern New Jersey
- Contact:
http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?func ... 3_no=#menu
appears as though i may just be in line for a new board soon. another reason for me to change form factors.
would anyone care to comment on G33 chipsets?
appears as though i may just be in line for a new board soon. another reason for me to change form factors.
would anyone care to comment on G33 chipsets?
-
bonestonne
- Posts: 1839
- Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2007 2:10 pm
- Location: Northern New Jersey
- Contact:
Time to re-hash the inards and this build due to some changes made today.
Using the latest versions of:
Speedfan
CPU-Z
GPU-Z
I'll piece together some mods and changes that've happened to the setup today, definitely compare to previous results.
After doing a BIOS update to the latest revision (1.10), re-enabling Speedstep, and the fan control, temps have reached a low.
The newest version of CPU-Z is giving me a better representation of my CPU speed according to the changes in Speedstep. The multiplier bounces between x12 and x16 when idling, possibly from background tasks, and the fact that firefox is running. These changes bounce the frequency between 2406mhz and 3207mhz, more than enough. The rated FSB seems to sit steadily at 801.8mhz, and the voltage seems to be anywhere between 1.240v to 1.344v depending on load. The processor, a Pentium D 940, has never been overclocked, and is cooled by a Scythe Ninja Rev A, with Mad Dog Arctic Silver 5 TIM. Temperatures according to Speedfan range between an idle of 25C, which is incredibly low, and is possibly a sensor error (add 10-15C?) and has been up to ~60 at load? I have yet to put it under a stress test for more than several minutes, but stability is solid, so I wouldn't expect anything exciting.
The latest version of GPU-Z shows the specs of the ECS 9600GT 512MB with stock cooler. BIOS version of the card being 62.94.11.00.04, with the Forceware 174.74 x64 software driver installed for XP x64 SP2. The Temperature of the card at idle is ~47-48C, sitting at either one for a period of time before changing. Performance is solid as is stability, even though it is only being powered by a 300W Fortron Source Green PSU. Even with the light game I've been playing lately (EA Games: American McGee's Alice), there has been no hint of instability, nor dropped frames. The game is set at max settings (1280x1024 for my 17" monitor) and is rock solid (unlike my memory of the game).
The WD HDD with my OS, a 250GB SATA-1.5gb/s stays settled at 31C during idle, and has never reached 40C to my knowledge.
The Northbridge is the warmest thing right now with the stock cooler, its temps range between ~44-52C, which are perfectly acceptable temps.
The Southbridge has a similar operating temp, I would estimate between 35-42C because there is a 92mm fan @ 7v blowing nearly directly on it.
-------------------------------------
For a long time I had a 120mm fan frame right on the case, and had kept the 120mm exhaust fan closer to the Scythe Ninja. This provided a lower temperature while there was still a PCI graphics card at the bottom of the case, however recently, the frame has been removed, and idle/load temperatures have dropped noticeably, 4-5C throughout the entire case.
Another change that I may have never touched on was the side panel. No, I haven't put dampening materials in place, however the vents had to change. Using clear packing tape on the inside of the panel, I covered the vents, which had resulted (at first) with a temperature increase, because less cool air was going right to the components. However, the front panel of the Elite 330 is mesh, so after air had circulated throughout the case, temps had lowered, because air had been forced to leave the case, instead of just letting fresh air in. The front mesh panel is as open as possible, and has what can loosely be called filters, which are effective to a certain point, as with anything else.
Recently, the rear grill has also been cut out, and I ordered a 120mm wire fan grill which will arrive with the Accelero S1 which will replace the stock cooler on the 9600GT. While this has helped, I am under debate as to whether or not to leave the 80mm and 92mm mounting holes, or to just chop out the four "posts" which still block a fair amount of airflow. Maybe towards the summer when I feel like taking everything out of the case.
There are two 120mm fans within the case:
Exhaust fan: 120mm Cooler Master fan, the stock fan that came with the case, 1200rpm max. The exhaust fan is plugged into the CPU fan header. While this seems strange, its more effective this way.
CPU fan: 120mm NMB fan. Unsure of model at the moment, but it is hardwired @ 7v, and is unaudible with the case side on.
