Cheap G630 build

(2012-08-15 18:53)RealDealNeil Wrote:  

(2012-08-10 21:37)bluray Wrote:  

(2012-08-10 20:54)onizuka Wrote:  Thanks bluray!

What do you think of Intel's stock heatsink? Besides some thermal paste for the CPU, is there anything else I'm missing?

Intel heatsink/thermal paste are included in the box, and it should be good for HTPC. I'm sitting 3 feet away from a very small form factor Intel i5 box with Intel stock CPU cooler , and I don't hear CPU fan.......

Do you tweak any fan settings in the BIOS? I run a i3-2100t with stock heatsink and my CPU never gets above 40C, but I can hear the fan from my couch 7-8-ft away. I may be oversensitive, my wife says she hears nothing. I bought components to keep the heat down (green PSU, green HD, SSD). Any ideas or suggestions?

The noise might not be from the CPU cooler, because Intel CPU cooler usually very good. The noise might be from your PSU and Case fans. What are your case and PSU brand and model?

I use stock cooler, and I selected "Cool N Quiet" and set fan level to 2 in the bios. I cannot hear any fan noise at seating area. I don't trust my ears. I did the tests with noise meter, and the noise meter didn't detect any noise from HTPC at seating area either.....

(2012-08-15 18:53)RealDealNeil Wrote:  

(2012-08-10 21:37)bluray Wrote:  

(2012-08-10 20:54)onizuka Wrote:  Thanks bluray!

What do you think of Intel's stock heatsink? Besides some thermal paste for the CPU, is there anything else I'm missing?

Intel heatsink/thermal paste are included in the box, and it should be good for HTPC. I'm sitting 3 feet away from a very small form factor Intel i5 box with Intel stock CPU cooler , and I don't hear CPU fan.......

Do you tweak any fan settings in the BIOS? I run a i3-2100t with stock heatsink and my CPU never gets above 40C, but I can hear the fan from my couch 7-8-ft away. I may be oversensitive, my wife says she hears nothing. I bought components to keep the heat down (green PSU, green HD, SSD). Any ideas or suggestions?

I run my HTPC with a big passive heatsink on a regular i3-2100. No problems. You should be able to turn the fan settings way down as long as you don't do any real CPU-intensive tasks.

Here are my components -

Case: Silverstone ML03B (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...811163174)
PSU: Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...817371033)
Case Fans: 2x Enermax UC-8EB 80mm (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...811999199)

When I listen close, the CPU fan sounds loudest. The other components sound fine. One of my thoughts is that I have my case in a cubby hole in my entertainment cabinet. It's got about 2-3 in space on each side (and open from the front). Plus the ML03B case has a CPU vent on top from which the noise comes out of, amplified by the cabinet. I'm also running Win7 with XBMC and a few background programs (Sabnzbd) which could use more power.

I'm thinking to raise the thresholds on my MB's fan settings. I normally run 35C-40C which is not hot enough for the fan to run loudly.

(2012-08-17 00:01)RealDealNeil Wrote:  I'm thinking to raise the thresholds on my MB's fan settings. I normally run 35C-40C which is not hot enough for the fan to run loudly.

If you select "Cool N Quiet" option and set fan level to 1-2 in the bios, you shouldn't hear fan noise at seating area.....