Search found 49 matches

by mongobilly
Mon Dec 26, 2005 1:38 pm
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: RAID arrays: Portable between chipsets of the same Family?
Replies: 16
Views: 9705

If you don't plan on switching OS platforms anytime soon, software RAID solves that issue. I've found software RAID5 to be more reliable than any of the (even high end stuff like 3ware Escalade (!)) (S)ATA cards I've tested. Only thing better, in my experience, are high end SCSI cards if you got tha...
by mongobilly
Mon Sep 12, 2005 9:04 am
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: A fine-tuned SLK3000B (photos and instructions)
Replies: 25
Views: 32352

I wonder how you can suspend the HD cage. In my SLK3700, it fills all space from the bottom holder to the top mounting brackets, making it seemingly impossible to suspend it? Did you cut something out?
by mongobilly
Wed Sep 07, 2005 10:06 pm
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Thermaltake Big Typhoon versus Zalman CNPS 9500 (xbitlabs)
Replies: 14
Views: 6266

Never mind that he goes on and on about LED fans and generally doesnt seem to have much clue. I just kicked Xbitlabs from my RSS reader for that article.

The Titan Vanessa L Type is one of the better silent coolers, for damn sure.
by mongobilly
Wed Sep 07, 2005 1:48 am
Forum: Consumer Advocacy
Topic: SilverStone ST30NF / Etasis EFN-300 Fanless PSU Users Poll
Replies: 47
Views: 108216

3 months of at least 12/7 use, sometimes 72h in a row or so, no issue whatsoever.
by mongobilly
Tue Sep 06, 2005 11:21 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: New passive PSU: Magnum 500/600W
Replies: 34
Views: 29249

I think it was tested by www.teschke.de (whom I generally consider to be highly reputable) and ended up with really lousy marks (on top of that, MGE requested that they may not write anything bad about the unit which they refused and later got a sample paid for by a shop who wanted to know if its an...
by mongobilly
Tue Sep 06, 2005 12:42 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Most Reliable Fanless PSU?
Replies: 48
Views: 25228

The Etasis has (AFAIK similar to the Silverstone) holes at the bottom and the backside (the on in the case). I was wondering if it would make sense to somehow duct it to the case exhaust (single fan in my machine) but as long as the unit gets barely warm, I don't think I'll bother. I also never seen...
by mongobilly
Tue Sep 06, 2005 12:08 am
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: What about Socket 754 w/ Sempron 64
Replies: 52
Views: 30375

I got a Sempron64 E6 2800+ on a Asus K8V SE. Works just fine and is easily passively cooled (Sonic Tower one 120mm system fan, Etasis Fanless PSU) in my Antec SLK3700. Highly recommended, as board and CPU cost about the same as a 3000+ Venice (which is likely no more than 25% faster, if you don't ne...
by mongobilly
Sun Sep 04, 2005 10:51 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Most Reliable Fanless PSU?
Replies: 48
Views: 25228

I have an Etasis (which is said to be mostly the same as the Silverstone but comes with a heatsink at the back). It's been working for 3 months without any trouble. With room temperature of 25° C it gets slightly warm, with 20°C barely. Never showed me the red temp LED (reaching 55° it should do tha...
by mongobilly
Sat Sep 03, 2005 11:43 pm
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: Dothan and Turion Compared and Explained
Replies: 45
Views: 26123

What happened to the Winchester? Were you doing anything which might have caused it to break? I dont really know. It was working in the evening and when I came back in the morning, nothing was on anymore. The ASUS A8V didnt show anything on screen but used the speech post stuff to tell my about a C...
by mongobilly
Sat Sep 03, 2005 11:19 am
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: nForce4 motherboards with stock passive northbridge cooling
Replies: 8
Views: 5489

Burn as in getting too hot. Reports are of 80 to 90° C for the Gigabyte. Besides, I personally think Gigabyte boards are total crap ;). If you want to spare yourself some trouble, build a system around VIA K8T890, it's not quite as capable a southbridge but the chipset runs much cooler.
by mongobilly
Sat Sep 03, 2005 11:00 am
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: Dothan and Turion Compared and Explained
Replies: 45
Views: 26123