Lower fan: 92mm Delta Brushless fan, Model: ASB0912L. Before anyone goes off on a Delta rant, this is not an HH model, it is not meant for cooling a CRT tube. This model fan is commonly found in HP or eMachines computers, at 7v this fan is the perfect 92mm fan. It produces next to no noise (although if you're close to it you'll notice that it's got a very very low hum to it). This fan will be used to blow air towards the S1, along with cool the southbridge and OS HDD.
The second HDD, also a Western Digital, is located in the 5.25" bays with an adapter, however will soon be suspended or soft mounted. While it is quiet, during seek it makes plenty of noise, enough to bother anyone, and its very noticeable. It is kept cool, but does not appear in Speedfan (and if it is actually Temp1, then it is 28C all the time).
The Fortron Source Green 300W power supply is running stably, and has never cut off, it is easily powering the system, even with the 9600GT. It's blowing out cool, relatively warm air, but only very slightly warmer than the exhaust fan air.
------------------------------
I'm generally satisfied with the performance and the power the system has, however as with anything, I don't like the design of the stock cooler of the 9600GT, because it doesn't exhaust the air, it just cools the card. Past that, its a great system. I hope it'll last long, replaced, but not gotten rid of.
I'll update again once the Accelero S1 arrives.
--------------------------------
S1 hasn't arrived yet, however as many here have done, I decided to suspend and soft mount my hard drives. This gives an unbelievable amount of silence and vibration reduction. Steel, Aluminum and Plastic are what run the PC case industry, and the Cooler Master Elite 330 is Steel. For those who wonder, SECC, the material that many cases are made of is Steel, Electro-Galvanized, Cold Rolled, Coiled. This process increases the strength of the steel, but not much can be said about the weight. The Elite 330 isn't heavy, but its not the lightest thing you'll ever pick up.
In suspending my Music drive in the 5.25" bays and i also added rubber spacers to the SATA drive I keep my OS on. After getting my computer back on, its very different. the case does not resonate at all, and the only vibrations are from the fans, one on the Scythe Ninja, one suspended, which doesn't make any vibrations, and one exhaust. Not forgetting the power supply, however I've never had a problem with it.
The suspension technique of the Music HDD is to be redone soon, as it's uneven and somewhat untrustworthy, however it proves the difference in sound.
The stock cooler of the ECS 9600GT is now the only thing between me and computer silence. Pictures will come after methods are perfected.
Using the latest versions of:
Speedfan
CPU-Z
GPU-Z
I'll piece together some mods and changes that've happened to the setup today, definitely compare to previous results.
After doing a BIOS update to the latest revision (1.10), re-enabling Speedstep, and the fan control, temps have reached a low.
The newest version of CPU-Z is giving me a better representation of my CPU speed according to the changes in Speedstep. The multiplier bounces between x12 and x16 when idling, possibly from background tasks, and the fact that firefox is running. These changes bounce the frequency between 2406mhz and 3207mhz, more than enough. The rated FSB seems to sit steadily at 801.8mhz, and the voltage seems to be anywhere between 1.240v to 1.344v depending on load. The processor, a Pentium D 940, has never been overclocked, and is cooled by a Scythe Ninja Rev A, with Mad Dog Arctic Silver 5 TIM. Temperatures according to Speedfan range between an idle of 25C, which is incredibly low, and is possibly a sensor error (add 10-15C?) and has been up to ~60 at load? I have yet to put it under a stress test for more than several minutes, but stability is solid, so I wouldn't expect anything exciting.
The latest version of GPU-Z shows the specs of the ECS 9600GT 512MB with stock cooler. BIOS version of the card being 62.94.11.00.04, with the Forceware 174.74 x64 software driver installed for XP x64 SP2. The Temperature of the card at idle is ~47-48C, sitting at either one for a period of time before changing. Performance is solid as is stability, even though it is only being powered by a 300W Fortron Source Green PSU. Even with the light game I've been playing lately (EA Games: American McGee's Alice), there has been no hint of instability, nor dropped frames. The game is set at max settings (1280x1024 for my 17" monitor) and is rock solid (unlike my memory of the game).
