Search found 184 matches

by bobkoure
Sat Jan 23, 2010 9:53 am
Forum: Green Computing
Topic: a bit of pollution for green
Replies: 3
Views: 4332

Re: a bit of pollution for green

colm wrote:like a car that recycles its own exhaust....
Erm google "EGR" - turns out some actually do recycle their exhaust - to control combustion temps.
by bobkoure
Sat Jan 23, 2010 9:49 am
Forum: Green Computing
Topic: Low Power BIOS Settings?
Replies: 6
Views: 9538

Not BIOS - but give rmclock a look. You can set idle clock and voltage as well as control state-change hysteresis.
I use it on all my laptops and get longer battery life.
Free, btw...
by bobkoure
Sat Apr 04, 2009 5:18 am
Forum: Deals, Vendors and Classifieds
Topic: FS: 120mm Fan shrouds
Replies: 1
Views: 1949

That's exactly what they're for.
Before these appeared, the trick was to buy a cheap fan and "gut" it to get the blades a bit farther from the radiator fins and so reduce noise.
by bobkoure
Wed Jan 14, 2009 10:18 am
Forum: The Silent Front
Topic: I am behind the times, I just got vista premium.
Replies: 31
Views: 16017

Slow and more fragile? Slow is definitely not true. Running a fast core 2 duo with lots of memory? Have you done an A/B on the same hardware? Yes, less of an issue as "typical" hardware gets faster. BTW, are you saying that Vista does not have end-to-end video encryption? That doesn't slow things d...
by bobkoure
Fri Jan 09, 2009 5:37 am
Forum: The Silent Front
Topic: I am behind the times, I just got vista premium.
Replies: 31
Views: 16017

A major part of what's wrong with Vista is Microsoft's fault. They chose to implement end-to-end video encryption. Ostensibly this is to make piracy by "recording the analog stream" impossible. IMO they did this for a business reason - put MS is a better negotiating place with the various mafIAAs "s...
by bobkoure
Fri Dec 05, 2008 7:02 am
Forum: The Silent Front
Topic: Which desktop PC is the most silent
Replies: 25
Views: 11827

Actually, you can use eDead on everything in your PC case that might resonate, which will get rid of the buzz/hum (but will not remove seek noise).
And, of course, you can both suspend and de-resonate...
by bobkoure
Mon Dec 01, 2008 2:29 pm
Forum: Green Computing
Topic: More efficient wall-warts
Replies: 8
Views: 11591

You mean something like this or this ? Yep. The easiest way to make an adapter cable is to get some molex "shells" and some "pins". The pins crimp on the conductors of your wire, then push into the shell. The cheapest way to get barrel connectors (particularly unusual sizes) is to find a cheap 'war...
by bobkoure
Sat Oct 18, 2008 9:07 am
Forum: The Silent Front
Topic: Solution to coil whine
Replies: 3
Views: 4138

Also I read somewhere that TV servicemen occasionally paint coil windings with some kind of enamel which reduces whine. This was very common "back in the day" of serviceable televisions. The stuff was called "coil lacquer". I'd imagine that there are substances that would work better now available ...
by bobkoure
Wed Sep 10, 2008 5:58 am
Forum: The Silent Front
Topic: What [do] heatpipes contain[?]
Replies: 8
Views: 8360

TheAtomicKid wrote:water converting to steam undergoes a 1-1680 expansion ratio...
I think you might be forgetting that, as water converts, pressure goes up - and vaporization (for a finite heat source) goes down...
by bobkoure
Wed Sep 10, 2008 5:53 am
Forum: The Silent Front
Topic: What [do] heatpipes contain[?]
Replies: 8
Views: 8360

A fluid vaporizes more readily as ambient pressure goes down (sometimes AKA "vapor pressure"). So, theoretically, at least, you could use any fluid/pressure combination such that it would vaporize at the temp of the item you want to cool. (even hydrogen under very high pressure) If you're experiment...
by bobkoure
Thu Sep 04, 2008 6:20 pm
Forum: The Silent Front
Topic: Logitech Illuminated Keyboard
Replies: 30
Views: 37915

