Passive Accelero S2/50 watt VGA/P180 w. 2 Nexus's@ 5 volt?

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 9:43 pm

So, my 98oo Pro runs stable with a VF-900, stock fan, at 5 volt. But it's too noisy for me.

It's in a P180 with the front intake blocked, and instead I've removed all PCI slots, which acts as airintake. So there's plenty of airflow below the VGA card.

Do you think an Accelero S2 can be run passively in a setup like this? Or will I be better of by doing a fan mod on my VF-900?

I lean towards the S2 solution, because I think it'll be more quiet overall. But I would like to hear your opinion

Thanks,
Thomas

Lawrence Lee · Post by **Lawrence Lee** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 10:17 pm

Do a fan mod. A good fan at 5V is inaudible from a foot or more away.

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 3:56 am

Ummm, that term, "inaudible", depends a lot on ambient noise, the actual fan, and personal sensitiveness to noise.

I'm pretty sure that a fan mod will be good, but I've also learned the lesson: When I've quitend something further, there's always another part which becomes noisy. So if I can go fanless (S2), I prefer that.

With the VF-900 and the fan disconnected, things work fine in 2D, and 3D gaming works for around 10 minutes, before system locks up.

So I guess I'm looking for experiences with passive S2 (or maybe a S1) in a P180/182 and two Nexus's (or similar) at 5 volt. And maybe a CPU fan, which is at the same noise level as a 12 cm Nexus @ 5 volt. VGA card around 50 watt, like the Radeon.

SebRad · Post by **SebRad** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 5:32 am

Hi Thomas, have you tried turning the fan down lower? My experience of Zalman fans is 5v is sometimes too much, use 2 fanmates in series or a fanmate connected to 5v to get the fan speed even lower may work for you. I have X1950pro Ultimate that came with VF-900 on it (with blue translucent fan), the minimum possible speed setting (9% from ATITool) resulted in fan speed of ~400rpm! Having said that it wasnâ€™t a great fan and I've swapped it for a Noctua R8, detailed here.
Summary is it keeps X1950pro under 70Â°C at 1000rpm, I think the 9800pro is no hotter GPU and 1000rpm on good 80mm fan is pretty quiet. I think the original fan cooled better per rpm but Noctua fans not the best against back pressure anyway.
Zalman ZM-80C/D just about cope passive with 9800pro in good airflow case, Aerocool VM-101/102 should be as good or better passively.
Regards, Seb

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 11:04 pm

Amourek & SebRad; Yeah, you guys are right, a good fan can be pretty quiet, the Scythe 92 mm on my Katana @ 4,5 volt is a good example

And if I had such a fan laying around, I would give it a try.

But I dont. And a good 80 mm fan (Nexus) cost around the same, as a

If I succeed making the VGA passive, the noise from my PC are mainly coming from the 2 Nexus' @ volt, with a "touch" from the HDD. Which I find is pretty darn good. But if things goes like it use to, it might show up, I can go even lower... Like 2 S-Flex at 4-4,5 volt... And then it might show up that another part is noisier....

I've tried ZM80D-HP several times. Basically, I dont like the design, because it limit airflow around already warm/hot RAM modules... Anyway, on the practical side, I've tried many different airflow setups, like ducting air from intake fan, opening/closing PCI slots, etc. etc. and it works fine in 2D. But 3D requires quite more than 2 Nexus' at 5 volt, it ends up with at least one Nexus at 10-12 volt. Now, that doens matter much to during gaming, but I forget changing the speed manually. And I dont want to spend even more money on a clever auto fan controller, than a good fan / S2 costs. And I definately dont want to spend a lot of time for finding a good spot for the thermo sensor, and calibrating the controller.

Buttom line: It's either a new good fan for the VF-900 or a S2.

The dilemma: Will such a fan satisfy my silence-bug? Will a 8 cm Nexus @ 5 volt be enough for stability in 3D? Can a S2 be passively cooled in a P180 with 2 Nexus's @ 5 volt and a 50 watt graphics card?

