I have a problem! This build is only a year old. Never had a problem before. But now when I hit power, all the fans spin up, the MoBo splash-screen pops up, then it powers down, powers back on all by itself, and starts the process all over again and again.
Any ideas? My first instinct is to blame the Agility 3, but I suppose it could also be the MoBo or Ram?
The Fractal Design R4 is even quieter than the 550D, from what I've been reading.
I really need to upgrade my case to one of those, running with an antec p180 atm, and the lack of cable management and noise from the case bothers me.
or is there a case that is even more silent? that's the main thing that I want from a case now
I have the 550D and while it's definitely quiet, it's far from silent. I had to change out all the Corsair case fans and the Coolermaster fan on my Hyper 212 Plus with five Zalman ZM-F3 Fluid Dynamic Bearing fans because I was so disappointed with the default performance of the case. Even with the new fans using the low noise adapters, my HTPC (Silverstone LC10B) sounds just as quiet. Of course it's not really an apples to apple comparison because the HTPC has much lower performance components, but I suppose I had extremely high expectations for the 550D. That's not to say that the case isn't quiet. It's a very quiet case, but you can tell that your computer is on if you're sitting less than a meter away.
Anandtech recently did a review of the Nanoxia DS1 and it looks like they walked away fairly impressed. That might be the new go-to tower case for a silent build.
Hello! My name is Inigo Montoya! You killed my father prepare to die!
Looking for a Hardcore Fantasy Extraction Shooter? - Dark and Darker
Ive been really pleased with my R3; it was pretty loud when I had 5 high speed Scythe fans in there, but now that I run Coolermaster fans instead the only thing I can hear in my case is my video card.
From what I'm seeing, the things I'm able to salvage from this would be the case, the hard drive, and the power supply.
I'm looking to get a NVIDIA card that would be a significant jump up, and a good more modern Intel Processor (from what I'm seeing the i5 is the standard right now, and the i7 is the best at the moment). Would it be possible to put together a build for $600 that uses my old case/PSU/HD, has the i5 and a good Nvidia card (DirectX 11), a solid AsRock or Asus motherboard (or a good alternative), 8/16 GB of ram (is 16 actually needed? Where would it come in handy?), and possibly a small SSD for windows/whatever game I'm playing at the time? I've been trying to piece it together myself, but I'm having some issues with getting under the $600 limit, and I'm not sure if I'm just over estimating how far the $600 will go with what I need/want... or if I really even need to upgrade as far as I'm trying to.
For silent computing component and fan choice is gonna play a big role in noise level regardless of case. Get some good low RPM fans and a nice double fan mid tier GPU and you'll do a lot to cut case noise. Keeping it out in a place where there is good airflow so it doesn't just intake it's own exhaust helps as well, gotta keep them ambients low.
From what I'm seeing, the things I'm able to salvage from this would be the case, the hard drive, and the power supply.
I'm looking to get a NVIDIA card that would be a significant jump up, and a good more modern Intel Processor (from what I'm seeing the i5 is the standard right now, and the i7 is the best at the moment). Would it be possible to put together a build for $600 that uses my old case/PSU/HD, has the i5 and a good Nvidia card (DirectX 11), a solid AsRock or Asus motherboard (or a good alternative), 8/16 GB of ram (is 16 actually needed? Where would it come in handy?), and possibly a small SSD for windows/whatever game I'm playing at the time? I've been trying to piece it together myself, but I'm having some issues with getting under the $600 limit, and I'm not sure if I'm just over estimating how far the $600 will go with what I need/want... or if I really even need to upgrade as far as I'm trying to.
squeezing in an ssd in that budget and still getting an i5 and a nice current gen nvidia card might be tricky.
I'd go any given ivy i5: $190 for the cheapest quad, or blow an extra 25 bucks here and step all the way up to a 3570k for $215 evga gtx 660: $230 minus ten bucks for a rebate
take your pick of 1600mhz 2x4 ram kit. this crucial kit is currently $36
Asrock is cheaper than ASUS for motherboards so we'll go there.
the h77 pro4 at $80 would be my pick for maximum budget, pair this one with the low end i5.
if you wanna spring for a bit more juice and go with the 3570k i'd do the z77extreme3 at $110 instead.
