Search found 93 matches

by UrbanVoyeur
Sun May 26, 2013 8:57 am
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: 140 mm Fan Roundup: Noctua, Phanteks, Xigmatek
Replies: 39
Views: 44835

Re: 140 mm Fan Roundup: Noctua, Phanteks, Xigmatek

Could you add mounting size information to the fan info table, that is whether the fan mounts as a 120 or a 140. Several of the 140 mm fans reviewed are drilled for 120 mounting and will not fit a 140 hole without an adapter. It would be helpful in choosing. Thanks for another excellent and useful r...
by UrbanVoyeur
Fri Jan 04, 2013 7:02 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Seasonic Platinum Fanless 520W PSU
Replies: 44
Views: 108960

Re: Seasonic Platinum Fanless 520W PSU

Are the modular cables interchangeable with the Seasonic X series Gold power supplies?
by UrbanVoyeur
Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:30 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Miika's DIY Silent AI-frame HTPC
Replies: 8
Views: 8393

Re: Miika's DIY Silent AI-frame HTPC

How much power does it draw? Do you have access to a Kill-a-Watt?

If you can keep it @100-120 Watts, you could safely use a Pico. Especially if you switch to a 2.5 in data drive and a small (16-32 GB) OS.
by UrbanVoyeur
Wed May 30, 2007 8:56 am
Forum: Green Computing
Topic: Smart Load Triggered Power Strips
Replies: 21
Views: 18358

Just set them on separate strips, and kill the peripherals before you leave, leave the PC running. Seriously, you can't run your scanner or speakers or whatever when you're away. Those are a LOT more expensive, and more people have like 20 strips laying around anyways. You could move them to a more...
by UrbanVoyeur
Tue May 29, 2007 4:47 pm
Forum: Green Computing
Topic: Smart Load Triggered Power Strips
Replies: 21
Views: 18358

Oh, please. These things are ridiculous. Are you too lazy to lean over and flip a switch? Thats what I do, and I feel good to know that my machine, and its 8 bazillion accessories are off the grid completely, safe from any surges that escape the protector, not drawing any power, and effectively unp...
by UrbanVoyeur
Wed Apr 11, 2007 2:38 pm
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: New 250 GB Samsung 2.5" HDD
Replies: 6
Views: 4147

the 250 sounds perfect for an AppleTV upgrade.
by UrbanVoyeur
Mon Mar 05, 2007 5:44 pm
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Trying to choose between 4 heatsinks
Replies: 32
Views: 14418

Edit - Another PS - I can't buy a way faster and cooler CPU cause although the board is LGA775, the 925XE chipset doesn't support C2Ds or even the P4 dual-cores (not that they were cool by any means hehe). I guess that depends on how much you want to spend. I have two of these @ $50. They've worked...
by UrbanVoyeur
Mon Mar 05, 2007 8:30 am
Forum: Green Computing
Topic: Smart Load Triggered Power Strips
Replies: 21
Views: 18358

Out of curiousity, how much power does the strip itself draw for its monitoring? None that the kill-a-watt could measure. The circuitry in the strip doesn't monitor in the active sense. It uses a solid state device that closes circuit on the other outlets when it detects load of ~18 watts. The powe...
by UrbanVoyeur
Sat Mar 03, 2007 1:03 pm
Forum: Green Computing
Topic: Smart Load Triggered Power Strips
Replies: 21
Views: 18358

Well done, UrbanVoyeur! Do you have any estimate on how much power you are going to save? Thanks! Using a Kill-A-Watt plug in meter: Print Server: 5 watts KVM: 3 watts Monitor Standby: 1 watt Peripherals 1: 11 watts (speakers, USB hub, phone charger, etc) Peripherals 2: 15 watts (router, DSL, palm ...
by UrbanVoyeur
Fri Mar 02, 2007 9:38 pm
Forum: Green Computing
Topic: Smart Load Triggered Power Strips
Replies: 21
Views: 18358

The 2 power strips arrived today, and so far they work exactly as advertised with no problems at all. I'm very satisfied. http://www.cyberguys.com/templates/searchdetail.asp?productID=11310 Similar to the Radio Shack product described by another poster, these strips have adjustable sensitivity, thou...
by UrbanVoyeur
Fri Mar 02, 2007 10:55 am
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Trying to choose between 4 heatsinks
Replies: 32
Views: 14418

