Search found 66 matches

by Magic
Thu Dec 25, 2008 11:46 pm
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: What's everyone's favorite 1TB drive?
Replies: 37
Views: 18283

What's everyone's favorite 1TB drive?

Is there a consensus as to what the best one terabyte drive is when taking into account noise, performance, and cost?

Thanks
by Magic
Mon Sep 15, 2008 10:30 pm
Forum: Quiet Prebuilt, SFF and Barebones Systems
Topic: Anybody got the new MSI Wind PC?
Replies: 5
Views: 7358

I suppose for a little file server 0.3 doesn't matter, but why not just use a smart NAS? Because if you know what you are doing, Ubuntu provides a much more secure, flexible and manageable NAS solution then any of the appliances on the market. Of course, if you're not a linux guy---then it's not ne...
by Magic
Thu Aug 21, 2008 3:04 am
Forum: The Silent Front
Topic: Quieting down my server rack
Replies: 7
Views: 10013

I know racks are cool and all--- But I can't help but think you'd be better off just getting a regular case and rebuilding your server in that. Especially if it uses a standard ATX motherboard. How many harddrives are in the server? In the harddrive stack? Why do you need a switch with two fans for ...
by Magic
Sat Aug 16, 2008 6:36 pm
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: DG45FC looks promising for HTPC
Replies: 156
Views: 113549

Wow...the specs say it has 5 sata ports plus one esata. I like. :) Especially because it seems Intel likes to put only four sata ports on their micro-atx boards. Update: Whoops---looks like Dell's site was misleading...it's four sata ports, plus one external. It's so hard to find a good small board ...
by Magic
Fri Aug 15, 2008 6:30 pm
Forum: Quiet Prebuilt, SFF and Barebones Systems
Topic: Anybody got the new MSI Wind PC?
Replies: 5
Views: 7358

Yeah it actually looks pretty nice. I'd sort of like to get one to use as a file server (mainly backups using rsync.)

I'd love to see spcr get one of these and one of the eee boxes in and test them.
by Magic
Mon Aug 04, 2008 7:50 pm
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: Best 320GB 2.5 inch 5400rpm drive?
Replies: 0
Views: 1489

Best 320GB 2.5 inch 5400rpm drive?

So what's the best 320GB 5400 rpm drive these days? I'm leaning towards the Western Digital Scorpio WD3200BEVT---although the $30 rebate on the Hitachi at newegg is also interesting. Anything else I need to consider? I'm looking for the best combination of price, quietness and performance. Not neces...
by Magic
Tue Oct 30, 2007 11:41 pm
Forum: Deals, Vendors and Classifieds
Topic: Antec MX-1 enclosure 39.99+tax at Circuit City
Replies: 6
Views: 4998

alphabetbackward I think MX-100 is fanless so I wouldn't run it for more than 20 minutes at a time while MX-1 thanks to a relatively quiet fan can be run continuously without the risk of overheating. I run fanless cases very similar to the MX-100 for days on end with no problems. So do most people....
by Magic
Mon Oct 15, 2007 2:04 pm
Forum: Deals, Vendors and Classifieds
Topic: Selling my Antec Phantom 350W on eBay
Replies: 0
Views: 1881

Selling my Antec Phantom 350W on eBay

Hi... My gf is nice enough to sell my Antec Phantom 350 for me on eBay. (Something about her not wanting it to sit in our living room for the rest of our lives.) I originally bought this at the recommendation of this site. It's completely silent, no fans. :) http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?View...
by Magic
Sun Sep 16, 2007 11:14 pm
Forum: Deals, Vendors and Classifieds
Topic: I'm selling my Nexus NX-4090 on ebay...
Replies: 1
Views: 2206

If anyone is interested, the auction ends today at 1:23 pm Pacific.

It's still at $30, with one bid, so it should be a real bargain for someone.

Thanks :)
by Magic
Mon Sep 10, 2007 7:08 pm
Forum: Deals, Vendors and Classifieds
Topic: I'm selling my Nexus NX-4090 on ebay...
Replies: 1
Views: 2206

I'm selling my Nexus NX-4090 on ebay...

