BH6 system upgrade: silent power supply and fans?

Jeff Lindstrom · Jul 16, 2003

I have a BH6 with an 850 MHz Slot 1 PIII. My processor is fast enough for now, but my computer is too loud (3 fans: CPU, power supply and case) and disk access could be faster.

I've seen some sites touting low noise (even 'silent') fans in power supplies, but nothing for Slot 1 CPUs. Are they out there?

Is there any reason to get a three-output power supply (with 3.3V) if I am going to stay with the BH6? Do any peripherals run at that voltage?

I am considering an ATA 100 or ATA 133 card for faster disk operation with a newer drive. If I get one, I would also get the cables designed for more airflow in the case, if that is any consideration.

PRIVATE1964 · Jul 16, 2003

Most of the newer power supplies have the extra power output connections, but that really makes no difference with a BH6, you just don't use them. Also what do you mean nothing for slot 1 cpu's, they connect to the motherboard not the cpu. If your looking for a good supply, that will lower your noise level then get an Antec Truepower 330....if it's only gonna be used with the BH6. It has fan only temp controlled power connections which will lower your case fan noise. The fans inside of it are also temp controlled for low noise. I bought one for my BH6 and it worked great. I am now using the same supply with a newer Nforce2 Motherboard and it uses the extra 12volt power connection so its good the supply has it. If you only intend on using the supply with the BH6 then the 330 model is fine, if you might someday use it in another system then I would get more wattage.....but I would still get a truepower.

Jeff Lindstrom · Jul 17, 2003

(PRIVATE1964) wrote:

Most of the newer power supplies have the extra power output connections, but that really makes no difference with a BH6, you just don't use them. Also what do you mean nothing for slot 1 cpu's, they connect to the motherboard not the cpu.

I have three fans in my system, power supply, cpu and case. I would like to replace them all with silent (or at least much more quiet) versions. I have seen new power supplies advertising silence (i.e. 19 dBA), but I have not seen any case or Slot 1 cpu fans advertising the same 'quietude'.

If your looking for a good
supply, that will lower your noise level then get an Antec Truepower
330....if it's only gonna be used with the BH6.

Thanks for the info.

- HAL9000 · Jul 17, 2003

I would toss the case fan. If the cpu gets too warm with no case fan then get a bigger heat sink for the cpu. The benefits of "high speed air" isn't *near* the benefit of a larger surface area heat sink.

There will be a major speed improvement if you just upgrade the hard disk and don't get a new ata card. I went from a 20 gig drive to a 60 gig drive and the bench marks went up by a factor of three. I think they call it "areal density" is the reason. The new drive is a IBM 180 GXP type which is the same technology as there largest drive. If you upgrade mobo's in a few years, the ata card will probably then be a waste of money.

Forrest

Motherboard Help By HAL web site:
http://home.attbi.com/~hal-9000/

On Wed, 16 Jul 2003 08:09:59 GMT, Jeff Lindstrom
wrote:

I have a BH6 with an 850 MHz Slot 1 PIII. My processor is fast enough for now, but my computer is too loud (3 fans: CPU, power supply and case) and disk access could be faster.

I've seen some sites touting low noise (even 'silent') fans in power supplies, but nothing for Slot 1 CPUs. Are they out there?

Is there any reason to get a three-output power supply (with 3.3V) if I am going to stay with the BH6? Do any peripherals run at that voltage?

I am considering an ATA 100 or ATA 133 card for faster disk operation with a newer drive. If I get one, I would also get the cables designed for ...

Spajky · Jul 17, 2003

On Thu, 17 Jul 2003 00:17:13 -0500, - HAL9000 wrote:

There will be a major speed improvement if you just upgrade the hard disk and don't get a new ata card.

Thats for sure...

I went from a 20 gig drive to a 60
gig drive and the bench marks went up by a factor of three.

it it beliavable only if on previous chipset DMA was not set/work properly; enabling DMA rises performance almost double...

I think
they call it "areal density" is the reason.

You are completely right (data density per square inch on platters), also rotational speed & than a bit cache ram onboard; thats why WD Raptor 10kRpm/8Mb "kills" with performance!

... but people mostly do not understand basics & is easy for marketing people to "invent" new terminologies thats sells stuff...

)

-- Regards, SPAJKY
- http://freeweb.siol.net/jerman55/HP/Spajky.htm
Celly-III OC-ed,"Tualatin on BX-Slot1-MoBo!"
E-mail AntiSpam: remove ##

me · Jul 17, 2003

wrote:

I have a BH6 with an 850 MHz Slot 1 PIII. My processor is fast enough for now, but my computer is too loud (3 fans: CPU, power supply and case) and disk access could be faster.

I've seen some sites touting low noise (even 'silent') fans in power supplies, but nothing for Slot 1 CPUs. Are they out there?

Is there any reason to get a three-output power supply (with 3.3V) if I am going to stay with the BH6? Do any peripherals run at that voltage?

