Search found 49 matches

by spworley
Mon Aug 02, 2010 8:55 pm
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Silverstone Raven RV02-E
Replies: 9
Views: 9873

Let me tell you, the FT02 is nearly perfect for high end multi-GPU supercomputing. I have two of them next to my desk right now, with 3 GTX480 and 3 GTX295s. What would make the FT02 even better? The 8 PCIE expansion slots needed for quad-GPU mounting like the RV02 has.. the FT02 only has 7 slots so...
by spworley
Thu Jun 24, 2010 3:53 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Silverstone Fortress FT02 ATX Case
Replies: 76
Views: 66030

Is there enough room for the cover to fit when using a DVI to CRT adapter? No... I just tried on mine. But it might work if the dongle and connector were low profile, and especially if the cable was flexible enough to make a tight bend. The cable bendiness is pretty important for this.. it can use ...
by spworley
Mon Apr 26, 2010 8:36 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: And advanced PSUs with built in monitoring?
Replies: 2
Views: 2196

And advanced PSUs with built in monitoring?

This may be a niche market, but I'd love to have a PSU that (like a UPS) had a USB connection allowing the PC to monitor the current power state of the PSU. This might help find situations where input voltage is sagging and (like a UPS software alarm) you want to shut down. More advanced features mi...
by spworley
Sun Apr 18, 2010 6:42 pm
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Silent 41cm side-blowing fan case mod brainstorm..
Replies: 10
Views: 4723

Wow, thanks for all the feedback... this is why SPCR is the best! @Lubb, thanks for the thoughts about the air filter itself. You're right quality could be an issue. And cleaning the filter could indeed be annoying.. but then again the alternative is to be UNfiltered, which means you'd be cleaning t...
by spworley
Sun Apr 18, 2010 9:12 am
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Silent 41cm side-blowing fan case mod brainstorm..
Replies: 10
Views: 4723

What would be the point? Extreme air cooling for an overclocked rig? Yes, but cheap and silent . The tradeoff just seems to be that it'd be big and ugly. Admittedly I am an extreme case, since I am trying to cool a PC which draws 1040 watts under load (GPU computing on 3 high end boards.) Silent an...
by spworley
Sun Apr 18, 2010 8:25 am
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Silent 41cm side-blowing fan case mod brainstorm..
Replies: 10
Views: 4723

Silent 41cm side-blowing fan case mod brainstorm..

You can get silent room air filters for cheap.. here's one for $40 which has an AC-powered 41 cm fan. http://www.heartlandamerica.com/browse/item.asp?PIN=93701&SC=WIS20001& It would be as ugly as hell, but would it be a stretch to make a case mod which replaced a case side panel with such a filter u...
by spworley
Fri Apr 09, 2010 6:01 pm
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Antec p183 case rev 2, they have changed the design
Replies: 25
Views: 19063

KayDat wrote:You can see holes for you to reallocate the silicone grommets to install SSD's.
What's the point of using silicon vibration isolation grommets to mount an SSD? Hard mounting with raw screws is easier.

I suppose the answer is that it's useful for 2.5 inch laptop drives, not SSDs.
by spworley
Wed Apr 07, 2010 9:30 am
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Intel 980x stock tower heatsink and gummy compound
Replies: 16
Views: 6228

Intel 980x stock tower heatsink and gummy compound

My new 980x is working well. It's notable that the 980x comes with a "Real" heatsink.. a quite nicely engineered tower. I didn't use it (I use a Nocua NH-D14) but it really is a change. It'd be interesting to see a performance comparison with Intel's new heatsink versus all the current modern towers...
by spworley
Sun Apr 04, 2010 3:02 pm
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Silverstone Fortress FT02 (P182 killer?)
Replies: 173
Views: 141150

Re: warning

Well, be careful, I had some thermal shutdown problems when I had a gtx 275 and a gtx 295 mounted in the case. I now have just the 295 and an i7-980x in there, and things seem fine, but be warned. I suspect that since I have the ft02 under my desk, it might not let all the heat escape, so a quad gp...
by spworley
Sat Mar 20, 2010 1:00 pm
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: Passive quick RAM cooling - hack heatsinks
Replies: 4
Views: 2618

