Some Micro-ATX boards come with features that full-ATX boards lack e.g. integrated video (and in the case of AMD 690G chipset ones - HDMI), Micro-ATX boards also have the advantage of being physically smaller so the headers for USB/Firewire and front panel are more accessible. In the case of a HTPC ...

Magpies maybe the bane of your life waking you up at 4 in the morning, but the bird that really annoys me is Pigeons. There cooing has many a time lost me sleep as they nest hidden in a conifer tree and perch on one of our chimneys (we have 3). If I had a guyn, I would shoot them, thank god they are...

I think that jaganath is refering to mass flow of fluid (air) IIRC from the lessons taught to me by my Thermodynamics lecturer, an old scottish fella called Dan Anderson, "Cooling" is dependant on the Volume Flow rate measured in metres cubed per sec or cubic feet per minute (cfm), the ambient temp ...

Cardboard on the underside surface of the Zen should stop the airflow short circuit. This would mean that the rear case fan pull airs through the Ninja (ducting may help).

You could then mount the fan formerly used for the CPU near the Zen, adding valuable cooling.

yes it fine to turn on a PSU, using the powerstrip, although using the power switch is more convenient. I have not known of premature failure that way. With the old p1 and p2 systems, you will have noticed that old AT boards had a switch that was connected via a black cable to the PSU. That was the ...

I would agree with Isaac Kuo on the 220mm fan issue, I don't think that such a fan is suitable in your case. On initial appearance, i think putting a big hole in the front and having one 120mm fan on the bottom and modding the front facia to accept another 120mm fan, but running at 5V would work. Do...

You can silence a case with a window. I have with my Thermaltake Xaser V Wingo. What i did was concentrate on the source of the noise rather than damping down what noise was produced. In the end, I did not need to spend money on damping material and I got a drop in cpu/system temp due to a reduction...

it seems like the most that you need is to reinstall windows as the all the details you have quoted seem ok for what you intend the comp for. I think that the OS install has become a bit bloated, hence the slow down. If you want to upgrade the ram, I would save money and go for a 1Gb 266 (DDR 2100) ...

try swapping the cables around and cleaning the fan inside the PSU, that did allot to prolong the life of my Mercury 300w that was undervolting on the 5V line.

Are you talking about desk fans? and the fans inside fridges? I know with desk fans, there are some quiet ones out there, but its juts luck of the draw. I think the 60hz supply may also create resonance when used with certain sized fans of certain speeds in the same way that a 70mm fan does with a 7...

IBM has taken the notion of minimal TIM application to the extreme with the diagonal crosses. They have figured that having diagonal crosses in the middle of the heat sink will increase the rate of heat transfer by creating Hi and low spots the TIM. These combined with the slightly increases surface...

Looks like a pretty solid rig. How does the new Thermaltake A1 perform? Any temp data? What have you done with the original Antec tri-cools? It looks like you have zip-tied the smart fan 2 to a 12cm fan frame - Is that from the Antec tricool? Here is a pic of what I did to mount my 90mm Tt Smart Fan...

I am quite desapointed with thie review as there was no mention of the Xilence 92mm fan and any idea of how it comparred with the reference Nexus. This fran is beiong recomended by teh guys as Aria.co.uk as being quiet and I agree..but by how much?

wonder if Clinton even visited Arkansas :p

Duh! of course he did, Even i know that he was State governor of Arkansas and I'm British!

Since I have been a member of the SPCR forums, i have seen Thermaltake and ThermalRock (its budget subsidiary) take a huge hit from SPCR reviewers and forum users alike. I signed up the Thermaltake email news letter to keep up with the raft of new products that Thermaltake releases every year (and m...

According to Via http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/processors/c7/ The maximum TDP for the Via C7 is 12W. It would seem that if you under clock the C7 to 1200, you can run it fanless. Failing that, look to replace the stock 40mm fan with a 50/60mm Bi-Sonic fan and run that off a fan mate. You get get...

I see a potential silent computer the Shuttel 1337 sdxi xpc system. (In the icy white case with the inverted blue flames) elastically mount a WD Caviar SE16 instead of the WD Raptor and find a way to get rid of the 6 TEC coolers. If you believe the Shuttle website, this PC is quiet due to the Fluid ...

If your dad is one of the types that clicks on all the pop-ups and ads, then you should install firefox with the Adblock and Flash Block extensions ans show him how to use it. No flash/pop-up ads = no spyware! I personally use AVG Free antivirus and Ashampoo Firewall (free) and Ashampoo Antispyware ...

You could always mount the (slightly more available) 80-120mm adapter onto the Silentboost. Aside from that I think your only option would be to look around at other coolers, specifically Big Typhoon/Silent Tower/Sonic Tower by Thermaltake, Zalman 7000 AlCu and Thermalright Si-97. The SPCR list for ...

You could also try checking with another brand of 7800GS like for exmple Point of view as it may be gainwoods choice of a specific part that is causing it. If the card is within warrantee - you could try and send it back claiming that the whine is a "manufacturing defect" Its up to you what you do. ...

All this talk of electric cars is all well and good, but no one seems to mention the one achillies heel that both electric and hybrid cars share - Electricity. From my Electric Power and machines lectures (at lancaster uni), I seem to remember electric motors are heavier and phyically larger than eq...

what you describe is entire luck-of-the draw. Fans do fail all the time as MBF is only a statisitcal probability and not an actual value. I have had fans fail in a Mercury (kobian) 300w psu after 6 weeks. Then again , what do you expect of a ~7-10 quid psu!. Seriously, in your position, i would cont...

It seems that defluffing is a nessecity. You just need to follow simple comon sence when opening the psu. Some points to remember are: 1. Makesure the area that you working has enough space - you do not want any trailing wires knocking cups of old coffee over. 2. If you find instructions how to disc...

It seems like all AOpen did was take out all the rivets and made the case a bit more user-friendly to assemble. My Mums mercury KOB-85 seems to be assembled in a similar way (but with rievets) I do wish Thermaltake did that with the Xaswr 5 Wingo, it would have made it easier to assemble without the...

Heat pipes use a very basic principle of thermodynamics, hot fluid will always travel to the area that is coldest. You would presume that to maximise the efficiency of the heat pipe, you need 4 things, 1. a high temperature "hot end" (the gpu chip), 2. a low(ish) temperature "cold end" (the heatsink...

Is there a technical problem that someone isn't looking to solve with CNTs?

Nien! ze carbon nanotubes will rule ze (heatsink) vorld!

Lol, couldnt resist that!

That PSU looks to have a solid mounted medium speed yate loon fan. If you arnt worried amout the warrantee, you should get it and try de-grilling and softmounting then try undervolting it it. You may get a good result, even if the psu can't make the recomended list as it is too loud at stock level. ...

After I had installed the Noctuas, I started hearing this very low volumed, but somewhat high pitched chime coming from the case; kinda like what you'd hear if you put your ear next to a window and the air draws itself silently through the cracks. I think that is exactly what is happening. You are ...

Why Akasa Amber fans? Akasa have good solid black fans which may prove quieter (when you remember that ambers look to be made of the same plastic as led fans and may suffer the same disadvantages)

You can buy an ide-to-sata converter to rn an ide drive off a sata channel from abour £6 on ebay. I would use that and an ide burner of your choice. I honestly think that the Athlon 64 3000 is overkill and a sempron would surfice in terms of processing power. But I guess venice cored A64's are good...