Ram and GPU comes to $256
Cheaper i5/mobo clocks in at $270, for a total of $526
more expensive i5/mobo runs $325, for a total of $581.
The higher end setup gives you a higher base clockspeed on your CPU as well as multiGPU support and the option to overlock your CPU, the cheaper option leaves you enough left over to snag an ssd in the 60/64gig size range.
e: this assumes you're reusing your windows license. if you need a new one go the cheaper route and spend the extra on windows instead of an ssd.
Thinking about updating my PC with a new Mobo/CPU/Ram and holding off on the rest of the components to keep the cost down.
What would you guys say is the best ram for performance for a z77 mobo that is compatible up to DDR3 1866 speeds as well as 32gigs of space across 4 dimms. This is something that I am less familiar with so if you guys can lead me around regarding timings and all that, I could appreciate that.
Atm, I am looking at the Corsair Dominator series. Thing is, there is the 1600 series that has 9-9-9-24 timings vs the 1866 series which has the 9-10-9-27 timings. Which is better and why?
EDIT: In addition, there is also a third 1866 with the timings of 10-11-10-30... hmm.
I have a problem! This build is only a year old. Never had a problem before. But now when I hit power, all the fans spin up, the MoBo splash-screen pops up, then it powers down, powers back on all by itself, and starts the process all over again and again.
Any ideas? My first instinct is to blame the Agility 3, but I suppose it could also be the MoBo or Ram?
Does your motherboard have the LED panel on it that tells boot state? I'd turn it on and watch that LED as it may give you some idea of what stage it's failing at and rebooting.
Mostly just huntin' monsters.
XBL:Phenyhelm - 3DS:Phenyhelm
For silent computing component and fan choice is gonna play a big role in noise level regardless of case. Get some good low RPM fans and a nice double fan mid tier GPU and you'll do a lot to cut case noise. Keeping it out in a place where there is good airflow so it doesn't just intake it's own exhaust helps as well, gotta keep them ambients low.
Would you have any suggestions for a case that might be a good balance between decent airflow and lower noise? I've previously used a CM 690 (first edition) which actually was very quiet as a result of the fans used, other than the CPU HSF. Currently the case I'm using is a Corsair 600T with an H60, which has been a pleasure to build in and use, but there are some changes being made in furniture arrangement and as a result I'm looking for something a bit quieter (the 600T has a lot of mesh and the front 200mm produces a pretty audible whine when it's up against the grate; I've done a bit of a mod to cut down on the noise but it's still noticeable). I do plan on reusing the 600T for a different build elsewhere, but I'm now looking for something to go into a bedroom and be manageable in sound but still maintain a mild overclock and a decent video card (let's say 670 or 7970 for argument's sake).
For components I already have some Noctua fans that I'll reuse as they're rather quiet, and I plan on grabbing a nice big heatsink like you suggested. Any other input would be vastly appreciated.
@luck cynic just go with the 1600mhz ram and you'll be set. Also if you're trying to shave expense I'd urge you to just get 16 gigs for now unless you know for a fact you'll need more
@flapjack get a 670 for sure, since they're lower draw than 7950s and thus run cooler. Try to snag a double fan cooler design as those tend to be much less noisy assuming airflow in the case is well done. Gigabyte even makes one with a triple fan cooler that's really nice if your case has room for long video cards.
D14 with stock fans for your cpu and it won't be any louder than your case fans while still providing fantastic air cooling.
For case choice the r4 is nice if you want to keep budget down. If size/money is less of a concern the silverstone raven ft02 with a fan controller to dial back the stock fans is very nice.
I'm at work atm but i'll poke around some tonight to see what else looks interesting, I'm behind on silent air cases right now.
From what I'm seeing, the things I'm able to salvage from this would be the case, the hard drive, and the power supply.
