P180, A8N-SLI Premium, Ninja, A64x2 3800+, 7800GT, NV Silenc

Darxus · Post by **Darxus** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:51 am

Internal shot of complete (hah) system.
All 24 pictures.
Full parts list and explanations of choices.

An Athlon 64 x2 3800+ can be effectively passively cooled (55C peak @ 20C ambient) with a Ninja, a single small tricool case fan set on low, and a bit of cardboard.

Sealing the NV Silencer to its plate with duct tape dropped the peak temperature of my GPU 5C, from 54C to 49C (20C ambient).

The NV Silencer 5 Rev. 3 fits the new blue Asus 7800GT - and has a compatible power connector (contrary to what their website says).

The A8N-SLI Premium is now coming with bios 1009 (this is very good).

"Wow. Yeah that's quieter." "You turned your computer on?" "Yes." "Riiiight." "With the case open." - 2 tricools on low, after installing the NV Silencer.

That was quiet enough for both my girlfriend and I, but I absolutely had to try the duct ever since I first saw a Ninja in a P180.

With the 2 tricools on low (small in back, medium in the top, as mine came), after 15 minutes of 2x cpuburn, my CPU / system / GPU temps were 55/30/37C (ambient 20C). It had been idling at 36/30/37C. Once I installed the duct, and shut off and sealed the top fan, the same test resulted in 55/31/38C. And of course it was quieter. Not sure what it's currently idling at.

The 7800GT was, as expected, very loud stock. While I'll miss the pretty blue (stock) fan lights, anyone who would end up reading this post would definitely want to spend the money on the NV Silencer.

I am currently running with just the one small tricool in the back (strangely, that's where it was when I got it) on low, with the cardboard duct over the Ninja. The duct is one side of a large Lucky Charms cereal box folded roughly in thirds (to match the shape of the fan) and duct taped to the fan. The NV Silencer is not yet undervolted, but plugged into the 7800GT. The VGA duct is, of course, removed, and all the rear vent holes for both chambers are taped with 3m transparent duct tape.

I was very disappointed to discover that the fans that come with the P180 cannot be plugged into the motherboard so I cannot use them with Q-Fan to dynamically control fan speed. So my ducting test was to determine if I needed one or two Nexus 120mm fans (I am very thankful they are now available in black and white). While I am entirely happy with the current state of the machine, I want the dynamic fan speed so I don't have to worry as much as summer heat approaches. Once I switch to a single Nexus, I'll clearly need to dynamically undervolt my NV Silencer (via speedfan?), and I figure that is the point where I will finally start hating my PC Power & Cooling Silencer 360, which I currently don't notice. So maybe I won't undervolt the NV Silencer. Hah.

I will probably clear duct tape the top duct from the inside. As many have said, it would be a lot nicer to have a blank made to seal that duct. Right now it is covered with a book.

Anybody have any good ideas on where to get a thin sheet of rigid plastic with which to make a clear CPU duct? Covering the Ninja with cardboard is a shame.

Please forgive the cabling, this has been my first feeble attempt at tidying the inside of a computer at all. There are a lot of wires in there, and I really feel like I'm at the point where more time and effort aren't going to help. There really isn't any other way to run the main PSU cable without an extension cable which I don't want. I did use an extension cable for the 4pin power connector - might have worked without it, but would not have made me happy.

And thank you all very much, this site - particularly the reviews and forums, have been extremely helpful.

I would love all feedback, and I'm happy to answer questions.

Firetech · Post by **Firetech** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 10:43 pm

Nice write up and photo's!

Did you use the std backplate or the Ninja one

NoizEnvader · Post by **NoizEnvader** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 11:31 pm

Interesting pic's you have there, Darxus. It seems we share some interests.

Oh'..., nice hardware too. Building a similar rig soon.

ozdoc · Post by **ozdoc** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 12:34 am

Darxus

Great Pics!
I think the SANY0138B.JPG demands a full SPCR explanation. I'm sure we've never seen one like that in the general gallery before!!.. Studmaster.