Just wondering - how's the overall airflow in your case? I wonder if you are pushing enough hot air out of the back or top? I have a 3.4 Mhz dual core Intel with the SI-128 and 2.8 dual core with the XP-120 and I've never run temps that high, even after 7 hours of 100% load encoding video. I use the...
by UrbanVoyeur
Fri Mar 02, 2007 7:31 am
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: WD5000KS vs WD5000AAKS
Replies: 67
Views: 105971

The 500 AAKS's I have do have a lower idle noise (subjectively) than the older 500 KS's . Not by much, but it is noticeable. I wish there was a way to slow the drive down, say to 6000 or 6500 to possibly get a quieter idle. One thing I do is let the drives spin down relatively quickly (15-20 mins). ...
by UrbanVoyeur
Sat Feb 24, 2007 7:48 pm
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: WD5000KS vs WD5000AAKS
Replies: 67
Views: 105971

arf80 wrote:Well, after reinstalling with the new drive, it's really not that quiet at all. Maybe I was expecting complete silence after reading the reviews, but motor noise is easily audible at a meter or two away as kind of a white noise "presence".
Have you set the AAM to 128?
by UrbanVoyeur
Fri Feb 23, 2007 8:52 pm
Forum: Green Computing
Topic: Smart Load Triggered Power Strips
Replies: 21
Views: 18358

Smart Load Triggered Power Strips

I just ordered a couple of these: http://www.cyberguys.com/templates/searchdetail.asp?productID=11310 The idea is to switch off the peripherals (DSL, wireless, USB hub, KVM) & wall warts when my PC's are turned off. I'm also hoping to switch on my print server only when one of my printers (laser or ...
by UrbanVoyeur
Fri Feb 23, 2007 8:31 pm
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: WD5000KS vs WD5000AAKS
Replies: 67
Views: 105971

I don't have any test equipment, but I do have a 5 KS's and 2 AAKS. All are at 128 AAM in rubber grommet mounting.

Subjectively:
The AAKS are only very slightly quieter than the KS's. They do have noticeably less vibration. Seek noise is the same on both. Spin up/ Spin down is quieter on the AAKS.
by UrbanVoyeur
Fri Feb 23, 2007 6:35 pm
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: 4-in-3 hard drive enclosures, hot swap etc
Replies: 28
Views: 17718

Smart temps from the drives with stock fan and with a quiet (nexus, scythe)

- 12v, 7v, 5v
- no fan
- 1 hr after start
- heavy seek
- drives in AAM 128
by UrbanVoyeur
Fri Feb 23, 2007 1:15 pm
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: 4-in-3 hard drive enclosures, hot swap etc
Replies: 28
Views: 17718

One more thing I forgot: To increase air flow I cut away the extraneous aluminum grill bars on the *inside* of the Lian-Li's which were in front of the fan. No impact on structural integrity. Does not change the outside appearance at all. Made a significant increase in air flow and an audible turbul...
by UrbanVoyeur
Fri Feb 23, 2007 1:05 pm
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: 4-in-3 hard drive enclosures, hot swap etc
Replies: 28
Views: 17718

What is the general temperature of the room in which you keep these systems? Just to be clear, are these the Lian Li HDD kits you're talking about? (For easy searching in the future, they are part numbers EX-23A, EX-23B, EX-34A, EX-34B.) Yes. I have the Ex-23B's. Room temp is 20-22 C Winter, 26-33 ...
by UrbanVoyeur
Fri Feb 23, 2007 12:39 pm
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: 4-in-3 hard drive enclosures, hot swap etc
Replies: 28
Views: 17718

Re: 4-in-3 hard drive enclosures, hot swap etc

Well, if I use a 4-in-3 module to house only three drives, then I might as well just mount the drives in the 5.25" bays. :) Yes. In fact, there is a fan adapter with a 120 mm fan an filter sans drive mounts for just that purpose. Fits in 3 5.25 bays with slightly recessed had drives. http://www.scy...
by UrbanVoyeur
Thu Feb 22, 2007 11:59 am
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: 4-in-3 hard drive enclosures, hot swap etc
Replies: 28
Views: 17718