I'm looking to get a NVIDIA card that would be a significant jump up, and a good more modern Intel Processor (from what I'm seeing the i5 is the standard right now, and the i7 is the best at the moment). Would it be possible to put together a build for $600 that uses my old case/PSU/HD, has the i5 and a good Nvidia card (DirectX 11), a solid AsRock or Asus motherboard (or a good alternative), 8/16 GB of ram (is 16 actually needed? Where would it come in handy?), and possibly a small SSD for windows/whatever game I'm playing at the time? I've been trying to piece it together myself, but I'm having some issues with getting under the $600 limit, and I'm not sure if I'm just over estimating how far the $600 will go with what I need/want... or if I really even need to upgrade as far as I'm trying to.
squeezing in an ssd in that budget and still getting an i5 and a nice current gen nvidia card might be tricky.
I'd go any given ivy i5: $190 for the cheapest quad, or blow an extra 25 bucks here and step all the way up to a 3570k for $215 evga gtx 660: $230 minus ten bucks for a rebate
take your pick of 1600mhz 2x4 ram kit. this crucial kit is currently $36
Asrock is cheaper than ASUS for motherboards so we'll go there.
the h77 pro4 at $80 would be my pick for maximum budget, pair this one with the low end i5.
if you wanna spring for a bit more juice and go with the 3570k i'd do the z77extreme3 at $110 instead.
Ram and GPU comes to $256
Cheaper i5/mobo clocks in at $270, for a total of $526
more expensive i5/mobo runs $325, for a total of $581.
The higher end setup gives you a higher base clockspeed on your CPU as well as multiGPU support and the option to overlock your CPU, the cheaper option leaves you enough left over to snag an ssd in the 60/64gig size range.
e: this assumes you're reusing your windows license. if you need a new one go the cheaper route and spend the extra on windows instead of an ssd.
Thanks a bunch. I'll probably go with the higher end setup and maybe just fudge my budget a bit for the ssd.
It does put a certain amount of extra load on the gpi. Usually not much but if you're trying to squeeze every last bit of performance out it could help to disable the second display
If you haven't already, try booting with only one stick of ram in.
I unplugged the SATA from my SSD and tried booting up with each RAM stick individually in both DIMM1 & DIMM2. Still no luck.
I'm thinking it's either my MoBo or PSU. I'm going to try to pull the CMOS battery tonight when I get home.
Any other suggestions?
I have an i3-2100 and a Z68 MoBo. If I pull the GPU, will it automatically use the iGPU? I'm pretty sure I'm using the DVI connection. How do I connect my monitor without the GPU?
If you haven't already, try booting with only one stick of ram in.
I unplugged the SATA from my SSD and tried booting up with each RAM stick individually in both DIMM1 & DIMM2. Still no luck.
I'm thinking it's either my MoBo or PSU. I'm going to try to pull the CMOS battery tonight when I get home.
Any other suggestions?
I have an i3-2100 and a Z68 MoBo. If I pull the GPU, will it automatically use the iGPU? I'm pretty sure I'm using the DVI connection. How do I connect my monitor without the GPU?
Your motherboard will have video outputs. To use the igpu connect the display to one of those ports rather than the discrete card
If you haven't already, try booting with only one stick of ram in.
I unplugged the SATA from my SSD and tried booting up with each RAM stick individually in both DIMM1 & DIMM2. Still no luck.
I'm thinking it's either my MoBo or PSU. I'm going to try to pull the CMOS battery tonight when I get home.
Any other suggestions?
I have an i3-2100 and a Z68 MoBo. If I pull the GPU, will it automatically use the iGPU? I'm pretty sure I'm using the DVI connection. How do I connect my monitor without the GPU?
Your motherboard will have video outputs. To use the igpu connect the display to one of those ports rather than the discrete card
Does running a second monitor with just the Windows desktop showing tax my GPU appreciably?
Or asked another way, should I disable the second monitor while gaming to boost my FPS?
