NSK2400 Build Complete

Show off your quiet rig.

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ciz28
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NSK2400 Build Complete

Post by ciz28 » Sun Dec 03, 2006 2:46 pm

I finally settled on my CPU cooling situation, and have some updated pictures with a real camera. Let me know what you guys think of my build. The specs are as follows:

Antec NSK2400 case
2x Yate Loon D12SL-12 120mm intake fans at 5V
Abit NF-M2 nView motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 3800+ CPU at 0.75-1.10V
Thermalright SI-128 CPU heatsink
2x 1GB PC2-6400 RAM at 2.0V
40GB Seagate Barracuda IV hard drive
160GB Seagate Barracuda IV hard drive
16X Lite-On DVD-ROM drive
52X Lite-On CD-RW drive

Image

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edit: updated some of the system specs
Last edited by ciz28 on Fri Jun 29, 2007 9:18 pm, edited 4 times in total.

UK-Bob
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Post by UK-Bob » Sun Dec 03, 2006 3:11 pm

Now that is VERY tidy, Like it ! And the Yamaha AV amp is just the job for turning all that DATA into joyful noise :)

I have just recomended the Seagate barracudas to someone for an audio system, how do you find the noise from these two you have ?

sanse
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Post by sanse » Sun Dec 03, 2006 3:44 pm

looks very nice! you master the art of cable-managment. :)

so you are running this setup with a decreased v-core voltage at load temperatures near 35C?

at what voltage are you running the 2 case-fans? are they thermally controlled?

slimeballzz
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Post by slimeballzz » Sun Dec 03, 2006 3:55 pm

Wow that looks nice. Great cable management!

Not sure if this was ever asked but was it possible to paint the face of the case black as well to match the rest of it?
I like the case but the silver front just doesn't fit me.

andyb
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Post by andyb » Sun Dec 03, 2006 4:31 pm

Pat yourself on the back, I cant reach from here.

A couple of questions: Are those fan hard mounted, are they undervolted, and is your 3800+ an X2 or X1.


Andy

ciz28
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Post by ciz28 » Sun Dec 03, 2006 5:33 pm

Thanks for the positive comments everyone!
UK-Bob wrote:Now that is VERY tidy, Like it ! And the Yamaha AV amp is just the job for turning all that DATA into joyful noise :)

I have just recomended the Seagate barracudas to someone for an audio system, how do you find the noise from these two you have ?
Actually, it's an Onkyo TX-SR501 :wink: Regarding the hard drives, they're plenty quiet for me. I can't hear them over the two case fans, which I can't hear anyways when the TV stand doors are closed.
sanse wrote:looks very nice! you master the art of cable-managment.

so you are running this setup with a decreased v-core voltage at load temperatures near 35C?

at what voltage are you running the 2 case-fans? are they thermally controlled?
Yes, I am using RM Clock for custom voltages at every step:

1000MHz - 0.75V
1200MHz - 0.80V
1400MHz - 0.85V
1600MHz - 0.90V
1800MHz - 0.95V
2000MHz - 1.00V
2200MHz - 1.05V
2400MHz - 1.10V

Running Prime95 with both case fans at 5V, I get the 35c load temp you mentioned.
slimeballzz wrote:Wow that looks nice. Great cable management!

Not sure if this was ever asked but was it possible to paint the face of the case black as well to match the rest of it?
I like the case but the silver front just doesn't fit me.
I believe someone else on this forum tried to paint the face black without the greatest results. I don't think I'm going to end up trying this, though, since my DVD player is silver anyways.
andyb wrote:Pat yourself on the back, I cant reach from here.

A couple of questions: Are those fan hard mounted, are they undervolted, and is your 3800+ an X2 or X1.


Andy
Yes, the fans are hard mounted and running at 5V. I should have probably done something about this, but I can't hear the system with the TV stand doors closed anyways. Maybe I'll work on this next time I have the system open for cleaning/upgrading/maintenance. Also, my 3800+ is an X1, which I'm guessing is why it'll operate at such low voltages.

sanse
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Post by sanse » Mon Dec 04, 2006 6:05 am

had a look at rm clock, but i don't think i can convince that program to let my x2 4400 to run at vcore's between 0.75 and 1.1.

the program shows the same voltages as the amd utility i'm using for cool'n'quiet in windows xp prof. it varies between 1.1 and 1.4 volts.

