Antec ISK300-150 - will it be OK with this?

derelyth · Post by **derelyth** » Fri Feb 05, 2010 4:20 am

Hi all,

I plan on building a small system to use as a Server. Uses will definately be Win2003, Exchange2003 (<5 mailboxes for now) and Websites (<5, mixed Static/Dynmaic/DB-Driven contents). Possible uses will be a small Gameserver (CSS 10man). The server will be in a Study, with an open door.

Specs:

Antec ISK 300-150
Zotac NF610-KE Motherboard
Intel Celeron D 336J 2.8GHz (Already have) or Intel Celeron E3300 2.4GHz
Zalman CNPS8000 Low-profile or Intel Stock Cooler
1x2GB DDRII800 RAM
2x250GB 5400RPM 2.5" SATA HDDs

Few qustions:

1. Using the Celeron D, would that tax the PSU too much?

2. The Celeron D would use the Zalman definately due to the old cooler being discarded. If I got the E3300, I could use either. As this is a server however it will be on 24/7. Which of the two coolers would you guys say would be the best for cooling/quiet ratio? I have heard conflicting reviews of the Zalman, but the Intel seems to me that it would spin the fan of its own accord due to PWM?

In my old server the Celeron D was cooled using a Silverstone NT01 with a "passive" fan from the PSU. The chip ran between 44 and 52 idle, up to 70 load. However there wasn't much airflow where the old server was so I imagine the temps would be a bit less with better ambient air temps and airflow. This new server will not be in the same place.

If anyone could let me know what they think I would appreciate it.

Many thanks,
D

deruberhanyok · Post by **deruberhanyok** » Fri Feb 05, 2010 5:54 am

It would be fine with either, but I think you'd be better off going with the E3300 for power/heat reasons. You could probably also get away with the 65W version of the case at that point. Not sure what the power draw is like on the older processors but unless it's a server where the processor is at load all the time, 65W might be enough for a Celeron D.

Have you considered this Zotac motherboard instead of the nForce one? It may save on power draw over the one you have listed there.

BillyBuerger · Post by **BillyBuerger** » Fri Feb 05, 2010 10:24 am

I would not use a Celeron D on a 65W PSU. The 150W might be enough but I still would avoid it. All the measurements I've done with our Pentium D PCs at work (2.6-3GHz) seem to idle around 90W and load from 150W+ AC. Although this is with either a HD2400Pro or 6200LE video card. So maybe take off 15-20W. That would still be over the 65W even at idle and near the 150W under load.

eit412 · Post by **eit412** » Fri Feb 05, 2010 11:14 am

that celron d should run with much less power than the pentium d chips that the previous poster talked about since it is a single core chip, but it could still could draw more power than the 65w antec could support. Since the antec 150w has not beend reviewed yet we do not know if it's power supply is quite. The Apex mi-008 has been reviewed here and seems to be a good case with a 250W power supply.[/url]

derelyth · Post by **derelyth** » Fri Feb 05, 2010 11:20 am

Thanks for the input guys

Reason I have chosen that board is that for what it is, its about Â£48 (~$75), which IMO is a very good deal. They have today just gone out of stock though

But not to worry, I'm still tweaking the specs!

CPU wise, I will most probably go with the E3300 from what you guys have said. I always found the Celeron D hot for the performance (or lack of) that it gave. I remember when I first installed it with the Silverstone NT01, completely fanless, the chip hit 112C before I realised

Still, no burn marks on the IHS...

I think I will also go with the 150 Antec, it's only Â£10 ($16) more than the 65, so makes sense I think!

I'm still unsure of the Cooler also, not sure whether the Intel HSF will ramp up the fan too quickly, whereas the Zalman has the FanMate so I can manually control it.

EDIT: Just looking at the 150 on NewEgg, I notice there is a change of design to the PSU from a Laptop brick to a Kettle-lead inside the case. Does anyone know what the PSU is like inside? The pics on NE just show the cables bunched around where it is so it doesn;t really show what it is like. I hope it it still fanless!

Trav1s · Post by **Trav1s** » Fri Feb 05, 2010 1:22 pm

I have the following system up and going and it serves double duty as a desktop/fileserver.

