Search found 1232 matches

by cmthomson
Sun Jan 29, 2017 8:03 am
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: are dual chamber atx cases better airflow[?]
Replies: 7
Views: 7818

Re: are dual chamber atx cases better airflow[?]

A build with a couple of decent fans running around 300 RPM will give you much more headroom and will be inaudible from more than a foot away. Totally fanless is an interesting goal, but not very practical IMHO.
by cmthomson
Sun Jan 29, 2017 7:48 am
Forum: The Silent Front
Topic: Saying farewell to my first SPCR inspired PC
Replies: 6
Views: 17779

Re: Saying farewell to my first SPCR inspired PC

My first "quiet" build was a Pentium-D overclock (150W!!) with a Ninja 1000 in a big box with lots of fans and ducts. It was way quieter than the HP PC that it replaced, but really loud by today's standards. These days I run an i7K mildly overclocked (4.6 GHz) in the same case with similar ducts, fa...
by cmthomson
Fri Jan 22, 2016 2:10 pm
Forum: The Silent Front
Topic: Do all line-interactive UPSes "hum"?
Replies: 5
Views: 14155

Re: Do all line-interactive UPSes "hum"?

I have a couple of APC CS500's, and they are silent in normal operation. They hum during discharge, recharge and self-test.
by cmthomson
Tue Nov 24, 2015 4:29 pm
Forum: Fans and Control
Topic: Temperature controlled fan for Hard drive?
Replies: 6
Views: 4897

Re: Temperature controlled fan for Hard drive?

NMT-3. Put your fan downstream from the heat load, and the NMT will control its speed automatically based on the temperature.
by cmthomson
Wed May 13, 2015 5:27 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: The most powerful fanless PSU?
Replies: 5
Views: 5048

Re: The most powerful fanless PSU?

nagi wrote:(It has 2 HDDs, 4 SSDs and an HDMI capture card)
A typical HDD draws about 10W; a typical SSD draws about 3W; capture card maybe 20W.
The power in your system is being sucked up by the i7 CPU, the graphics card, and their VRM's. Easily over 200W at full load.
by cmthomson
Sun Apr 19, 2015 2:16 pm
Forum: Fans and Control
Topic: Please help.. Asus z97 fan control.
Replies: 16
Views: 14684

Re: Please help.. Asus z97 fan control.

Um, I'm not a noob.
I did all that. And I've done it for a decade.
by cmthomson
Sat Apr 18, 2015 2:50 pm
Forum: Fans and Control
Topic: Please help.. Asus z97 fan control.
Replies: 16
Views: 14684

Re: Please help.. Asus z97 fan control.

4.51 final didn't make things better? Why not disable all bios control, remove Ai Suite 3 and use only speedfan? Well, I just tried 4.51 final, and there are still serious issues: none of the voltages reported make any sense (eg, vcore is stuck at 0.9v), most of the temperatures are bogus (core, mb...
by cmthomson
Sat Apr 18, 2015 6:25 am
Forum: Fans and Control
Topic: Please help.. Asus z97 fan control.
Replies: 16
Views: 14684

Re: Please help.. Asus z97 fan control.

Speedfan pretty much stopped working at all (the beta version mostly worked) Which version are you referring to? I started with 4.50, which did not support the board's chips, then switched to 4.51 beta, which did. But the sensing would often drop to zero, and the control was iffy at best. It seemed...
by cmthomson
Fri Apr 17, 2015 3:42 pm
Forum: Networking
Topic: Is there specification for RJ45 pins crimp wire depth?
Replies: 16
Views: 29897

Re: Is there specification for RJ45 pins crimp wire depth?

This is a tool you should not be cheap about. The headaches induced by marginal cables hurt too much. A good crimp tool will resist your squeezing until it gets to a calibrated pressure on the connector and wire, then "click" and seem to collapse in your grip. This is a good thing, but it costs extr...
by cmthomson
Fri Apr 17, 2015 3:34 pm
Forum: Fans and Control
Topic: Please help.. Asus z97 fan control.
Replies: 16
Views: 14684

Re: Please help.. Asus z97 fan control.