I notice I free up like 150MB of VRAM when I disable my second monitor so its something I make sure to do when I play BF3 or Skyrim.
Where can you track VRAM?
I generally use GPUz. MSI afterburner also works quite well, especially if you're only running on one screen since you can set it to just overlay gpu stats on whatever you're running.
Even without the video you could just fire it up without the GPU in there and see if the fans keep cycling like a boot loop or if it actually acts normally.
I'd spring for the extra ram if you do edit/model work since the difference between 8 and 16 is like maybe 25-30 bucks right now and not even worrying about it is good.
Ah. And how much better are the i5s than the old core 2s? I know the gpu's have tons of improvement, but as far as the CPU, what exact performance gains would one expect to see? Faster encoding/rendering in programs? Just trying to set my expectations on all of this. I never keep up with components between upgrades, so I'm never sure what to expect.
Clock for clock and core for core ivybridge is monstrous compared to the old core2s. You can expect significantly lower power usage while still seeing a lot higher single threaded throughput, before even taking into account the fact that an ivy i5 will all cores turbo to 800mhz-1ghz higher than your q8400 without touching any OC
short answer is faster everything, by a huge amount. If you do anything that is CPU bound you will either see a different component become the bottleneck or you will see a huge speed jump
What's the best ASUS and Gigabyte motherboard in the 100-200 dollar range? I'm back to being undecided on the ASRock. Grah, I hate trying to choose a motherboard.
Xbox Live, PSN & Origin: Vacorsis 3DS: 2638-0037-166
I'm looking for a board that supports SLI/Crossfire, has at least three USB 2.0 slots, and is decent/stable enough for a moderate overclock. I tend to not overclock, and I'm not too familiar with the process, but I like having the option just in case. The cooler on my GPU might be three slot, but the only other PCI-e component I want to add is a Xonar sound card. I'm also going to put between 8-16GB of memory in my machine.
The ASRock Extreme6 isn't off the table yet, but I've read some conflicting opinions that have rated the ASUS and Gigabyte families higher and now I don't know what to do. I'm pretty adept with other components but I have never been able to get a good grasp on motherboards for some reason. They are cloudy, strange devices to me.
Dashui on
Xbox Live, PSN & Origin: Vacorsis 3DS: 2638-0037-166
Is using usb3.0 for some of your ports a dealbreaker?(compatability issues or whatever) Because if you can live with only two usb2.0 the gigabyte Z77x-ud5h and the asus p8z77 v pro would be my picks.
I've got the big brother of the v pro, the deluxe, and it is a wonderful board. Been eyeing a nice midrange gigabyte for a while now too since i haven't given them a spin since p67
If you really need at least 3 2.0 ports you either end up with an mATX board, which isn't the end of the world, or you restrict yourself to the lower end of their ranges.
If you are fine with mATX both the sniper m3 and the gene z are great picks that come with 4 usb2.0
Alright, I'll choose between the Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H and the ASUS P8Z77-V PRO.
Now I just have an audio equipment decision to make (keep my Audio Technica AD700 headphones or upgrade to the Sennheiser PC360, HD 598, or Denon DT 990) and I should be set on everything I want to do.
Xbox Live, PSN & Origin: Vacorsis 3DS: 2638-0037-166
Posts
Glad it worked out easy!
Any ideas? My first instinct is to blame the Agility 3, but I suppose it could also be the MoBo or Ram?
I have the 550D and while it's definitely quiet, it's far from silent. I had to change out all the Corsair case fans and the Coolermaster fan on my Hyper 212 Plus with five Zalman ZM-F3 Fluid Dynamic Bearing fans because I was so disappointed with the default performance of the case. Even with the new fans using the low noise adapters, my HTPC (Silverstone LC10B) sounds just as quiet. Of course it's not really an apples to apple comparison because the HTPC has much lower performance components, but I suppose I had extremely high expectations for the 550D. That's not to say that the case isn't quiet. It's a very quiet case, but you can tell that your computer is on if you're sitting less than a meter away.