Passive quick RAM cooling - hack heatsinks

My system is working well but using a temp gun I see that my RAM is by far the hottest part of my system.. 55C at idle and 80C at load! And that's the surface heat spreader temp.. who knows what the actual RAM is at! These are 6 sticks of 2GB DDR3. (i7 930 system, P6T motherboard) The minimum voltag...
by spworley
Thu Mar 04, 2010 9:53 pm
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Silverstone Fortress FT02 (P182 killer?)
Replies: 173
Views: 141150

Just got this case today, I'll be making a build in a few weeks with a i7-980X and some Fermi GPUs. I misunderstood the FT02 case specs, and didn't realize that there were only 7 expansion slots and not 8. This sucks for me since I actually expect to put 4 GPUs in the case. Since there's room for 8,...
by spworley
Thu Mar 04, 2010 12:42 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Silverstone Fortress FT02 ATX Case
Replies: 76
Views: 66030

Just got this case for a new 4-GPU supercomputer build (free shipping via Amazon!) GPU heat is really a big problem so the rotated motherboard should work well. BUT... I was careless. The review says the interior is the same as the Raven 02 case, but it is not! The Raven02 supports 8 slots for PCIE ...
by spworley
Sun Dec 27, 2009 8:24 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Silverstone Raven Two
Replies: 31
Views: 26903

Yep, it will definitely hold 4x GTX 295s. I found a pic showing 4 full size cards (and a water cooling radiator at the bottom!) http://silverstone-usa.com/images/RV02/RV02_blackice_GT_Stealth360.jpg I wonder if it would help to mod that side window to add a single 120mm fan pointing at the card tops...
by spworley
Tue Dec 15, 2009 2:18 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Silverstone Raven Two
Replies: 31
Views: 26903

I notice the case has 8 slot cutouts for video cards. I wonder if this would make it appropriate for CUDA supercomputers using 4 double-wide GPUs. But I also wonder if the case, as big as it is, can handle a full length GPU. The build uses Radeon 4870 GPUs, but those are only 8.7 inches long. A dual...
by spworley
Thu Sep 14, 2006 9:33 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Scythe pushes towards Infinity
Replies: 49
Views: 43716

I'll take one of the all-copper Ninja! They only made 100. I wonder what they weigh. And how they perform.

Some pics when they showed one at Computex this year.

http://www.digital-daily.com/editorial/ ... ndex04.htm
by spworley
Mon Oct 17, 2005 9:15 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Shuttle's long awaited SD11G5 Pentium-M SFF
Replies: 74
Views: 69088

I know a 3 pin fan gives RPM feedback, a 2 pin fan just provides power.

But what's a 4 pin fan? And are there 3pin -> 4 pin converters?

Seems like a temperature throttled (and BIOS configurable) Nexus would be very nice indeed..
by spworley
Mon Oct 03, 2005 6:59 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: computer in a bathroom - is it safe?
Replies: 8
Views: 4913

You've got a point. But I think condensation point is when hot steam hits really cold surface (like bathroom mirror). I never had condensation on my bathroom mdf shelf, so maybe there will be no condensation in htpc mdf case. Actually steam doesn't condense on your bathroom mirror because it's cold...
by spworley
Mon Oct 03, 2005 6:53 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: computer in a bathroom - is it safe?
Replies: 8
Views: 4913

Actually, you're lucky. Condensation is NOT a problem if the computer is on. A computer, even a low power one, is considerably hotter than the ambient temperature, and the most sensitive electronics tend to be the hottest. This will completely prevent condensation, even in pretty heavy shower fog. B...
by spworley
Sat Oct 01, 2005 3:02 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Temps and Video Card advice please
Replies: 23
Views: 7686

2D display quality is almost entirely governed by the digital to analog conversion process, and then getting that analog signal into your monitor. Most modern LCD screens and video cards pretty much eliminate this now by using DVI (digital visual interface) which takes the analog conversion off of t...
by spworley
Wed Sep 28, 2005 12:13 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Problems identifying noise
Replies: 7
Views: 3086

Fan noise is best isolated using the "stop each fan with your finger" trick. While you Just touch the HUB of the fan.. low RPM fans don't have lots of speed so you won't be hurt. DO NOT TRY THIS WITH FAST FANS.. like a chipset fan or stock GPU fan. This lets you iterate through all the fans in your ...
by spworley
Tue Sep 27, 2005 8:35 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: P180 and Nexus NX4090 PSU
Replies: 2
Views: 2064

teejay is correct. The PSU has a good 1"+ gap both above and below the PSU. There's plenty of room for air to come into the PSU's bottom fan. Also, there are rear intake holes, but, like the P180''s review shows, you can boost hard drive cooling by closing the holes, and the PSU fan will make a hard...
by spworley
Sun Sep 25, 2005 4:39 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: I visited, learned and took action, what now?
Replies: 20
Views: 12015

Nice pics!