The WD HDD with my OS, a 250GB SATA-1.5gb/s stays settled at 31C during idle, and has never reached 40C to my knowledge.
The Northbridge is the warmest thing right now with the stock cooler, its temps range between ~44-52C, which are perfectly acceptable temps.
The Southbridge has a similar operating temp, I would estimate between 35-42C because there is a 92mm fan @ 7v blowing nearly directly on it.
-------------------------------------
For a long time I had a 120mm fan frame right on the case, and had kept the 120mm exhaust fan closer to the Scythe Ninja. This provided a lower temperature while there was still a PCI graphics card at the bottom of the case, however recently, the frame has been removed, and idle/load temperatures have dropped noticeably, 4-5C throughout the entire case.
Another change that I may have never touched on was the side panel. No, I haven't put dampening materials in place, however the vents had to change. Using clear packing tape on the inside of the panel, I covered the vents, which had resulted (at first) with a temperature increase, because less cool air was going right to the components. However, the front panel of the Elite 330 is mesh, so after air had circulated throughout the case, temps had lowered, because air had been forced to leave the case, instead of just letting fresh air in. The front mesh panel is as open as possible, and has what can loosely be called filters, which are effective to a certain point, as with anything else.
Recently, the rear grill has also been cut out, and I ordered a 120mm wire fan grill which will arrive with the Accelero S1 which will replace the stock cooler on the 9600GT. While this has helped, I am under debate as to whether or not to leave the 80mm and 92mm mounting holes, or to just chop out the four "posts" which still block a fair amount of airflow. Maybe towards the summer when I feel like taking everything out of the case.
There are two 120mm fans within the case:
Exhaust fan: 120mm Cooler Master fan, the stock fan that came with the case, 1200rpm max. The exhaust fan is plugged into the CPU fan header. While this seems strange, its more effective this way.
CPU fan: 120mm NMB fan. Unsure of model at the moment, but it is hardwired @ 7v, and is unaudible with the case side on.
Lower fan: 92mm Delta Brushless fan, Model: ASB0912L. Before anyone goes off on a Delta rant, this is not an HH model, it is not meant for cooling a CRT tube. This model fan is commonly found in HP or eMachines computers, at 7v this fan is the perfect 92mm fan. It produces next to no noise (although if you're close to it you'll notice that it's got a very very low hum to it). This fan will be used to blow air towards the S1, along with cool the southbridge and OS HDD.
The second HDD, also a Western Digital, is located in the 5.25" bays with an adapter, however will soon be suspended or soft mounted. While it is quiet, during seek it makes plenty of noise, enough to bother anyone, and its very noticeable. It is kept cool, but does not appear in Speedfan (and if it is actually Temp1, then it is 28C all the time).
The Fortron Source Green 300W power supply is running stably, and has never cut off, it is easily powering the system, even with the 9600GT. It's blowing out cool, relatively warm air, but only very slightly warmer than the exhaust fan air.
------------------------------
I'm generally satisfied with the performance and the power the system has, however as with anything, I don't like the design of the stock cooler of the 9600GT, because it doesn't exhaust the air, it just cools the card. Past that, its a great system. I hope it'll last long, replaced, but not gotten rid of.
I'll update again once the Accelero S1 arrives.
--------------------------------
S1 hasn't arrived yet, however as many here have done, I decided to suspend and soft mount my hard drives. This gives an unbelievable amount of silence and vibration reduction. Steel, Aluminum and Plastic are what run the PC case industry, and the Cooler Master Elite 330 is Steel. For those who wonder, SECC, the material that many cases are made of is Steel, Electro-Galvanized, Cold Rolled, Coiled. This process increases the strength of the steel, but not much can be said about the weight. The Elite 330 isn't heavy, but its not the lightest thing you'll ever pick up.
In suspending my Music drive in the 5.25" bays and i also added rubber spacers to the SATA drive I keep my OS on. After getting my computer back on, its very different. the case does not resonate at all, and the only vibrations are from the fans, one on the Scythe Ninja, one suspended, which doesn't make any vibrations, and one exhaust. Not forgetting the power supply, however I've never had a problem with it.
