Search found 168 matches

by samuelmorris
Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:19 pm
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: Largest 5400rpm storage?
Replies: 6
Views: 6230

Re: Largest 5400rpm storage?

I can't say I'm all that keen on SMR really, having read about it. I'm not likely to suffer too much with the write performance itself, but the actual concept of it unnerves me...
by samuelmorris
Sat Oct 22, 2016 7:54 am
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: Largest 5400rpm storage?
Replies: 6
Views: 6230

Re: Largest 5400rpm storage?

It's bizarre, as 5400rpm even shows in the drive stats. The fact that the competing Seagate disks are also 7200rpm once you reach 8TB tells me that for whatever reason, 5400rpm presumably doesn't work too well for the largest capacity disks. It's a nuisance as I was hoping to shrink my drive count b...
by samuelmorris
Thu Oct 13, 2016 5:04 am
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: Largest 5400rpm storage?
Replies: 6
Views: 6230

Largest 5400rpm storage?

I've been using some WD80EFZX disks for a while now. They're definitely a lot noisier than the smaller WD Red/Green disks, which I assumed was simply due to the high platter count or possibly a quirk of the Helium design. The 6TB disks are pretty loud during seek but quiet during idle. The 8TB disks...
by samuelmorris
Wed Apr 13, 2016 6:50 am
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: AMD & Intel 65W Stock Coolers
Replies: 16
Views: 23764

Re: AMD & Intel 65W Stock Coolers

Quick question - if the i7 6700 cooler tops out at 2000rpm and the same cooler is used throughout, how come the one supplied with my i5 6600 seems to top out at 3500? It makes quite a din at that speed...
by samuelmorris
Wed Apr 13, 2016 2:51 am
Forum: Fans and Control
Topic: Software-adjustable ventilation for storage server
Replies: 8
Views: 6153

Re: Software-adjustable ventilation for storage server

From the manual: http://i.imgur.com/HOELCqe.png I'm curious about the phrase "The speed control function requires a fan with fan speed control design". Is this implying only PWM fans can be speed controlled? If so it doesn't explain why the Nexus 80mm fans are operating at less than half speed where...
by samuelmorris
Wed Apr 13, 2016 2:00 am
Forum: Fans and Control
Topic: Software-adjustable ventilation for storage server
Replies: 8
Views: 6153

Re: Software-adjustable ventilation for storage server

Quest_for_silence: Noted re: Voltage/PWM control - the fan without any speed control is SYS_FAN3, a 3-pin header. The other two that are listed in the BIOS (both the adjustable and unadjustable) are both 4-pin headers, so presumably they are both PWM headers, and SYS_FAN3 is just a straight feed to ...
by samuelmorris
Tue Apr 12, 2016 3:05 pm
Forum: Fans and Control
Topic: Software-adjustable ventilation for storage server
Replies: 8
Views: 6153

Re: Software-adjustable ventilation for storage server

The fans are already set to 'silent' in the Gigabyte BIOS, but I'm not too confident, as the SYS_FAN3 socket is not even listed in the BIOS for fan control, and the settings for SYS_FAN2 are ignored, 'silent' is interpreted as a continuous 12V, whereas SYS_FAN1 is adjusting the speed. I will try the...
by samuelmorris
Tue Apr 12, 2016 11:42 am
Forum: Fans and Control
Topic: Software-adjustable ventilation for storage server
Replies: 8
Views: 6153

Software-adjustable ventilation for storage server

I am running a storage server using fundamentally normal desktop hardware inside an XCase RM420 (almost identical to Norco 4220) 4U chassis and with an Adaptec 71605E HBA in the PCIe slot, no dedicated graphics. At the time I recently upgraded the hardware (currently an i5 6500 and Z170-HD3P) I also...
by samuelmorris
Thu Sep 11, 2014 12:33 pm
Forum: Fans and Control
Topic: Best way to electronically control high-current fans?
Replies: 11
Views: 6511

Re: Best way to electronically control high-current fans?

