New PC build

Got a shopping cart of parts that you want opinions on? Get advice from members on your planned or existing system (or upgrade).

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Japanese Capacitor
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Location: Warszawa, Poland

Re: New PC build

Post by Japanese Capacitor » Fri Mar 12, 2021 4:16 am

Cards like XLR8 are just designed to be cheap, so don't expect too much and you will be fine. Easy things like modyfying fan curve and undervolting will make it somehow better without loosing power. You can always try to hunt something in the meantime and return this PNY. Every producer makes cards like that. Flagships from considered as lower-end brands tend to be better than low-midrange ones from reputable ones as Asus or EVGA, when costing the same money. My reccomendations for you are accurate in a matter of any card: Gaming OC and TUF as best mid-range options, MSI Gaming and Asus Strix as the best you can buy. Rest tends to be worse and there happen just exceptions, which can perform similarly to Gaming or TUF, but cost insignificantly lower money ( like higher positioned models from KFA2/Galax, Palit or Gainward). When you look at the prices, Strixes cost much more than anything, but they're the best quality cards on the market and paying extra to my taste shouldn't matter to you, if you plan to use it for ten years.

Horseman
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Re: New PC build

Post by Horseman » Fri Mar 12, 2021 2:46 pm

Thanks, Japanese Capacitor. A quick update... to my surprise the shop already shipped this afternoon all the items to me. The site said that if would only be available next week, but somehow they found at least one and sent it to me today, in the same package as the CPU cooler and PC case. It should arrive on the 15th.

After lunch I sent the shop a mail, asking if I could change my order, but obviously, now it's impossible. They didn't even reply yet to my other question, regarding the Noctua 14S AM4 compatibility, so I suspect they won't even see this mail until next week.

In the meantime a friend told me today this shop grew too much in the past few years, and their customer support service is now quite bad. It really seems like it. Which is a shame, this is the shop where I bought my current PC, many years ago, and back then they were fantastic.

But anyway, I'm saying this because...
Japanese Capacitor wrote:
Fri Mar 12, 2021 4:16 am
Cards like XLR8 are just designed to be cheap, so don't expect too much and you will be fine. Easy things like modyfying fan curve and undervolting will make it somehow better without loosing power. You can always try to hunt something in the meantime and return this PNY.
... this crossed my mind. I guess I could return the GPU, after receiving it next week.
I have 14 days to do it, as long as the package is intact.

I need to think about it. I'm tempted, but at the same time I'm not sure I want to bother, having to try to contact them (apparently they aren't seeing the mails I send), and even admitting I manage to do that, I'd need to convince them to accept the devolution. They'd probably accept, since GPU's are very easy to sell now, but it'd still be a nuisance, I'd have to ask someone to ship the package, and of course, there's always the risk of not getting the money back, for some reason. Not likely, I guess, but possible.

And after all that, I'd still have to buy a GPU. Which would be, in the best possible scenario, as expensive as this one, or more, to have the same performance. So, a lot of work, and some risk, to perhaps end up paying more money, and maybe not noticing much difference.

One question, am I right to assume that these GPUs (from lower quality brands) are quiet when idle? Maybe I'm just overthinking this, and worrying too much with the GPU, which will be idling almost all the time, with me browsing the Internet or making 3-D models, which don't really require much from the GPU, and even if it isn't completely silent, maybe the Antec P101 Silent will by itself make the components almost inaudible? Or is this just wishful thinking?

Sorry for the rambling, and thank you very much for your patience.

Japanese Capacitor
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Re: New PC build

Post by Japanese Capacitor » Fri Mar 12, 2021 4:06 pm

I understood, that they sent you P101, U14S and XLR8 1660S, right?

I only mentioned the possibility to hunt something better till you don't have everything delivered and ready to build your computer. For example this TUF 1660 I linked isn't great card too - I just found it a better deal for the price. Because there were no even good options available.

Don't worry too much about this PNY card. It's not one fan card, so it could be worse. XLR8 compared to good ones will have lower quality, higher temperatures, be louder, but maybe (and rather for sure compared to your current old card) it will satisfy you ;) In Poland it was one of the cheapest dual fan 1660S. Generally cheapest cards offering the same as good or even average cards don't exist. So yes, you would definitely notice the difference compared to some Strix, MSI Gaming, maybe even essentialy mid-range Gigabyte Gaming, but everybody would have different opinion about paying extra for them. You already bought it, so keep it or try to buy better - that's your thing.