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Post by NeilBlanchard » Mon Dec 04, 2006 6:31 am

Hello,

Looks like a great build -- I have a question about the Yate Loon fans: did you consider/try them as exhaust instead of as intakes? And, what PS did you use?

qviri
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Post by qviri » Mon Dec 04, 2006 7:20 am

:shock: most impressive cablegami, congratulations!

ciz28
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Post by ciz28 » Mon Dec 04, 2006 2:05 pm

sanse wrote:had a look at rm clock, but i don't think i can convince that program to let my x2 4400 to run at vcore's between 0.75 and 1.1.

the program shows the same voltages as the amd utility i'm using for cool'n'quiet in windows xp prof. it varies between 1.1 and 1.4 volts.
It looks like you're using a socket 939 board; maybe this has something to do with it? My board is socket AM2, but I don't know whether it's the specific board I have, the chipset, or the CPU packaging that would affect this.
NeilBlanchard wrote:Hello,

Looks like a great build -- I have a question about the Yate Loon fans: did you consider/try them as exhaust instead of as intakes? And, what PS did you use?
I originally had them as exhausts when I was using a CNPS9500, but the temps were at least 10c cooler using them as intakes. I have not tried them as exhausts since getting the SI-128. I imagine this has everything to do with trying to run my CPU heatsink semi-passive. Also, I am using the stock power supply.
qviri wrote: most impressive cablegami, congratulations!
Thank you! I would have never believed that I would need a 36" IDE cable to make the run to the optical drives...

SouthPaw
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Post by SouthPaw » Tue Dec 05, 2006 12:43 pm

ciz28-

I have ordered the same case and heatsink for an HTPC I'm building but will not receive them until next week. I am going to try to run semi-passive like you but was wondering if you could verify if a Yate Loon will fit on your si-128 heatsink and the top of the case close? I know there would not be enough clearance to run this way, but will the top close like this without the fan touching the top of the case?

I'm thinking if I cannot run semi-passively, I could cut a blowhole in the top of my case right above the heatsink and mount a yate loon on the heatsink blowing up. I'd block off the side fan mount farthest to the rear and run another yate loon exhausting out on the side fan vent closest to the front. This would still keep the negative pressure airflow design of the case and pull cool air over my HD.

Thanks for any info.

SouthPaw

ciz28
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Post by ciz28 » Tue Dec 05, 2006 12:52 pm

SouthPaw wrote:ciz28-

I have ordered the same case and heatsink for an HTPC I'm building but will not receive them until next week. I am going to try to run semi-passive like you but was wondering if you could verify if a Yate Loon will fit on your si-128 heatsink and the top of the case close? I know there would not be enough clearance to run this way, but will the top close like this without the fan touching the top of the case?

I'm thinking if I cannot run semi-passively, I could cut a blowhole in the top of my case right above the heatsink and mount a yate loon on the heatsink blowing up. I'd block off the side fan mount farthest to the rear and run another yate loon exhausting out on the side fan vent closest to the front. This would still keep the negative pressure airflow design of the case and pull cool air over my HD.

Thanks for any info.

SouthPaw
I'll check that out when I get home from work. It's an interesting idea that I actually considered as well. I guess if I had a much hotter running CPU, then I might be more inclined to go through the effort of cutting the blow hole.

What CPU are you planning to use in your setup?

SouthPaw
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Post by SouthPaw » Tue Dec 05, 2006 1:29 pm

ciz28 wrote: I'll check that out when I get home from work. It's an interesting idea that I actually considered as well. I guess if I had a much hotter running CPU, then I might be more inclined to go through the effort of cutting the blow hole.

What CPU are you planning to use in your setup?
Thanks! I should be fine running semi-passive, but I'd like to know all my options with the si-128.

I had to build the HTPC on the cheap but wanted room to expand so I'm starting out with a 3500+ (single core) AM2. If I run out of CPU in the future, I'll upgrade to an x2 later on.


SouthPaw

derekva
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Post by derekva » Tue Dec 05, 2006 2:01 pm

SouthPaw wrote:
ciz28 wrote: I'll check that out when I get home from work. It's an interesting idea that I actually considered as well. I guess if I had a much hotter running CPU, then I might be more inclined to go through the effort of cutting the blow hole.

What CPU are you planning to use in your setup?
Thanks! I should be fine running semi-passive, but I'd like to know all my options with the si-128.