I recently got (after my Winchester somehow stopped working) a cheap and cheerful Sempron E6 (i.e. 64bit Sempron) 2800 and while it doesn't support Cool and quiet, it doens't really need it either: Running at stock 1.4V (Asus K8V SE doesnt seem to want to undervolt in the BIOS), it gets no hotter th...
by mongobilly
Wed Jun 08, 2005 9:31 am
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: Fried my Athlon64 in less than a month, I think
Replies: 9
Views: 7556

No luck it seems. If only I could truly tell if it's the CPU or the board...
by mongobilly
Tue Jun 07, 2005 11:56 am
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: Fried my Athlon64 in less than a month, I think
Replies: 9
Views: 7556

Maybe the CPU's been bad all along and just now fried? I really hope that was the case, as the rest of the compontens behave fine (I'd hate to know it was the Etasis but that should shut down in case of overheating)... I've had at least 15 AMD CPUs in the past 5 years and none of them ever failed (e...
by mongobilly
Tue Jun 07, 2005 10:56 am
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: Fried my Athlon64 in less than a month, I think
Replies: 9
Views: 7556

Fried my Athlon64 in less than a month, I think

Was trying just how far I can UNDERvolt (there can't be any harm in that, now can there???) the sucker and still have a stable system so had it running prime95 for the night. When I woke up, the screen wouldn't come out of standby anymore for lack of any signal. After some messing around, I figured ...
by mongobilly
Mon Jun 06, 2005 7:42 am
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: Does anyone own ThermalTake Schooner ??
Replies: 18
Views: 9578

That's a stupid design there from Scythe. While I fully agree that moving the heat outside as soon as possible is good, HTF is this supposed to work with horizontal fins? Build the damn thing with vertical fins and you got a killer heatsink.
by mongobilly
Sun Jun 05, 2005 9:56 am
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: Software scaling beyond CnQ settings on Linux? think rmclock
Replies: 1
Views: 2809

Software scaling beyond CnQ settings on Linux? think rmclock

Is there any doable (by which I mean aside of hacking cpufreq's K8 settings) to get other P states running under Linux? My Athlon64 works rock solid at 1800/1.25V but when I set voltages by hand, the A8V doesn't do any cool & quiet anymore (and neither will do cpufreq from what I gather). So basical...
by mongobilly
Wed Jun 01, 2005 7:01 am
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Best CPU Fan for Athlon 64 3800+ on a ASUS A8V Deluxe MB
Replies: 16
Views: 8124

There's a lot of large sinks around that can be run the same. So close to the rear fan they can be run 'semi-passive'. Checking out the MadShrimps shootout the Scythe Ninja looks a prime candidate. If I could have gotten it (and at a reasonable price, on top of that), I'd probably have gone for the...
by mongobilly
Tue May 31, 2005 11:58 am
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Best CPU Fan for Athlon 64 3800+ on a ASUS A8V Deluxe MB
Replies: 16
Views: 8124

Thermaltake SonicTower or Titan Vanessa L Type.

My 3000+ on A8V Deluxe works passively with the SonicTower, the whole system is cooled by one 120mm 600RPM fan in the back.
by mongobilly
Mon May 30, 2005 11:52 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Antec Phantom, Elan Vital or ....
Replies: 9
Views: 5003

With 28° room temperature yesterday, my Etasis got only very slightly warm. Seems like it is a really decent product (but only had it for a week). Comes with 3 year warranty for all I know. Price is well below the one for the Phantom and the whole design with the cooler out the back plate seems quit...
by mongobilly
Mon May 30, 2005 11:50 am
Forum: Consumer Advocacy
Topic: SilverStone ST30NF / Etasis EFN-300 Fanless PSU Users Poll
Replies: 47
Views: 108216