About idle noise, it depends. If it's semi-passive (rather not for such price, but I can't find an info), it can stop the fans then. If not, it's only a matter of noise of minimum speed. Dampened case will do some job. Sitting with head 50 cm from my case when everything else is silent as off I just can't tell the difference between three GPU fans turned off or running their minimum speed of ~1000 rpm, but add only 100 rpm and I can hear them.

Horseman
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Re: New PC build

Post by Horseman » Mon Mar 15, 2021 5:17 am

I just received the Antec P101 Silent, the Noctua 14S, and the PNY 1660 SUPER.

Noctua 14S

As I wrote last week, I mailed Noctua asking about the AM4 compatibility, and they replied that the box brings everything required, but can someone please confirm I indeed have the necessary pieces? I just asked someone to take a photo of everything inside the box. I'll attach it below.

PNY 1660 SUPER

I also received the graphics card today, but in the meantime I got a proposal from someone to buy it, at the same price I bought it. I don't have a confirmation yet, but if that guy doesn't back down, I'll sell it, and start searching again. It's a gamble, I'm still worried my current PC dies suddenly, but knowing myself, I know I'd spend the next few years frustrated with the noise, even if it isn't very noticeable.

So, thank you very much Japanese Capacitor, your posts have been very helpful, in particular regarding this graphics card stuff, I think it's much better to wait a few more days or even weeks and buy a better graphics card. I think you are 100% correct, in the long run the extra money for a better quality products is definitely worth it.

I'll be keeping an eye on the graphics card section of the shops I've been following, hoping to find the graphics cards you suggested. I made a quick chart, to be easier to make the decision.

-----------------------------------------------------
best cards
MSI Gaming
Asus Strix


best mid-range options
ASUS TUF
Gigabyte Gaming OC


not as good cards
higher positioned models from KFA2/Galax, Palit or Gainward

----------------------------------------------------

This weekend a friend of mine said that the GPU prices are indeed very high currently, but since I use my PC many hours per day (around 14 or 16 hours every day), it may actually make sense to buy one of the mid to high-end cards, something like the 3060ti or 3070, and use it to mine one of the cryptocurrencies, while browsing and everything else I do, because that way I'd be able to quickly recover the extra money I spent on the graphics card, and simultaneously would have a significantly more powerful GPU, which would therefore have adequate performance for more years, delaying the need for an upgrade.

According to him, if I find something like a 3070 around 1000 euros, I shouldn't even hesitate. I don't really have any interest in mining, but his argument seems to make sense.
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Japanese Capacitor
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Re: New PC build

Post by Japanese Capacitor » Mon Mar 15, 2021 7:03 am

About U14S, it looks like AM4 kit is included (two C shape metal parts + bag in the left corner of the photo.

It will help you: https://noctua.at/en/how-can-i-check-if ... ting-parts

Don't sell PNY card for a moment. He or anybody will wait ;)

I like, that you care about my opinion, but speaking like ,,better"; ,,louder"; ,,stronger"; ,,better deal" is only relative. So examples, GPU market in a nutshell: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/evga ... ra/34.html

Let's start with two lower-end cards from most premium brands - Asus and EVGA:

ASUS - one of the cheapest 1660S, one-fan card without semi-passive mode. Hot to the point, where needs to reduce its performance to cool itself down. If it then doesn't go below official advertised boost clock - it's fine, but 86C is closer to uhnealthy than healthy temps. And even with cooling itself by losing performance this thing is loud as hell. Maybe it can run its fans faster, but it would be some acoustic nightmare. This card is abomination, but you shouldn't expect more than it just works as advertised from cheapest cards, especially one-fan.

EVGA - two-fan, semi-passive, so from the start something better. Still loud, but temps are nice, so you have space to overclock or making it better acoustically.

Gigabyte - finally something decent. Great temps, quiet. All thanks to big for the 1660S card cooler with three fans.

MSI - here we have something awesome. The same temps as Gaming OC, but like two times quieter and does it with two fans and a little more compact size. That's one with amazing cooler. One problem with MSI Gaming cards is, they cost premium, but quality tends to be average with sometimes even cheap additions. Generally I find MSI the most stinky brand on the market, but I would personally buy their card from Gaming line and often find them overally the best on the market. This premium used to be 10% more than similar quality Gigabyte Gaming, so I find it a fair deal.

Zotac and Palit are typical mid-range cards like EVGA above or Gigabyte Gaming and all used to cost the same money. Problem is, all are noticeably worse than Gigabyte Gaming.

This nutshell lacks only Asus Strix card - outstanding build quality, highest price. These tend to be not silence, but performance and overclocking focused cards. But they have amazing coolers, so much space to make it, how you want. Less factory overclocked Strixes are cheaper.