I am considering an ATA 100 or ATA 133 card for faster disk ...

Before getting new fans, I would cleani + lubricate the old ones. In many cases, you can "silence" old, dusty fans by cleaning them and lubricate the bearing(s). Just one tiny drop of thin oil.

I would also try a temp controlled fan regulator *or* connect some of the fans to 7 Volts (+ to 12 V, - to 5 V). According to my experience, 7 V is often enough to keep the system sufficiently cooled (monitor the temperatures with "Motherboard Monitor" or a similar program). However, I would *not* run the *CPU* fan off 7 Volts if overclocking...

Like you, I am also considering an ATA100 card, but I am not yet convinced that it will indeed speed up my BH6 system more than maybe marginally... The card is cheap, but if it won't make no substantial difference (and maybe causing IRQ conflicts and problems with my CDR and CDR/W drives - as I have heard about...) I have indeed better use for the money...

/ MW

tf · Jul 17, 2003

I'd like to check the DMA setting on my BH6 system. What do I look for in BIOS and what should it be set for. I have a 40 Gb @ 7200 rpm WD HDD.

"Spajky" <Spajky##@volja.net> wrote:

On Thu, 17 Jul 2003 00:17:13 -0500, - HAL9000 wrote:

There will be a major speed improvement if you just upgrade the hard
disk and don't get a new ata card.

Thats for sure...

I went from a 20 gig drive to a 60
gig drive and the bench marks went up by a factor of three.

it it beliavable only if on previous chipset DMA was not set/work properly; enabling DMA rises performance almost double... ...

Spajky · Jul 17, 2003

On Thu, 17 Jul 2003 14:35:22 +0200, "me" wrote:

I've seen some sites touting low noise (even 'silent') fans in power
supplies, but nothing for Slot 1 CPUs. Are they out there?

Before getting new fans, I would cleani + lubricate the old ones. In many cases, you can "silence" old, dusty fans by cleaning them and lubricate the bearing(s). Just one tiny drop of thin oil.

I would also try a temp controlled fan regulator *or* connect some of the fans to 7 Volts (+ to 12 V, - to 5 V). According to my experience, 7 V is often enough to keep the system sufficiently cooled (monitor the temperatures with "Motherboard Monitor" or a similar program). However, I would *not* run the *CPU* fan off 7 Volts if overclocking...

you really do not lose much of air flow if putting on 7V even if OC-ed if is not edge OC! Better few MHz less & much more Quiet. in winter I run mines @ 5V ...

-- Regards, SPAJKY
- http://freeweb.siol.net/jerman55/HP/Spajky.htm
Celly-III OC-ed,"Tualatin on BX-Slot1-MoBo!"
E-mail AntiSpam: remove ##

PRIVATE1964 · Jul 17, 2003

I
have seen new power supplies advertising silence (i.e. 19 dBA), but I have not seen any case or Slot 1 cpu fans advertising the same 'quietude'.

Power Supplies advertise their fans as being quiet because they use to be louder then they are. Case fans and CPU fans can be quiet with a low decibel rating, but they might not help enough with cooling. So thermal power connections help in that respect, they only spin fast when they need to.

Jeff Lindstrom · Jul 18, 2003

- HAL9000 wrote:

I would toss the case fan. If the cpu gets too warm with no case fan then get a bigger heat sink for the cpu. The benefits of "high speed air" isn't *near* the benefit of a larger surface area heat sink.

I'm not seeing any CPU fans or heat sink/fan combos for a Slot 1 cpu which is also advertised as 'silent'. Do you know what I can find some?

Jeff Lindstrom · Jul 18, 2003

"tf" wrote:

I'd like to check the DMA setting on my BH6 system. What do I look for in BIOS and what should it be set for. I have a 40 Gb @ 7200 rpm WD HDD.

Get to the System display (Control Panel, or right click on the "My Computer" desktop icon and select 'Properties'. Click on "Device Manager" tab, then double-click on "Disk drives". For any IDE disks (hard drives), double-click and click on the 'Settings' tab. You will see if DMA is checked.

Jeff Lindstrom · Jul 18, 2003

"me" wrote:

Before getting new fans, I would cleani + lubricate the old ones. In many cases, you can "silence" old, dusty fans by cleaning them and lubricate the bearing(s). Just one tiny drop of thin oil.

The fans were always noisy, even when new. I am just getting annoyed by them.

I would also try a temp controlled fan regulator *or* connect some of the fans to 7 Volts (+ to 12 V, - to 5 V).

I'm more interested in the first option. Who sells them?

Like you, I am also considering an ATA100 card, but I am not yet convinced that it will indeed speed up my BH6 system... if it won't make no substantial difference (and maybe causing IRQ conflicts and problems with my CDR and CDR/W drives - as I have heard about...) I have indeed better use for the money...

