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I've been fighting heat and air flow issues on my personal computer/cruncher since I bought it a couple of years ago. Running 2 gpus 24/7 didn't help. I got tired of having to have the side of the case off and having a box fan blowing in to help keep everything cool. So, I just bought this off Newegg for $90. It won't add credits, but it makes me happy.
Nice! DrPop will be proud :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Al McAdams
5 3770k's so far, bought 5 2x8gb Memory kits last night ... :D
5 of these too: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157330
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814162120
$245 for a 660ti=P~ I can't get rebates but there is a $20 one also.:cool: Got 2 of these on the way!:D
Thanks to Firestorm i was able to get a 3770k 229.99 +taxes and shipping
http://www.microcenter.com/product/3...1155_Processor
2x 3T Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 ST3000DM001 3TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
99$ each free shippng
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148844
Rosewill RHRC-11001 Windows Vista/Window7 MCE/Windows 8 MCE Infrared Remote Control with Learning Function
$14 free shpping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16880101007
This is to upgrade the agging E8400 Media Center eqiped with the InfiniTV 4 usb comcast cable tuner http://cetoncorp.com/products/infinitv-4-usb/
still in need of a motherboard and casing (wife thinks the old casing is ugly :(() cant decide wether to use a mini ITX such as http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811345017 This is what the wife wants
or make her suffer with HAF so i can save a few $$
Everyone buying computer equipment. So jealous!:) Going to try to get to Best Buy in the morning, but not an early riser. They have a Panasonic 55 inch 3D smart TV for $899. Gonna try to pick up 2 of them. 1 for me and 1 for my son. Hope they don't run out. Had my 6 core blow up on me the other night. Actually woke both me and the wife up when it went. Big popping sound and plastic burning smell. Lost power supply and Motherboard. Haven't been able to check the chip out yet. Both are still under waranty, so got to get around to the RMA thing when I get a chance. If not, I'll be shopping around for a replacement.
I got sorta stupid..... Newegg had (past tense) the OCZ Vertex 4 128GB SSD on special for $74.99. I saw the ad last night but was too tired to pull the trigger. Now they are sold out.... :(( But as the money is intended for something else, I guess its a good thing I goofed.
Pulled the trigger last night on a SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W 80Plus Gold PS for Wolverine. Can't really expect to do much better than 50% off. :)
Also grabbed a little Highpoint RocketU USB 3.0 PCIe card for experimenting at work. Can't argue with $12.99+Free shipping. :)
Wish I had the money to spend like Ste\/e though!
It may seem backwards, but opening cases usually hurts cooling. Those walls and baffles are there to direct the airflow over the components. Opening up the sides allows the incoming air to exit without doing any cooling work over the hot stuff.Quote:
Originally Posted by Al McAdams
Put more fans in the front, blowing into the case. And those holes in the side of cases are bad news too, because the let cool air out too early. Cover them up unless you put a fan there to pull air into the case.
unfotunately, the older cases, although uquiped to take a video card, were never designed for a card that puts off so much heat. unless you can modify the case, you're stuck with the case open and a fan pointed towards it. :(
How ancient is this case? Anything from the last 5 years or so should do better with more shaped air-flow in the case, than open-case random flow.Quote:
Originally Posted by Crazybob
There's noticeable difference it Temp's with my ANTEC 900's with or without the side of the case on so I run them all with the side off ...
Not that ancient Z, just poorly designed and purchased before I had access to all you tech people and the desire to run multiple gpus. When it was purchased, the system only had 1-gt430, if that gives a sense of its age. :eek:Quote:
Originally Posted by zombie67
The front only allows for one fan and it's right behind the huge push button for powering it up and resetting...it also has a digital temp mounted in that same button. This forces the front fan to pull air only from the bottom front of the case through a 1/2" slot. I can't put a big fan on the side panel because things are so tight the fan would rub the water cooler lines for the cpu. As for temps, with the side on I can reach thermal shutdown quite easily. With the side off and the box fan the gpus rarely get above 73c. Anyway, I'm really looking forward to the bigger box.