ISK 300-65
ZOTAC NF630I-F-E mobo
e5300/stock HS/Fan
2 gigs (1x2) DDR2-667
1 160 GB from another laptop - OS
1 WD Blue 120 GB notebook Hard drive - DATA

With the limited bios I have undervolted the processor to 1V without a problem. The e3300 draws less than the e5300. If my sys is fine then I see no need for you to spend the extra money and wonder about the power supply.

blaster5k · Post by **blaster5k** » Fri Feb 05, 2010 2:48 pm

derelyth wrote:Thanks for the input guys
EDIT: Just looking at the 150 on NewEgg, I notice there is a change of design to the PSU from a Laptop brick to a Kettle-lead inside the case. Does anyone know what the PSU is like inside? The pics on NE just show the cables bunched around where it is so it doesn;t really show what it is like. I hope it it still fanless!

My ISK 300-150 arrived yesterday. I'll post some pictures when I get back from work. Basically, it's a custom-sized internal PSU that fits into the area where the board is in the 65 watt version (under the drive bay area). It also has an 80mm fan.

derelyth · Post by **derelyth** » Fri Feb 05, 2010 3:43 pm

Trav1s wrote:I have the following system up and going and it serves double duty as a desktop/fileserver.

ISK 300-65
ZOTAC NF630I-F-E mobo
e5300/stock HS/Fan
2 gigs (1x2) DDR2-667
1 160 GB from another laptop - OS
1 WD Blue 120 GB notebook Hard drive - DATA

With the limited bios I have undervolted the processor to 1V without a problem. The e3300 draws less than the e5300. If my sys is fine then I see no need for you to spend the extra money and wonder about the power supply.

This is where I'm in two mind to be honest

Part of me thinks the 65w's Laptop-adapter stype setup is pretty good, but the other part of me is thinking a) Will it be ok 24/7 (I know you have given input to try and let me know it is OK, very much appreciated

) and b) Future upgrades - the 150 has a bit more room if I need to swap/upgrade something (not necessarily the CPU) in the future.

blaster5k wrote:My ISK 300-150 arrived yesterday. I'll post some pictures when I get back from work. Basically, it's a custom-sized internal PSU that fits into the area where the board is in the 65 watt version (under the drive bay area). It also has an 80mm fan.

If you could, that would be awesome

blaster5k · Post by **blaster5k** » Fri Feb 05, 2010 4:34 pm

Posted pictures.

viewtopic.php?p=497634#497634

Let's make that the "unofficial" thread for the ISK 300-150/310-150 just to keep it all in one place.

derelyth · Post by **derelyth** » Sat Feb 06, 2010 2:59 am

Great pics blaster, many thanks. I spy a fanned PSU though by the looks of things

Don't know why Antec couldn't keep the original PSU design - I know FSP do a laptop style 150w PSU, so 150w is possible in that form!

Time to continue juggling the specs I think. Yes, the 65 is still in the running - but I'm looking around!

derelyth · Post by **derelyth** » Sat Feb 06, 2010 4:10 pm

So I'm back looking at the 300-65, and some googling has found that the DC-DC board is an Antec MD-135...one or two sites have said that this figure is an indication of the board's total capable combined wattage.

Can anyone confirm this? I have looked on ebay and found a 120w Brick with the correct connector for Â£6.55 delivered (~$10) and so it has got me thinking once again, as I really do like the look/size/shape of the 300-65

derelyth · Post by **derelyth** » Wed Feb 10, 2010 11:03 am

I'm very close to purchasing:

Antec ISK 300-65
Zotac NF610-K-E Motherboard
Intel Celeron E3200 2.4GHz
Zalman CNPS8000
1x2GB DDRII800 RAM
1x Toshiba 60GB (OS) and 1x250GB (Data) - SATA 2.5"

I need your final verdicts guys - will the PSU be OK?

Trav1s · Post by **Trav1s** » Wed Feb 10, 2010 12:18 pm

Hey... that looks familiar

derelyth · Post by **derelyth** » Wed Feb 10, 2010 12:23 pm

It was very reassuring to see a similar setup, I have to say. I've gone with the aftermarket cooler however to be able to have some manual control over the fan.

With regards to underclocking on the Zotac boards I need to get reading up on that - the last thing I want to do is have it blow up

Trav1s · Post by **Trav1s** » Wed Feb 10, 2010 3:00 pm

derelyth wrote: It was very reassuring to see a similar setup, I have to say. I've gone with the aftermarket cooler however to be able to have some manual control over the fan.