From your XLR8 card I would expect something between ASUS Phoenix and EVGA.

It's needed to mention, all card differ with pure performance out of the box and it affects scores from the table. Some are more overcklocked, some less, but in the end of the day, if you tried to squeeze everything from all cards or did nothing, they would differ with unnoticeable ~5%. Also that's all is not some everytime working tendency - worse Strixes or Trios happened, but they were never bad. They just haven't make a traditionaly big difference to justify its prices. It's really rare, but always check some reviews.

If you are curious, how this dBA difference shows in real life, it's hard to tell or imagine, because it's logarytmic. Type on youtube ,,Wielkie porównanie GeForce RTX 2080 | Jakiego RTX 2080 wybrać?" and rewind to 15:42.

I don't like idea of your friend about mining. Plus it goes opposite direction to keeping the card in great shape - reliability. Once again I repeat, how I see you spending more for more power - you are a hobbyst, so you don't really need it. Spend how much you feel good with and always know or ask, what you pay for.

CA_Steve
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Re: New PC build

Post by CA_Steve » Mon Mar 15, 2021 7:17 am

Bitcoin mining is a great way to heat up your PC, make it much louder, use MUCH more electricity and add to global warming (electrical plant CO2 emissions) all in one go.

Horseman
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Re: New PC build

Post by Horseman » Fri Mar 19, 2021 10:20 am

Hi guys. The past few days were a bit hectic, but I have some good news to report.
CA_Steve wrote:
Mon Mar 15, 2021 7:17 am
Bitcoin mining is a great way to heat up your PC, make it much louder, use MUCH more electricity and add to global warming (electrical plant CO2 emissions) all in one go.
Japanese Capacitor wrote:
Mon Mar 15, 2021 7:03 am
I don't like idea of your friend about mining. Plus it goes opposite direction to keeping the card in great shape - reliability. Once again I repeat, how I see you spending more for more power - you are a hobbyst, so you don't really need it. Spend how much you feel good with and always know or ask, what you pay for.
Good points, you guys are right. I've actually been quite vocal against mining in the past 12 or 24 months, since I saw videos of mining farms on YouTube, by now my friends are tired of hearing me complain about it. I am, or was, more worried about those gigantic facilities than with personal computers, at least to me it seems more wasteful to buy millions of dollars of equipment just for this than using the PC during the night. But anyway, your arguments make a lot sense, I definitely don't want my hardware to fail due to unnecessary heat. No mining.
Japanese Capacitor wrote:
Mon Mar 15, 2021 7:03 am
About U14S, it looks like AM4 kit is included (two C shape metal parts + bag in the left corner of the photo.

It will help you: https://noctua.at/en/how-can-i-check-if ... ting-parts
Thank you very much. One less thing to worry about. :)
Japanese Capacitor wrote:
Mon Mar 15, 2021 7:03 am
Don't sell PNY card for a moment. He or anybody will wait ;)
The guy that wanted to buy the PNY 1660 SUPER vanished without even saying ''sorry, I'm no longer interested'', but yesterday someone else made a similar proposal, I shipped the PNY today, it should arrive Monday. He paid me €400, exactly the same as I did. Unless something goes wrong during the shipment, problem solved.
Japanese Capacitor wrote:
Mon Mar 15, 2021 7:03 am
I like, that you care about my opinion, but speaking like ,,better"; ,,louder"; ,,stronger"; ,,better deal" is only relative.
I know, it's relative, but I appreciate your comments very much, it helps me to understand better the options. Without your help by now I'd probably had given up and decided to simply buy a ready-made computer, or let my computer shop friend choose the components. And I'd surely regret it later. So, thank you very much for your patience with me.
Japanese Capacitor wrote:
Mon Mar 15, 2021 7:03 am
If you are curious, how this dBA difference shows in real life, it's hard to tell or imagine, because it's logarytmic. Type on youtube ,,Wielkie porównanie GeForce RTX 2080 | Jakiego RTX 2080 wybrać?" and rewind to 15:42.
This was very useful, thank you. It's really interesting to see the differences, not only the overall noise, but also how each graphics card has a different sound signature.
Japanese Capacitor wrote:
Mon Mar 15, 2021 7:03 am
So examples, GPU market in a nutshell: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/evga ... ra/34.html
Japanese Capacitor wrote:
Mon Mar 15, 2021 7:03 am
he ago
MSI - here we have something awesome. The same temps as Gaming OC, but like two times quieter and does it with two fans and a little more compact size. That's one with amazing cooler. One problem with MSI Gaming cards is, they cost premium, but quality tends to be average with sometimes even cheap additions. Generally I find MSI the most stinky brand on the market, but I would personally buy their card from Gaming line and often find them overally the best on the market. This premium used to be 10% more than similar quality Gigabyte Gaming, so I find it a fair deal.
Japanese Capacitor wrote:
Mon Mar 15, 2021 7:03 am
This nutshell lacks only Asus Strix card - outstanding build quality, highest price. These tend to be not silence, but performance and overclocking focused cards. But they have amazing coolers, so much space to make it, how you want. Less factory overclocked Strixes are cheaper.
those MSI and ASUS really seeing excellent, and totally worth it. I don't mind paying more, if it means lower noise and higher-quality. And those 2 lines really seem to have both. I spent many hours this week looking for ASUS Stryx and MSI Gaming, but as I expected I didn't get much luck. There are some 3070, 3080, and 3090 available in a few shops here, but the price is crazy, the minimum is €1400.