Here is a "mod" that I use that works very well and keeps most of the dust out for those who run with the side off the case. Go to your local Lowes, Home Depot, whatever and buy some window type AC filters. They are very thin and look like sponge. Also buy a roll of velcro tape. Place the prickly side of the velcro around the edges of your case. Stick the filter to it and trim to fit. If your case is larger than 1 filter take 2 (or more if needed) overlap them about 1/2 inch and glue them together. It ain't pretty but it works. :-bdQuote:
Originally Posted by STE\/E
http://s303.beta.photobucket.com/use...ml?sort=3&o=14
Brilliant!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by nanoprobe
Thanks. I do have my moments.:DQuote:
Originally Posted by Mike029
Went with this motherboard for the new media center just couldnt justify the added cost to go mini-itx plus this board had extra sata 6 ports for the new HD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157293 104.99 free shipping
Sweet! :-bdQuote:
Originally Posted by coronicus
I'm envious of all the upgrades but happy for you guys :D Keep'em coming people!!!
My great purchase was a new USB printer cable because my old one went poof a few months ago. That's all i've got to brag about :/Quote:
Originally Posted by Fire$torm
I bought this:
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Pu...umber=28838348
Saved about $160 according to NewEgg's normal prices, I guess.
I am really intrigued by this form factor, and this $40 chassis looks sweet.
This time I bought the K version of the CPU. I'll probably swap it with my earlier build, with better cooling. The annoying part is that, with the sale, the K is actually cheaper than the non-K version I bought recently. Ah well.
The purchase also includes an after market heat sink. The stock intel fans have been too loud in the past. This box will not accommodate heat sinks bigger than the stock intel form factor, without blocking the PCIe slot. The only heat sink I could find had a loud 3-pin fan (constant speed). So I also bought a couple variable speed, quieter, and better fans. All this just in case. Maybe Intel's heat sinks are better now, especially with a lower heat CPU.
Edit:
The point: If successful, I could build three of these 8-thread machines, for less than the cost of one of my big-can-fit-everything-12 thread machines.
Sweet build Z. Will you give it a progress thread on the forums for us voyeurs?
so on black monday i went with these to finish up the media center
casing
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...17C-0007-00002 30$ after rebate free shippin
wont be doing any extreme overclocking since i need stability over speed so this should do the trick.
H60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835181015 40$ after rebate free shippin
win7 64bit pro
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116992 119$ free shippin
Want some memory but im not sure what to get i will eventually need to fill this with 32g so i can cash up all the media picture files to speed up the menu but gonna test out 16 to see if its enough, 8gigs was not (fyi i will have the capabilities to store over 1000 HD quaility recordings ranging from 30min-1hour on the main machines and 200 HD files in the bedroom mostly movies) talk about DVR overload lol... more shows then i could ever watch but its nice to keep some shows i like in HD to view whenever i want and be able to watch em on my laptop no matter where i am (like when i visit the folks hehe) just need internet connection.
Good pictures of the chassis here:Quote:
Originally Posted by zombie67
http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/prod...120%20Advanced
It's built and crunching.
Space: As expected, it's tight. Good thing I bought a fully modular PSU. Not sure it would have been possible without being able to connect all the cables to the mono, then install the PSU, then connect to the PSU. The PSU itself would have been in the way. Also, good thing I did not install an optical drive (never do with crunchers). That is where all the surplus length of the used cables ended up. Especially for the main power cable, which is thick and not easily bent or moved elsewhere. A 7970 fits! Plenty of length room. The room above the power connectors is tight. My cables are the ribbons form, and they barely fit. Round form cables may not be bendable enough to fit. If there was never any plan/desire to add a GPU, could go with a smaller (shorter) PSU, which would make more space for the cables.
Heat: I used the stock intel heat sink, and the CPU heat is in the low 80s C at stock speed. The limit is around 90 C. No change if there is a GPU crunching in the chassis or if the GPU is removed. I am going to try an after market heat sink. But the selection is extremely small. It needs to be no taller than ~1" over the stock version. And it can't be much wider than the stock version, without blocking the PCIe slot. Maybe changing out some of the stock case fans would help to, although the stock fans are pretty good already. I will definitely be swapping this K version with the non-k version in the box I built earlier. I don't think OC will be possible in this box.
