Search found 1400 matches

by lenny
Wed Aug 30, 2006 2:08 am
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: Centurion 5 / Athlon XP / Katana / 1.6 MB of pix
Replies: 19
Views: 30475

Just curious, why a micro ATX PSU? I would be tempted to remove more of those blanks, but prosaically I cannot figure out how it's supposed to be done without twisting them off the metal supports. I don't think I did the one near the hard drive right, as it left a sharp broken metal edge, which is i...
by lenny
Wed Aug 16, 2006 12:21 am
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Can the Thermalright XP-120 be used with a 120mm Nexus fan?
Replies: 13
Views: 6918

IIRC the Panaflo 120mm fans are 38mm thick, and the corners, although open, has a thicker flange (is that the word?) - or whatever you call the part where the metal clip is supposed to go over to hold the fan to the XP120. There should be plenty of choices. I used something really low speed by Coole...
by lenny
Wed Jun 07, 2006 10:59 am
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: Gigabyte's RAM drive card w/battery backup...
Replies: 348
Views: 212561

by lenny
Thu May 18, 2006 7:51 am
Forum: The Silent Front
Topic: Silent mice... no more clicking noises!
Replies: 30
Views: 27044

Heard from Logitech a couple of days ago that the MX610 leftie edition is available for order direct from Logitech. Amazon has it for $65.94. Way to go, Amazon! Selling it for more than MSRP! Office Depot (through Amazon) offers it for $10 less.
by lenny
Wed May 10, 2006 11:30 am
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Tiny, Silent and Efficient: The picoPSU
Replies: 142
Views: 262131

Am I the only one thinking of using this device to convert an old AT power supply into an ATX power supply? Probably :twisted: Like Jaganath pointed out, it costs about as much as a quality ATX power supply. So you could do it, but it'll cost more, has less power, probably produce more noise (due t...
by lenny
Wed May 10, 2006 11:25 am
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Tiny, Silent and Efficient: The picoPSU
Replies: 142
Views: 262131

Minor quibbles: First page, in the table. "AC Input : 12V DC" seems kind of odd. Probably better just to say "Input". Ditto for "AC Input Current". It's probably also worthwhile to mention that the input needs to be regulated according to the manual, which would agree with Devon's guess that the 12V...
by lenny
Wed May 10, 2006 11:16 am
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Tiny, Silent and Efficient: The picoPSU
Replies: 142
Views: 262131

I think after this review a lot more SPCR users may be switching to PicoPSU units. A couple of downsides which put me off them: 1) Good luck finding a 12V AC/DC brick >100W without a fan. 2) Good luck finding a 12V AC/DC brick >100W for less than £40 here in the UK. 3) a picoPSU + AC/DC brick will...
by lenny
Tue May 09, 2006 9:02 am
Forum: The Silent Front
Topic: Silent mice... no more clicking noises!
Replies: 30
Views: 27044

Greetings, It might help if we all requested to be notified when it comes out? http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/details/US/EN,CRID=2135,CONTENTID=11532 I'm a righty, but I mouse so much, that I need to use one of these to rest my right arm/wrist/hand. Already did that, haven't heard anyth...
by lenny
Tue May 09, 2006 8:34 am
Forum: The Silent Front
Topic: Silent mice... no more clicking noises!
Replies: 30
Views: 27044

hapveg wrote:Wow, left handed mouse from a major manufacturer.
It's almost mid May and it's still not released. Early April my foot. If anyone happen to see their left handed CEO please pass on the message.
by lenny
Tue May 02, 2006 11:25 am
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: I need help buying a Socket 939 CPU Cooler
Replies: 6
Views: 4284

I have both the Ninja and XP-120. The XP-120 cools the VRM as well since it blows down, the Ninja has the CPU about 1C warmer but it's unfanned and not ducted on my system. Both are not exactly easy to install, but the XP-120 requires a lot more force. Either is a decent choice. With a P180 I'd say ...
by lenny
Fri Apr 28, 2006 10:20 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: System and onboard sound
Replies: 7
Views: 4424