Hi... I'm selling (well technically my girlfriend is selling it) a Nexus NX-4090 that I bought a while back, but never used. Or even opened. I hope it's okay to mention it here. I think this will be great for someone who needs a very nice, and now inexpensive power supply. Starting bid is $30, plus ...
by Magic
Sat Jul 21, 2007 4:09 am
Forum: Site Feedback
Topic: Over a month since last SPCR review?
Replies: 16
Views: 12524

Micro-ATX tower reviews please....

I'd really like to see some more reviews of tower cases designed for Micro-ATX motherboards.

There are too many HTPC case reviews, not nearly enough Micro-ATX ones (imho).
by Magic
Sat Sep 23, 2006 12:13 am
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: 200GB laptop hard drives?
Replies: 9
Views: 5586

Dell offers them as an option on some notebook models. They've had them for a while. Possibly hp as well.... I've only seen them as 4200rpm drives.

I've never seen them sold directly though....
by Magic
Thu Jun 30, 2005 12:38 pm
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Replace BQE side panel with 3000B's panel?
Replies: 5
Views: 3732

Re: Replace BQE side panel with 3000B's panel?

Hi, I've been lurking around this board from time to time, and I've learned a lot from all of you. My system has an Antec 3700BQE case running an AMD 3200+ cpu. It's getting hot these days, and once in a while, the system shuts down due to CPU getting too hot. So, I am thinking of replacing the 370...
by Magic
Thu Jun 30, 2005 12:39 am
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: Quiet, fast DVD-ROM reading optical drives? Sony, NEC, etc?
Replies: 8
Views: 5061

Re: Quiet, fast DVD-ROM reading optical drives? Sony, NEC, e

I need a DVD-ROM drive for my next PC. They're all around $30-40, whether Sony, NEC, Pioneer, etc. I just want one that's quiet unlike my current Lite-On piece of junk that's noisy as heck. What do you recommend? edit: I think I'll just get one of these: NEC Black IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3540A - OE...
by Magic
Tue Jun 07, 2005 4:45 pm
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Thermalright paste vs. ceramique...
Replies: 10
Views: 4663

Thermalright paste vs. ceramique...

Blah...I can't find my tube of ceramique, and I really want to install my xp-120 in the next few days. (I've had it for months to replace my alcu-7000, but haven't gotten around to it.) Should I just use the thermalright paste included with the xp-120? Does it matter in the least? Or should I get a ...
by Magic
Tue May 24, 2005 3:06 pm
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: ASUS DRW-1608P?
Replies: 0
Views: 1346

ASUS DRW-1608P?

Anyone used this particular Asus drive? How quiet is it? I'm particularly interested in making sure it's quiet (compared to other drives) when playing movies. I can live with it being average during other times. I'm replacing a Plextor px-708 which just barfs all over the scratched disks I get from ...
by Magic
Sat Mar 05, 2005 12:46 pm
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Lifetime of Ceramique in an opened tube...
Replies: 2
Views: 2392

Lifetime of Ceramique in an opened tube...

I have some left over AS Ceramique. It's a bit more than a year old, and the cap is on. Any reason to suspect it's no longer good?

I'm going to replace my 7000alcu with a Thermalright XP-120. So the last thing I want is diminished efficacy from my Ceramique.

Thanks
by Magic
Fri Mar 04, 2005 12:34 pm
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: XP-120 with PCS800D-E Deluxe...
Replies: 3
Views: 2337

Frank...

Yep, that's the motherboard I meant. Sorry for the typo.

Thanks.
by Magic
Fri Mar 04, 2005 10:38 am
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: XP-120 with PCS800D-E Deluxe...
Replies: 3
Views: 2337

XP-120 with PCS800D-E Deluxe...

Thermalright's web site says that with this mb: "caps mechanically obstruct pipe very slightly, no cap tilting neccesary"

What do they mean?

I understand what cap tilting is. But how can it both obstruct and not need tilting?
by Magic
Wed Feb 23, 2005 10:10 am
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: 3700-bqe FYI
Replies: 12
Views: 5085

AntecRep wrote:Thanks, fixed the link.