As I wrote last week, I'm not the kind of guy that upgrades often, I much prefer to buy something good even if it means paying more, than constantly keep buying new stuff, I don't think that makes any economic sense, and environmentally is also a disaster. So, I've been looking at buying a 1660 as a minimum, and a 3060 as a maximum.

And a few minutes ago I finally found a good candidate, and just bought it.
it's a 3060 MSI Gaming X...
https://www.pcdiga.com/componentes/plac ... 2-v397-037

The price is ''good'' compared to everywhere else here, it's actually €50 cheaper that even the 3060 from ''cheap'' brands, and unsurprisingly it went out of stock in just a few minutes.

I'm not sure yet if my order went through, if it did I'll have to pay it tonight or tomorrow morning, but I'm hoping I got it. It's a lot of money, of course, I'm guessing around €300 more than usual for this specific card, compared to just 1 or 2 years ago, but compared to buying a 1660 super for 400, I think this one makes more sense, it's more powerful and will last longer, if Vray starts using the raytracing capabilities of the 3000 cards architecture .

Anyway, if my order is accepted, and if I don't get cold feet and decide to back off from this deal, I think I have a graphics card and next week I can ask my friends to make the new PC. :)

Japanese Capacitor
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Re: New PC build

Post by Japanese Capacitor » Fri Mar 19, 2021 12:27 pm

I cross my fingers for your order being succesful :] Not too much online about not-Trio 3060 Gaming X, but should be a great card. For not too warm 3060 card two-fan design should be totally enough to keep it cool and quiet. If I remember well, MSI used with 3060 Trio the same cooler as with way more power-hungry 3080. 3060 Gaming and Trio differ with look and backplate, but maybe one more fan and size are only crucial differences. Generally this card just must be good, question is only how good :>

Premium cards like MSI Gaming or even Strix are imo totally worth it. I personally have not good, not bad 2070 Super Gigabyte Gaming OC and I don't really like it. I bought it, just because I was building most of my current computer after the launch of Super cards, so traditionally in such time everything good was unavailable (waiting), patience is not my strength and basing on reviews I assumed, it's good enough to make it nice. And it is, but not out-of-the-box and bad is the feeling, that I could have something better. With chosen card you shouldn't have like that ;)

Keep us informed!

Horseman
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Re: New PC build

Post by Horseman » Mon Mar 22, 2021 5:13 pm

Earlier today I got confirmation my order was accepted, and a few hours later got a mail saying the graphics card was shipped, if all goes well I'll receive it tomorrow.

I have to admit this weekend I felt a bit of buyers remorse, but after seeing yesterday several GPUs increasing (!) their price even more, the card I bought yesterday was selling for 860 in one of the main Portuguese shops, before going out of stock again, I now feel more confident about the money spent. Certainly not ideal, but I'm pretty sure it'll be enough for my needs for years.

Regarding the PNY 1660 SUPER I sold, the guy received it today, and was happy. Probably because yesterday those cards also increased their prices, I just saw a 1660 SUPER selling for €500.

But so, that doesn't matter anymore, and the configuration I'll get is...

MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Gaming X 12G
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 4.6Ghz AM4 64MB
Kingston DDR4 32GB 3200MHZ HyperX Fury Black
Samsung SSD 512GB SATA 3 Serie 860 PRO Basic R560 / W530Mb/s
Corsair RM650X 650W 80 PLUS Gold Full Modular ATX
WD HDD 6TB Blue 3.5" 64mb SATA 6gbb/s
Mother Board Asus TUF GAMING B550-plus
Noctua 14S
Antec P101 Slent


I'm extremely excited and happy with the outcome, I can't wait to get it. Thank you very much for your help.
Tomorrow or the day after I'll ask a family member to take the GPU, CPU cooler, and PC case, to my friend's shop, for him to put everything together. With some luck I'll get the PC next week.

