10% overclocked quiet system, in P180

[fairfax]

Hi everyone,

I’m New here, this is my first post.
I would like to thanks very one here for the information on silent computing.
After reading many great posts from this forum I have made my self a quiet PC, like to know what you think about it and suggest improvement

Spec:


Case - Antec P180 Black
CPU - Pentium 4 D Presler 915 @ 3.15G
MB - Gigabyte GA965P – DS4 F6
RAM - Corsair 1GB DDR2 XMS2-6400C5 TwinX (2x512MB)
VGA - Asus 7950GT 512MB @ 650mhz/1554mhz
PSU - Corsair 520W HX
HD - Western Digital Caviar SE 250Gb
DVD - Lite-on DVD-RW
TIM - Arctic Sliver 5
Misc. - EPS 8 pin Extension & Arcticlean

Cooling:


Case - 3x Antec Tri-cool 120 Fans:
- Rear vent fan @ medium
- Front Top & Middle fans @ low
- Top Vent open
- Middle & lower inner doors are now removed

CPU - Scythe Ninja rev. B, AS5 with Scythe stock fan @ Variable
MB - Stock passive heat sinks, AS5 with the logo plates removed
VGA - Zalman VF-900, AS5, fan @ 3/10

Temperatures:

Ambient - 22C
CPU - Idle 35C, Load 59C (Dual Prime95 @ 4th hour)
MB - Idle 34C, Load 35C
VGA - Idle 40C, Load 61C (GRAW @MAX 1440x900 2hours)
HD - Idle 40C, Load 44C

Noise level:
The Tri-cool fan at rear is the dominant audible thing at the moment, will add soft mounting when they arrive hope will dampen more sound.

Conclusion:
I am really happy with this setup, very quiet, thanks SPCR. As to improvements I think within the next 2 months I will replace all the fans to Nexus or Noctua and move to C2D within the next 4 months as it is faster and runs cooler, maybe even add more Ram to the system. Cheers

[JohnFL]

Nice setup fairfax. The only thing i would question, is that you have no filter in front of the upper fan. Have you thought about getting the Kama Bay, and taking out that fan, and then put your upper fan in behind the Kama Bay? That would give you filtering for any of the air that would reach the Ninja. Im told that the Antec rails work with the Kama Bay, so that it can be removed easily enough, to clean the filter.

[ciz28]

VGA - Idle 40C, Load 61C (GRAW @MAX 1440x900 2hours)

Sorry for the OT comment, but might I ask what output device you are using for this system? I have only seen that resolution on laptops, but would be very interested in getting the same 1440x900 resolution I have on my laptop from a desktop system.

[AMDforlife]

1440x900 is the native resolution of 19" widescreen LCDs. My friend has the Samsung 940BW which runs at this res. It looks spectacular.

[fairfax]

Thx John I think I will use the Kama Bay looks better and runs cleaner too. I only have one concern would the Kama Bay restrict the airflow even more, and are there any reviews on it yet?

and Ciz yes, I am running 1440x900 on my 19" Asus PW191



Cheers

[JohnFL]

fairfax...

googling for Kama Bay review brought quite a few reviews. A good one is the following http://www.pro-clockers.com/reviews.php?id=89

I have to admit that i have not yet done this to my P180, but waiting till i get the itch to work on it again.

Two days ago, i read about using ribbon cables instead of round cables for the ide drives. Well i had spent extra money buying the round cables, but on a whim, i pulled them out and then spent the next hour putting ribbon cables for my 2 ide drives and my 2 optical drives. I must say that two things are very evident. For looks, if you take your time and make sure that the air that is flowing through your case only sees the edge of the ribbon cable, then it has to improve the movement of air greatly. I also think that having the flat ribbon cables dressed properly cuts down on turbulence! I think that my cpu temp dropped 1c, but not sure about that, as it seems to fluctuate with the MBM5 readings. I know one thing for sure tho... It looks a heck of a lot cleaner with the ribbon cables laying flat against the back panel, and now the big round cables dont get in the way of my big fingers, if i need to go deep into the case.

Take a look at this posting, and how neat the ribbon cables look ! viewtopic.php?t=2439