I had to build the HTPC on the cheap but wanted room to expand so I'm starting out with a 3500+ (single core) AM2. If I run out of CPU in the future, I'll upgrade to an x2 later on.


SouthPaw
If it is compatable with AM2, you could always do what I'm doing with my HTPC and get one of the Opteron dual-core 4-pipe heatpipe coolers and replace the fan with an 80mm Nexus at 7v. Quite good acoustics-wise and cools extremely well.

-Derek

ciz28
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Post by ciz28 » Tue Dec 05, 2006 2:10 pm

SouthPaw wrote:Thanks! I should be fine running semi-passive, but I'd like to know all my options with the si-128.

I had to build the HTPC on the cheap but wanted room to expand so I'm starting out with a 3500+ (single core) AM2. If I run out of CPU in the future, I'll upgrade to an x2 later on.


SouthPaw
You might find these figures useful... my 3800+ is rated by AMD to produce 62W, just like your 3500+. At 1.35V this setup kept the CPU at 59c under load, and at 1.10V the CPU only goes up to 35c. I can't imagine you'll need to add a blowhole to your system, at least if you get a CPU that undervolts anywhere near as well as mine does.

SouthPaw
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Post by SouthPaw » Tue Dec 05, 2006 2:32 pm

ciz28 wrote: You might find these figures useful... my 3800+ is rated by AMD to produce 62W, just like your 3500+. At 1.35V this setup kept the CPU at 59c under load, and at 1.10V the CPU only goes up to 35c. I can't imagine you'll need to add a blowhole to your system, at least if you get a CPU that undervolts anywhere near as well as mine does.
That is what I'm hoping for. I was really wanting the 3500+ that is rated at 35W (ADD3500CNBOX), but they were nowhere to be found. There were two model numbers for the 62W AM2 3500+ (ADA3500CWBOX and ADA3500CNBOX). Not sure what the difference is. Both are 62W AM2 processors. The CW had a newer build week so that is the one I ordered.


SouthPaw

ciz28
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Post by ciz28 » Tue Dec 05, 2006 2:40 pm

SouthPaw wrote:That is what I'm hoping for. I was really wanting the 3500+ that is rated at 35W (ADD3500CNBOX), but they were nowhere to be found. There were two model numbers for the 62W AM2 3500+ (ADA3500CWBOX and ADA3500CNBOX). Not sure what the difference is. Both are 62W AM2 processors. The CW had a newer build week so that is the one I ordered.


SouthPaw
Check out this link: http://www.amdcompare.com/us-en/desktop ... 3500IAA4CN

It appears that the only difference is the max operating temperature. I guess the CW is better, in that it will tolerate a higher temperature than the CN, but I don't know how much this will really affect anything in reality.

SouthPaw
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Post by SouthPaw » Tue Dec 05, 2006 3:14 pm

ciz28 wrote:
SouthPaw wrote:That is what I'm hoping for. I was really wanting the 3500+ that is rated at 35W (ADD3500CNBOX), but they were nowhere to be found. There were two model numbers for the 62W AM2 3500+ (ADA3500CWBOX and ADA3500CNBOX). Not sure what the difference is. Both are 62W AM2 processors. The CW had a newer build week so that is the one I ordered.


SouthPaw
Check out this link: http://www.amdcompare.com/us-en/desktop ... 3500IAA4CN

It appears that the only difference is the max operating temperature. I guess the CW is better, in that it will tolerate a higher temperature than the CN, but I don't know how much this will really affect anything in reality.
I figured the CW could also be higher processors that did not make the cut, ie- a 4200+ X2 with one core disabled or a 4400+ X2 with one core disabled and 1/2 the L2 cache disabled. etc...

I know a lot of Semprons are just Athlon 64s that did not make the cut.

SouthPaw

ciz28
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Post by ciz28 » Tue Dec 05, 2006 9:08 pm

SouthPaw wrote:ciz28-

I have ordered the same case and heatsink for an HTPC I'm building but will not receive them until next week. I am going to try to run semi-passive like you but was wondering if you could verify if a Yate Loon will fit on your si-128 heatsink and the top of the case close? I know there would not be enough clearance to run this way, but will the top close like this without the fan touching the top of the case?

