A6-PACK ☆ ISK 300-90 picoPSU HTPC A6-3500 Very Silent!

(2012-04-29 21:59)bluray Wrote:  

(2012-04-29 21:14)Sdpbc Wrote:  Dumb question ... how the heck does one affix the back plate to the motherboard? Seems to be some sort of flimsy metal that doesn't quite fit with small metal tabs protruding from it?

It's flimsy but after you snap it in place, it will be firmly secured.....

Sorry, misposted. I mean once in, the metal tabs that stick out from the flimsy metal piece interfere with the motherboard. Are we supposed to just fold these back?

Nevermind, guess you just fold them back...

Hey guys! Since we are talking about HTPC noises in this forum all the time, I decided to take some reading with noise meter below. I placed a noise meter at the center of seating area (two positions- 8ft and 12ft away from HDTV screen), and here are my tests result (meter don't lie).....

1. Room (with AC running and all home theater components off): 35dBA
2. HTPC on: 35dBA
3. HTPC+AVR+HDTV on: 35dBA
4. HTPC+AVR+HDTV+XBMC+7.2 surround sound+Kung Fu Panda (TrueHD audio): 82dBA (volume at 1/3 during dragon warrior selection scene- lot of drums, heavy fighting, etc)

I'm using AMD CPU cooler and one 120mm case fan and I selected "Cool N Quiet" option and set fan level to 3 in AsRock bios. As you can see in #3, there is no noise from home theater components at seating area........

Ok thank you for that. Still would get an aftermarket cooler. They cool better and are more silent too.

Hey guys....

Not to diminish my friend Beer40oz build at all, but IMHO, this fan noise issue has been unnecessarily sensationalized hype and the need for exotic aftermarket coolers are not always necessary. A more important focus should be on cost reduction! I mean.......unless your HTPC is always-on or you need to consider space in your case, Y the need for a super-quiet cooler option when you're watching a movie? I saved $40 on my "A6-Pack" build by sticking with the stock cooler. Now, some may disagree with my opinion as it their right to do so, but I will never again make an aftermarket cooler a priority feature unless the build will be placed in an area where noise reduction is paramount...ie., bedroom!

....cheers

(2012-04-30 01:04)CpTHOOK Wrote:  Hey guys....

Not to diminish my friend Beer40oz build at all, but IMHO, this fan noise issue has been unnecessarily sensationalized hype and the need for exotic aftermarket coolers are not always necessary. A more important focus should be on cost reduction! I mean.......unless your HTPC is always-on Y the need for a super-quiet cooler option when you're watching a movie. I saved $40 on my "A6-Pack" build by sticking with the stock cooler. Now, some may disagree with my opinion as it their right to do so, but I will never again make an aftermarket cooler a priority feature unless the build will be placed in an area where noise reduction is paramount...ie., bedroom!

....cheers

im with you i just turn my fan speeds down

(2012-04-30 00:42)Beer40oz Wrote:  Ok thank you for that. Still would get an aftermarket cooler. They cool better and are more silent too.

+1, i agree, im all for better cooling.

Also, even tho i reduce my stock AM3 Cooler CPU Fan,
i can still hear it and my CPU runs hotter...
not critical Hot, but runs hotter...

in the END, people can choose what ever suits them best.

(2012-04-30 01:04)CpTHOOK Wrote:  Hey guys....

Not to diminish my friend Beer40oz build at all, but IMHO, this fan noise issue has been unnecessarily sensationalized hype and the need for exotic aftermarket coolers are not always necessary. A more important focus should be on cost reduction! I mean.......unless your HTPC is always-on or you need to consider space in your case, Y the need for a super-quiet cooler option when you're watching a movie? I saved $40 on my "A6-Pack" build by sticking with the stock cooler. Now, some may disagree with my opinion as it their right to do so, but I will never again make an aftermarket cooler a priority feature unless the build will be placed in an area where noise reduction is paramount...ie., bedroom!

....cheers

I was going to try the AMD Cooler. But I'm very sensitive to fan noise. I have a QSC RMX-5050 pro-amp powering my DIY dual opposed subwoofers, and while you can't hear the fan when a movie has enough ambient sounds in it, during quiet passages the drone from the QSC amp drives me insane. So IMO better safe than sorry, and the $30 extra didn't really bug me.

But I certainly hear you!

your right Sdpbc and, thing is,
i also use my HTPC to surf the NET,
so, in a quiet room, while reading stuff on the NET,
i can hear my Stock AMD Cooler...
and its annoying...

Beer any chance of you taking some pics of your bios settings. So when i get my parts i can set it up as your bios. Because this will be a fist time for me building a pc,htpc saw a lot of videos on youtube so i can do the basic like putting the parts in etc but have no idea what to set up in the bios thanks.

Plus how is it when you are playing flash videos online does the cpu fan kick in and make it loud and use a lot of cpu power