The suspension technique of the Music HDD is to be redone soon, as it's uneven and somewhat untrustworthy, however it proves the difference in sound.
The stock cooler of the ECS 9600GT is now the only thing between me and computer silence. Pictures will come after methods are perfected.
-
bonestonne
- Posts: 1839
- Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2007 2:10 pm
- Location: Northern New Jersey
- Contact:
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_2437.jpg
^Accelero S1 installed, plastic pieces removed. Roughly the same height as a Ninja when installed.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_2438.jpg
Airflow pattern for the S1. Semi-passive, but stable and cool. no heatsinks for the VRMs which makes me uneasy because the stock cooler covers them, but no issues so far so i'm guess its going to work out.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_2433.jpg
my issue with the S1. one of the clips designed to cooler onto the cooler arrived broken. the cooler is light enough for that to not matter, but still, not the greatest thing. The VRM heatsink doesn't fit. Not entirely sure how i'd be able to use the metal plate, but it doesn't fit either, and i'm not about to do anything to it.
The Accelero S1 dropped the temps of my 9600GT by ~7C, but it has yet to be burned in. Any change it temps that's lower is great for this card, the cooler is mainly fanless, but works very well.
load testing will come soon, friday/saturday i'm hoping.
^Accelero S1 installed, plastic pieces removed. Roughly the same height as a Ninja when installed.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_2438.jpg
Airflow pattern for the S1. Semi-passive, but stable and cool. no heatsinks for the VRMs which makes me uneasy because the stock cooler covers them, but no issues so far so i'm guess its going to work out.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_2433.jpg
my issue with the S1. one of the clips designed to cooler onto the cooler arrived broken. the cooler is light enough for that to not matter, but still, not the greatest thing. The VRM heatsink doesn't fit. Not entirely sure how i'd be able to use the metal plate, but it doesn't fit either, and i'm not about to do anything to it.
The Accelero S1 dropped the temps of my 9600GT by ~7C, but it has yet to be burned in. Any change it temps that's lower is great for this card, the cooler is mainly fanless, but works very well.
load testing will come soon, friday/saturday i'm hoping.
Last edited by bonestonne on Sat Dec 19, 2009 2:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-
bonestonne
- Posts: 1839
- Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2007 2:10 pm
- Location: Northern New Jersey
- Contact:
9600GT Temps with Accelero S1
Tested with ATi-Tool 0.26.
Also, with the 3D view on, I was getting 787FPS with the case open, roughly 700 with the case closed.
The CPU hadn't changed drastically while I was testing, but i checked it anyway:
Temps for the CPU taken with Speedfan 4.33
One final note is that when ATi-Tools was running, it only took about 5 minutes for the PSU to really ramp up and start blowing out some warm air.
Ambient room temp right now and during the test is: 21.6C
----------------------------
Computer in its natural environment:
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_2451.jpg
^my side of the table. This is my schools' rock show setup...not what we wanted, but its what we got. the 24.1" monitor sadly isn't mine, i was just using it for the night.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_2450.jpg
^the other half of the table. that carpeted roll out case is my child, pushes 7200W between 3 amps at the bottom, has a drive rack PA system, two EQs
(but both are kinda crappy), a feedback destroyer (but its never used) and two multiband compressors. its a mackie 16 channel mixer up on top. it belongs
to my school, but knowing more about it than almost everyone else, its my baby.
the two mixers on the table are taking 8 direct outs, and one aux send channel, the one on the left is bleeding into the one on the right, and then going
into the computer. the mixer on the right on the table belongs to me, the one on the left is my schools.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_2455.jpg
^my crazy friends: closest to camera on the floor is steve, right above him with the guitar and papers is one of my best friends and radio show co-host, mike,
on bass is felipe, farthest away is dillion on guitar, and in the back on drums is john, but he prefers guitar.
The PA system used is a total of 3500W, two 1200W yamaha subs, and 2 650W behringer mains.
in front of them are two peavey monitors. Mics used for this were Shure SM-57s, Behringer XM8500 mics,
M-Audio Pulsar II's (behind-above the drumkit) and AKG mics that i'd have to look at to get the model, and lastly, one Audio Technica DR-VX1.
it'll take about a month for me to edit all the bands music that i recorded, because i have vinyls to get through first, but despite some of the quirks (like not singing into the mics) it all went well.