Anandtech recently did a review of the Nanoxia DS1 and it looks like they walked away fairly impressed. That might be the new go-to tower case for a silent build.
Looking for a Hardcore Fantasy Extraction Shooter? - Dark and Darker
Honestly if youre looking for a silent setup, Id check http://www.silentpcreview.com/ for case, fan, heatsink reviews.
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 Yorkfield 2.66GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor BX80580Q8400
Motherboard: ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
GPU: BFG Tech BFGEGTX260896OCE GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Power Supply: CORSAIR TX Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC
RAM: 2xG.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
HD: Western Digital WD Blue WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Case: COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
From what I'm seeing, the things I'm able to salvage from this would be the case, the hard drive, and the power supply.
I'm looking to get a NVIDIA card that would be a significant jump up, and a good more modern Intel Processor (from what I'm seeing the i5 is the standard right now, and the i7 is the best at the moment). Would it be possible to put together a build for $600 that uses my old case/PSU/HD, has the i5 and a good Nvidia card (DirectX 11), a solid AsRock or Asus motherboard (or a good alternative), 8/16 GB of ram (is 16 actually needed? Where would it come in handy?), and possibly a small SSD for windows/whatever game I'm playing at the time? I've been trying to piece it together myself, but I'm having some issues with getting under the $600 limit, and I'm not sure if I'm just over estimating how far the $600 will go with what I need/want... or if I really even need to upgrade as far as I'm trying to.
squeezing in an ssd in that budget and still getting an i5 and a nice current gen nvidia card might be tricky.
I'd go any given ivy i5: $190 for the cheapest quad, or blow an extra 25 bucks here and step all the way up to a 3570k for $215
evga gtx 660: $230 minus ten bucks for a rebate
take your pick of 1600mhz 2x4 ram kit. this crucial kit is currently $36
Asrock is cheaper than ASUS for motherboards so we'll go there.
the h77 pro4 at $80 would be my pick for maximum budget, pair this one with the low end i5.
if you wanna spring for a bit more juice and go with the 3570k i'd do the z77extreme3 at $110 instead.
Ram and GPU comes to $256
Cheaper i5/mobo clocks in at $270, for a total of $526
more expensive i5/mobo runs $325, for a total of $581.
The higher end setup gives you a higher base clockspeed on your CPU as well as multiGPU support and the option to overlock your CPU, the cheaper option leaves you enough left over to snag an ssd in the 60/64gig size range.
e: this assumes you're reusing your windows license. if you need a new one go the cheaper route and spend the extra on windows instead of an ssd.
What would you guys say is the best ram for performance for a z77 mobo that is compatible up to DDR3 1866 speeds as well as 32gigs of space across 4 dimms. This is something that I am less familiar with so if you guys can lead me around regarding timings and all that, I could appreciate that.
Atm, I am looking at the Corsair Dominator series. Thing is, there is the 1600 series that has 9-9-9-24 timings vs the 1866 series which has the 9-10-9-27 timings. Which is better and why?
EDIT: In addition, there is also a third 1866 with the timings of 10-11-10-30... hmm.
I wasn't exceptionally thorough, but I did jiggle a bunch of stuff and nothing seemed loose.
I unplugged the SATA from my SSD and tried booting up with each RAM stick individually in both DIMM1 & DIMM2. Still no luck.
I'm thinking it's either my MoBo or PSU. I'm going to try to pull the CMOS battery tonight when I get home.
Any other suggestions?
Does your motherboard have the LED panel on it that tells boot state? I'd turn it on and watch that LED as it may give you some idea of what stage it's failing at and rebooting.
XBL:Phenyhelm - 3DS:Phenyhelm
Would you have any suggestions for a case that might be a good balance between decent airflow and lower noise? I've previously used a CM 690 (first edition) which actually was very quiet as a result of the fans used, other than the CPU HSF. Currently the case I'm using is a Corsair 600T with an H60, which has been a pleasure to build in and use, but there are some changes being made in furniture arrangement and as a result I'm looking for something a bit quieter (the 600T has a lot of mesh and the front 200mm produces a pretty audible whine when it's up against the grate; I've done a bit of a mod to cut down on the noise but it's still noticeable). I do plan on reusing the 600T for a different build elsewhere, but I'm now looking for something to go into a bedroom and be manageable in sound but still maintain a mild overclock and a decent video card (let's say 670 or 7970 for argument's sake).
