I'm in the process of building a new Linux machine. I've been using speedfan on my existing system for nearly a decade, but it's only for Windows OS. My ASRock Z270 Extreme4 mobo has a lot better fan control support than my existing system, but I would prefer to be able to monitor temps and change s...

I just purchased the EVGA B3 450W. I had been hesitant because it's new and had not been reviewed, but two highly positive reviews just came out. See my comment in this thread: http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=69685. Looks like this PSU will stay totally passive for my comput...

I'm not suggesting you do this, but it is possible to feed stuff +12V directly from the brick. I did this on several of my "high performance" picoPSU builds in the past. How would that be different from how it's typically set up? As I understand it, the 12V line simply passes through the pico board...

Thanks for confirmation on your experience with picoPSU. On my first look, I was put off by the caveat (in 150W manual) that sustained combined load should not exceed 65% of maximum load or 65C, whichever occurs first. However, the 160W manual doesn't have that caveat. Instead it advises that it may...

EVGA B3 - a new series, starting at 450W (easily enough for one CPU + one VGA), also semi-fanless, Bronze, should be cheaper than Corsairs Basically untested, a Leadex-based design but with cut corners (cabling, for instance) over the B2, and with increased power density: I mean, it's not a safe be...

I'm trying to determine if I can use the 160W picoPSU for my new build. They sell a kit with the 160W DC PSU and a high quality 192 AC/DC external transformer. My mainboard is a Z270 with 2x16GB 2400 RAM and i7 7700K CPU. I originally wanted a 7700T @ 35W, but Abula pointed out elsewhere that have m...

Thanks for confirming.

Thx for quick reply. So it sounds like there's no reason, physically, that a PSU can't be mounted 'fan down' in that case, right? As for whether that works best or not, I'll need to test. My thought is with PSU fan pointed up, there's no circulation inside the PSU so fan would start sooner. But with...

I'm considering Solo II for my new build. Here's a quote from the review that caught my attention: "While we were surprised at first to see the power supply still at the top of the case, the new top panel vent makes it better than a bottom location for a fanless unit. On the case floor, a traditiona...

Thanks for quick replies Sunday night. I was able to cancel the 7700T, so I ordered a 7700K. Thanks for steering me away from T version. I will use picoPSU-150XT power supply. I plan to initially set up the system without the video card while I figure out how to get the processor set where I want it...

Remember you are paying a lot here for hyperthreading, the 7600K is a very good and capable cpu, but without the hyperthreding, that if you are not using it or your programs dont take the advantage of it, its not worth the extra money. I should have mentioned the other prices. The best price I can ...

@Abula, thanks for your insight on SSD's and on-chip GPU! A lot to absorb. Regarding CPU, I think I can still cancel my order if I do it tonight but I have questions. Like my current 2008 system, I'm building the new system to be near silent. But I like the idea of going with 7700 if I can operate i...

If you truly want an NVME SSD, i would go with SAMSUNG 960 EVO 250GB and add some cooling... I looked at that ssd but I was scared off by an unusual number of 1 and 2 star reviews @ newegg, many by folks that seemed to know what they're talking about. A couple were related to AMD compatibility issu...

I'm preparing to build my next near-silent PC. My computing requirements are modest so I'm focused more on power & heat than performance. Today I'm researching 240GB SSD's -- that's way more than enough capacity for OS and data storage. My current system's C: partition only takes about 43GB, and I h...

I was just re-reading the Case Basics article or the first time in 8 years ( http://www.silentpcreview.com/article75-page2.html ) and noticed this: it is routine now to load the Operating System to an SSD, and use a large quiet SSD for storage. Better yet is a large capacity SSD for storage, but thi...

Well, you did say I needed a thermal camera in response to my comment about probe placement. I thought perhaps you were using sarcasm to make your point, which is why I asked if you were serious. Again, your reply sounded like you were being dead literal in your recommendation. So now you've make it...

CA_Steve wrote:My only concern is the replacement has a starting voltage of 4.8V and the OEM fan is 4.3V...so it may start up at a higher PSU temp....

Thanks. With system on idle (~75W), the Scythe is running, so starting voltage isn't an issue.

I'd add that if a talented engineer like Artistides relies upon a thermal camera instead of a thermal probe, there's a chance that's the way to do. :wink: I may not be a PSU designer but I do know a fair amount about measurement and instrumentation (I have managed calibration and procedures for an ...

I guess you need a thermal camera (check a detailled PSU review like those on THG or TPU made by crmaris ). Seriously?! Those images were taken with a $3,000 FLIR E4 320x240! my remote probe instrument has quick response so I can determine hottest location experimentally. And if I can get good cont...

I see that I didn't post a followup so hopefully I can put an end to this chatter about redesigning the PSU cooling system... First, as I commented earlier, even if I wanted to, I don't have space to mount a PSU fan on the outside. Fortunately, the interference from the CPU cooler only affects the a...

As you're not pushing the PSU with your system you should be fine using lower than original rpm fan. My system typically operates at <100W, with peak @ 155W. mount the fan OUTSIDE the psu case using rubber mounts The side of the Hyper6+ cooler is only 20mm from PSU fan. And even if I found one that...

Thanks for the tips. I didn't even think about replacing just the fan. Of course! The Arctic F12 is a PWM fan, right? I understand PWM fans can also be controlled via voltage. Does my power supply require PWM? If not, I have a spare Scythe SY1225SC12M (KAZE-JYUNI) that I could install. It was review...

I designed my current PC in 2008 largely based on advice and information from this site. What an incredible resource! Amazingly, I'm still using this computer with all original components (except one HDD). The power supply fan has always been the largest noise source since there's no way to auto-con...

Update: STIR works pretty well, although for some unexplained reason, it doesn't completely eliminate STIR. However, I discovered an even better solution. Recall the 7200.7 is my second drive, which I rarely use. I discovered that by setting Windows Power Options to "turn off the hard drives" after ...

And that may also explain why I don't STIR on my primary drive. With write-back cache and who-knows-what-else Windows may be doing, it probably never goes a minute without being accessed, even when I'm not actively using the system.

BTW, how's the samsung in terms of noise?

David

I downloaded StopNoise.exe and it works! Although I can now hear the periodic write operations (50-second interval seems to avert STIR on my drive), this is far preferable to the sound of STIR. As an added bonus, the drive temperature dropped 3 degrees C! This makes sense because the whole purpose o...

Already 4 years ago, I started a thread on a dutch forum concerning this problem... Thanks for the link. Apparently this noise is Seagate's STIR (Seek to increase Reliability) function. I noticed if I access the drive from Windows Explorer while the noise is happening, it stops immediately. So I'm ...

After attacking fan noise, noise from the hard drives becomes more pronounced. I have two Barracudas - a SATA (ST32500410AS) and an older ATA (ST3160023A). I eliminated vibration-induced noise by mounting the drives with rubber grommets and stand-off screws. Unforunately, the ATA drive, used mostly ...

Still, this only affects your idle temps. It should not give you any more headroom under load since this was an idle problem only. Yes, sorry. I should have been more specific -- I'm talking about headroom at low-load conditions. To say that the problem only effects idle temps is not accurate. I'm ...

Faulty Microsoft Driver Saps Intel Core Duo power http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=175466&cid=14588517 though if the driver did so for one chip it may do so for others. It's a Microsoft bug not an Intel bug. Wow! You guys are awsome! This was indeed this issue. The registry tweak fixed the pr...