I recently upgraded to an ASUS Z97 Pro, and also had fan issues. Speedfan pretty much stopped working at all (the beta version mostly worked), and about the only sensor software that worked was the ASUS supplied AI Suite 3. As the OP said, you need to manually set each fan header's configuration in ...
by cmthomson
Sat Mar 14, 2015 11:41 am
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: 30-inch monitor recommendations
Replies: 3
Views: 4244

Re: 30-inch monitor recommendations

I'm loving my Dell 2713HM, bought about a year ago. Near perfect color out of the box (better after ColorMunki), more resolution than my aging eyes can detect, absolutely silent power supply, flexible connections (HDMI, DisplayPort, D-DVI), etc. But it is probably overkill for what you describe, and...
by cmthomson
Wed Jan 14, 2015 8:15 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: It is so hard finding a PSU doesn't have high pitched noise
Replies: 19
Views: 16554

Re: It is so hard finding a PSU doesn't have high pitched no

quest_for_silence wrote:It's a quality control issue.
Hmm, could be. My X400 is a very early model, perhaps even the first run, so it probably has higher than average build quality. Certainly it looks perfect, and it is always silent.
by cmthomson
Tue Jan 13, 2015 4:58 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: It is so hard finding a PSU doesn't have high pitched noise
Replies: 19
Views: 16554

Re: It is so hard finding a PSU doesn't have high pitched no

My Seasonic x400 has been totally silent from day one, several years ago. I've seen some complaints from others, but it's hard to pin them on the PSU, as opposed to other components in the system.
by cmthomson
Sat May 24, 2014 8:32 am
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Scythe Kotetsu CPU Cooler: A Compact King
Replies: 94
Views: 94950

Re: Scythe Kotetsu CPU Cooler: A Compact King

It's refreshing to see Scythe (almost) returning to the concepts that made the original Ninja (SCNJ-1000) so great: 1: well-machined base providing uniform IHS contact 2: high-tension mounting system with back plate 3: heat pipes soldered to base 4: wide-spaced fins Various later versions of the Nin...
by cmthomson
Wed Jan 15, 2014 2:20 pm
Forum: Fans and Control
Topic: External fan controller that adjusts fans based on temps?
Replies: 15
Views: 8387

Re: External fan controller that adjusts fans based on temps

Not sure if they are still available, but Noise Magic NMT-2 and NMT-3 do what you describe. Not exactly external; they mount on a corner of the fan and vary voltage based on the temperature of the air flowing by. Electrically they sit inline between the fan and the motherboard. Since they vary the a...
by cmthomson
Wed Oct 09, 2013 5:40 pm
Forum: Fans and Control
Topic: PWM fan stuck at max speed, ignores speedfan settings
Replies: 9
Views: 10865

Re: PWM fan stuck at max speed, ignores speedfan settings

This might not apply to your MB, but the last few boards I've had, it was necessary to first configure the BIOS to manual or disable, and then in SpeedFan, go to configure, advanced and then select the controller chip (Nuovotron on my current board), then select PWM manual. Then you can configure sp...
by cmthomson
Tue Aug 20, 2013 12:38 pm
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: tinted film for dimming bright LED's
Replies: 9
Views: 17134

Re: tinted film for dimming bright LED's

There are of course two ways to use black electrical tape for this application: complete blackout with a patch of tape, or dimming using the same patch with a pin hole...
by cmthomson
Tue Aug 20, 2013 12:35 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: A replacement for my old silent PC
Replies: 27
Views: 17466

Re: A replacement for my old silent PC

The point of a positive pressure system is to keep the dust airborne so it flows through the box and out. A negative pressure system tends to accumulate the dust inside the box, requiring periodic cleaning. Positive pressure does require more airflow, and (theoretically) more noise, but with modern ...
by cmthomson
Tue Aug 20, 2013 12:27 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Which PS should i choose?
Replies: 4
Views: 3538

Re: Which PS should i choose?

I've been very happy with my Seasonic 400 fanless. Completely silent. Early on there were a few complaints about whine, but I haven't seen any more in years.

But as mentioned above, it's probably overkill for your build, and expensive to boot.
by cmthomson
Sat Aug 17, 2013 5:07 pm
Forum: Deals, Vendors and Classifieds
Topic: Eye opening and obviously wrong ad at Fry's
Replies: 6
Views: 8349

Re: Eye opening and obviously wrong ad at Fry's

Should have posted a photo. I don't see it in that link...
by cmthomson
Tue Jul 16, 2013 11:22 am
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Should i get PWM Heatsink/Fan for 4670k/ASUS?
Replies: 8
Views: 7082

Re: Should i get PWM Heatsink/Fan for 4670k/ASUS?

i like the look of the NZXT respire T40 but don't think its PWM and thus should i look at others. In answer to your original question, that fan is not PWM. All PWM fans are 4-pin, and this one is 3-pin. Also, the spec page quotes a 1300 RPM minimum speed which is LOUD AS HELL. There are lots of oth...
by cmthomson
Tue Jul 16, 2013 11:08 am
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Should i get PWM Heatsink/Fan for 4670k/ASUS?
Replies: 8
Views: 7082

Re: Should i get PWM Heatsink/Fan for 4670k/ASUS?