For components I already have some Noctua fans that I'll reuse as they're rather quiet, and I plan on grabbing a nice big heatsink like you suggested. Any other input would be vastly appreciated.
@flapjack get a 670 for sure, since they're lower draw than 7950s and thus run cooler. Try to snag a double fan cooler design as those tend to be much less noisy assuming airflow in the case is well done. Gigabyte even makes one with a triple fan cooler that's really nice if your case has room for long video cards.
D14 with stock fans for your cpu and it won't be any louder than your case fans while still providing fantastic air cooling.
For case choice the r4 is nice if you want to keep budget down. If size/money is less of a concern the silverstone raven ft02 with a fan controller to dial back the stock fans is very nice.
I'm at work atm but i'll poke around some tonight to see what else looks interesting, I'm behind on silent air cases right now.
or you could go custom water
Thanks a bunch. I'll probably go with the higher end setup and maybe just fudge my budget a bit for the ssd.
Or asked another way, should I disable the second monitor while gaming to boost my FPS?
But something tells metriple display gaming might be a bit more taxing running a second display on the side
I have an i3-2100 and a Z68 MoBo. If I pull the GPU, will it automatically use the iGPU? I'm pretty sure I'm using the DVI connection. How do I connect my monitor without the GPU?
I notice I free up like 150MB of VRAM when I disable my second monitor so its something I make sure to do when I play BF3 or Skyrim.
Your motherboard will have video outputs. To use the igpu connect the display to one of those ports rather than the discrete card
Where can you track VRAM?
But my monitor is DVI only and my MoBo doesn't have DVI?
shouldn't be too outrageously expensive since it's essentially a plug adapter rather than any kind of signal conversion
I generally use GPUz. MSI afterburner also works quite well, especially if you're only running on one screen since you can set it to just overlay gpu stats on whatever you're running.
Booo!
That's pretty much what I figured.
for editing and modeling, sometimes?
I'd spring for the extra ram if you do edit/model work since the difference between 8 and 16 is like maybe 25-30 bucks right now and not even worrying about it is good.
Clock for clock and core for core ivybridge is monstrous compared to the old core2s. You can expect significantly lower power usage while still seeing a lot higher single threaded throughput, before even taking into account the fact that an ivy i5 will all cores turbo to 800mhz-1ghz higher than your q8400 without touching any OC
anandtech CPU bench comparison between a q8200(closest match for your chip) and an i5 3750k, stock clocked.
short answer is faster everything, by a huge amount. If you do anything that is CPU bound you will either see a different component become the bottleneck or you will see a huge speed jump
SLI/CFX, sata ports, rear panel connectivity, overclocking?
Any particularly odd hardware combination you want to toss in there that might require a certain layout of the PCIE slots?
Do you need a lot of on board fan headers?
The ASRock Extreme6 isn't off the table yet, but I've read some conflicting opinions that have rated the ASUS and Gigabyte families higher and now I don't know what to do. I'm pretty adept with other components but I have never been able to get a good grasp on motherboards for some reason. They are cloudy, strange devices to me.
I've got the big brother of the v pro, the deluxe, and it is a wonderful board. Been eyeing a nice midrange gigabyte for a while now too since i haven't given them a spin since p67
If you really need at least 3 2.0 ports you either end up with an mATX board, which isn't the end of the world, or you restrict yourself to the lower end of their ranges.
If you are fine with mATX both the sniper m3 and the gene z are great picks that come with 4 usb2.0
Now I just have an audio equipment decision to make (keep my Audio Technica AD700 headphones or upgrade to the Sennheiser PC360, HD 598, or Denon DT 990) and I should be set on everything I want to do.