I went through this thread once again, I think the only thing that I should be aware and ask my friend is regarding the PC case fans. Japanese capacitor said...
''Summing it up, you need to tell your friend: not to plug case fans into manual case fan controller, not to plug one of the case fans into CPU fan, but use splitter, which will allow to change their speed and connect them to Case Fan connectors.''


... but the Antec P101 Silent doesn't have a manual case fan controller, right?

Japanese Capacitor
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Re: New PC build

Post by Japanese Capacitor » Mon Mar 22, 2021 11:42 pm

About GPU, don't have any buying remorse, because it must be a great card. And it must be better than designed to be cheapest PNY card.

Like you quoted me, Antec case HAS manual fan controller and that's why all of these instruction in case of plugging them, how it would be the best for you.

It's good, that you reminded yourself, what to do. Tell your friend to do everything I told you: case fans + splitter; placing the HDDs closest to the bottom and removing all unused HDD cages to increase airflow; maybe there was something else I don't remember now. I would also place your SSD in one of the hard drive cages, because placing it sticking to the motherboard doesn't seem to me good. Mounts like that are popular among cases, but that's the place, which gets hot, when CPU is under load and I would just feel better not having there SSD - but these are only my suspicions, not something I know for sure is bad.

Horseman
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Re: New PC build

Post by Horseman » Fri Mar 26, 2021 5:18 pm

Thanks again Japanese Capacitor. I'll ask my friend to follow your advices/suggestions.

Yesterday I received the graphics card, and Monday an uncle will take the GPU, PC case, and CPU cooler to my friend's shop. Not sure how many days it'll take, probably at least 3 or 4, maybe more, because I asked my friend if he could bring the new PC to my house when it's ready, to place 2 of the hard drives I'm currently using on this PC, on the new one.

I'm quite anxious, but I've been living with this PC for 13 years, I can wait a few more days if necessary. :)

Japanese Capacitor
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Re: New PC build

Post by Japanese Capacitor » Fri Mar 26, 2021 11:38 pm

Great. Possibly copying everything from old ones and removing them after would make your computer even better in terms of temperatures and quiet operation. HDD collection crossing air pushed by front fans dicreases case cooling capabilites (hard to say how much), so make your computer hotter-louder. You will have an opportunity to test it - I don't know, if the difference is noticeable or just provable.

Horseman
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Re: New PC build

Post by Horseman » Sun Apr 04, 2021 1:21 pm

Nothing new yet to report, but with some luck I'll get the PC tomorrow or the following day. Just posting to say that 3 days ago I spoke on the phone with the technician that installed everything, and apparently he followed ''my'' suggestions, placing the hard drives on the bottom.

Regarding the splitters for the fans, when I talked with him he had connected the cables to the manual fan controller, but I explained why that wouldn't work for me, and he said he'd take care of that. Thanks again very much for your suggestion, the Japanese Capacitor.

If all goes well my next post will be in 2 or 3 days, already with the new PC.

Japanese Capacitor
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Re: New PC build

Post by Japanese Capacitor » Mon Apr 05, 2021 12:00 am

Great :] Tell him not to plug one of case fans to CPU fan, because I suspect, he can do it to not care about maybe getting some splitter. That will be his first thought, when he see, that motherboard lacks one case fan connector and has one CPU one spare.

Horseman
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Re: New PC build

Post by Horseman » Thu Apr 08, 2021 8:23 am

Yesterday night my friend – the shop’s owner – brought me the new PC, and I’m already using it to type this. Windows 10 is quite diferente from Windows 7, so I’m a bit lost and trying to adjust, and the microfone I’ve been using – Zalman MC1 isn’t working properly, the volume is extremely low, so I can’t use my voice ecognition software to dictate texts.

I tried several potential fixes, but no luck, it seems the best and only solution is buying a USB microfone. I’ll research tonight, and I should receive it next week. In the meantime I’ll have to type, very slowly.

But regarding the PC, I’m having a hard time trying to control the fans. As far as I can understand the technician connected the fans directly to the motherboard, but I think there’s an error somewhere, he probably messed up.

When entering the Bios I see image 01…
… and when I click Q-Fan I get image 02. But if I select PWM, the fans go full throttle, to maximum speed.

The only way to decrease the fan speed is to select DC, as shown in image 03. If i do this the fans slow down, audibly. But fan noise is still perfectly audible, even from 2 or 3m away.