With regards to underclocking on the Zotac boards I need to get reading up on that - the last thing I want to do is have it blow up

I did a simple undervolt and did not underclock. When you get it up and going I can tell you what bios settings I modified.

derelyth · Post by **derelyth** » Wed Feb 10, 2010 3:28 pm

Oops - yep, I meant undervolt

Trav1s · Post by **Trav1s** » Wed Feb 10, 2010 6:44 pm

derelyth wrote:Oops - yep, I meant undervolt

It's all good!!

derelyth · Post by **derelyth** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 6:59 am

Just put the order through - Â£243 inc next day delivery. Talk about buying your own Birthday Present

I will keep updated on how the build goes and would be grateful for the undervolting settings Trav1s mate!

Cheers,

Karl

Trav1s · Post by **Trav1s** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 7:56 am

Gots myself a subscription to the thread so just post and I should gets a notice from the board. Happy birthday too!

derelyth · Post by **derelyth** » Fri Feb 12, 2010 12:51 pm

Cheers man!

Installed today after a LOT of trouble (mostly down to the Zalman CNPS8000 "Low Profile" Cooler. I recall from the reveiws on here (and elsewhere also for the Cooler) of the Cooler and the Case that the Cooler is 62.5mm, and the Case can take up to 65mm.

I measured the Cooler in my Case after finding the top drive cages would not clear it and found it was 70mm in height standing - therefore I would not recommend this Cooler/Case combo as it just does not seem to work.

I have it sat idle in the BIOS Temp Monitor and the CPU is reading a solid 38C, the Chipset has risen from 54C to 60C in the last 15 minutes - how are your temps in comparison Trav1s?

EDIT 23:30 UK: System has been on in BIOS now for a good hour or so - temps are 42/43 CPU and 60 MCP, case on, HSF just under 1000rpm and Casefan on low. Tempted to add a Nexus 80mm I have spare to sort out some more airflow with minimal noise increase.

However, did you have any trouble with the backplate fitting the case? I haven't been able to get mine to stay in - it doesn't seemt o want to pop in on the bottom - so unfortunately I think that could be hurting the airflow

Trav1s · Post by **Trav1s** » Fri Feb 12, 2010 4:32 pm

Ok, on this machine at this time, after sitting idle for 6 hours Speed fan shows the following temps:

Core1 - 37c
Core2 - 37c
CPU - 29

I will reboot into the bios and post that info in a bit for you. This machine is running Win XPPro SP3.

Trav1s · Post by **Trav1s** » Fri Feb 12, 2010 5:06 pm

Ok, here is what I have based on the bios categories:

PC Health
48c - current
1480 - CPU fan spd
1.3v - cpu v core
1.9v - VDDR
1.23v - +1.2v
5.07v - +5.0v
12.19v - 12v
5.15v - vcc
3.15v - Bat
5.15v - 5vsb

Freq/Volt Ctrl
1.30 - NB Volt (lowest possible setting)

derelyth · Post by **derelyth** » Sat Feb 13, 2010 5:22 am

Many thanks for those Trav1s, from looking at them I have noticed two things:

1) The BIOS shows a 10C rise over Windows - others have said this as well, which indicates my CPU temps are actually around 32-34 idle.

2) My PC Health Tab onlu shows XPU and MCP temps, CPU Fan Speed and Sys Fan speed - as well as a CPU Fan Level Control option, I do not have Voltage readings or such.

I'm about to start the OS install, so if you could post the undervolting settings and where in the BIOS to find them, I'd appreciate it very much

Cheers,

Karl

Trav1s · Post by **Trav1s** » Sat Feb 13, 2010 5:25 am

Good Morning Karl,

I will post those for you later today. I would suggest leaving everything in the default settings for the install. What OS are you installing?

derelyth · Post by **derelyth** » Sat Feb 13, 2010 5:34 am

Morning Travis

Thank you. I have just reset to Failsafes as I had some trouble getting the SATA DVDRW Drive to be seen (Desktop Pioneer) - I had to swap ports from Sata3 to Sata2 and it was seen. I am hoping that doesn't mean that Sata3 and Sata4 are dead...

I'll be installing Windows Server 2003 and Exchange 2003.

derelyth · Post by **derelyth** » Mon Feb 15, 2010 2:12 am

Got it together with the Stock CPU Fan now, and it is very quiet

Idles at about 38C, load is 46-52 (core dependant)

Not sure whether or not it is worth undervolting now?