You are getting good components, it seems, but to choke such an expensive system with so little memory is a crime. I usually run 2-3GB memory on my MySQL servers (older dual Xeons). Then again, I have some big databases. Also, if you are running RAID 5, you should buy an extra drive for a spare. The...

If the SQL databases have any size at all, add memory. It makes a huge difference.

Try svc or sidewinder computers (recommended). There are many others. Try to get ones with the three-wire connections so that you can monitor the fan RPMs, and make sure they are L1A models (low speed). You can volt them down if you want with resistors, diodes or a simple fan controller (like the Za...

Before you run out and spend money, I'd suggest that you do some careful temperature monitoring of your CPUs. You can probably reduce the voltage on your CPU fans to reduce the noise. You could also replace their fans with Panaflos, if you want. I would also listen carefully to locate the worst soun...

You are most welcomed! The slot 1 computers were designed in an era where silent computing was just not important. The irony is that they did not suck much juice, and really did not need a lot of air flow to keep them cool. If you have a decent heat sink on the CPU -- and it does not have to be wond...

I thought I would give you a quick update on making Hoover -- the loudest computer I have ever heard -- not so loud. What I did was not too exotic, but it worked really, really well. I cut out the restrictive inlet and outlet grills in the power supply, and replaced the fan with a Panaflo L1A. I cut...

Just to echo what Mr Oblivious said, it seems P3 boards with ISA slots aren't completely unavailable. I have a P3 1 GHz at home on this board: http://www.shentech.com/sy7vba133u.html (who buys these for $85?), but I don't use the ISA slots. I only have a 40 cm fan on the CPU HS turned way down with...

The digital thermometer is a reasonable idea. Any idea what they cost? I paid about $10 for mine at target, but you can get ones designed to fit 3.5" or 5.25" bays if you want something nicer looking. OK, that's fine. I will look for a cheapie. I will probably just set up the machine and forget abo...

Considering the maximum safe temp for a p3, the original intended use of the machine, the 80cfm fan, the fans on the heatsink (I've got 2 passively cooled p3's of that speed or faster) and the fact the cpus are in an air duct, I think it's quite safe to say the cooling on that machine is complete o...

I just acquired an old HP Netserver E60, which is a dual PIII/SCSI machine. I got it because it has an ISA slot in addition to the PCIs of the era, and I need the ISA slot for an instrument controller, and the software runs only on NT 4. Ugh. In any event, it is the loudest computer I have ever hear...

Thanks for the reply. It is a shame that Aerocool did not go to the effort to shave off those few mm. It seems like a waste to get so close, and mess it up with something that is so easy to correct. You know the saying that good engineering does not cost any more than bad engineering... Owing to the...

I have noted that the Aerocool VM-101 also takes a single slot (namely, it does not occupy the neighboring one). There have been some discussions of this one in the forums, but it seems basically to be the same idea as those from Aerocase. I'll have to check to see if it would fit. Are there any oth...

My dual CPU/SCSI system is now pretty quiet other than the obnoxious cooling fan on my graphics card (nVidia Quadro FX1000). It looks like the only single-slot options to reduce the noise from the graphics card are those from Aerocase. Is that right? If so, I will ask them about what is needed for m...

I've seen Adda fans advertised at one of the major electronics suppliers. I don't know anything about them, so I decided to wait on delivery of the recommended Delta. They will be arriving at Sidewinder later in the month.

DrJ

Thanks for the reply -- these do look pretty good (and they are easy to come by). Do you know if they come in a three-wire version? If not, this is probably not a big deal, as I don't think there is an on-die CPU temperature monitor anyway.

I'm looking for a "quiet" 50mm x 50mm x 10mm fan with roughly 9 cfm of air flow. No, none of these is truly quiet, but that is the only size that will work for me. So please do not suggest using a large or thicker one. (This is for an old Sun Ultra 1E clone). I've come across the Evercool line, and ...

Bat, I've given no thought to oxygen "scavanging," though redox reagents would work. Choose the redox potential carefully -- I wouldn't think that you'd want to precipitate metals (some of which will dissolve, albeit not much) somewhere in the system. I don't recall what we added for larger systems ...

Let me address the question that started this thread. You have two basic choices to get drivers that will work for you: the (old) open-source ones, and nVidia's binary ones. What you choose will largely be a function of what you want to do with your computer. If you need fast 3D for games or solids ...

I'm no XFree fanboy, but it is quite easy to have both monitors use hardware acceleration in XFree. You can run dual independent X sessions (one on each monitor), or MergedFB (a Xinerama-like mode that uses a single frame buffer); both will give full acceleration if you have the DRI extensions set u...

I went through the same question when I set up my dual-monitor FreeBSD system. What you have to answer is "what do you want to use your computer for?" If you only need a 2D system (namely, you don't play games or do solids rendering) then a Matrox with the open-source driver works well. The G550 wil...

I don't quite understand your questions, so let me talk around them to see if I hit on something that makes sense. In the researator, as I understand it (and bear in mind I've not seen one) you have a tube that is partially (half? two-thirds? a bit more?) filled with water. A pump draws it out of th...

>> Even most "closed" systems have an access point for filling and bleeding, be it a T-line or a small reservoir. Only one? I would think that two (or a two-way valve) would be much more useful. As has been said, it is hard to push on a rope. >> The Res1 has the huge opening in the top for this purp...

Having a vent hole would seem to make the unit much more convenient to use and maintain. You don't have to "burp" it (like you do a car system), you can remove the top while it is running to add or remove coolant as you like (to measure the conductivity, pH or bacterial load, for example) or measure...

Does the Reserator have a vent hole? Probably a good idea, and again, not a big deal as long as the coolant has decent basic properties and the coolant is replaced once in a while. I'm not into water cooling on computers, but I suspect that your statement on scientifically-validated results in this ...

If you mean that you pick up a bit of carbon dioxide when you transfer it from container to the system, sure. Shouldn't make much difference. I admit that I don't understand the obsession with water purity for this application. Get rid of hardness, and make sure that there are chelating agents to ke...

Actually I don't think it will make much of a difference which type of water you use. As long as hardness is removed (namely, Ca, Mg, Mn and Fe) I doubt you would see any difference, particularly once antifreeze, anti-bacterials and anti-corrosives are added. FWIW, DI water is usually produced by me...

The mounting plate is irrelevent for mounting EATX boards in the Fong Kai 3xx cases; it is the drive configuration that matters. If the case has three 5.25" drive bays, then an EATX board will NOT fit. OTOH, if it has 2 5.25" drive bays and 4 internal HDD bays, then an EATX board WILL fit. The latte...

You know, I'd strongly recommend staying away from Fong Kai. They simply do not honor their promises. To your question, here is the reply I received from fkusa regarding the very adapter you are talking about: "I have since discovered that the OEM for this chassis concluded the120mm rear fan was mor...

It is a very intersting material, but don't hold your breath for its use for bulk computer acoustic insulation. The material is unbelievably brittle and fragile (and expensive). The state of the art has undoubtedly progressed since I worked with it (15 years ago) to include copolymers that improve i...

Well, windows does have some issues with their SCSI drivers -- this is well known (see the forums on www.2cpu.com, for example). I wouldn't know; I only use SCSI drives with FreeBSD; the windows machines all have IDEs. SCSI controllers certainly have DMA capabilities, and have for a very long time. ...