Search found 154 matches

by ggumdol
Wed Nov 13, 2013 8:32 am
Forum: Fans and Control
Topic: 120mm intake fan recommendations?
Replies: 21
Views: 13686

Re: 120mm intake fan recommendations?

It seems to me that the acceptable range of load temperature really depends on each people. I usually get nervous when the load temperature goes beyond 60 Celsius. I recently even underclocked an office rig with i7-2600 from 3.8GHz to 3.0GHz only to make sure the temperature does not rise above 60 C...
by ggumdol
Mon Nov 11, 2013 12:08 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Corsair RM Series intro'd
Replies: 90
Views: 82348

Re: Corsair RM Series intro'd

Don't be shy - here's the review link. I'm glad that they reviewed exactly the same unit, RM650, which I have been tinkering with for several weeks. Although the truth is that I must be assessing this product through my personal lens where the image is diffused by my personal subjective random expe...
by ggumdol
Fri Nov 08, 2013 7:56 am
Forum: Fans and Control
Topic: NF-S12A 120mm fan, third generation.
Replies: 8
Views: 7455

Re: NF-S12A 120mm fan, third generation.

I just bought my first Noctua product, S12A. My first reaction: why isn't Noctua more popular on SPCR?? I concur with you completely. Noctua fans are far more quiet and produce less vibration and even studier than others. Apart from them, they exhibit really nice and stable PWM characteristics. I h...
by ggumdol
Fri Nov 08, 2013 3:32 am
Forum: Quiet Prebuilt, SFF and Barebones Systems
Topic: NUC as desktop replacement
Replies: 5
Views: 10840

Re: NUC as desktop replacement

1. Core 2 Duo is way slower than any i3 CPU. Even the cheapest model such as i3-2100 (Sandy Bridge) will easily perform at least twice as fast (even thrice) as any Core 2 Duo CPU. There is huge architectural improvement between Core 2 Duo and i3. I remember that I was pleasantly surprised when my PC...
by ggumdol
Fri Nov 01, 2013 4:04 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: silencing hard drives
Replies: 6
Views: 4278

Re: silencing hard drives

the only way to silence a hard drive is to either connect it to a USB port on your router that is in another room or use a nas that is in another room. Thats why I gave up putting a HDD inside my system and went with a SSD only inside. I concur with you. It is almost pointless even to try to silenc...
by ggumdol
Thu Oct 31, 2013 10:33 am
Forum: Fans and Control
Topic: Enermax t.b. silence 140mm
Replies: 4
Views: 3256

Re: Enermax t.b. silence 140mm

It has not been so long since SPCR compiled the most objective experimental results into an article: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1346-page6.html I would recommend Noctua NF-A14 (FLX, PWM, LNA, depending on the type of fan header). It is virtually silent up to 900 rpm. I also would like to a...
by ggumdol
Sun Oct 27, 2013 8:57 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: PSU recommendations wanted
Replies: 11
Views: 7392

Re: PSU recommendations wanted

The X-650 has been out for a long time now, and goes on sale a lot, sometimes around $100 and its a really nice PSU, i have the next iteration of it X660 (now discontinued in favor of the platinum version) and been great, but they kept making this model and been very popular. Worth mentioning that ...
by ggumdol
Fri Oct 18, 2013 10:55 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Corsair RM Series intro'd
Replies: 90
Views: 82348

Re: Corsair RM Series intro'd

currently the Corsair RM 450/550 went from 100/122 down to 77/85 euros per unit, nice quotes (Antec EarthWatts Platinum 550 goes for 81, Seasonic G-450/550 goes for 85/91, Silverstone Strider Gold 550W for 107). I bought RM650 at 102 Euro (after currency conversion). I couldn't hear ANYTHING even w...
by ggumdol
Thu Oct 17, 2013 4:25 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Corsair RM Series intro'd
Replies: 90
Views: 82348

Re: Corsair RM Series intro'd

Is it truly completely silent without any trace of whining or electrical noise whatsoever below 40% load? I have my own ex post result here. I was actually planning to buy a Corsair RM550 because the estimated total power consumption in my main rig must be less than 220W = 550W x 0.4. However, RM65...
by ggumdol
Thu Oct 17, 2013 2:24 am
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Fanless Power Supply PC Build Guide
Replies: 35
Views: 30236