Noise: It't about the same noise level as my other crunchers. But I am using the stock heat sink, and the CPU is running hot. Maybe with better CPU cooling, it would be better. And the 7970 is the reference design. And those are all the same noise level under near-100% load. And maybe changing out some of the fans
Thoughts: This is a sweet little package! A better CPU cooling solution is needed, and if one exists, it will probably block the GPU connector. Perhaps a lower power CPU is the solution. But that works against my nature. ;) If the CPU heat can be solved, I could build 2-3 of these for the cost of one of my big haf-x monsters, and end up with double CPU power (3x8 threads vs 1x12 threads), and still 3x PCIe dual-slot GPUs.
Questions?
Would it take a lot of effort to remove the HDD cage? Because with it gone you might have enough room to install a Corsair H50 where the front fan is. Then you could use that 80mm fan to help vent air out of the case instead of into the case (default config). Of course for all of that to work you would have to use a 2.5" HDD/SSD unit.Quote:
Originally Posted by zombie67
The HD cage is riveted in place. I am sure dremel work could solve that if you wanted to go down that road. One of the feedback posts had a guy talking about how he used a Antec Kuhler H2O 620. But no details about how he mounted it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fire$torm
I'd bet he removed the cage. Its the only place with enough room for the rad.Quote:
Originally Posted by zombie67
So I take it you are adverse to using a Dremel tool on the case? Not that I'd blame you for avoiding the task, as it voids the warranty and is time consuming to clean and repaint the bare metal.
Edit: If I had a Mini-ITX system I'd give it a shot.
2nd Edit: Not related to the above... I like the plastic 2.5" HDD mounts that Cooler Master supplies with some of their cases like yours. If you look carefully, it is designed to accept two 2.5" drives. One mounts upside down, underneath the bracket and the 2nd drive on top. The bottom drive is set further back then the top drive so the connectors do not interfere with each other. I figured this out when I added the SSD to my Uncle's system. Saves a lot of room.
Or maybe he mounted it in the GPU side area somehow? But that has the same effect as the Gemini II, blocking the PCIe slot.
Something else I learned today. There is a mounting place for a second 120mm fan, on the inside side of the HD cage. I *might* be able to fit that, if it was thing enough. Recommendations for a high flow 120mm fan with a THIN form factor?
I'd have to look around but Scythe made a few thin 120mm fans. Too bad they just went out of business.... :(Quote:
Originally Posted by zombie67
I found these two. But not sure if there are others.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fire$torm
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...=1&PageSize=20
And to answer your earlier question, I would be willing to cut out the HD cage, no problem. But I want to know FIRST that it works...
Edit: Oh yeah, and both 120mm case fans use the HD cage for mounting. So while that solves the CPU cooling, now the rest of the mobo heat may become an issue.
LoL... OK I can see your point :D I'll dig around to see if I can find any posts on case mods of that unit.Quote:
Originally Posted by zombie67
The 2nd Gelid fan is PWM so that is a plus for speed control.
Found one :D
Here is an extreme mod of the Elite 120
http://img-fotki.yandex.ru/get/6617/...de3482b_XL.jpg
Full thread discussion (Here)
Edit: For increased air flow through the case you could cut a hole in the top of the case big enough for a 120/140mm fan (but without really installing one) and use a Silverstone fan filter/grille (120mm - 140mm) to dress up the hole.
Found another very interesting mod :D It's currently an in progress mod so it might be worth following.
http://i50.tinypic.com/1zgvrk0.jpg
(Link)
Also found the Cooler Master produced video of their Elite 120 build using their Gemini M4 CPU cooler
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...=BFLiTAvYMg0#!
Update: I swapped the CPUs. This mini itx case now has the non-k version. No point in having the k version when it is too hot a stock speeds. I also used Arctic Silver 5, rather than using the pre-applied paste from Intel. I added the second optional fan too. The result: No change in CPU temps under load AT ALL. The ITX form factor is really the problem. The DIMMs block the airflow to the CPU and HS. However, removing the outside case cover, temps dropped from ~85c to ~80c.
So my next step is to try the coolermaster heatsink. One of the reviewers said that it blocked the PCIe slot. But I see in that video you linked (Thanks!) that it did NOT block the PCIe slot. Fingers crossed.
a new dryer guess this friday a new washer also.