I forgot to mention - I'm using a saitek keyboard (a gamer's board) for coding - and love the key action. I hate the illumination though - but I don't work in the dark. AFAICT there are two kinds of keyboard users. - the heel-of-hand resters (that'd be me). I'm reading more than typing, even when ju...
by bobkoure
Thu Sep 04, 2008 6:13 pm
Forum: The Silent Front
Topic: Logitech Illuminated Keyboard
Replies: 30
Views: 37915

It's easy to spot the "Windows generation" with their awkward X-C-V ;) Well... there are some of us who switched from ctl-ins to ctl-v (and such-like) when moving from OS/2 to NT. The issue was that a lot of doc processors didn't work that great with just the keyboard - so it was right hand on the ...
by bobkoure
Wed Jul 30, 2008 5:10 am
Forum: Deals, Vendors and Classifieds
Topic: eWiz/Newbiiz
Replies: 7
Views: 6408

If I'm checking out a web merchant I haven't dealt with before, I go to Reseller Ratings and look them up. It's no help for finding out which ones might ship internationally, but it might help steer you away from shady operators who claim to ship internationally. FWIW, this is loads more important w...
by bobkoure
Wed Jul 23, 2008 5:15 am
Forum: Deals, Vendors and Classifieds
Topic: For Sale or Trade: Seasonic S12-II 380 (price reduced)
Replies: 4
Views: 3109

I think the problem is that the made-by-Seasonic EarthWatts PS in that range was recently on sale at Newegg in the $30 range. I bought two: one for a build and one for a spare. I'd guess there are a number of folks with EW PSs spares about now. This is a great PS, much lower noise than the EW (I've ...
by bobkoure
Wed Mar 05, 2008 12:32 pm
Forum: Watercooling
Topic: Watercooling obsolete?
Replies: 188
Views: 169909

...The 1048 is quite sensitive to having the impeller properly balanced and free to spin. If it gets dirt in it or is for some reason slightly off centre, it can make more noise. You can also mod it with PTFE tape to prevent that happening. The PTFE mod means that it could potentially jam if dirt e...
by bobkoure
Tue Jan 29, 2008 11:12 am
Forum: Watercooling
Topic: Wanted- flow sensor to auto-powerdown system
Replies: 7
Views: 9129

Why flow sensors? Why not measure temperature on whichever device will get hot the fastest if pumps or radiator fan fails (might be CPU, might be GPU). You'd still have plenty of time to shutdown gracefully, wouldn't impede flow (the more "oomph" you need to use to circulate your water, the louder t...
by bobkoure
Tue Jan 22, 2008 1:34 pm
Forum: Deals, Vendors and Classifieds
Topic: Antec P182 $100CAD, Antec Earthwatts 430W $40CAD at Dell
Replies: 1
Views: 2430

Lists as USD60 now.
BTW, I have a couple of the EarthWatt 380 PSs - but they're for low-wattage servers in the basement as they're not silent.
by bobkoure
Thu Jan 10, 2008 5:11 am
Forum: Watercooling
Topic: Coolsleeves seem to be available again
Replies: 0
Views: 3080

Coolsleeves seem to be available again

If you're vibration isolating a pump, think about using soft silicone thin-wall tubing for the sections directly connected to the pump. This is only practical if you also use cool sleeves to keep the tubing from collapsing. These were out of stock everywhere for some while, but now appear to be back...
by bobkoure
Sat Jan 05, 2008 6:07 am
Forum: Watercooling
Topic: Quietest 12v pump?
Replies: 62
Views: 74410

Just got two DD-CPX1's QUIETEST PUMPS I've tried. 1. DD-CPX1 ~ Eheim 1048 (it's been a while since I had the Eheim, but it was freaking quiet when mounted and bled properly) 2. Laing D5 @ 1 3. Laing DDC2 @ ~10V (on Sunbeam Rheobus) And... Eheim 1046 is quieter than the 1048 (by a lot) Eheim/Innovat...
by bobkoure
Sat Jan 05, 2008 5:48 am
Forum: Watercooling
Topic: i need to quieten my pumps :o
Replies: 2
Views: 4632

When the pumps are running, can you touch the enclosure they're in and feel vibration? If so, maybe work on reducing the vibration transmitted from the pumps to the enclosure. - Get some "gel stuff" pads from Petra's - Add something non-resonant beneath the pads - alternatively, suspend the pumps on...
by bobkoure
Wed Jan 02, 2008 6:33 am
Forum: Green Computing
Topic: Suggestions on low power server mboards and CPUs?
Replies: 11
Views: 13265