Re: Fanless Power Supply PC Build Guide

I'm sorry, I was certainly mistaken. Though your mileage might vary depending on the total amount of power consumed in your rig, to which the amount of heat emitted from Seasonic fanless PSU will be approximately proportional, the heat from the PSU will be largely negligible. Just in case you would ...
by ggumdol
Wed Oct 16, 2013 9:48 am
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Fanless Power Supply PC Build Guide
Replies: 35
Views: 30236

Re: Fanless Power Supply PC Build Guide

After reading this article, it seems to me that a case like the R4 will benefit more from a semi-passive/active PSU like the X-series because the hot air goes out at the back. Whilest a passive PSU (like the P-460) would only add heat to the case since the front intake-fans are rather far away to d...
by ggumdol
Sat Oct 12, 2013 4:17 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Corsair RM Series intro'd
Replies: 90
Views: 82348

Re: Corsair RM Series intro'd

Supposedly: http://www.corsair.com/us/blog/there-is-more-to-psu-noise-than-fan-noise-how-we-fight-coil-whine-in-the-rm-series-power-supplies/ I'd rather an ex-post result than an ex-ante supposition. I'm really eager to see reviews in JonnyGURU. Does their semi-fanless mode imply that RM450 will st...
by ggumdol
Sat Oct 12, 2013 2:40 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Corsair RM Series intro'd
Replies: 90
Views: 82348

Re: Corsair RM Series intro'd

Is it truly completely silent without any trace of whining or electrical noise whatsoever below 40% load?
by ggumdol
Wed Oct 09, 2013 1:05 am
Forum: Fans and Control
Topic: Anno 2013 - fancontrol: hardware or software
Replies: 13
Views: 7047

Re: Anno 2013 - fancontrol: hardware or software

Asrock motherboards for Haswell chipsets (B85, H87, Z87) boast diversified BIOS fan control which essentially means multiple separate piecewise linear functions containing multiple breakpoints with respect to CPU temperature (X-axis). The function value (Y-axis) corresponds to % of duty cyle in case...
by ggumdol
Mon Oct 07, 2013 10:55 am
Forum: Off Topic
Topic: Windows 7 or 8 or 8.1
Replies: 46
Views: 47081

Re: Windows 7 or 8 or 8.1

Just Wow. Snappier, only if you can figure out how to use a PC with a vastly different interface to all previous versions of Windows. To me, who has used every version of Windows from W3.1, W8 is distinctly less-snappy - although to be fair, if this is the first OS that you have ever used its no dif...
by ggumdol
Mon Oct 07, 2013 9:12 am
Forum: Off Topic
Topic: Windows 7 or 8 or 8.1
Replies: 46
Views: 47081

Re: Windows 7 or 8 or 8.1

My impression after installing Windows 8 on 2 desktops and 2 laptops is that Windows 8 is worth installing if one can afford it. It's a more stable and snappier Windows 7 with a few useful additional features, e.g., bookmark synchronisation between Windows 8 computers, more embedded anti-virus progr...
by ggumdol
Sun Oct 06, 2013 1:48 pm
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: Fractal Design Define R4 build
Replies: 41
Views: 47914

Re: Fractal Design Define R4 build

I think, among several top-tier aftermarket VGA coolers, Alpenföhn Peter (as in my signature), can be an outstanding option. Here is a screenshot of GPU-Z after running MSI kombustor for about 20 minutes (it does not change that much afterwards): http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/8038/chad.gif Soun...
by ggumdol
Sat Oct 05, 2013 8:22 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Quiet gaming setup
Replies: 43
Views: 30027

Re: Quiet gaming setup

Btw wondering on your signature, since you own a TJ08-E, have you tried controlling the AP181? if so whats the lowest %/rpms you were able to take it on pure bios? As you might know, although AP181 is supposed to be voltage-controlled to some extent, it is merely a middling fan and not designed to ...
by ggumdol
Sat Oct 05, 2013 7:23 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Quiet gaming setup
Replies: 43
Views: 30027

Re: Quiet gaming setup

Let me just reiterate this: It is now indisputably clear that Asrock motherboards for Haswell chips are superior to all the other candidates from the acoustical viewpoint. All the same, I am really disappointed by the revelation (at least to me) that fan control functionality in Asus BIOS is rather ...
by ggumdol
Sat Oct 05, 2013 5:10 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Quiet gaming setup
Replies: 43
Views: 30027

Re: Quiet gaming setup

Asrock Z87 Extreme3 ... It is also unclear whether all 3 pin CHA fans can be configured individually or rather as a group ... Individually. You can construct multiple separate piecewise linear functions for PWM or voltage of fans with respect to CPU temperature. For those who might consider Asrock ...
by ggumdol
Fri Oct 04, 2013 4:19 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Quiet gaming setup
Replies: 43
Views: 30027

Re: Quiet gaming setup

I hope everything is crystal clear by now. You finally made me take a picture.