Or maybe I’m doing something wrong’
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CA_Steve
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Re: New PC build

Post by CA_Steve » Thu Apr 08, 2021 9:19 am

If you stuck with the stock case fans, they are DC controlled. Here's a couple of things to try:
- let the motherboard do the control -> set it on Silent rather than manual
- I note that the case fan control is starting at 30+%. I'd hope you can start it lower...Asus' window's utility will test the fans to determine the minimum guaranteed starting voltage/rpm. You might try that* and use the information as a starting point. *and then uninstall if you don't want it/need it.


Which fans are connected to what control? That 1200rpm "AIO pump" fan is definitely in need of taming.

Japanese Capacitor
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Re: New PC build

Post by Japanese Capacitor » Thu Apr 08, 2021 10:07 am

Sorry to hear about microphone problems, but I don't know, how to solve it and can't reccomand any worth buying - I'm not interested in microphones and peripherals generally.

With fans I see, that they run damn fast, so can't be even quiet in my understanding of this word. Your friend rather didn't do anything wrong and all fans are plugged individually. Btw due to lack of info in your motherboard's manual I missed, that board has AiO pump connector, which he utilized to plug the forth fan and didn't need the splitter - it should work fine and as we wanted :]

About control, you have to set the same every case fan one after another (CHA1;2;3 FAN and AIO PUMP): go there and choose Manual under graph, set them all to DC and create the same fan curve (you can inspire with mine from my thread, but numbers working with your configuration will be different). Then it should work nicely. If we talk about CPU Fan, it should be PWM and is also worth to create own fan curve: I would set it to constant 25% till 50C and then make just straight line to 90C-100% - it should work well. After doing all, save and exit (probably F10).

What I don't like is, you bought yourself RAM in one module - it won't benefit from Dual Channel, but maybe in your tasks it won't make a difference. You haven't consult it with us and just bought it by your friend reccomendation, so I wouldn't suspect such thing. In V-Ray you will miss ~5% performance, so kinda bad because of just existence, but not bad enough to worry about imo ;)

Abula
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Re: New PC build

Post by Abula » Thu Apr 08, 2021 12:38 pm

Asus bios fan control sucks, its very picky and a lot of times it doesnt work as we do the graphs. On the contrary, Asus FanXpert is pretty good, not only to recognize each fan but with fan tunning you are presented with a suggested graph that most of the time work well enough, but you can vary it to your liking, and will work fine.

Only downside is that AI Suite is a very heavy package of software that has a lot of things that i dont use, but there is no way to install fanxpert as stand alone, so thats the price you pay with Asus.

Japanese Capacitor
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Re: New PC build

Post by Japanese Capacitor » Thu Apr 08, 2021 1:09 pm

There's generally not much to set on screens Horseman shown, but maybe more is somewhere nearby as I have in ASRock bios.

Where is the source of temperature fan curve works with (CPU, motherboard)? You want to have case fans working according to changes of CPU temperature.
Where are timings (time after fans change speed after change of temperature)? If you want to set it my way (constant low speed-jump-constant high speed) I advise having case fans changing speed after like ten secounds of change of CPU temperature, CPU fan three-five.

But I see on Asus website something called Armoury Crate and maybe it's amazing:

https://www.asus.com/pl/Motherboards-Co ... _Download/

Try it, it should let you set everything in Windows, not bios and maybe it will work the best for you. I personally ditched fan curve I posted in my thread and came back to similar app: ASRock A-Tuning. Now I keep my case fans on constant, inaudible 30% and before load (mostly gaming) I just switch them to constant 100% with only move of one dot from 30 to 100.

Horseman
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Re: New PC build

Post by Horseman » Thu Apr 08, 2021 2:12 pm

Thank you very much for your posts, Steve and Japanese Capacitor. I followed your suggestions earlier roday and it’s significantly better now. I’ll attach images of how each fan is now, and also the before and after. Fan 1, 2, and 3 are now at 590, 550, and 500rpm.

The last fan is still at 1200rpm, tho, not sure why. Or if it’s an error. And one fan, or more, is ramping up often, even when just browsing, i’ll try to find out which. Or perhaps it' the GPU.

BTW, one of these fans is the PSU, right'

I‘ll try fanXpert.