OK, the NZXT Grid+ is in. Installation was pretty straightforward, the 'click-in-place' velcro-style pads seem to work well, but time well tell how long the adhesive on the other side lasts! Ideally I'd have liked to see some screw-based mechanism where you could use a 3.5" or PCI slot, but no matte...
by samuelmorris
Sun Sep 07, 2014 5:06 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3
Replies: 52
Views: 24684

Re: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3

Understood, thanks for the insight. I did consider a Seasonic X-650 off Scan for £106, but as it's looking like this may not be my only expense this month, I think I'm going to go with the RM650 for £80. If it turns out too noisy I can always replace it with something else later down the line and st...
by samuelmorris
Sat Sep 06, 2014 12:27 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3
Replies: 52
Views: 24684

Re: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3

Sorry, I meant £80 for the RM650 - not so bad I suppose, is £79.99 on there so I'll probably try and amazon locker it. Saves me having to use bybox, which is a little less convenient.
by samuelmorris
Sat Sep 06, 2014 12:16 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3
Replies: 52
Views: 24684

Re: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3

OK, that's what I thought you meant, and that was my thought as well - but if I'm not going to find anything better for that money, or something equivalent for less money, then what of it?
by samuelmorris
Sat Sep 06, 2014 12:12 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3
Replies: 52
Views: 24684

Re: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3

Sorry, can you clarify 'doesn't worth that much' for me? Is that good or bad? :)
by samuelmorris
Sat Sep 06, 2014 11:14 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3
Replies: 52
Views: 24684

Re: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3

CA_Steve: Point well raised, yes it's basically the UK version of the Kill-a-Watt measuring AC draw. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but is it not the actual process of spooling up the disk platters to the 5400rpm speed that prompts the highest draw, instead of the buzz routine? If that is the case, t...
by samuelmorris
Sat Sep 06, 2014 6:43 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3
Replies: 52
Views: 24684

Re: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3

It is a little spendy, I'm just thinking, is there not a 500-550W equivalent to either of those units?
by samuelmorris
Sat Sep 06, 2014 6:22 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3
Replies: 52
Views: 24684

Re: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3

I haven't owned a retail Seasonic, but did own a Corsair HX520 for a while which was very quiet, but did suffer some vibration that became obvious due to the very low noise level of the system it was housed in, and a lightweight aluminium casing. Interestingly the CX430 in that case now does not suf...
by samuelmorris
Sat Sep 06, 2014 5:53 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3
Replies: 52
Views: 24684

Re: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3

That cheap manufacture was one of the reasons I was concerned about using them initially, but fortunately that proved pretty much a non-issue, at least until now. Definitely need to sort this at the start of next week though, could hardly sleep through the racket it was making last night :D Yeah rea...
by samuelmorris
Sat Sep 06, 2014 5:31 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3
Replies: 52
Views: 24684

Re: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3

Thanks for the insights guys. I'm definitely going to be heading down the single-rail route I think, but the definitive role for this server isn't set in stone, I'd like any PSU that costs me a fair amount to be capable of handling a change in role for the server later down the line, e.g. if it shou...
by samuelmorris
Fri Sep 05, 2014 10:13 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3
Replies: 52
Views: 24684

Re: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3

Yeah the Nexus is obviously one such unit that runs 300-400rpm most of the time. The Zalman seems to run about 700rpm and that's also fine, even for a 140mm fan, the thing is effectively inaudible. I think I'd prefer that to a semi-fanless unit by the sound of things, for the reason you specified. A...
by samuelmorris
Fri Sep 05, 2014 8:36 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3
Replies: 52
Views: 24684

Re: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3

I don't necessarily need it fanless, but going straight from fanless to 1000rpm seems a bit excessive don't you think? I'm not particularly keen on having a fully fanless unit, as since this server is mounted upright, this makes the system a traditional PSU-at-the-top hot box scenario. The CPU heats...
by samuelmorris
Fri Sep 05, 2014 8:07 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3
Replies: 52
Views: 24684