Image
by ggumdol
Fri Oct 04, 2013 3:12 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Quiet gaming setup
Replies: 43
Views: 30027

Re: Quiet gaming setup

It might suffice to say that the fan control functionality in BIOS is exactly the same as that of the Windows program provided by Asrock, called A-Tuning utility. I must restate: Fan control functionality of Asrock BIOS (for Haswell CPUs) is functionally richer than Asrock A-Tuning Utility because ...
by ggumdol
Fri Oct 04, 2013 2:23 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Quiet gaming setup
Replies: 43
Views: 30027

Re: Quiet gaming setup

I have no idea how to capture a screenshot in BIOS. It might suffice to say that the fan control functionality in BIOS is exactly the same as that of the Windows program provided by Asrock, called A-Tuning utility. Here is a screenshot of the program. http://oi43.tinypic.com/28gt69w.jpg Minimum % of...
by ggumdol
Fri Oct 04, 2013 1:50 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Quiet gaming setup
Replies: 43
Views: 30027

Re: Quiet gaming setup

As you might have noticed, I'm using Asrock mainboards (B85M Pro4 and one more in my HTPC) now and have no problem in adjusting fan speed of several Noctua fans in my rig to 100~300 rpms "in" BIOS, which surely dispenses any need to use Windows or Linux programs. Since I haven't bought any Asus boar...
by ggumdol
Tue Oct 01, 2013 11:51 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Quiet gaming setup
Replies: 43
Views: 30027

Re: Quiet gaming setup

Hi, It is highly likely that your GFX (HD 7970, TDP 250W) will nullify your supposedly quiet rig. In a sense, it is really easy to understand the reason: Just compare the TDP of i5 4670K and its heatsink (Scythe Mugen 4 in your case) with the TDP of HD 7970 and its heatsink (MSI TF?). While the TDP ...
by ggumdol
Sun Sep 22, 2013 4:48 pm
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Advice on Passive Cpu Cooler
Replies: 6
Views: 4481

Re: Advice on Passive Cpu Cooler

I second Vicotnik. 65W is way higher than what can be cooled passively. Otherwise, it will require huge clearance as mentioned above. I would buy Noctua NH-U12S (NH-14S will be über kill). As far as I know, you will be able to keep its temperature under 60 Celsius at around 500 rpm (perhaps even 400...
by ggumdol
Sun Sep 22, 2013 12:55 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: [Quiet] Gaming Rig advice
Replies: 13
Views: 6526

Re: Silent Gaming Rig advice

Hi, A skeptic in me wants to leave a few comments. It is really nonsensical to spend that much amount money and simply opt for the stock VGA cooler at the same time. That is because the noise of the VGA (whether it is ASUS Direct CU II or MSI Frozr) will be easily dominating those of all the other c...
by ggumdol
Sat Sep 14, 2013 8:16 am
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: What is the lowest power Ivy Bridge Mobo?
Replies: 11
Views: 7681

Re: What is the lowest power Ivy Bridge Mobo?

As CA_Steve mentioned, if you are builiding up the rig from scratch, you should definiftely go for Haswell. It is almost nonsensical to differentiate the power consumptions of Ivy-Bridge chipsets, which are practically indistinguishable. On top of that, the power consumption of motherboards is liter...
by ggumdol
Sat Sep 14, 2013 7:49 am
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: Quietest GTX 650 Ti
Replies: 32
Views: 27465

Re: Quietest GTX 650 Ti

Hi, I second CA_Steve regarding the rule-of-thumb limitation of passive cooling of video/graphic cards. My Accelero S1 Plus (with some decent case airflow, i.e., 120mm rear-case fan at 500 rpm) was capable of cooling GTX 650 without a fan yet it was rather worrying that the load temperature sometime...
by ggumdol
Mon Aug 19, 2013 2:54 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Caseless Quiet Haswell Build Advice Needed
Replies: 20
Views: 9254

Re: Caseless Quiet Haswell Build Advice Needed

Hi nonobaddog, I'm glad that you've decided to take my advice on CPU. The truth is that the differences between i5 and i7 Intel CPUs are negligible for most users, even more so for casual gamers (FYI, I don't game at all). If you buy higher-clocked CPU, you obtain some very slight gain in performanc...