Erssa · Post by **Erssa** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 2:05 am

Nice photos. Your choise of hardware is material for guide on building silent gaming rig. Finally a monitor worth the power of gf7800gt.

Fat_bloater_dave · Post by **Fat_bloater_dave** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 5:13 am

Thats a Realy nice build, i keep on thinking about getting the P180 then remembering how much money it costs.

Darxus · Post by **Darxus** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 6:36 am

Firetech:
I'm sure that's not the only detail I missed. Yes, I used the stock A8N-SLI Premium backplate with the Ninja, because it was thread compatible, and that's what the Ninja instructions said to do. Plus it was way easier and looked more stable. Need to use the screws that come with the Ninja though, the stock screws are too long.

Erssa:
Yeah, I love this monitor. But if I were spending that money on a new monitor today I would get a nice LCD instead. Moving a 59.4lb crt out of the way for movie gatherings is.. less convenient. But it is an excellent display.

ozdoc:
That pic was so not in the month I linked to

I'll just say that I am very appreciative of my life.

And thank you all for the compliments.

Firetech · Post by **Firetech** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 8:59 am

Darxus wrote:Firetech:
I'm sure that's not the only detail I missed. Yes, I used the stock A8N-SLI Premium backplate with the Ninja, because it was thread compatible, and that's what the Ninja instructions said to do. Plus it was way easier and looked more stable. Need to use the screws that come with the Ninja though, the stock screws are too long.

And thank you all for the compliments.

Thanks for that, I'd been concerned about removing my MB to fit the Ninja and then having problems with the backplate. Happy Now

Let us know how it all progresses...

Tzeb · Post by **Tzeb** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 3:04 pm

Nice rig Darxus! I was thinking of getting the same mobo as a replacement for my Abit an8 ultra (I need extra space in the lower part of the case to place 2 hard drive enclosures.)
Can only one video card function in any of the two PCIe slots?

Darxus · Post by **Darxus** » Sun Jan 15, 2006 11:22 am

Tzeb:
Thank you.
No, you can use two PCIe cards. Why did you think you might not be able to?

Tzeb · Post by **Tzeb** » Sun Jan 15, 2006 11:52 am

Before i've seen your pics a saw the atached image here and i foolishly assumed the board limits the single video card mode to the lower PCIe slot.
Am am assured it works in any of the two now

Darxus · Post by **Darxus** » Sun Jan 15, 2006 12:27 pm

Ah, I misunderstood your question. I'm not certain you can get the full bandwidth if you use only one card in the lower slot, but the top slot certainly works. And it's not like these things approach using the full bandwidth anyway.

Darxus · Post by **Darxus** » Sun Jan 15, 2006 12:29 pm

Ah the image you included didn't load last time. The arrows are pointing at which side of that card you're supposed to insert to switch between sli and single, not which slot to use. The Premium doesn't have that card, the switch is in the bios.

Ackelind · Post by **Ackelind** » Sun Jan 15, 2006 2:26 pm

Have you tried undervolting the CPU? Maybe you've already stated it somewhere and I may have missed it. I undervolted my CPU and it dropped my temps a few degrees.

I'm also running my (quite similar) system with only one fan at the back, a nexus at 5V without ducting.

Do you find your hard drive loud? I have two Spinpoint P120's (one 200 and one 250gb) and they are soley the cause of all the noise I can hear from the rig.

Darxus · Post by **Darxus** » Sun Jan 15, 2006 4:45 pm

Ackelind:
I plan to try quiet 'n' cool (asus' dynamic cpu undervolting) once I get my nexus so I can dynamically undervolt the fan.

Yes my hard drive is relatively noisy, but not enough for me to replace it yet.

P180, A8N-SLI Premium, Ninja, A64x2 3800+, 7800GT, NV Silenc

P180, A8N-SLI Premium, Ninja, A64x2 3800+, 7800GT, NV Silenc

Ninja Backplate

Thanks