I'm thinking if I cannot run semi-passively, I could cut a blowhole in the top of my case right above the heatsink and mount a yate loon on the heatsink blowing up. I'd block off the side fan mount farthest to the rear and run another yate loon exhausting out on the side fan vent closest to the front. This would still keep the negative pressure airflow design of the case and pull cool air over my HD.

Thanks for any info.

SouthPaw
Strangely, the heatsink is not perfectly parallel with the top of the case. The side near the fans has a < 0.5mm clearance, while the side near the PSU has a 2mm clearance. But overall, you should have no problems fitting a fan if you need to.

SouthPaw
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Post by SouthPaw » Wed Dec 06, 2006 6:58 am

ciz28 wrote: Strangely, the heatsink is not perfectly parallel with the top of the case. The side near the fans has a < 0.5mm clearance, while the side near the PSU has a 2mm clearance. But overall, you should have no problems fitting a fan if you need to.
Thanks for checking for me! I ordered the ASUS M2NPV-VM because I need the component out. I'm sure my clearance will be a little different than yours, but at least it sounds like there is enough clearance overall that I can work with it!

Just curious, did you consider the ASUS board when you ordered? If so what was your reason for ordering the abit board over the Asus? Again, just curious.

Are you using a HD-tuner with your set up? I'm going to give the FusionHDTV5 RT Gold a try. I need a clear QAM tuner so my options were the FusionHDTV5 RT Gold or the MyHD MDP-130. I also wanted the card to play nice with Linux in case I want to give MythTV a whirl so that left me with the Fusion. Hopefully my processor will not be underpowered coupled with the 6150 for time-shifting HD with the Fusion.

SouthPaw

ciz28
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Post by ciz28 » Wed Dec 06, 2006 11:12 am

SouthPaw wrote:Thanks for checking for me! I ordered the ASUS M2NPV-VM because I need the component out. I'm sure my clearance will be a little different than yours, but at least it sounds like there is enough clearance overall that I can work with it!

Just curious, did you consider the ASUS board when you ordered? If so what was your reason for ordering the abit board over the Asus? Again, just curious.

Are you using a HD-tuner with your set up? I'm going to give the FusionHDTV5 RT Gold a try. I need a clear QAM tuner so my options were the FusionHDTV5 RT Gold or the MyHD MDP-130. I also wanted the card to play nice with Linux in case I want to give MythTV a whirl so that left me with the Fusion. Hopefully my processor will not be underpowered coupled with the 6150 for time-shifting HD with the Fusion.

SouthPaw
I did look at the ASUS board when I was selecting components, and it was quite a toss up between the two. I ended up going with the Abit board just because of my positive prior experiences with them (KT7A-RAID, KX7-333, NF7-S), although I'm sure many others would have gone with the Asus board because of their positive experiences on the other side of the fence.

I didn't need the extra video outputs offered by the Asus board since I am just feeding the VGA output to my HDTV, so that wasn't a concern for me. I do not have an HDTV tuner in my system; in fact, I don't even have my cable TV running through my system at all. I have the signal go directly from my cable box to my TV. All I use my HTPC for is music and movies.

MC FLMJIG
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Post by MC FLMJIG » Thu Dec 07, 2006 11:53 am

Very nice. I like the cable management. IDE doesn't look so bad there! lol

I'm building the exact same, with an HDCP ready card, but will try with stock cooling. Undervolting and running the fan on low should keep it silent. This case seems more quiet than a Microfly and if I was able to run a similar setup there very quietly I'm sure it would most definitely be done in the Antec.

R u using the 380 PSU?


BTW aren't these temps much better than with the Zalman? ;) Thermy FTW!

ciz28
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Post by ciz28 » Thu Dec 07, 2006 2:56 pm

MC FLMJIG wrote:Very nice. I like the cable management. IDE doesn't look so bad there! lol

I'm building the exact same, with an HDCP ready card, but will try with stock cooling. Undervolting and running the fan on low should keep it silent. This case seems more quiet than a Microfly and if I was able to run a similar setup there very quietly I'm sure it would most definitely be done in the Antec.

R u using the 380 PSU?


BTW aren't these temps much better than with the Zalman? ;) Thermy FTW!
Yes, I am just using the stock 380W PSU. I'm running all onboard devices, so I'd imagine that my power draw is pretty low, perhaps ~100W under load?

And regarding the cable management, it took me forever to get it just right! A lot of the subtleties aren't really visible, like the exhaust fan and 12V CPU power cables running under the motherboard and the mess of extra cables jammed under the optical drives. But I guess that's the point: beauty in simplicity.

