Hi, I would say, based on what I've read, that the S12-430 would be a fine choice. If you're sure you going to go SLI in the future then you may want to consider the S12-500 as it has 2 PCI-e graphics card power leads, the lesser models only have one, although you can get adapters. Some general poin...

Hi, which Zalman cooler do you have? It could be that causing the noise. Unplugging/stopping the fan for a few seconds won't cause any problem and will tell you what noise it makes. Otherwise unplug all fans, drives etc and turn PC on for few seconds, with your fanless PSU it should be silent. (Prop...

As I mentioned before I’m not usually satisfied for long so some more refinement has been in order. The main issue had become the PSU; everything else had been quietened to the point that it was the loudest item. I think that turning the rear case fans down could actually increase the noise level as...

Hi, I have a Maxtor Diamondmax 10 300GB SATA and I can definitely change the AAM setting. In my system the drive is enclosed and decoupled from the case and the seeks are quiet but audible. Turning AAM on make a lot of difference, the seek noise disappears. The idle noise is nothing like as quiet as...

Hi, My Dad's PC (formally mine) has been running with the fan in the PSU at 7V for several years with out problem. Apart from changing the fan a few months ago as the original one had got noisy due to being ~6 years old. This is a 92mm fan in a Powerman 235w PSU powering P3 650 system. My Mum's P2 4...

Hi, the quietness (or not) of the Maxtor DiamondMax 10 has been discussed several time recently, there is a thread with >100 posts in it on the subject. I have no personal experience but from what I've read I would guess its a good drive for all but the most noise obsessed of people. (not that any u...

Recomended Fans At 12V, the smoothest and quietest 80mm fan I've heard, better than the best Panaflo samples. Still a touch of whine. Ramps down smoothly as voltage is dropped; does not start reliably under 7V. Very high consistency. The price for such low noise is low airflow. RPM sensor in 3-pin ...

Hi, as has been said Socket A coolers will fit on to socket 370, as long as the cooler doesn't interfere with components on the motherboard. You P3 is only around 30w so isn't difficult to cool quietly. I would recommend an Arctic Cooling copper silent 2TC as it is very quiet at low temps, which giv...

Just a quick tip for MBM. On my board (Asus A7N8X) I found it wouldn't see below ~1500 rpm with the default "fan divider" of 2. Having taken it up to 32 it now reads down to ~1000rpm. More doesn't seam to make any differance.
Seb

Hi, I think the Panaflo's have quite a lot of variation. I have 4 and one is like you describe, think some of the others are better, not certain though. Someone with larger sample care to comment? They use fluid bearings, its not servicable in any way that I'm aware of. If the fluid's leaked out I w...

Hi, what you have looks right. Can you put the fan back so its just on the motherboard header and check its all still working? Was it working before?
My board won't recognise <~1500rpm in bios nor in MBM till I adjust the divider (or whatever its called) then can get down to ~1000rpm
Seb

Hi all, I think I understand what wim is getting at, he may be right. However I like the one that says "when theory and reality conflict, reality always wins." My practical experience was that when I modded my case to take 2 80mm fans at the back instead of the original 1 I was able to get better co...

Hi, I use a fanmate in series with Zalman MFC1, which I believe is the same ciruitry. The fanmate is inside the case and set to max. The MFC1 then gives me range 1000~2300rpm against (IIRC) 1300~2400 with just the fanmate. It is significantly quieter at 1000~1100rpm than 1300~1400 with little loss o...

Hi, I have a 92mm fan PSU (like the 120mm fan ones that around now, but smaller fan) which I 7V modded several years ago. Apart from changing the fan a few weeks ago (it is ~ 8 years old!) it’s been running fine. As there are ground (0V), +5V and +12V lines in a PSU the easiest way to get 7V is to c...

Hi dfrost, the P4 3.06 is the older chip and runs on the 133 (533) front side bus. The P4 3.0 is part of the newer P4C range and runs on the 200 (800) front side bus. The P4 being the bandwidth hungry thing it is the 3.0 will out perform the 3.06. I think the "C" revision may have brought other chan...