Re: System and onboard sound

Whats more tricky is sound though. How is it with onboard sound these days? Is the analog output good enough? What boards have digital output, if any? I'm far from an expert in audio quality, but the main difference (other than CPU utilization in games which you're not interested in) is S/N ratio. ...
by lenny
Fri Apr 28, 2006 9:57 am
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Sonata mods
Replies: 118
Views: 164265

I've thought about doing that long time ago, but wasn't sure if the header on the MB could source enough current to drive the LEDs. Didn't want to burn out the headers. How bright are they when you have constant HDD activity?
by lenny
Thu Apr 13, 2006 10:07 am
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Sonata mods
Replies: 118
Views: 164265

toNka wrote:Let's see if anyone can guess what this Sonata mod is
Something for a fan? Can't quite see what the smaller connector is. Perhaps 4 pin molex to 3 pin adapter, maybe with a resistor inline?
by lenny
Tue Apr 04, 2006 8:26 am
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: Hitachi's T7K500 and 7K160 with 160gb platters
Replies: 25
Views: 23356

1W extra for SATA vs. PATA? Wow, that's a large percentage difference! I guess it means the SATA ASICs have not been tweaked as much as PATA?

Choice is good, I guess. 1/2 TB HDs are still hovering above $0.50/GB. And 160GB on one platter is nice.
by lenny
Mon Apr 03, 2006 12:47 pm
Forum: Fans and Control
Topic: Fans in parallel?
Replies: 7
Views: 5072

Look for a relatively quiet 24V fan. But unless you're prepared to pay high prices and order from DigiKey or have easy access to them, it's easier modding the fan's power connector (if it is a 4 pin Molex type) to run off 5V (or 7V if you're adventurous). A fanmate is a fairly inexpensive alternative.
by lenny
Thu Mar 30, 2006 4:36 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: active PFC *REQUIRED* on PSUs to work on UPS's??
Replies: 18
Views: 11706

Oleg Artamonov wrote:Moreover, some active PFCs (with full range input voltage only) may not work with some UPSes.
Really? No experience here regarding that. All I can contribute is my Seasonic S12 (active PFC) works with my Belkin UPS.
by lenny
Thu Mar 30, 2006 11:58 am
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: SpeedFan Not Picking Up New Drive
Replies: 6
Views: 5081

patord, what MB are you using?

I have a Hitachi 7K250 meower and a Seagate 7200.8 in there. Individually, the drives all get picked up fine. Together, only the first drive gets detected.
by lenny
Thu Mar 30, 2006 11:54 am
Forum: The Silent Front
Topic: Silent mice... no more clicking noises!
Replies: 30
Views: 27044

qviri wrote:Wow, $60 for a mouse, that's a novel idea to me...
$60? That's nothing.

Oops, wrong rodents.

The regular MX610 is available for $45 or even lower. Still pricey for a mouse - my threshold is about $30 for a good ambidextrous mouse, but I'm willing to cough up more for a good lefty mouse.
by lenny
Thu Mar 30, 2006 11:19 am
Forum: The Silent Front
Topic: Silent mice... no more clicking noises!
Replies: 30
Views: 27044

NeilBlanchard wrote:And you can even get a left handed model.
:shock: Is there an emoticon for wild enthusiasm?

I'd given up on major manufacturers making lefty mice anymore.