Since you haven't bought yet, I'd advise holding off a month or so on the CPU purchase. Each time Intel releases a new generation of CPU, their engineers work hard on improving the yield, and the second release almost always runs faster and cooler than the first, because they move the bell curve sub...
by cmthomson
Mon Jul 08, 2013 9:15 am
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Intel Core i7-4770K Haswell Processor
Replies: 50
Views: 49145

Re: Intel Core i7-4770K Haswell Processor

-Jim- wrote:What do you think would be the right cooler for the new Intel Haswell i7 4770K CPU?
Pretty much any tower cooler will do, along with pretty much any slow quiet fan. I like the Megahalems because of its mounting hardware.

I wouldn't recommend water unless you plan to seriously overvolt the CPU.
by cmthomson
Sun Jul 07, 2013 2:56 pm
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: ASUS Z87-Deluxe fake 4-pin headers & other fan control info
Replies: 60
Views: 179388

Re: ASUS Z87-Deluxe fake 4-pin headers & other fan control i

The OP says consistently that the 3-pin mode is voltage vs PWM, but I haven't seen an ASUS board since the old WS P4 series where that is actually the case. Instead, the third pin is PWM +12 (ie, a 12V variable-width square wave), not a smooth analog variable voltage. Maybe someone with an oscillosc...
by cmthomson
Fri Jul 05, 2013 10:50 am
Forum: Fans and Control
Topic: Bought a Nexus 120 PWM, big mistake
Replies: 26
Views: 21119

Re: Bought a Nexus 120 PWM, big mistake

I bought one of these Nexus PWM fans a few years ago, after many happy experiences with the 3-pin Nexus (SPCR's reference fan forever). It was total crap. I threw it away.

Remember when Ford was a top brand and then they brought out the Pinto? :oops:
by cmthomson
Fri Jul 05, 2013 10:30 am
Forum: Fans and Control
Topic: Clicking fans on fan controller
Replies: 6
Views: 4762

Re: Clicking fans on fan controller

It's more subtle than that. It's true that almost all controllers output PWM rather than DC, but the frequency is in the kilohertz range, which can't generate mechanical noise. The real cause is that the controller goes to full voltage several times per second for a brief period so that the RPM sens...
by cmthomson
Sun Jan 20, 2013 7:02 pm
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Data on upside down heatpipe performance
Replies: 16
Views: 13564

Re: Data on upside down heatpipe performance

Well I didn't say *I* replaced my GPU every year, but that's certainly what the makers and the reviewers expect. Running a GPU at 100C is dumb, but that's what you'll see on many review sites. My last GPU was a 9800 overclocked (with an Accelero HS), now sitting around because I switched to i7 inter...
by cmthomson
Fri Jan 18, 2013 6:08 pm
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Data on upside down heatpipe performance
Replies: 16
Views: 13564

Re: Data on upside down heatpipe performance

Lots of fine points above, but to simplify: any recent CPU dissipates 100W or less, even when overclocked. Any recent GPU dissipates more. GPU heat sinks work just fine upside down, even with crappy air flow. Any decent CPU cooler will work just fine in any orientation. [The notion that GPUs can run...
by cmthomson
Thu Jan 17, 2013 5:19 pm
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Data on upside down heatpipe performance
Replies: 16
Views: 13564

Re: Data on upside down heatpipe performance

I doubt if there's any difference between CPU and GPU heat pipes. All the heat sink manufacturers outsource their heat pipes; they "just" build the bases and fins, and do the assembly. Although I don't know for sure, it would surprise me if there are more than a few heat pipe manufacturers who suppl...
by cmthomson
Thu Jan 10, 2013 5:15 pm
Forum: Deals, Vendors and Classifieds
Topic: Don't buy from NewEgg
Replies: 6
Views: 7113

Re: Don't buy from NewEgg

I've had a long and happy relationship with Newegg. It would surprise me greatly if they've suddenly become a bad egg.