Hi, my suggestion is to use the largest heatsink you have/can get ( eBay is good) and use 80mm fan on it, fitted anyhow you like. I ran a P3 650 @ 866 like this for a long time. Picture of how I did it, the fan is not fitted in the picture but you can see how it would be held over the heatsink. The ...

Hi, is it a A7N8X model by any chance? Mine does exactly the same, except when the CPU is under full load and as the machine runs a distibuted computing project (like Folding but not) it's not an issue. I get e few squeals when it goes from one unit to the next but apart from that... And of course t...

Hi, the general consenseous is that the Nexus 120mm fans are the best from a silent perspective. Very quiet at 12V and undervolt smoothly with no mechanical noise. If the Nexus's top end of 1000rpm/37CFM isn't enough I believe the Globe fan is highly recommended, it goes up to 2300rpm/95CFM. SPCR re...

Arctic Cooling Arctic fan 3 at Newegg. Not even expensive at $3.99 each.

Seb

Hi shawn811, Welcome to SPCR [/size] Not sure exactly what your asking with your gyroscope references... Unless you spend lots of time moving your PC while its running I don't think it's of any significance. It is recommended not to move a PC while the HDD is spinning. HDD bearings do wear over time...

Hi, I believe the latest version of the Hitachi drives (more specifically the firmware) doesn't "mee-oww". If you get one that does a firmware upgrade should fix it. I haven't seen any conclusive evidence on the 7200.8 yet, although if appears to continue the Seagate tradition of loud seeks on the S...

Hi, the Zalman MFC1 is rated for 7w (~0.58A) per channel so as long as the total wattage of the 2 or more fans is below that it should be fine. I've got a pair of 80mm L1As on one channel of mine. I've done the faceplate mod with a slight variation. As the face plate in my case is held in place with...

Hi, I have a 80GB 'cuda ATA IV and I think it used to do the same thing. Certainly when it was new it would do it all the time, one recommendation was to leave the drive powered up but inactive, e.g. as second drive in a PC for it to "get it out of its system". I don't remember if I did or if it hel...

Hi, if you take a look at QuietPC you'll find they sell " AcoustiCases " which come with no PSU and pre cut acoustic material. The case is a derivative of Antec 3700 / Compucase design, which is pretty good. You still have to fit it yourself but at least its all already cut to size and instructions ...

Hi, does you case use drive rails for the CD-ROM drives? If so that's whats causing you problems. Without rails you just slot it in and put screws throught the holes/slots in the case and in to the threaded holes in the brackets on the back of it.

Seb

Hi, I think the Zalman ZM50 would be a good bet. As would the ZM80 or Aerocool VM-101 , although these are rather overkill. Personally I use a VGA Silencer (original series not new ATI x) and its OK on low although I feed it 5V (instead of 12V) and have it on low which removes the faint clicking it ...

Hi Metallo, your 1GHz P3 runs 30-35 watts which is not too dificult to manage. I would look at Socket A Athlon coolers as they will fit (as long as no motherboard components are in the way of the bigger ones) and are designed for much higher loads so you can undervolt the fan / swap for slower quiet...

Hi, there are quite a few versions of the A7N8X. The A7N8X and A7N8X Deluxe come in versions 1.0x & 2.00. The A7N8X-E Deluxe (added bells & whistles) is newer and I'm not aware of revisions. I have Barton @ 2.2GHz (XP3200 speed) on A7N8X Deluxe with Zalman 7000a AlCu running 1000-1200 rpm (normal mi...

rei, unless you already have, try de-coupling the drive from the case. As a trial you could just sit it on foam in the bottom of the case to see how much difference it makes. Cost nothing and quick easy to do/undo. If that works you can then look at more permanent de-coupling methods. There are lots...

Hi, being more helpful and less flip, is it the seek noise or the idle noise that's bothering you? The seek noise is the clicking/clattering noise when the drives are working, e.g. loading windows or programs, best example when de-fragmenting. The idle noise is produced all the time and is a constan...