Shukuteki
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Post by Shukuteki » Thu Dec 07, 2006 6:07 pm

How quiet are those Yate-Loons? I just recently ordered some to install. I could've gotten the Nexus, but i felt that I needed the airflow and the Yate-Loons were quiet enough.

ciz28
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Post by ciz28 » Thu Dec 07, 2006 6:47 pm

Shukuteki wrote:How quiet are those Yate-Loons? I just recently ordered some to install. I could've gotten the Nexus, but i felt that I needed the airflow and the Yate-Loons were quiet enough.
They are both running at 5V, so they're very quiet, but doesn't that put it in the same speed range of the Nexus? Regardless, I'm sure you'll be able to find a speed to run them at that will satisfy you.

Shukuteki
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Post by Shukuteki » Thu Dec 07, 2006 8:25 pm

ciz28 wrote:
Shukuteki wrote:How quiet are those Yate-Loons? I just recently ordered some to install. I could've gotten the Nexus, but i felt that I needed the airflow and the Yate-Loons were quiet enough.
They are both running at 5V, so they're very quiet, but doesn't that put it in the same speed range of the Nexus? Regardless, I'm sure you'll be able to find a speed to run them at that will satisfy you.
True, that does put them in the range of the Nexus now that i think about it.

I will just have to wait until they come in to find what speed is acceptable.

SouthPaw
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Post by SouthPaw » Tue Dec 12, 2006 9:24 am

ciz28 wrote:You might find these figures useful... my 3800+ is rated by AMD to produce 62W, just like your 3500+. At 1.35V this setup kept the CPU at 59c under load, and at 1.10V the CPU only goes up to 35c. I can't imagine you'll need to add a blowhole to your system, at least if you get a CPU that undervolts anywhere near as well as mine does.
ciz28-

Your CPU is a little cooler running than mine. I finished my build last night and have been setting up RMClock this morning. At 1.10v (the lowest I can go without lockups at 2,200MHz) and running Prime95 for max heat, I hover between 39c and 40c. Still not bad at all for semi-passive cooling. I'm running my 2 yate loons at 800RPMs. I purchased FanMate2 controllers to set their speed. The 2 Yate loons at 800RPM along with the Seasonic s12 330 make for a VERY quiet HTPC! I'm happy with it!

SouthPaw

ciz28
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Post by ciz28 » Tue Dec 12, 2006 11:02 am

SouthPaw wrote:ciz28-

Your CPU is a little cooler running than mine. I finished my build last night and have been setting up RMClock this morning. At 1.10v (the lowest I can go without lockups at 2,200MHz) and running Prime95 for max heat, I hover between 39c and 40c. Still not bad at all for semi-passive cooling. I'm running my 2 yate loons at 800RPMs. I purchased FanMate2 controllers to set their speed. The 2 Yate loons at 800RPM along with the Seasonic s12 330 make for a VERY quiet HTPC! I'm happy with it!

SouthPaw
Are you running the fans as intakes or exhausts? If they are exhausts, I'd bet that switching them to intakes would drop your temps a little bit. Either way, I'd be pretty happy that your cooling situation with only two fans at 800rpm is keeping things sufficiently cool at full load.

SouthPaw
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Post by SouthPaw » Tue Dec 12, 2006 12:28 pm

ciz28 wrote:Are you running the fans as intakes or exhausts? If they are exhausts, I'd bet that switching them to intakes would drop your temps a little bit. Either way, I'd be pretty happy that your cooling situation with only two fans at 800rpm is keeping things sufficiently cool at full load.
BINGO! I forgot you were running your fans as intake. I'm going to leave my fans as exhaust so that it pulls fresh cool air over my hard drive in the front. I bet running the fans as intake would help my CPU temp but would hurt my hard drive temp.


SouthPaw

jimmyfergus
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Post by jimmyfergus » Tue Dec 12, 2006 1:04 pm

Looks great, I'm contemplating something very similar. In fact, I already have the same Ikea TV cabinet. I was thinking I'd have to do something for ventilation involving ducts and/or a fan on the cabinet itself.

Looks to me like you just left the rear panel off it. Doesn't that panel provide most of the structural integrity? I would have thought there's little to stop it going all parallelogram on you without it. At least you don't have the weight of a CRT on top of it.

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