It looks like the Acceleros aren't made for the GTS/GTX 2xx series cards...aren't there other chips and whatnot on the boards that need to have specific cooling? I'd definitely go that route if I knew that it would fit and be adequately cooled... How do people feel about the various Arctic Cooling c...

Ahoy all...I haven't built a new machine in ~4.5 years -- see The Beige Box Sleeper ...I've only upgraded to 2GB of RAM and a passive GIGABYTE GeForce 7600GS since I built it (it will make a great file server) -- but I'm starting to do research to build a new primary machine and am at a loss on wher...

Just saw this on Slashdot and thought they looked intriguing... http://www.nanocoolers.com/images/liquidmetal_setup_diagram.gif Advantages * Very low thermal resistances * Silent performance * High reliability due to no moving parts and the simplicity of the solution * Small form factors * High powe...

I ordered the same stuff that Ralf suggested from McMaster Carr, and couldn't be happier. It's hard to think that you could find something better for less (I believe I paid $0.22 per foot), and the package arrived at my door less than 24 hours after I placed my order.

You should have absolutely no problems at all with switching the chipset fan with the passive heatsink. The Evercase 4252 has great airflow, and the Zalman NB47J provides more than enough cooling for the chipset. If you think about it, a small 40mm fan, even going at high speeds (and LOUD), won't be...

The side of the case pretty much covers the 120mm holes even without the hose, it's a pretty tight fit. I ended up using E-A-R grommets instead of vacuum hose on mine, and had to cut little rectangles out of the edge in order for it to fit. It's really not too hard to do with tin snips, and pretty m...

Darn skippy Tibors! Not everyone has the exact same needs/goals with their hardware...just because they are seeking information on building a quiet system, doesn't mean they're willing to give up on certain aspects of performance to do so. The answer isn't always to buy new hardware, but to learn ho...

Or...if you looked at my parts list under Miscellaneous, you could see my original retailer, which is McMaster Carr, whom sells it for $0.22 per foot. They have a variety of shapes and sizes, and I highly recommend them. I ordered a 10-foot length, which was only $2.20, but believe my shipping was a...

The Beige Box Sleeper For a while now, I've wanted to build a computer to act as a testbed web server for doing development work. I've also wanted to play around more with Linux, but never wanted to install anything on my primary machine for fear of inadvertently causing a catastrophe. The only dis...

With my setup (System 1 below) I can run it at 7 x 200 = 1400 MHz @ 1.175V, which is equal to about 22.22 max wattage or half of what it draws at stock settings. It has been extensively tested for stability and errors, with absolutely no problems. The performance loss is only about 20-25% lower than...

I like them both, but for different purposes. I like SpeedFan for its charting capability, and MBM for its logging and high/low/ave chart. You can also use SpeedFan to adjust the speed of your fans, and change the RPMs automatically based on temperature, which can help to quiet your system. They are...

I've been looking into the differences quite a bit lately, and I'd say for the CD-RW, you should be fine with the 40-wire flat cable. You'd probably be a bit safer using the 80-wire (40-pin) flat cable (especially if you want to burn at higher than 24x speed), as the extra wires are just ground wire...

With either one, you can completely remove the HDD cages in order to open up even more suspension possibilities. It also depends on your style, and if you want a front door or not. I own the Evercase 4252 and love it...however, even though I got mine without a power supply, I did have to contact the...

Well, you have to keep in mind that my 120mm Nexus exhaust fan is right up next to it (also undervolted and running at about 515 rpm), so some of the heat probably is taken care of by it as well. Not all mobo sockets will necessarily be aligned the same way. **pic** I wouldn't be against trying it f...

You'd also have to consider things like efficiency, and you wouldn't necessarily just want to undervolt the stock PSU fan or you might get higher temperatures that are potentially unsafe. I say modular power supplies are a good idea, but not really an idea that has been implemented well enough to be...

Good luck, and don't forget a fan! In case you're curious, I have a Nexus 92mm that's undervolted to 5V-ish (around 620 rpm) on mine.

I second the SI-97...great heatsink! I did an extensive search, not only here, but other sites as well, and they all agree it's pretty much cream of the crop. With my setup (see System 1 below) set to stock speeds, I idle at 27°C and only top out at 40°C under load, with about 21°C ambient temperatu...

I've heard of cutting the cables being done, but as with any mods to a power supply, you have to be extremely careful and make sure you know what you're doing. I've debated doing something like this before, and have also seen some of the modular power supplies on the market that let you choose exact...

From what I can tell, this sensor is most likely not hooked up to anything. I have not been able to find an official source of information about what sensors are on specific boards and where, but I now think the only two on my board actually hooked up to anything are the system temp (although I'm no...

I'm hoping that something like your random temperature reading is happening with mine as well. I'm at work right now, but will look into the specifics of it more thoroughly once I get home. There are actually two temp sensors showing on SpeedFan that I'm not sure what they're for, but this is the on...

See "System 1" below...running at stock speeds, it's very quiet and theoretically shouldn't draw too much power considering the processor, but I wanted to fool around with undervolting to see what would happen and to lower its power consumption even more. I set it down to 6 x 200 FSB, and got it to ...

I also recently bought this case and have done a few things to it. First I cut out the back fan grill, which is recommended for most any case. I also, however, made a few other modifications as to allow hiding of extra wires behind the right panel of the case. On top of that I used grommets for moun...

I did try mounting it the opposite way, but then the fins stick too far over the mobo ports and would interefere with any exhaust fan, so that's a definite no. It seems to be working fine for the most part, athough the fit is pretty close for everything around the socket, such as the power connector...

Great writeup and awesome pictures. This definitely gives me some ideas to try on my new machine. I'm in the building/testing process right now and am also considering HDD suspension...I like that yours attaches the the top and bottom of the case. Very clean setup!

My SI-97 is paired with a Nexus 92mm fan, currently running at stock speed (around 1600 I think) on top of a mobile 2500+. I used Arctic Silver 5 and found that it sits very securely on the cpu...it can only be wiggled about 1mm or less with a decent amount of force. Could it be that your mounting b...

I agree with the above posts. First I would go for the Thermalright SI-97 if you have the room for it, but if not, the Arctic Cooling. Actually there is a better version than the TC, it's the Arctic Cooling Copper Silent 2M which you can select three different top speeds. It's still temperature cont...

In case anyone was keeping an eye on this thread, everything is now working great. At stock settings (14x133 @ 1.45V) it is running extremely well, and cool. Looks like I'm idling around 26ºC and CPUBurn pushed it up to 34ºC (although I have yet to hook up my FanMates). Once the system has had time ...

Ahhh...thanks for the info. Yes, it looks like it defaulted to a 6x multipler instead of the 14x it should be. I'm at work now, but will adjust that once I get home and change the voltage down to the 1.45 it should be as well. Was definitely getting worried there for a sec...glad to know that it won...

Well, fired it up last night, and the heatpipe definitely stays cool...however, I don't think the board recognized my processor correctly. I ran MemTest86 and it said my XP-M 2500+ was running at 808.1 MHz, and the memory was running at 133 MHz (despite it being PC3200). It passed everything (ran te...

Got official word from Thermalright:

Hi,

The heat pipes do not get hot and only kick-in in sequence as needed, there should be no problem with the fins touching the plastic frame around that port.

For Thermalright,

Bob

Only kick-in in sequence as needed? I guess we'll see what happens...