True, but the fastest (non-SCSI) drives are SATA and we would need a card to use them on a BH6.

TFisher10 · Jul 18, 2003

DMA was not there to be checked!

Device Manager
Disk Drives
WD HDD listed
Properties
Settings

No DMA box to check.

Disconnect: checked
Sync Data Transfer: checked
Removable: not checked

That's it!

- HAL9000 · Jul 19, 2003

Sorry, no...

On Fri, 18 Jul 2003 07:25:09 GMT, Jeff Lindstrom
wrote:

- HAL9000 wrote:

I would toss the case fan. If the cpu gets too warm with no case fan then get a bigger heat sink for the cpu. The benefits of "high speed air" isn't *near* the benefit of a larger surface area heat sink.

I'm not seeing any CPU fans or heat sink/fan combos for a Slot 1 cpu which is also advertised as 'silent'. Do you know what I can find some?

Jeff Lindstrom · Jul 19, 2003

(TFisher10) wrote:

DMA was not there to be checked!

Device Manager
Disk Drives
WD HDD listed
Properties
Settings

No DMA box to check.

Disconnect: checked
Sync Data Transfer: checked
...

Hhmmm... I only have the Sync Data Transfer option on my CD-RW.

It is possible you have Ultra DMA disabled in your BIOS. During your next boot (while the screen is black), repeatedly tap the 'Delete' key to get into the BIOS screens and look in "Integrated Peripherals". The Primary and Secondary IDE settings will be visible. If DMA is Disabled, set it to Automatic.

When you Exit and Save, be sure to type 'Y' (default is 'N').

After boot complete, go back into the Device manager and see what you've got.

me · Jul 19, 2003

<Spajky##@volja.net> wrote:

<cut>

you really do not lose much of air flow if putting on 7V even if OC-ed if is not edge OC! Better few MHz less & much more Quiet. in winter I run mines @ 5V ...

-- Regards, SPAJKY

You're probably right, Spajky. I just haven't dared to try it...

Some older 12V fans I used back in the good old days (from mid 80's and forth) didn't always start with anything less than about 10 V. BTW, the CPU fan I'm currently using is sufficiently silent at 12 V, and I see no reason to try it at 7 V... And... the cooler, the better - when it comes to the CPU life span.

/ MW

me · Jul 19, 2003

wrote:

The fans were always noisy, even when new. I am just getting annoyed by them.

According to my experience, some fans are not lubricated at all by the manufacturers... If I was you, I would try to lubricate the bearings before buying new fans. It *could* make a hell of a difference!

I would also try a temp controlled fan regulator *or* connect some of
the fans to 7 Volts (+ to 12 V, - to 5 V).

I'm more interested in the first option. Who sells them?

Sorry, I have no idea who sells such devices in your country. The one I'm using is called "Tystar'n" (which is Swedish for "the silencer"), and is for some reason no longer available on the market here. Works perfectly! There are also manually controlled multi-channel regulators which lets you set the speed (voltage) for each of the connected fans individually.

True, but the fastest (non-SCSI) drives are SATA and we would need a card to use them on a BH6.

Keep in mind that the BH6's PCI bus speed is a limiting factor to be considered.

Good luck!

/ MW

Jens C. Hansen [Odense] · Jul 19, 2003

me wrote:

wrote:

True, but the fastest (non-SCSI) drives are SATA and we would need a card to use them on a BH6.

Keep in mind that the BH6's PCI bus speed is a limiting factor to be considered.

http://www.envynews.com/review.php?ID=417&page=2

Even two of the (currently) fastest SATA-drives in a RAID 0 setup can not deliver more than approx. 105 MB/s sustained output, so the limiting factor is still the drive(s).

Jeff Lindstrom · Jul 19, 2003

"me" wrote:

wrote:

The fans were always noisy, even when new. I am just getting
annoyed by them.

According to my experience, some fans are not lubricated at all by the manufacturers... If I was you, I would try to lubricate the bearings before buying new fans. It *could* make a hell of a difference!

Okay... worth a shot.

True, but the fastest (non-SCSI) drives are SATA and we would need a
card to use them on a BH6.

Keep in mind that the BH6's PCI bus speed is a limiting factor to be considered.

The BH6's PCI is 64-bits wide at 33 MHz, (potentially) 264 MB/sec while SiSoft Sandra reports RAM speeds 2-3X that speed.

I am currently getting 24 MB/sec on sequential reads (12 MB/sec on random reads) and 12 MB/sec on writes. If I can get 6-8X faster performance without replacing my entire computer, I would be pleased.

me · Jul 19, 2003

wrote:

The BH6's PCI is 64-bits wide at 33 MHz, (potentially) 264 MB/sec

Hmmm... I was more or less convinced that the BH6 1.01 PCI bus is *32 bits* wide, and I see now that SiSoft Sandra agrees... From where did you get the information that it is 64 bits?

/ MW