- Apr 27, 2002
- 6,278
- 6
- 81
I've recently stepped up to a mixed 2x HD6870 CrossfireX setup (one HIS non-reference and one XFX reference design) as well as a Thermalright Macho HR-02 and whilst thermal performance is acceptable, I'm wondering whether I can force my computer to stay cooler and quieter with just using what I have currently. ie. improve placement, airflow configurations etc. Of course the Macho is fine, keeping my i5 so cool that it's 140mm fan doesn't spin up but you guessed it right, the GPU fans are the issue.
As a result of this upgrade, I'm also switching motherboards from an ASUS P8Z68-V LE to most likely a Gigabyte Z68X-UD3P-B3 (or a 2nd hand P67 Sabertooth or P8P67 Pro B3) to set myself up with x8/x8 CrossfireX (not essential) and allow me to use my X-Fi soundcard again, situated in a PCI-E x1 slot.
Current Setup:
Corsair Carbide 500R - stock fans removed and discounted
2x120mm 1200rpm Scythe Slipstreams - front lower mounts -intake
1x200mm Corsair fan - side panel - intake
1x120mm 1200rpm Scythe S-Flex - rear - exhaust
ASUS P8Z68-V LE (soon to be replaced as noted above)
Intel i5 2500K - 4.74ghz @ 1.28v
Thermalright Macho HR-02 with TR140mm fan
Corsair 1600mhz DDR3 Low Profile (2x4Gb)
Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional (PCI-E x1)
HIS 1Gb HD6870 (non-reference)
XFX 1Gb HD6870 (reference)
Seasonic S12D 750W
3x Western Digital Green HDD's elastically suspended in one HDD cage attached in the lower slot. (Upper HDD cage removed)
Sunbeam 4-fan controller
Also: I've got two Thermalright 140mm 4-pin PWM fans coming into my possession. A friend prefers the 3-pin fans so rather than have them gather dust or have the hassle of eBay, we've agreed a nominal fee and I'll have them soon.
So I've got a handful of fan spots and a handful of spots to fill. I can't fit a pair of 140mm's to the front and as the Thermalright fans use the 120mm fan mounts I can't mount a pair of them in the top slots.
What would be the ideal arrangement of fans? Bearing in mind that I'll be keeping them as slow as possible, using temperature control where possible (though I expect those situations to be severely limited)
As far as the GPU's go, besides trying to tame the noise carefully with Afterburner, I'm not sure what's left for it. Opening them up and changing the thermal paste seems like quite an adventure but relatively risk free as long as I don't demolish the thermal pads that they clag on. However the temperature changes in these cases aren't huge and I'm not sure at all.
Goals are to maintain "idle" quietness and to reduce the noise of keeping the graphics cards cool under gaming load without spending money.
PS: If anyone has any advice about motherboards, I'm quite torn between the ASUS P67 Sabertooth, P8P67 Pro B3 and the Gigabyte Z68x-UD3P-B3. The Gigabyte is as much money as I'd be willing to spend and the two ASUS boards I can eBay hunt for and pick them up reasonably cheap.
As a result of this upgrade, I'm also switching motherboards from an ASUS P8Z68-V LE to most likely a Gigabyte Z68X-UD3P-B3 (or a 2nd hand P67 Sabertooth or P8P67 Pro B3) to set myself up with x8/x8 CrossfireX (not essential) and allow me to use my X-Fi soundcard again, situated in a PCI-E x1 slot.
Current Setup:
Corsair Carbide 500R - stock fans removed and discounted
2x120mm 1200rpm Scythe Slipstreams - front lower mounts -intake
1x200mm Corsair fan - side panel - intake
1x120mm 1200rpm Scythe S-Flex - rear - exhaust
ASUS P8Z68-V LE (soon to be replaced as noted above)
Intel i5 2500K - 4.74ghz @ 1.28v
Thermalright Macho HR-02 with TR140mm fan
Corsair 1600mhz DDR3 Low Profile (2x4Gb)
Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional (PCI-E x1)
HIS 1Gb HD6870 (non-reference)
XFX 1Gb HD6870 (reference)
Seasonic S12D 750W
3x Western Digital Green HDD's elastically suspended in one HDD cage attached in the lower slot. (Upper HDD cage removed)
Sunbeam 4-fan controller
Also: I've got two Thermalright 140mm 4-pin PWM fans coming into my possession. A friend prefers the 3-pin fans so rather than have them gather dust or have the hassle of eBay, we've agreed a nominal fee and I'll have them soon.
So I've got a handful of fan spots and a handful of spots to fill. I can't fit a pair of 140mm's to the front and as the Thermalright fans use the 120mm fan mounts I can't mount a pair of them in the top slots.
What would be the ideal arrangement of fans? Bearing in mind that I'll be keeping them as slow as possible, using temperature control where possible (though I expect those situations to be severely limited)
As far as the GPU's go, besides trying to tame the noise carefully with Afterburner, I'm not sure what's left for it. Opening them up and changing the thermal paste seems like quite an adventure but relatively risk free as long as I don't demolish the thermal pads that they clag on. However the temperature changes in these cases aren't huge and I'm not sure at all.
Goals are to maintain "idle" quietness and to reduce the noise of keeping the graphics cards cool under gaming load without spending money.
PS: If anyone has any advice about motherboards, I'm quite torn between the ASUS P67 Sabertooth, P8P67 Pro B3 and the Gigabyte Z68x-UD3P-B3. The Gigabyte is as much money as I'd be willing to spend and the two ASUS boards I can eBay hunt for and pick them up reasonably cheap.
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