Regarding the RAM, something that puzzled me is the bios saying the RAM speed is 2400. I increased it manually to 3200.
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Horseman
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Re: New PC build

Post by Horseman » Thu Apr 08, 2021 2:24 pm

Erm, can't find the AI Suite Steve mentioned.
Or is Armoury Crate perhaps the same thing, with a new name'

Japanese Capacitor
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Re: New PC build

Post by Japanese Capacitor » Thu Apr 08, 2021 3:34 pm

When not under load try to keep your case fans like 300 rpm (if it's achievable) and CPU cooler 400-500 rpm.

The ,,AIO PUMP" case fan curve looks like running 100% all the time. Create it the same curve as for others case fans, if it's possible.

About ramping fan, it's rather not GPU or PSU and you don't see in bios speeds of their fans. GPU when no-load should work passive by default, PSU also. Looking at your curves I suspect case fans, maybe, but rather not CPU. You can check it by setting all of the case fans or CPU fan for one, constant speed from 0 to 100C, browse a little and see if ramping dissapeared.

Horseman
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Re: New PC build

Post by Horseman » Fri Apr 09, 2021 4:11 am

Using AI Suite - after noticing the technician installed it, lol - with the remote help from my friend we managed to make the 'AIO Pump fan' decrease the speed from 1200 to 600, and the noise level is MUCH better now. :D :D :D

I can still hear the fans, but I'm wondering if turning the PC 180 degrees could help. ATM i have the back of the case facing me, around 36'' from my head.
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Re: New PC build

Post by Japanese Capacitor » Fri Apr 09, 2021 4:35 am

Is possible to create fan curves for AiO Pump or only kinda consistent one like on the picture? Do you know, which case fan is plugged into AiO Pump connector? I hope it's not rear fan, because running it during load only 600 rpm is not best idea. With your configuration speed of rear fan has the biggest impact on components temperatures, so their speeds-noise. It would be best, if AiO Pump fan was front bottom one, but it doesn't matter much.

You rather can do better with curves and I don't really like them. If you want, I can help you balance them better. I would need you to install HW Info, run it sensors-only, then browse internet for, let's say, hour and after that show me here screens of all of the sensors. After getting the data from browsing/no-load, you can reset the sensors and put your computer under load (best V-Ray or whatever is your heaviest real-life usage) and then we will see also, how it behaves under load. This two informations is all I need to make you the best curves I can - quietest when it should be quietest and with reasonable silence and cooling balance when needed.

Don't do experiments with turning your computers anyway, but it's worth to place it with front facing you. Everything inside works best in standard position. If you prefer your computer looking like VHS player, too late, because we should've gone with Fractal Design Node 202 :]

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Re: New PC build

Post by CA_Steve » Fri Apr 09, 2021 5:22 am

Horseman wrote:
Fri Apr 09, 2021 4:11 am
I can still hear the fans, but I'm wondering if turning the PC 180 degrees could help. ATM i have the back of the case facing me, around 36'' from my head.
Yes, turn the PC around.

Now that you've found AI Suite and Fan Xpert, you really should try the easiest solution first and then move onto fine tuning if it doesn't meet your needs. In Fan Xpert, highlight one of the fans and hit the "Fan Tuning" button on the lower left. It'll run an optimization program to determine lowest speed. It's not perfect and not necessarily the true lowest speed, but it's easy and a start. Repeat for all the other fans. Then set them all on "Silent" mode rather than manual. See if it's quiet enough for both idle/browsing use and for high load use. If it isn't, then start looking at manual optimization.

In either case, you'll want to load a hardware monitor so you can see your temps, etc while in operation. HW Info is fine.

Here's a guide from Asus on Fan Xpert. The instructions are in English, while the pictures are in Chinese, but, you'll get the gist of it.

Horseman
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Re: New PC build

Post by Horseman » Sun Apr 11, 2021 4:05 am

Thanks again guys. I already asked my friend to check the availability of several USB microphones, hopefully next week I'll solve this issue. In the meantime it's hard to write, I'll have to be brief until I'm able to dictate my posts again with the voice recogition software, I type very slowly, sorry.

The techicion says this is what he remembers...
CPU - CPU fan
FAN 1 - back fan
FAN 2 -
FAN 3 -
AIO PUMP - top front fan

AIO PUMP fan

For some reason in AI Suite the AIO pump allows me to freely move the slider down to 30, 20, and even 10 percent - the others don't - but I'm not sure of the fan stops or not.

Curves

I'd appeciate very much your help with the curves, Japanese Capacitor, but please let's wait until I can dictate again.

I'll make a post next about the PC location, I'll attach some images and photos showing my current setup. I work horizontally, on my bed, looking up. The 2nd monitor is only to see when I'm exercising on my chair.
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Horseman
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Re: New PC build

Post by Horseman » Sun Apr 11, 2021 4:13 am

PC placement
For years I've thinking about moving my PC away from my head. I'll attach some images I made a few years ago, showing the room as it is currenty, and also some of the options I thought about. ATM I can't try them, tho, the monitor cable is short, I'd need a longer cable.

