I have a dozen questions but I just wanted to get started. I read these boards alot a while ago, and got the basics, but then I got distracted. Now I am getting down to business.
The Hardware:
Was an HP Paviliion, is now an Asus something motherboard, AMD t bird 1300 CPU
loud maxtor 80 GB
Tonight I want to order a Zalman cnps 7000 b-alcu or a Nexux axp 3200
I am leaning towards the Zalman for the adjustablilty and the silent 18 dB mode
But the weight factor scares me into thinking about the un adjustable Nexus.
what do you think
Im gonna add more questions but I want to see if this gets the ball rolling
Zalman vs. Nexus
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee
O.k, now that you guys see I'm here, let me explain more. This is what iI have done so far. I added a 512 mb RAm to the 256 that was in there. Then I took everything apart and put It back together in an Antec Sonata II. I didn' t think it got much quieter, so I shut it off and pulled the floppy drive, tv card, redundant network card, and firewiire card to make it look cleaner, air flow better, and if that stuff isn't in there it can't make heat or noise.
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NeilBlanchard
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Hello Kevin & welcome to SPCR,
The weight of the 7000 Al/Cu is not a problem, and it is a fine HSF, though I doubt it is a quiet as 18dBA. I am not familiar with the Nexus you mention.
If you had used an Antec Solo, you could have quieted down the Maxtor a bit better than in the Sonata II (built-in suspension). You can do a Search here and look for mods for better air flow in the front of a Sonata.
What power supply are you using? What video card -- does it have a fan? Is there a fan on the motherboard?
The weight of the 7000 Al/Cu is not a problem, and it is a fine HSF, though I doubt it is a quiet as 18dBA. I am not familiar with the Nexus you mention.
If you had used an Antec Solo, you could have quieted down the Maxtor a bit better than in the Sonata II (built-in suspension). You can do a Search here and look for mods for better air flow in the front of a Sonata.
What power supply are you using? What video card -- does it have a fan? Is there a fan on the motherboard?
OK. I'm gonna continue. I'm using Ubuntu Linux and a program called xsensors for my temperatures
IN the HP case:
sys 41.8c
cpu 24.1c
sbr(?) 26.6
IN the Sonata, the cpu and sbr stayed the same, but the sys climbe to about 44-45 and didn't get any hotter. I tried unplugging the Antec 25 dB case fan. The rig got a little quieter, but temps climbed to 46.6 before I shut it off and plugged the case fan back in on low.(cpu and sbr stayed within 2 tenths of a degree the whole time.
1. what are reasonble temperatures I can allow for these three numbers? That is, if the sys stabled out under 50 or 55 or 60 or 70 without a case fan, could I just leave it unplugged?
2. how are these temps measured? should I trust these numbers?
IN the HP case:
sys 41.8c
cpu 24.1c
sbr(?) 26.6
IN the Sonata, the cpu and sbr stayed the same, but the sys climbe to about 44-45 and didn't get any hotter. I tried unplugging the Antec 25 dB case fan. The rig got a little quieter, but temps climbed to 46.6 before I shut it off and plugged the case fan back in on low.(cpu and sbr stayed within 2 tenths of a degree the whole time.
1. what are reasonble temperatures I can allow for these three numbers? That is, if the sys stabled out under 50 or 55 or 60 or 70 without a case fan, could I just leave it unplugged?
2. how are these temps measured? should I trust these numbers?
Thank you for joining me Neil. I have no fan on the motherboard. the video card came with from HP. It has 32 mb ram, no fan and one one inch square green heatsink. Riva TNT pro something like that. The Power Supply is the 450 watt two fan that came with the Sonata II
I think I got the chance to hear it a minute ago. when I tell it to shut down, case open, iI listened to the Maxtor spin down. The case fan was allready unplugged. I put my thumb on the center of the 4800 rpm cooler master fan on top of the aluminum stock heatsink. All I heard was a faint hum from the power supply, with my ear 6 inchs away and the door open.
NOw that is what I was looking for!
