Maybe it's just me, but so far the only mini-itx board on the market that I have bought and would consider buying is the zotac board with built-in wifi. The main problem with the mini-itx boards is the fact that there is only 1 expansion slot. That expansion slot will always have a video card in it,...

I built an HTPC several years ago with a passive graphics card (so I have some experience with passive cards), and I recently built a new system with a 5700 series vapor-x card. I used the Catalyst control drivers to set the fan speed to 20%. In this new system, my 2.5 inch hard drive (top recommend...

I wonder how/if you have done anything to judge whether your new fan setup cools the PSU adequately? I haven't done any tests like that. I'm not even sure how I could? I did read some reviews that indicated my setup core i3 + graphics card + peripherals, draws somewhere between 180-200 watts on loa...

Cheapest mod is to let the 120mm intake fan do all the work: 1. Use some clear plastic to completely block the I-O slot side of the case. 2. Use some clear plastic to completely block the top of the case. 3. Stop the noisy PSU fan with a coffee swizzle stick or.... 4. Use some clear plastic to part...

Got the Evercool fan in the mail today. I hooked it up to one of the motherboard's case fan connectors so that I could compare it to the stock PSU fan. First results had me worried because the Evercool fan was much louder than the stock PSU fan. Next I used a fan controller to slow down the fan and ...

I live in SouthEast, USA and accidentally ordered the replacement fan from a store in Seattle, Washington so its taking forever to arrive. Scheduled for 7/12. Did you try flipping the psu so that it intakes cool air through the top vent? I did that myself and was happy with mine. In the meantime, I'...

Thanks for the feedback and picture frostedflakes. I decided on the simple approach of just doing a straight PSU fan swap. This forum has a great article about PSU fan swapping that has the PSU used in the Silverstone sg05/sg06 cases here: http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=245448 ...

Hello silencers. After MikeC's review and picking your collective forum brains, I built a little system with the following moving parts. Silverstone SG05 case. -Stock Front 120mm intake fan 7~9 volts = QUIET -Scythe Shuriken 100mm fan = QUIET -Radeon 5750 Saphire Vapor-X = QUIET -300W power supply 8...

Just to confirm what ilovejedd said... I just finished building a system with a zotac h55 in a silverstone sg05 case and unwisely purchased a big shuriken which fits, but makes the pci-e slot unusable. I picked up a shuriken revB and it -barely- fits. There is 1mm, maybe 2mm between the heatsink and...

Just posting this because I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere. If you're looking for a Blu-Ray drive with a silver bezel that will look good in a NSK2400 case, you should give the following drive a try: LITE-ON Black 12X DVD-ROM 32X CD-ROM SATA Blu-ray DVD-ROM Drive Model DH-4O1S-08 - Retail http:/...

Have you considered a Scythe Quiet Drive? Or a 2,5"? I have to second this notion. I've got a WD 160gig Scorpio 2.5" drive and an HD501LJ (3.5" Samsung). I love the setup up having the OS + Apps on the 2.5" drive and video/music/misc data on the 3.5". While the 501LJ is somewhat quiet, it can't com...

matt_garman wrote:Heh, I feel your pain. Reminds me of comedian Stephen Wright's joke, "You can't have everything... where would you put it?"

It doesn't matter where he puts it. Somebody will probably end up stealing it and replacing it all with exact replicas anyhow.

Has good 'ol Sony patented your idea?

I'm sure it's a highly refined design, and the patent claims that the purpose of this technique is "shock absorption" rather than for thermal and acoustic reasons.

When I read it however, it reminded me of your fine enclosure.

Comment withdrawn.

This Doohicky came with the card.

I haven't tried it out yet because I'm using a VGA/LCD setup right now. (Targeting an upgrade to HDTV a little later in the year).

However, the doohicky looks like it has a standard S-Video out connector on it.

What kind of TV do you have? I'll assume LCD since there aren't any 720p 42 inch plasmas, let alone 1080p that I'm aware of. If it's an LCD, I'm guessing it would function similar to an LCD computer monitor. That being the case, you can run at resolutions that are lower than the 'monitors' native re...

Newegg has the Asus passive 8600 GT now... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121076 Now I'm conflicted... get this? or Gigabyte's 8600 GTS (now that I know it will fit)... I'd go with the Asus 8600 + 50 bucks in your pocket. Most reviews indicate that there is a decent perfor...

I'm still curious - wouldn't a temperature (in °) give you a better impression of whether or not you need additional airflow than just "this thing feels hot!"? Or am I missing something in this thread? Agreed. 80C (for example) is only 20 away from the boiling point of water. I wouldn't stick my f...

I will not buy a product that has a mail-in-rebate associated with it. Ever. I have had numerous instances of mail-in-rebates never showing up, and I refuse to perpetuate the borderline fraudulent practice. On the store-retail level, the whole concept is absurd. I'm in the store, I'm RIGHT THERE, wh...

Steep, I assume that your system still pegs at 100% when transcoding. What sort of temps do you see & what cooling setup do you have? Yes, 100% Here is a description of the system. xp-120 heatsink, temps reported under multiple configurations. Only change is that now both case fans are attached to ...

babstar, just as a speed reference... My HTPC is running a 65W amd x2 4600+ (1 gig/ram) with cool 'n quiet, and it converts mpeg2 videos into compressed Xvid in 2:1 time for standard definition content. (30 minute show takes about 15 minutes to transcode). Note, however, that my mpeg2 source is 480x...

lm wrote:RAM has far less parameters than a car. When RAM is working, you will not notice any difference in using either cheap or expensive RAM.

I disagree, according to this website, the 2500/3500 RAM is supposed to be able to handle a more heavy-duty workload than the 1500 RAM.

No advice and/or opinions? :( Why would you go out of your way to silence a machine intended for LAN/gaming use? There will be other computers besides yours, and I'm doubting the other 6, 10, 20, 500? people in the room will have taken any measures to quiet their PCs. Everyone will be wearing headp...

I have an Asus motherboard and see the same slogan as your Asus vid card... "Rock Solid, Heart Touching".

Is that slogan corny or is it just me? I think something got lost in translation because I can't recall ever feeling an emotional "heart touching" response when it comes to computer parts.

*Get rid of the PS/2 mouse and keyboard inputs. Everything is USB now. ????? Er no.... not quite. It sure seems that way on the US retail level. I recently shopped around for an ergonomic keyboard to help alleviate my cubital tunnel syndrome. I normally order parts online, but I was very particular...

Here are some thoughts on current motherboards (inspired by looking at the biostar images you provided): *Get rid of the PS/2 mouse and keyboard inputs. Everything is USB now. *Have optical and coax SPDIF built in without needing an expansion bracket. (like the NF-M2 for the optical). *Have lower-pr...

just got this Asus 8500GT silent. 1 solid capacitor, 3 Nichicon caps and 1 other japanese cap (can't remember the brand, but pretty sure it's japanese) I like the look of this card better than Gigabyte's, but I find the lack of HDCP support disappointing. It's a technology that I hate, but I'd rath...

Recommendations here

The xp90 and xp120 are popular choices but I've seen people using Alpine and Zalman's as well.

It appears the SI-128 can be rotated 90 degrees with an included S-Clip. http://www.svc.com/si-128.html Very interesting. Looks like it would be a good match for your saphire board then. If optical audio is important, have you considered the Abit NF-M2 board in your research? It has optical audio o...