OPTION A

It's like this now, but I could turn the PC around, with the front of the computer facing me.

OPTION B

This location would make the mattress block the noise from the HDD's, I thnk, perhaps it's an important advantage. But the top front and middle fans would be closer.

OPTION C

This one isn't possible, the ANTEC P101 is too wide.

OPTION D

Placing the PC on the wall.

OPTION E

I'm wondering if is possible to move the PC away from me, like this, to the other side of the bedroom, that would certainly make it significantly quieter when the CPU is at full speed. For that I'd have to get 8 meter cables for the monitors, tho, and also USB cables for the keyboard, mouse, and also the USB microphone. But is this distance between the computer and the peripherals ok?

OPTION F

Another possible option is very similar to option B - with the PC UNDER the current location - but I could put a sound absorbing material, 6cms thick, between me and the PC, where the green square is. I have a 60x60cms piece of this material in the garage, leftover from the house construction. Or instead, a vertical piece of wood, 50 x 50, that would be even simpler.
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Re: New PC build

Post by Japanese Capacitor » Sun Apr 11, 2021 6:21 am

I would start with don't feel sorry about typing slowly or answering after longer time. I personally don't feel bad with it and that's the forum, not some chat. We can comeback to disccusion anytime ;)

If you can freely modify AiO Pump fan curve, doesn't matter which one it is.

No problem to help you with setting your fan curves nicely. I would start with your CPU fan curve, which I don't like the most. Ryzen CPUs are known for rapid changes of temperature - that's not dangerous, these chips just work like that. Your CPU curve is really agressive, so exaggerates it in terms of making it noticeable with noise. We should also look at it from U14S perspective, which is quiet and powerful cooler, which can get damn loud closer to maximum speed. The thing is, it's efficient, so doesn't need to run fast to provide great temps and to my taste with your config running U14S with max speed of 1500rpm would shave you maybe 5 unimportant degrees compared to waay quieter 1000 rpm. So lazier fan curve and search for timings I mentioned before in bios (Fan Speed UP/DOWN or similarly named) - you want your cooler to change speed after 3-5 secounds. Try my CPU fan curve and it should work nicely:
02.jpg
About case fans, on your previous screen of Performance and Saving Utilities (I assume it's Windows app) I see ,,Load Profile". Is it possible to create two profiles for all case fans: one with constant quiet speed and one with constant higher speed? And switch between them easily? It would be awesome and make any tweaking with fan curves and HW Info pointles.

If we talk about computer or anything placement, hard to say, what would work best for you. But definitely stop keeping it facing you with its back. That's the only one side,where it lets noise to escape and breating with warm and somehow dusty air from it isn't nice too. The farer you place your pc from you, the more quiet it will be.
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Re: New PC build

Post by CA_Steve » Sun Apr 11, 2021 1:39 pm

F is the best solution as it places the front of the PC toward you and has something to block any direct path noise and you don't have to deal with potential long video cable issues.

Sound deadening material: Whatever you use, make sure to leave a few cm between the PC and the material. If the sound deadening material is something that doesn't drop little bits of itself or is fiberglass batting, then it could be a great buffer. If you go with wood, then you'll still want to attach something sound absorbent to the side facing the PC, otherwise you'll be dealing with reflection noise. It'll still be quieter, but...

Again, I suggest you try the Fan Xpert fan analysis tool and silent mode for all the fans before you delve deeper into individual settings.

Horseman
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Re: New PC build

Post by Horseman » Fri Apr 30, 2021 4:40 pm

It took a lot longer than I was hoping, but I finally managed to have the voice recognition software working. My old microphone didn't work with the new PC, so I bought a USB microphone. Which is bigger than my previous one, so I had to improvise a way to hold it in place. I thought about buying a microphone boom arm, but it wouldn't be easy to secure it to the bed, so I had to improvise another solution, a family member brought me an old floor lamp holder. It works surprisingly well, I'm quite happy with that.
174155334_1765699976943809_1687234086041499258_n.jpg
Regarding the PC placement, no news yet, my friend didn't bring me the longer monitor cable yet, that may take a few weeks or more, but with the new cable I'll definitely put the PC under the table, I think it's the better option.

In the meantime I can adjust the fan profiles. This weekend I'll read again Japanese Capacitor posts, and I'll try to make the adjustments he suggested.
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