AntecRep
Wow, I liked it better when I thought it was $7.95 (the broken link). Now it's $19.95.

Antec...have you run any tests as I talked about above?

Mike/Ralf...any chance of you guys running them?
by Magic
Tue Feb 22, 2005 10:40 pm
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: 3700-bqe FYI
Replies: 12
Views: 5085

Re: 3700-bqe FYI

For those of you who want the SLK3000B side panel (so the Intel recommended CAG 1.1 on it), we've made that available for purchase on our site via the SLK3000B page and the SLK3700BQE. http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=93703 When I try to buy this it says SLK1650/1650B air duct on m...
by Magic
Mon Feb 07, 2005 5:26 pm
Forum: Consumer Advocacy
Topic: Antec Phantom Users Poll
Replies: 211
Views: 344487

My phantom is fine. I've probably had it for about two months. It's at home, so I can't check the serial number. I covered up the annoying blue led light with some tape (being careful, of course, not to cover any vents). This makes it much nicer. I hate light pollution as much as I hate noise pollut...
by Magic
Fri Nov 26, 2004 1:50 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: SLK3700BQE psu
Replies: 10
Views: 4977

Just a note....Directron will sell you this case without the power supply. So you can put any power supply in it.

Of course, that doesn't help if you already have the power supply.
by Magic
Wed Nov 24, 2004 11:11 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: My NX-3500 is suddenly noisy...
Replies: 0
Views: 1286

My NX-3500 is suddenly noisy...

I have four of these, and the one on my main computer is suddenly making enough noise that I can hear it clearly....drat! It's a fairly beefy system, but I haven't changed anything recently. So I don't see why it should suddenly be making noise. I suspect the fan is failing....and the noise changes,...
by Magic
Wed Nov 24, 2004 11:06 pm
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: Need video card that is quiet and works under Linux...
Replies: 19
Views: 9063

Thanks for all the advice. I haven't tried changing the PciRetry line, but I will. Thinking back, I think the problem must have been introduced with some X upgrade or other. It turns out that by going from 24 bit to 16 bit everything works fine (except, of course, I now have 16 bit graphics....which...
by Magic
Tue Nov 09, 2004 12:15 pm
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: Fanless VGA Cards list -- a start!
Replies: 156
Views: 436395

These lists are great, but... Perhaps someone with enough knowledge can create from them a leaderboard with the one to three recommended cards for each price range.

Useful price ranges are probably
< $100
$100-200
$200-300
> $300
(but that's just a guess).
by Magic
Tue Nov 09, 2004 12:07 pm
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: Need video card that is quiet and works under Linux...
Replies: 19
Views: 9063

Okay...silly question, but if you encode a cd with flac under Linux, and then play the flacs and then you start moving windows around do you hear a very minute pause every once in a while? That's one of the problems that I think a new video card will solve. hmm, no pauses here. i usually use lame, ...
by Magic
Mon Nov 08, 2004 3:56 pm
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: Need video card that is quiet and works under Linux...
Replies: 19
Views: 9063

i'd go with the matrox. their 2D is the best. i have a g450 dvi and it was a snap to set up in linux (definitely easier than my radeon, at least :P). also see: 2cpu .com list of dual dvi cards Okay...silly question, but if you encode a cd with flac under Linux, and then play the flacs and then you ...
by Magic
Sun Nov 07, 2004 3:15 pm
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: Need video card that is quiet and works under Linux...
Replies: 19
Views: 9063

I have one of these , dual dvi and tv-out, I use it with two Eizo 17" TFT's, works like a charm. The only two issues I have with it is that NVidia's linux driver has a bit of a hard time with DPMS in linux, my #2 monitor doesn't shut down during powersave more than occationally, whereas the primary...
by Magic
Sun Nov 07, 2004 3:14 pm
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: Need video card that is quiet and works under Linux...
Replies: 19
Views: 9063

sthayashi wrote:The closest thing I can think of would be the Matrox P650, but Linux support appears to be a bit questionable. The G550-dual DVI may also work for you as well.
Thanks...although I enjoyed my Matrox card, I sort of thought they weren't keeping up these days with the competition from ATI and Nvidia?