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EDIT: I'm now devoting all of my time and resources to this project:
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=923678
My goal for this sytem was to create a good gaming/graphics system that was as quiet as possible and as cool as possible (within my budget
)
Here's what my orginal setup looked like:
Stage 1:
After a little internal modding, a new mobo, and new power supply:
I removed the HD rack in the front. Ripping this out dropped my overall temps. MUCH better airflow now. It also allows plenty of room for a 120mm radiator and fan
That's a SilenX 120mm @7v in the back. The Zalman 7000cu was at 5v, and my NV Silencer 5 runs at the lowest speed all of the time.
My new Seasonic Super Tornado 300W rev A3 never ramps up!!! I love it!!! It's the quietest fan-cooled power supply I've ever heard. Period.
There's also a Card Keeper on my 6800gt. I had to modify it a bit to get it to fit my NV5. The 6800gt weighs so much with the NV5, the Card Keeper makes me feel safe
I didn't remove the 3.5" bay because it will hold a fan controller eventually.
My decoupled HD....What an improvement over the stock antec rubber bushings and drive rails! I can barely hear my drive seeking (it's a maxtor sata 7200, so I'll never get it completely silent). It runs warmer ~40c-44c, but it's an acceptable trade off for me. It's pretty dang secure too. I thought it would be dangerous, but I don't move my pc much, and even when I tip my case around and upside down, the drive doesn't move.
Stage 2:
I got a Thermaltake Bigwater Kit for my birthday from my wife (isn't that awesome....my wife actually took the time to get me something for my hobby....even though she thinks it's a waste of time and $) It really does perform good. My cpu at load is about 10c cooler than what it was with the zalman 7000cu.
I modded the radiator and fan already. I took off the stock 120 (too loud) and put my 120mm stealth on, but reversed, so it's pulling air through the rad instead of pushing. I had it mounted in the front of the case.
I'll be using the stock 120mm antec fan for the rear exhaust.
I had everything assembled in the case, but last night I ripped it apart to paint.
Here's the case stripped apart and painted. I masked off the top and bottom as I wanted to keep those black, and didn't want to rip out the rivets that hold them on.
That's engine enamel. Should be tough enough.
I'm planning on getting a vga block for my 6800gt. I already picked up some OCZ ram sinks for it.
I've got a DFI Lanparty UT 250gb on the way from newegg ($65 shipped / refurb). I'm not going to put it all together until I get the new mobo.
That's it for now....I'll post more updates soon!
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=923678
My goal for this sytem was to create a good gaming/graphics system that was as quiet as possible and as cool as possible (within my budget
)Here's what my orginal setup looked like:
Stage 1:
After a little internal modding, a new mobo, and new power supply:
I removed the HD rack in the front. Ripping this out dropped my overall temps. MUCH better airflow now. It also allows plenty of room for a 120mm radiator and fan
That's a SilenX 120mm @7v in the back. The Zalman 7000cu was at 5v, and my NV Silencer 5 runs at the lowest speed all of the time.
My new Seasonic Super Tornado 300W rev A3 never ramps up!!! I love it!!! It's the quietest fan-cooled power supply I've ever heard. Period.
There's also a Card Keeper on my 6800gt. I had to modify it a bit to get it to fit my NV5. The 6800gt weighs so much with the NV5, the Card Keeper makes me feel safe
I didn't remove the 3.5" bay because it will hold a fan controller eventually.
My decoupled HD....What an improvement over the stock antec rubber bushings and drive rails! I can barely hear my drive seeking (it's a maxtor sata 7200, so I'll never get it completely silent). It runs warmer ~40c-44c, but it's an acceptable trade off for me. It's pretty dang secure too. I thought it would be dangerous, but I don't move my pc much, and even when I tip my case around and upside down, the drive doesn't move.
Stage 2:
I got a Thermaltake Bigwater Kit for my birthday from my wife (isn't that awesome....my wife actually took the time to get me something for my hobby....even though she thinks it's a waste of time and $
) It really does perform good. My cpu at load is about 10c cooler than what it was with the zalman 7000cu.I modded the radiator and fan already. I took off the stock 120 (too loud) and put my 120mm stealth on, but reversed, so it's pulling air through the rad instead of pushing. I had it mounted in the front of the case.
I'll be using the stock 120mm antec fan for the rear exhaust.
I had everything assembled in the case, but last night I ripped it apart to paint.
Here's the case stripped apart and painted. I masked off the top and bottom as I wanted to keep those black, and didn't want to rip out the rivets that hold them on.
That's engine enamel. Should be tough enough.
I'm planning on getting a vga block for my 6800gt. I already picked up some OCZ ram sinks for it.
I've got a DFI Lanparty UT 250gb on the way from newegg ($65 shipped / refurb). I'm not going to put it all together until I get the new mobo.
That's it for now....I'll post more updates soon!
