I really think we should have some sort of ghetto appreciation thread in the General Gallery. The manner in which I mounted a 120mm Noctua fan to an old Zalman 7000AlCu deserves to be shared. Yep, cable ties.

Yeah, that Asus ROG Gsync model is damn near the same price in GBP as it is US dollars. £600 for a TN screen? Nothankyouverymuch. It's a shame that monitor development isn't where the big bucks are being made; the R&D just isn't there. I still have use of my 10-year-old Iiyama IPS screen as a second...

I've been keeping an eye on SSD prices recently, and was dead set on picking up an 850 Evo (256GB), but at the last minute spotted Amazon selling the Pro model for same price (give-or-take a few quid). I picked one up for £76, and they're currently sitting at £81. Most places are selling them at aro...

I commented on a post about HDD cooling which I quoted. Erm, except that it was actually a post questioning whether the Define S hard drive mounts could have been located in a better position (i.e. offering moderate - rather than zero - airflow). I totally understand (and largely agree with) your p...

I've been using a Dark Power Pro 550W since early 2013, and it's the one of the few things I've had no real reason to tinker with. I've spent time silencing my one conventional HDD, tried some alternative case fans, played with different GPU fan profiles etc... but the PSU is quiet enough and solid ...

http://download.gigabyte.eu/FileList/Manual/mb_manual_ga-b85n_e.pdf Looking at the manual for that board, the CPU_FAN has the fourth pin listed as 'speed control', whereas the SYS_FAN is listed as 'VCC' (with 'speed control' grouped in with the 2nd +12v pin). My assumption here is that the CPU heade...

Yeah, that's basically it. Some of the more detailed reviews I've read of g-sync as a technology point towards the biggest impact/improvement being around the 30-60 fps region, and really go against many of the forums full of people shouting 'ZOMG 144fps'. The big swings in frame rate (especially wh...

On-screen fluidity will be driven by Nvidia's G-sync tech. I was commenting on the GPU horsepower that would be needed to supply frames at a rate that would make use of the other bit (144Hz). Ah gotcha. I didn't spot that the link was for a g-sync screen. Should have known that I had missed somethi...

CA_Steve wrote:Monitor: 1440p and 144Hz....haha - good luck getting games to run at that speed.

Monitor refresh rate is independent of frame rate. It just increases the chance of a clean frame capture (i.e. reduced screen tearing) and should improve on-screen fluidity, regardless of FPS.

Depending on local pricing, you could take a look at the MSI 960 if your budget covers it (cost might be too high in euros). If not, then the 750Ti will be a reasonable upgrade for those games. I've seen a few sites suggesting that the 750Ti is due for a price drop to make room for the new 950, so i...

Nothing much to add really, looks like a more recent version of my own setup. If you're undervolting/clocking then I can't see the i7 giving you any issues with heat, especially if you're looking at coupling it with a premium cooler. I'm quite drawn to the idea of the NH-C14 for a bit of extra mothe...

Correct!

Rogue75 wrote: If it doesn't work out, I'll get a Deep Silence 2 or Fractal Define XL (R1 or R2) and punch a hole for the window

Sounds more like property renovation to me. Why not go for a nice westerly-facing veranda?

*rubs chin* I'll be keen to see how the reviews for this pan out. Looks like a chubby Shuttle, and a good update/variation to the Node 304. As much as I like some of the slim home theater type cases, I'm always going to lean towards an ATX PSU and a low power GPU for better versatility (HTPC / Music...

Wow. If that's your 'typewriter spec', I'd love to see your ideas for a high-end gaming machine!

The P183 is a little more focused on dampening and quiet operation, but if all other things are equal, you shouldn't notice much difference with well-chosen components. Striving for fanless operation can sometimes be counter-productive if you want to maintain a level of performance - good quality fa...

Oops. I'm getting too engrossed in the flow of chat it would seem. Ah well, I'm sure it's all still relevant (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it). Maybe we need a sub-forum for recovering ex-Solo fanatics?

As I understand it, fans themselves don't dictate their starting RPM. It's more likely that you have PWM fans that run at 12v / full speed (or at a default speed set on your motherboard) until the OS loads, at which point the fan control is taken over by software and throttles down to your chosen se...

If you can fit 140mm fans without any issues (i.e. you can), then always use 140mm fans. If you're planning on using software such as Fan Xpert and have sufficient 4-pin fan headers for both the CPU and case, then by all means go for PWM fans. If you prefer to have three fans (e.g. two front / one r...

Aye, going from a 40L to a 55L case is not inconsiderable if you're already pushed for space. From recollection it's also about 5-6cm longer too. In fact, I think even the Arc Mini and the Define Mini (both mATX) edge out the Solo in terms of overall dimensions. That said, if you're ultimately aimin...

SPCR's reviews show that the SOLO II and R5 have similar cooling performance. I couldn't see any direct comparison here, given the variation in the test components. The Solo II is compared to the R2/R3, but the revisions to the subsequent models (and current Editor's choice) suggest it has marginal...

http://www.pcper.com/files/imagecache/article_max_width/review/2014-11-21/R5_HDD_BAYS.jpg http://www.fractal-design.com/media/3665da61-3661-4668-9de4-39b219ca6bc6 I'm using the R4 myself so I'm only going on the photos above for ideas for the R5. The HDD cage certainly similar to the R4 but not iden...

It could well be that the 804 is your only option if you're definitely sticking with the 4x 3.5" drives. The closest is probably the Corsair 250D (2cm shorter), but it's a 2x 2.5 & 2x 3.5 drive layout.

Just modify your furniture. What's the worst that could happen?

The coil whine is an odd one. On the one hand I've seen a thread where a setup with 2x Strix 970s resulted in one perfectly quiet card and one with modest coil whine. On the other hand, I've also read a post where someone has gone through 4 different cards from 3 manufacturers (EVGA/MSI/Gigabyte) in...

Slightly off-topic:

Ohh, all good info. I'm actually waiting on RMA results for an MSI 780, and had half-expected the 970 to be the likely replacement. I'll definitely be checking out that link on coil whine!

For most uses, there may well be no discernible difference between them. Gaming will probably be the area when you'd be able to see the difference (framerate etc), but you're generally talking about a 10-20% jump between the 970 and 980 depending on the game. The type of outputs may have some impact...

I think the Strix will turn off at lower temperatures, so should effectively be semi-passive. I've used the MSI 780 and it throttles down to about 35% on moderate loads, and is essentially inaudible. The newer Frozr on the 970 should be similar if not quieter. Both cards will certainly ramp up under...

Ah, I see your point. Are you thinking more of shuttle-sized cases? The main sticking point for me would probably be the PSU rather than airflow; I'm not sure if I'd want to build a system off the current crop of SFX units (i.e. with a 970 in mind).

Now, if I could hook one up to a Pico...

*cough*

Typically they draw air from inside the case and blow it down across the heat sink and some of the PCB components of the card itself. The blower style cards (typically Nvidia/AMD reference designs) will expel some of the air out of a rear exhaust but can be noticeably louder and will run a bit hotte...

From what I've read, you're limited to a PSU that's strictly 140mm in length, and a CPU cooler that's no taller than 78mm. I guess the RAM height will depend on the cooler, but if you're looking at certain low-profile options, then your current RAM might be troublesome as well. It may be worth seein...