Code: Select all
Idle:
Case Open: 35C it took nearly 10 minutes with the case open for it to settle
Case Closed: 38C pretty much the same temp as it was when i did a cold boot after a few minutes.
Load:
Case Open: 48C it took about 7 minutes for it to reach this temp, but it wasn't bouncing.
Case Closed: 52C for a while i thought it would have stayed at 51, but 8 minutes in, it jumped up to 52 and sat there.Also, with the 3D view on, I was getting 787FPS with the case open, roughly 700 with the case closed.
The CPU hadn't changed drastically while I was testing, but i checked it anyway:
Code: Select all
Idle:
Case Open: 23C
Case Closed: 25C
ATi-Tools:
Case Open: 33C
Case Closed: 36COne final note is that when ATi-Tools was running, it only took about 5 minutes for the PSU to really ramp up and start blowing out some warm air.
Ambient room temp right now and during the test is: 21.6C
----------------------------
Computer in its natural environment:
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_2451.jpg
^my side of the table. This is my schools' rock show setup...not what we wanted, but its what we got. the 24.1" monitor sadly isn't mine, i was just using it for the night.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_2450.jpg
^the other half of the table. that carpeted roll out case is my child, pushes 7200W between 3 amps at the bottom, has a drive rack PA system, two EQs
(but both are kinda crappy), a feedback destroyer (but its never used) and two multiband compressors. its a mackie 16 channel mixer up on top. it belongs
to my school, but knowing more about it than almost everyone else, its my baby.
the two mixers on the table are taking 8 direct outs, and one aux send channel, the one on the left is bleeding into the one on the right, and then going
into the computer. the mixer on the right on the table belongs to me, the one on the left is my schools.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_2455.jpg
^my crazy friends: closest to camera on the floor is steve, right above him with the guitar and papers is one of my best friends and radio show co-host, mike,
on bass is felipe, farthest away is dillion on guitar, and in the back on drums is john, but he prefers guitar.
The PA system used is a total of 3500W, two 1200W yamaha subs, and 2 650W behringer mains.
in front of them are two peavey monitors. Mics used for this were Shure SM-57s, Behringer XM8500 mics,
M-Audio Pulsar II's (behind-above the drumkit) and AKG mics that i'd have to look at to get the model, and lastly, one Audio Technica DR-VX1.
it'll take about a month for me to edit all the bands music that i recorded, because i have vinyls to get through first, but despite some of the quirks (like not singing into the mics) it all went well.
Last edited by bonestonne on Sat Dec 19, 2009 2:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-
bonestonne
- Posts: 1839
- Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2007 2:10 pm
- Location: Northern New Jersey
- Contact:
Complete upgrade
new specs:
Core 2 Duo E6750 (cooled with Scythe Ninja rev A)
MSI Neo P45
6GB G-SKill DDR2
ECS nVidia 9600GT 512mb (cooled with Accelero S1)
M-Audio Delta 24/96
HL DVD+/-RW (from a recently deceased build)
Card Reader (about time i had one)
Cooler Master Elite 330
FSP 300W
I would have put an HR-05 on the northbridge, but it just doesn't fit, and there's no room to change the southbridge heatsink, being right under the accelero. new DVD burner and card reader finally match the front panel. I lost one of my 17" LCDs, burned in far too much, i'm waiting to see if i can just replace the panel sometime.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_1034.jpg
^whole deal after the DVD drive was put in, there's a ton more room up at the top too
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_1037.jpg
^the ugly side...quite ugly.
*edit*
put in my HR-05 for the northbridge after some intense DIY mounting.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_1050.jpg
^HR-05 compared to stock cooler
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_1051.jpg
^starting to get crowded, but not any hotter
Last edited by bonestonne on Sat Dec 19, 2009 2:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-
bonestonne
- Posts: 1839
- Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2007 2:10 pm
- Location: Northern New Jersey
- Contact:
I had an epiphany today, involving those rubber mounting things for fans.
They many a difference like night and day.