Got my Etasis since a week now. Rock stable. Silent (can hear some very slight buzz with the ear on the case though). Gets very slightly warm at the cooler under load. But even with 28° room temperature, it doesn't show any signs of overheating. So far, I'm very pleased with my purchase.
by mongobilly
Sun May 29, 2005 11:28 pm
Forum: The Silent Front
Topic: Ducting PSU exhaust to CPU HSF intake?
Replies: 30
Views: 18592

Get a fanless PSU (I'd recommend the Etasis, it barely gets warm with my system), an Athlon64 with a SonicTower or Titan Vanessa L Type and you'll easily cool the whole system with a single 120mm low speed fan in the back. Ducting to the PSU usually gets the PSU fan to ramp up and you can't easily d...
by mongobilly
Sun May 29, 2005 11:24 pm
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Thermaltake's 0dB Solution: SonicTower
Replies: 90
Views: 52700

Well I'm joining the club, coupled with a Venice it *should* have no problems running fanless at load. I think I might give it a bit more support with some stringy stuff and the support bar in the Sonata, or alternatively prop it up with something telescopic. Moving around is the least of my worrie...
by mongobilly
Sun May 29, 2005 12:29 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Expert opinion wanted on my new 'silent' DAW system!
Replies: 13
Views: 6591

A good 300W PSU should be plenty for these systems.

But honestly, the Antec SLK3700 PSU is painfully loud.
by mongobilly
Sun May 29, 2005 12:28 am
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Thermaltake's 0dB Solution: SonicTower
Replies: 90
Views: 52700

More substantial MoBo mounting? I dunno, but I can hardly think of something more substantial than the mounting on my Asus A8V. I think it might make sense for ThermalTake to supply proper backplates for people (think Gigabyte boards) with plastik crapola... I could lift my board on mine, more mount...
by mongobilly
Sat May 28, 2005 4:48 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Expert opinion wanted on my new 'silent' DAW system!
Replies: 13
Views: 6591

Re: Expert opinion wanted on my new 'silent' DAW system!

The Seasonic 330W should be plenty for that machine as the P650 isn't very powerhungry, is it?

Personally I'd get a tower cooler though (Sonic Tower or Titan Vanessa L).
by mongobilly
Fri May 27, 2005 7:43 am
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Antec P180: A visual tour
Replies: 224
Views: 212059

I like the very plain looks (and personally I think the alu looks better than the black one but then again, I'm a sucker for all things industrial design). What I most definitely don't like (aside of that pricing) is the fact that a 1 fan system is pretty hard with this. My Etasis works just fine wi...
by mongobilly
Fri May 27, 2005 5:50 am
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Thermaltake's 0dB Solution: SonicTower
Replies: 90
Views: 52700

I don't think you can really compare them. Sure temperatures at certain fan speeds is easily measured but the advantage of all the tower coolers is that they disturb airflow much less (can even HELP it if you do it right) compared to your garden variety heatsink. XP120 is surely the better choice if...
by mongobilly
Thu May 26, 2005 12:27 pm
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Thermaltake's 0dB Solution: SonicTower
Replies: 90
Views: 52700

It is quite top heavy, yes. But so far, it doesn't seem to be a problem. It's nothing for LAN party goers, that's for sure, but for the people who leave their PC stationary it shoudn't be too much of a problem. And it sure looks extreme if you got a window ;)
by mongobilly
Thu May 26, 2005 12:10 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: S12 430 vs Phantom 350
Replies: 11
Views: 4946

Or possibly (I'm not audiophile, so I wouldn't really now but all the noise inside a standard PC can't be good for the music) with an external soundcard?
by mongobilly
Wed May 25, 2005 8:10 am
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Thermaltake's 0dB Solution: SonicTower
Replies: 90
Views: 52700

The SonicTower WORKS

OK, for all you naysayers. My new system consists of the following: Winchester 3000+ Asus A8V Deluxe Radeon 9000 passive SonicTower Kingston Value RAM Etasis Fanless PSU 2 Seagate drives NEC DVDR 1 (!) Yate Loon (OEM Nexus) running at about 700RPM in the back all housed in a trusty Antec SLK3700 AMB...