Hmmm.... Sounds like I have to guestimate what works, get that part... and then be prepared to ditch it and get the other...

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 11:48 pm

I went through the SPCR review of the Nexus 8 fan. Appearently, it's the best regarding noise. On the other hand, it's sleeve bearing, which aint the best for mounting in hot spots like on heatsinks, and also, it's not the best with horisontal mounting. And it vibrates.

Any fan suggestions?

EDIT: Noiseblocker NB-BlackSilentFan X1 80mm seems to my fan-choise, unless I give the S2 a try.

NB X1 is the 8 cm edition, of the NoiseBlocker 92 and 120 mm, which gets good recommendations in the SPCR Fan Roundup. Appearently it dont vibrate, it might have better bearings and around here, the price is 40% lower, than the Nexus. It's still with sleeve bearings, though

Still debating between the fan mod or the Accelero S2 passive... Comments on the S2 are welcome

tehfire · Post by **tehfire** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 4:40 am

Back in the day I used an 80mm Panaflo for my VF-900. It was way below ambient (@ 5v I had to put my ear within a few centimeters to be able to hear it in a very quiet room). Panaflo's use a hybrid bearing that isn't affected by orientation or heat, but these fans suffer from a lot of sample variance nowadays...

I don't know of any 80mm fans that have fluid-dynamic bearings (but that doesn't mean they're not out there). I'd look for a quiet ball-bearing fan. Scythe Minebea fans are pretty quiet at low speeds. Much better than the stock Zalman fan.

EndoSteel · Post by **EndoSteel** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 8:21 am

Thomas
Ð¥800Pro (48W), Accelero S2, no forced airflow at all - 75C (ATiTool).

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 3:30 am

tehfire: Sounds reasonably with a ballbearing fan and Mineba. Thanks.

Endosteel: very interesting. Which case do you use, and which case fans? At which speed is the case fans running? Can you provide a pic or two?

Thanks,
Thomas

Badger · Post by **Badger** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 1:19 pm

Don't fret about the sleeve-bearing fans running in a hot environment or running horizontal instead of vertical. I have the orange Nexus 120mm sleeve-bearing running at 400-500 rpm inside my Seasonic 330W PSU (so that's obviously going to be hot and in a horizontal orientation). It's been that way for probably two years now, still working great, no weird noises, etc...

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 4:04 am

Badger wrote:Don't fret about the sleeve-bearing fans running in a hot environment or running horizontal instead of vertical. I have the orange Nexus 120mm sleeve-bearing running at 400-500 rpm inside my Seasonic 330W PSU (so that's obviously going to be hot and in a horizontal orientation). It's been that way for probably two years now, still working great, no weird noises, etc...

Thanks, Badger. I dont think the Nexus is running in a hot place in the PSU, because at 4-500 RPM, the fan controller aint ramped up, so the temps is quite low... But two years at horisontal position... wow.

With my current setup, it's appeared that when ambient temps goes up, then the VF-900 aint sufficient with stock fan at 5 volt. Then I often have to go to full speed

Does a 8 cm fan, 25 mm thick, provide more air, than the stock Zalman fan? Preferable at 1200 rpm, or lower

Thanks

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 1:09 am

Hello guys

Thanks to all for your input.

I think there's no clear ansver ot if Accelero S2 or VF-900 + fan mod is the overall most quiet solution.

I decieded to give the Accelero a try, and am waiting for it to arrive. If it works, I'll sell the VF-900. It's easier to sell, if it's not modded

If the cooling of the S2 aint suffient, I have 3-4 different ideas for airflow inside the P180. If that's not enough, a S-Flex will be added to the S2. So I'll still sell the VF-900, if the S2 cant be totally passive

Passive Accelero S2/50 watt VGA/P180 w. 2 Nexus's@ 5 volt?

Passive Accelero S2/50 watt VGA/P180 w. 2 Nexus's@ 5 volt?

Regarding fan mod...