I have the original Cooler Master 120mm 1200RPM fan as the exhaust in my Cooler Master Elite 330. Originally, the case used to have an ungodly vibration to it, kind of like a pulse, and since the case is riveted together, if you put your hand on it, you'd feel it, and late at night, you'd hear the side panels rattling a little.
The trick with that is the Cooler Master fan has the closed edges for the mounting screws, so i had to take a pocket knife (no hacksaw available) and i cut into it a little (it's a very sharp knife, no problem there). Then I took a big pair of pliers (and i mean big) and i just crushed the plastic, and then filed it down a little to a smooth surface (in doing this, i broke off one corner, but luckily it's an inside corner, so it didn't affect the mounting.
Lately, in going to the local dump, I've pulled the rubber fan mounts out of a couple Dell computers, and since the rubber is still good, I decided I'd stick them into my computer, see what the difference is like. I originally thought the vibration was coming from the hard drives, which do seem to have a pulsing vibration to them, but it's nothing like what that fan gives. Now that it's mounted with the rubber, my computer has reached a new level of silence. Since there was enough extra room for the case side of the mount, I even squeezed the fan guard on, to provide more tension to make sure it was mounted tightly. Fan vibration is completely gone in the case, and now it's even harder to hear the rig...airflow is still very high, but the computer itself is loads quieter.
I may even try out the power supply dampeners now, see if those are worth the selling point (but reducing the grounding between the PSU and the case isn't something i'm keen on).
They many a difference like night and day.
I have the original Cooler Master 120mm 1200RPM fan as the exhaust in my Cooler Master Elite 330. Originally, the case used to have an ungodly vibration to it, kind of like a pulse, and since the case is riveted together, if you put your hand on it, you'd feel it, and late at night, you'd hear the side panels rattling a little.
The trick with that is the Cooler Master fan has the closed edges for the mounting screws, so i had to take a pocket knife (no hacksaw available) and i cut into it a little (it's a very sharp knife, no problem there). Then I took a big pair of pliers (and i mean big) and i just crushed the plastic, and then filed it down a little to a smooth surface (in doing this, i broke off one corner, but luckily it's an inside corner, so it didn't affect the mounting.
Lately, in going to the local dump, I've pulled the rubber fan mounts out of a couple Dell computers, and since the rubber is still good, I decided I'd stick them into my computer, see what the difference is like. I originally thought the vibration was coming from the hard drives, which do seem to have a pulsing vibration to them, but it's nothing like what that fan gives. Now that it's mounted with the rubber, my computer has reached a new level of silence. Since there was enough extra room for the case side of the mount, I even squeezed the fan guard on, to provide more tension to make sure it was mounted tightly. Fan vibration is completely gone in the case, and now it's even harder to hear the rig...airflow is still very high, but the computer itself is loads quieter.
I may even try out the power supply dampeners now, see if those are worth the selling point (but reducing the grounding between the PSU and the case isn't something i'm keen on).
-
bonestonne
- Posts: 1839
- Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2007 2:10 pm
- Location: Northern New Jersey
- Contact:
I remember reading somewhere about using Sewing Machine oil for use in computer fans, and to be honest, it works like a charm.
In my garage, I actually found an old can of Singer Sewing Machine oil that still has a pretty good amount in it, so naturally, I tested it on a couple POS fans that I have lying around, and then I tore apart my rig and dissected each fan one by one, putting just one drop of grease around the little bearing.
Easily on the louder fans, it made them smoother, except for that one mentioned in my previous post, the Cooler Master...it still has this pulsing vibration which rattles a couple PCI plates, but is otherwise better than it started.
I'll post pics later, but I dropped this oil into my Powerbook G4, and the fans got quieter, and I also tore apart the G4 Dual I just bought for my girlfriend, and made that a bit quieter, so I find it to be worth it. It makes more of a difference on the older fans which are seemingly beginning to die, but it's good enough for those which are seemingly fine as well.