You can reduce noise just a fraction AND increase airflow by using some tinsnips, a nibbler, or even wire cutters and removing the exhaust fan's hexagonal mesh grill. That grill isn't too restrictive, but the clearer the airflow, the better.
by spworley
Wed Sep 21, 2005 9:35 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: What do you think of this system?
Replies: 10
Views: 4232

Bar21 is right, that's not a silent PC at all. Maybe more quiet than the average (mostly due to the Sonata). Clues that it's not silent: 1) Using an Intel CPU 2) No mention of CPU cooler.. which means stock Intel fan, which means noise 3) No mention of case fans 4) No mention of northbridge cooling....
by spworley
Tue Sep 20, 2005 5:06 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: building a quiet rig
Replies: 7
Views: 3221

You can definately get very quiet with that setup. It's somewhat similar to my new 4800+ rig. http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=24898 With the 3800+'s clock rate and especially if you undervolt it, you can proably get away with passive if you have two case fans. Undervolted Nexus fans...
by spworley
Tue Sep 20, 2005 4:57 pm
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: Better passive northbridge heatsink than Zalman ZM-NB47J?
Replies: 16
Views: 10207

Better passive northbridge heatsink than Zalman ZM-NB47J?

I'm running a near silent system (Athlon64 X2 4800+, Lanparty-SLI-DR, 2GB, P180 case, 7800GT, full details http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=24898 ). I'm using a Zalman ZM-NB47J for the northbridge. It's working well, but my NB temps are still high, ambient+26 C under full load. I can...
by spworley
Tue Sep 20, 2005 4:44 pm
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: Undervolting Experiences with Athlon64 X2
Replies: 17
Views: 10836

Slightly different regime, but another datapoint.. I'm very mildly overclocking my X2 4800+ from 2400 to 2520Mhz. It does this at stock 1.30 voltage. However, this voltage seems necessary for this speed, 1.275 volts will almost work, but dual Prime95 testing failed after 5-8 hours. 1.30 volts succes...
by spworley
Mon Sep 19, 2005 7:46 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: SPCR's PSU Test Platform V.3
Replies: 20
Views: 20491

Intersting point. I had not considered that, really, tho I did take care to try and keep the shunt resistors cool. It's probably a very small effect anyway.. and that's still worst case scenario. I thought of it only because of a magnetic field physics experiment I did in college involved precise c...
by spworley
Mon Sep 19, 2005 5:38 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: SPCR's PSU Test Platform V.3
Replies: 20
Views: 20491

The Dale RH25 0.01 ohm shunt resistor has a 100PPM/C temperature coefficient. Datasheet: www.sal.wisc.edu/PFIS/docs/archive/ public/Product%20Manuals/vishay/rhnh.pdf The interior of the case can get 30C warmer than ambient as shown the example Seasonics chart. Where is the shunt resistor located? If...
by spworley
Sun Sep 11, 2005 7:41 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Entire system spec'ed except for 7800GTX - Asus TOP??
Replies: 8
Views: 4439

Your design is VERY CLOSE to the machine I just built. Same CPU, RAM, PSU, fans, hard drive and case! I picked a 7800GT and not a GTX though. But please don't get that OCZ RAM! It was a big mistake, 1GB OCZ Platinum is running at its speed limits. I used a LANParty SLI MB, I'm pleased with that choi...
by spworley
Mon Sep 05, 2005 10:31 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Designed my new X2 4800+ system, thanks to SPCR
Replies: 15
Views: 9893

spworley, let us know what RAM you end up getting. Starting my research again now. So far the best option seems to be OCZ Gold 1GB modules. It really makes me unhappy, I DON'T TRUST OCZ. But I HAVE seen it documented by a user who got FOUR 1G sticks of OCZ Gold to run at 240Mhz. http://www.dfi-stre...