Damn, not available yet... *sigh*
by lenny
Wed Mar 29, 2006 11:23 am
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: SpeedFan Not Picking Up New Drive
Replies: 6
Views: 5081

I've given up on VIA chipsets. I have an Asus A8V. SMART can't detect my second drive either. It only picks up my first drive. Depending on BIOS and / or driver versions, it either picks up only the first drive only, or the first drive twice. It doesn't matter which drive is first and which is secon...
by lenny
Tue Mar 28, 2006 3:04 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: active PFC *REQUIRED* on PSUs to work on UPS's??
Replies: 18
Views: 11706

Active PFC is not required. UPS run time will probably be decreased, but I've never tested to see by how much. But it'll still provide plenty of time for you to shut down your system. 750VA seems overkill for your needs though.
by lenny
Fri Mar 24, 2006 10:23 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: A quiet but affordable 1.5 Terabyte home file server
Replies: 25
Views: 14055

Re: unRAID

sonofdbn wrote:It's worth taking a look at unRaid, which offers these features:
That's the CM Stacker case! :-)

Interesting product. Should be sufficient for 2 simultaneous users, built using pretty low end parts. Wonder if the software is open source...
by lenny
Wed Mar 22, 2006 12:52 pm
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: Gigabyte's RAM drive card w/battery backup...
Replies: 348
Views: 212561

Copper wrote:The i-RAM's battery does not get charged when the computer is off. The standby voltage it receives when the computer is shutdown apparently only refreshes the memory chips so data isn't lost.
This is great info, thanks!
by lenny
Tue Mar 21, 2006 10:54 am
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: Really cheap quieting
Replies: 32
Views: 21131

Chris, duct tape will dry up and fall off after some time. They also leave residue behind. Clear packing tape (transparent tape used for sealing boxes) works better for me. I usually fold 1/4" at one end over itself to make it not sticky to give myself something to pull if I want to remove it but th...
by lenny
Mon Mar 20, 2006 4:11 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: A quiet but affordable 1.5 Terabyte home file server
Replies: 25
Views: 14055

The CM Stacker seems to be a good choice if you need loads of HDD space. Get an extra HDD cage. It may not be the quietest case around, but if it's just a server you're going to hide in a closet this should not make that much of a difference. If you want a larger case that may be easier to mod for l...
by lenny
Mon Mar 20, 2006 3:33 pm
Forum: The Silent Front
Topic: lloyd case's extremetech article on a silent pc
Replies: 10
Views: 8835

I didn't think it was that bad. The 600W is overkill but he did give his reason - the ability to run SLI in the future. I think he succeeded in his objectives, to build a quiet killer gaming system without extensive modding using readily available parts. I doubt if we can improve much on the system ...
by lenny
Fri Mar 17, 2006 11:09 am
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: Really cheap quieting
Replies: 32
Views: 21131

Did a noise analysis, the PSU and HDDs are the biggest offenders. CPU fan a non-issue next to them. My WD1200 whines really badly. Don't recall if it gradually got noisier or if it started off that way. It's about 4 years old, and doesn't get used much (sitting in an external enclosure now). Pretty...
by lenny
Wed Mar 15, 2006 1:34 pm
Forum: The Silent Front
Topic: Silent mice... no more clicking noises!
Replies: 30
Views: 27044

Dang, you beat me to it. By almost a day too from the looks of it :-) Thanko has some very, erm, interesting products. Some of which I'm pretty sure they OEM from someone else (e.g. the USB Wireless lock). A USB flower pot speaker? Erm, maybe next time. The Boss Switch looks useful though. Too bad t...
by lenny
Wed Mar 15, 2006 1:11 am
Forum: The Silent Front
Topic: Ultimate silencing challenge for SPCR
Replies: 2
Views: 3398

I seriously doubt SPCR will get one of these to review. Getting Tyan to send one is highly improbable - this is nowhere close to their target market. No one could want to boost their Folding@Home score that badly :-) Besides, getting 16 individual machines will probably be cheaper and give you highe...
by lenny
Mon Mar 13, 2006 2:46 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: S12-380 cable extensions needed?
Replies: 3
Views: 2475

Depending on interface cards and cable length you might need an extension. I have a Rev 1 S12-430 in a P180 with Asus A8V Deluxe. The ATX12V is stretched to its limit. I even unbraided the cable to get an extra 0.5" or so, and mounted the PSU with the fan on top. Without any PCI cards, I might have ...