Pics:
http://www.kwikpiks.com/files/129/IMG_0821.JPG
http://www.kwikpiks.com/files/129/IMG_0824.JPG
http://www.kwikpiks.com/files/129/IMG_0826.JPG
i can't get the rest of the pics to upload right now, but i'll work on getting them uploaded later. The bearings in fans move fast enough to wear out much sooner than the "10k-15k" hours that most are advertised for, but re-lubricating them fixes that problem very quickly. The reason Sewing Machine oil is best is because it's designed for fast moving parts. In theory, High-Temp Silicon grease could work, but it usually comes in a thick, gel-like form, so I'd rather try something that wont have a chance to heat up a lot first.
Also, the picture of just the fan label, I just wanted to point out that at 7v, that is one of the quietest fans I have ever had. I've had other fans, and lots of Delta fans as well, I find they undervolt very well, and are extremely quiet, but only the mid-range models, the faster "HH" models are nightmares to deal with.
In my garage, I actually found an old can of Singer Sewing Machine oil that still has a pretty good amount in it, so naturally, I tested it on a couple POS fans that I have lying around, and then I tore apart my rig and dissected each fan one by one, putting just one drop of grease around the little bearing.
Easily on the louder fans, it made them smoother, except for that one mentioned in my previous post, the Cooler Master...it still has this pulsing vibration which rattles a couple PCI plates, but is otherwise better than it started.
I'll post pics later, but I dropped this oil into my Powerbook G4, and the fans got quieter, and I also tore apart the G4 Dual I just bought for my girlfriend, and made that a bit quieter, so I find it to be worth it. It makes more of a difference on the older fans which are seemingly beginning to die, but it's good enough for those which are seemingly fine as well.
Pics:
http://www.kwikpiks.com/files/129/IMG_0821.JPG
http://www.kwikpiks.com/files/129/IMG_0824.JPG
http://www.kwikpiks.com/files/129/IMG_0826.JPG
i can't get the rest of the pics to upload right now, but i'll work on getting them uploaded later. The bearings in fans move fast enough to wear out much sooner than the "10k-15k" hours that most are advertised for, but re-lubricating them fixes that problem very quickly. The reason Sewing Machine oil is best is because it's designed for fast moving parts. In theory, High-Temp Silicon grease could work, but it usually comes in a thick, gel-like form, so I'd rather try something that wont have a chance to heat up a lot first.
Also, the picture of just the fan label, I just wanted to point out that at 7v, that is one of the quietest fans I have ever had. I've had other fans, and lots of Delta fans as well, I find they undervolt very well, and are extremely quiet, but only the mid-range models, the faster "HH" models are nightmares to deal with.
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bonestonne
- Posts: 1839
- Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2007 2:10 pm
- Location: Northern New Jersey
- Contact:
http://www.kwikpiks.com/files/129/IMG_0845.JPG
^different desk setup...played musical desks with people here...ended up with a place for everything...contemplating a second monitor again, it's almost together as well, just need another DVI-VGA adapter (sad but true).
added blue cathode for the effect...i may get a bunch of multicolored ones, but considered i made the apple on my powerbook blue, i like the theme of blue (lots of my stuff is).
boston acoustics are paired with a logitech sub, USB cable off to the right is from the printer, so i can plug into powerbook or desktop, depending on what's needed at the time (no more crawling under the desk for it). printer includes flatbed scanner, so i have everything all in one place.
still a little messy, but better than what it was.
---
oh, and to add to how i was lucky because my M-Audio sound card was in a computer at the dump, the 17" monitor was also from the dump (as well as the second potential). the speakers were as well, along with the keyboard. the mouse was thrown away because the cable was torn, naturally, that's why it has a new one. the external hard drive, as well as my main OS internal drive were both gifts, and the printer was free (from the dump) because there was a rubber band stuck in the paper feed (eternal paper jam with no paper).
Down below there's a second gen iPhone, soon to be jailbroken, and a Palm Z22 which i use solely for the game Dope Wars (now in color, i remember the original game from way back when). Palm was also from the dump, iPhone was a gift as well, but it's got some major issues, so i dunno what i'll do with it if i can't jailbreak it ($400 paperweight is one option).
Not bad right?