I have two 3-in-2 Lian-Li Racks - one in each PC. It is packed a little tighter than the 4-in-3. I swapped out the stock 80 for a Nexus and under volted to 7v. Each rack has 2x 500 GB WD SATA and 1 x 320 Gb Seagate SATA. The WD's are set to AAM 128. I regret the Seagate and plan to swap out for a qu...
by UrbanVoyeur
Tue Feb 21, 2006 4:18 pm
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: platters, capacity & heat
Replies: 1
Views: 1605

platters, capacity & heat

Do drives with more platters generate more heat?

I'd like to get a samsung 2.5" MP sereis drive. I was wondering if the 60 or 80 GB models gave off more heat than the 40 GB version.

And does anyone know if the 60 GB verison has more platters than the 40 GB?
by UrbanVoyeur
Tue Nov 25, 2003 8:04 am
Forum: The Silent Front
Topic: RAM recommendations
Replies: 32
Views: 18498

Whether you need to cool your RAM depends on a coupl of things - - how fast you are running your RAM & whether you are over clocking - whether your RAM is in localized hot area in your case - how densely packed the ram is - how much RAM you have installed. For example: In my home system, the RAM is ...
by UrbanVoyeur
Wed Sep 24, 2003 2:08 pm
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: DVD +/- R(W) & CDRW
Replies: 4
Views: 3533

All dvd burners also cd's.

But not all do the dvd-R and dvd+r formats.
by UrbanVoyeur
Tue Sep 23, 2003 3:06 pm
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: DVD +/- R(W) & CDRW
Replies: 4
Views: 3533

toshiba is very qiuet but only does "-" not "+"

about $150 online

J
by UrbanVoyeur
Wed Sep 17, 2003 7:16 pm
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Lapping a Thermalright SLK-800A??
Replies: 4
Views: 2708

I use: 600 >800 >1000 >1200 >1500 >2000 >2500 On a flat piece of glass with lots of water and a little dishwashing liquid. Going to the finer grades makes a big difference in looks. Whether it matters in cooling, I don't know. I did at one time buy one of those $15 US lapping kits which included som...
by UrbanVoyeur
Wed Sep 17, 2003 6:22 am
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Lapping a Thermalright SLK-800A??
Replies: 4
Views: 2708

I lapp mine as a matter of course. It helps me feel useful while spending hour parked in front of a glowing tv. I've lapped several SLK800's (i run dual cpu systems). The finish on the stock 800 has visible grooves that can be felt with your fingers. Lapping only improved mine about 3 deg, but it su...
by UrbanVoyeur
Tue Sep 16, 2003 4:38 am
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: Nobody tried/tested/reviewed the Hitachi Deskstar 7k250 yet?
Replies: 13
Views: 5813

So according to them it has an annoying calibration noise, and in general, may not be as quiet as a Seagate unless accoustic management is enabled - which as we know impacts performance.

I vote for the Seagate.
by UrbanVoyeur
Thu Sep 11, 2003 10:50 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: New PSU for dual Xeon server
Replies: 7
Views: 3268

With a system like that running all the time with a load, 350-400 W may not be enough. You might consider a 500-600 W PSU and quiet it down with temp controller fans. I run 2 systems of dual P3's with 4+ hd ea, 2 DVD drives, other stuff. Even without the power hungry video cards, 350 W is barely eno...
by UrbanVoyeur
Thu Sep 11, 2003 10:40 pm
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: What's a fast, but quiet, HDD?
Replies: 10
Views: 5579

Seagate 7200 8mb cache. Very quiet, fast. No odd see sounds.

Can be quieted further with the IBM/Hitachi hd tool.
by UrbanVoyeur
Sat Sep 06, 2003 8:31 pm
Forum: The Silent Front
Topic: Shopping for high-end mobo: what do I look for?
Replies: 37
Views: 12864

You're Right Rusty. SATA is IDE, uses the same drives as IDE and is therefore no qiueter or faster on sustained reads than current IDE

SATA is faster for burst reads.

And for some reason, the SATA drives are $30-$60 less expensive locally than their IDE counter parts. Go figure.