I think I got the chance to hear it a minute ago. when I tell it to shut down, case open, iI listened to the Maxtor spin down. The case fan was allready unplugged. I put my thumb on the center of the 4800 rpm cooler master fan on top of the aluminum stock heatsink. All I heard was a faint hum from the power supply, with my ear 6 inchs away and the door open.
NOw that is what I was looking for!
Oh yeah, the Nexus at end pc noise. its only 330 grams, 70 mm fan at 2400 rpm
They say 19 dB.
So, its lighter, its seems to like Nexus stuff is strongely regarded(?) but is smaller fan running twice as fast
The Zalman has the little dial that I can turn all the way down slowing the 92 mm fan to 1350 Isn't a bigger fan running slower less noise.
But is Zalman's 18 dB as honest as Nexus 19 dB? Has anyone had problems going over the weight limit anyway?
They say 19 dB.
So, its lighter, its seems to like Nexus stuff is strongely regarded(?) but is smaller fan running twice as fast
The Zalman has the little dial that I can turn all the way down slowing the 92 mm fan to 1350 Isn't a bigger fan running slower less noise.
But is Zalman's 18 dB as honest as Nexus 19 dB? Has anyone had problems going over the weight limit anyway?
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disphenoidal
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Nobody's sound level measurements are honest. If the Nexus has a 70mm fan turning at 2400 rpm, it will be quite loud. As you have said, a bigger fan running slower can generate the same airflow with less noise. Hands down, get the 7000Al/Cu. In Al/Cu trim it isn't really that heavy, and it has a low center of gravity, that will further reduce the torque on the motherboard. Use the fan mate to dial the speed down low and it will be quiet.Kevin wrote:
But is Zalman's 18 dB as honest as Nexus 19 dB? Has anyone had problems going over the weight limit anyway?
combining an inline resistor with the 7000AlCu's speed adjuster (e.g. feeding it less than 5V) makes it a real sleeper. Zalman also makes inline resistors, so you could just get that as well. As for the HD, its not gonna quiet without foam or suspension. This is part that requires some creativity usually to safely soft mount it.
I got antsy and ordered the Zalman. I did more shopping and found that a Thermalright SI-97 with a nice quiet fan added plus fan controller is considered a pretty hot setup. But by the time I buy three separate parts I could have the Zalman and get set some aside for a quieter harddrive. Speaking of harddrives, mine runs all the time. That is, until I tell software to shut down the computer and then HD spins down then I have to hit the power button to actually shut it off. Is this common? When you guys get your systems tuned in, are the HDD spinning all the time, or just when you tell it to look for something? I have played with alot of hardware-controlling type stuff in Linux, and what I am gonna try looking up how to do is get the HD to spin less, like my laptop does. But I also gotta get this temperature thing figured out. I'm gonna read more about the program I'm using, but I still need to develop guidelines for myself regarding reasonable averages. Are the numbers I mention very low? How high could I consider letting the temperature go to see if it levels out without the case fan?
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NeilBlanchard
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Hello Kevin,
Once you get the Zalman installed, you may find that the HD is the loudest thing in the case. You might need to suspend it with elastic fabric straps or small bungees -- check the HD section for all sorts of methods of doing this.
I would leave the rear case fan on low, which should help keep the HD cooler, and keep the PSU fans from ramping up.
Once you get the Zalman installed, you may find that the HD is the loudest thing in the case. You might need to suspend it with elastic fabric straps or small bungees -- check the HD section for all sorts of methods of doing this.
I would leave the rear case fan on low, which should help keep the HD cooler, and keep the PSU fans from ramping up.
The Zalman 7000B will last you for about a year, until you realize that once you silenced everything else you can the fan is a buzzy unit that can be replaced with any 92mm fan of your choice with a little modification. Then it really starts to shine as a great cooler.
But even in it's stock form I consider it the best cooler of its time, which has now passed since hardware has moved on. But with HTPC becoming more prevalent people are resurrecting their old machines and trying to make them quiet, which is why the 7000B still has a place.
But even in it's stock form I consider it the best cooler of its time, which has now passed since hardware has moved on. But with HTPC becoming more prevalent people are resurrecting their old machines and trying to make them quiet, which is why the 7000B still has a place.