^different desk setup...played musical desks with people here...ended up with a place for everything...contemplating a second monitor again, it's almost together as well, just need another DVI-VGA adapter (sad but true).
added blue cathode for the effect...i may get a bunch of multicolored ones, but considered i made the apple on my powerbook blue, i like the theme of blue (lots of my stuff is).
boston acoustics are paired with a logitech sub, USB cable off to the right is from the printer, so i can plug into powerbook or desktop, depending on what's needed at the time (no more crawling under the desk for it). printer includes flatbed scanner, so i have everything all in one place.
still a little messy, but better than what it was.
---
oh, and to add to how i was lucky because my M-Audio sound card was in a computer at the dump, the 17" monitor was also from the dump (as well as the second potential). the speakers were as well, along with the keyboard. the mouse was thrown away because the cable was torn, naturally, that's why it has a new one. the external hard drive, as well as my main OS internal drive were both gifts, and the printer was free (from the dump) because there was a rubber band stuck in the paper feed (eternal paper jam with no paper).
Down below there's a second gen iPhone, soon to be jailbroken, and a Palm Z22 which i use solely for the game Dope Wars (now in color, i remember the original game from way back when). Palm was also from the dump, iPhone was a gift as well, but it's got some major issues, so i dunno what i'll do with it if i can't jailbreak it ($400 paperweight is one option).
Not bad right?
Last edited by bonestonne on Sat Dec 19, 2009 2:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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bonestonne
- Posts: 1839
- Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2007 2:10 pm
- Location: Northern New Jersey
- Contact:
http://www.kwikpiks.com/files/129/IMG_0960.JPG
^Q9400
finally jumped to quad with 8gb of RAM. I was going to jump to 12 or 16gb of RAM, but that would have been twice the cost of the quad.
Also upgraded audio, running the 24/96 in sync with the Delta 1010. 24/96 used for monitoring, 1010 used to record from my Behringer Xenyx 1204, I can get a solid 4 mono tracks out, which is fine for a good recording set for now. Can fake stereo for a final mix.
works great though, no complaints. good for multitrack, just need to get the SPDIF out working on the 1010.
^Q9400
finally jumped to quad with 8gb of RAM. I was going to jump to 12 or 16gb of RAM, but that would have been twice the cost of the quad.
Also upgraded audio, running the 24/96 in sync with the Delta 1010. 24/96 used for monitoring, 1010 used to record from my Behringer Xenyx 1204, I can get a solid 4 mono tracks out, which is fine for a good recording set for now. Can fake stereo for a final mix.
works great though, no complaints. good for multitrack, just need to get the SPDIF out working on the 1010.
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bonestonne
- Posts: 1839
- Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2007 2:10 pm
- Location: Northern New Jersey
- Contact:
http://www.kwikpiks.com/files/129/IMG_0987.JPG
^not so ugly side, neatened up a lot compared to the 4 previous builds in the case
http://www.kwikpiks.com/files/129/IMG_0991.JPG
^Tower heatsinks, and the power spaghetti monster. pretty neat for a case that doesn't have the room to stick power cables behind the mobo tray.
http://www.kwikpiks.com/files/129/IMG_0997.JPG
^my 3 fans. GPU/CPU fans @ 7v, Exhaust @ PWM header.
someday the 120mm fans will be slipstreams, the 92mm can stay, it's silent as is. maybe some U-channel stuff for the exhaust port, to hide the sharp edges a little better.
System may get rebuilt into a rackmount system, to match the audio equipment I have, or I may leave it as is and keep it separated from the racks. Not sure yet.
Removed all pics and made them links for viewing ease.
^not so ugly side, neatened up a lot compared to the 4 previous builds in the case
http://www.kwikpiks.com/files/129/IMG_0991.JPG
^Tower heatsinks, and the power spaghetti monster. pretty neat for a case that doesn't have the room to stick power cables behind the mobo tray.
http://www.kwikpiks.com/files/129/IMG_0997.JPG
^my 3 fans. GPU/CPU fans @ 7v, Exhaust @ PWM header.
someday the 120mm fans will be slipstreams, the 92mm can stay, it's silent as is. maybe some U-channel stuff for the exhaust port, to hide the sharp edges a little better.
System may get rebuilt into a rackmount system, to match the audio equipment I have, or I may leave it as is and keep it separated from the racks. Not sure yet.
Removed all pics and made them links for viewing ease.