I've figured out that I have a memory problem (mysql is paging like mad - 150 to 300 in the page faults column while I'm waiting for the web page to come back). This m'board uses PC133 memory, has only two mem slots, both already have 512M. 1G of PC133 is $130-$150 these days, but I can get that C7 ...
by bobkoure
Mon Dec 31, 2007 12:22 pm
Forum: Green Computing
Topic: Suggestions on low power server mboards and CPUs?
Replies: 11
Views: 13265

So something like a mobile processor? Hmmm, I can find 25W turions, but I don't think there are desktop/server motherboards. On the other hand, I have a spare C3 and motherboard, so maybe I should take the time to set this one up with linux (rather than W2K), "just to see"... and $60, compared to tu...
by bobkoure
Mon Dec 31, 2007 11:19 am
Forum: Green Computing
Topic: Can someone explain CoolNQuiet & does it really save pow
Replies: 12
Views: 9818

I think it's a function of what you're doing with the particular PC, as you can decide when things ramp up and down.
by bobkoure
Sun Dec 30, 2007 5:40 pm
Forum: Green Computing
Topic: Suggestions on low power server mboards and CPUs?
Replies: 11
Views: 13265

The major issue is actually disk I/O. I'm using something called "slimserver" to serve up audio to audio players called "squeezeboxes". The issue seems to be reading mysql tables (I don't know their schema, but there's, erm... 33407 "songs", so at least one table will contain that many rows. It's op...
by bobkoure
Sun Dec 30, 2007 2:35 pm
Forum: Green Computing
Topic: Suggestions on low power server mboards and CPUs?
Replies: 11
Views: 13265

Suggestions on low power server mboards and CPUs?

I've been using a PC based around a Via C3 as a server (under 60W with 1.5T storage), but it really doesn't seem to have enough oomph for everything I'm expecting it to do I'd just go with a C7 (uses a bit 5W more than the C3) and get 1.5X the processor speed, but I think the issue is the PCI bus (1...
by bobkoure
Sun Dec 30, 2007 2:18 pm
Forum: Green Computing
Topic: Can someone explain CoolNQuiet & does it really save pow
Replies: 12
Views: 9818

Erm - well you've spotted that I sometimes can't type - meant to type CnQ not QnQ. We're talking about the AMD driver that adjusts multiplier and voltage, yes? Go look at the rightmark stuff. They explain things better than I do - and you can then decide if it really has something to do with CnQ or ...
by bobkoure
Sun Dec 30, 2007 7:39 am
Forum: Green Computing
Topic: Can someone explain CoolNQuiet & does it really save pow
Replies: 12
Views: 9818

AFAIK the issue is mostly that QnQ is very "reluctant" to return to 100% levels. Of course, if you're using something like SiSoft Sandra CPU Burn then that'll likely push it there. If you're doing something more cycle-use-bursty it likely won't. If you'd like to see what happens on your own machine,...
by bobkoure
Sat Dec 29, 2007 3:13 pm
Forum: Green Computing
Topic: Can someone explain CoolNQuiet & does it really save pow
Replies: 12
Views: 9818

Sadly, CnQ doesn't actually get "back to two bars". If you've got a PC that's faster than you need anyway, this doesn't matter - otherwise maybe check out rmclock
http://cpu.rightmark.org/products/rmclock.shtml
Bob
by bobkoure
Fri Dec 21, 2007 12:04 pm
Forum: Green Computing
Topic: Efficient network switch?
Replies: 7
Views: 8698

I would pay attention to the type of AC power adapter the switch is shipped with, some are now shipping with a small, light AC adapter which will be more efficient than your typical wall-wart Right - switching PSes vs ones built around transformers and rectifiers. Another thought - if the gear is n...
by bobkoure
Wed Nov 21, 2007 11:56 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Quiet Linux-based fileserver (advice needed)
Replies: 14
Views: 6916

I'm doing pretty much the same thing you are thinking of, but my server's in the basement so the emphasis was more on "low power" (it's on 24x7) than" low noise" - but it's pretty quiet. I'm using a Via motherboard with Via C3 (old-style Celeron workalike), an Adaptec 5-SATA (4 port sata 1 - 150) a ...