Re: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3

The backplanes look like this (although this one only has one molex per channel): http://amastaba.free.fr/RM424pro/resize_1024/DSC_8708_DxO.jpg Using WD Green drives, the peak utilisation will be at spinup, according to WD's documentation this is something of the order of 8 or 9 watts, so for a full...
by samuelmorris
Fri Sep 05, 2014 7:41 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3
Replies: 52
Views: 24684

Re: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3

The case uses backplanes which connect four drives via a single (or pair) molex connector - the drives are not powered using traditional SATA connectors, and on a modular PSU I would only fit a minimal number of those to run the O/S SSD. Thanks for the links, call me suspicious but given the quality...
by samuelmorris
Fri Sep 05, 2014 3:02 am
Forum: Fans and Control
Topic: Best way to electronically control high-current fans?
Replies: 11
Views: 6511

Re: Best way to electronically control high-current fans?

Yeah the case in question has a top-mounted 3.5" bay spare on the inside, so I'm hoping to attach a controller like this to that somehow.
See here (same case but not my system): http://i.imgur.com/wmdNb.jpg
by samuelmorris
Fri Sep 05, 2014 1:03 am
Forum: Fans and Control
Topic: Best way to electronically control high-current fans?
Replies: 11
Views: 6511

Re: Best way to electronically control high-current fans?

That looks really good actually, I can't see me breaking 5W per channel in practice as there are only 5 fans I'd want to control with it. It'd need a header-based USB cable which isn't evident from the product page, but apart from that looks perfect - I'll look into it, thank you :)
by samuelmorris
Thu Sep 04, 2014 7:24 am
Forum: Fans and Control
Topic: Best way to electronically control high-current fans?
Replies: 11
Views: 6511

Re: Best way to electronically control high-current fans?

Yeah I've been in touch with KustomPCs about various bits before, so I might ask them about it. On the speedfan front, sadly no - SpeedFan's not compatible with my server as it has too many disks in it - beyond about 10 disks speedfan will fail to launch as it crashes whilst trying to gather SMART d...
by samuelmorris
Thu Sep 04, 2014 7:02 am
Forum: Fans and Control
Topic: Best way to electronically control high-current fans?
Replies: 11
Views: 6511

Re: Best way to electronically control high-current fans?

Yeah that looks great. I'm not sure how easily it'll fit into the 3.5" access bay at the top of the case, but I'm willing to try. That said, looking at reviews, these things seem to have been around for several years, are they likely to be compatible with contemporary O/Ses like Windows 8? The fact ...
by samuelmorris
Thu Sep 04, 2014 6:44 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3
Replies: 52
Views: 24684

Re: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3

I posted here because my previous two PSUs (the CX was a spur of the moment buy to satisfy a shop's refusal to RMA something until I tested with a different PSU), the NX-5000 and my ZM850-HP both came from recommendations at SPCR, and both have been excellent, near-enough inaudible at any load. Unfo...
by samuelmorris
Thu Sep 04, 2014 6:06 am
Forum: Fans and Control
Topic: Best way to electronically control high-current fans?
Replies: 11
Views: 6511

Best way to electronically control high-current fans?

Hi all, I'm looking for a viable method to control some fairly powerful (but not exactly extreme) fans in my 4U file server. Sadly the version of the case I own predates those that were supplied with built-in PWM fan control. The 120mm fans are around 2000rpm at max speed. I can potentially replace ...
by samuelmorris
Thu Sep 04, 2014 5:20 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3
Replies: 52
Views: 24684

Re: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3

Thanks, I'll look into the RM series. I was a bit wary of the lower-end Corsair products due to questionable reliability reports and high failure rates coming up on things like the hardware.fr reliability charts, but to be fair to it, my CX V2 has been excellent in the smaller PC, very quiet indeed ...
by samuelmorris
Thu Sep 04, 2014 4:55 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3
Replies: 52
Views: 24684

Suitable replacement for NX-5000 R3

Looking for a suitable replacement for the 4 1/2 year old 530W Nexus NX-5000 in my file server. At present the server is pretty noisy in other aspects which I will deal with later, but as it stands this PSU pretty urgently needs replacing as it's making some unpleasant noises both of the fan bearing...