Digital Larry

Well, I didn't run AIDA64 at all yesterday and my fans behaved themselves. I installed the Asus Utility instead. It's not quite as elaborate as the AIDA64 but it also doesn't make the fans go crazy. I am not interested in overclocking but I do want my system to be quiet most of the time. I will probably send the AIDA64 people a message because I would actually pay $40 for their utility if it behaved itself properly. Anyone else using AIDA64 out there?

Nothing's getting anywhere near that warm as far as I can tell, especially not with the system idle. I've left the AIDA64 utility off for the morning and fans are not going crazy. I'll let it go all day. If fans don't get stuck I'll assume it's the utility making this happen. Thanks, DL

I'll double check that. Update, I left the system to idle again and after a couple hours BOTH fans are at max RPM. Note that the AIDA64 utility was running the whole time. As a test, I let it idle overnight with the AIDA64 utility closed, checked it just now and both fans are at their minimum RPM. Is it possible that the utility itself causes this problem? I am just using the trial version at the moment, but there's no discussion on their forum about the trial version doing this. I will log in over there to pursue it. The other thing I noticed is that, when both fans were spinning at max, doing a CPU stress test, which usually makes the fans spin up AND makes the temperature go up, reported that CPU was at 100%, however the temps did not increase at all, which seems fishy. Does anyone else use this tool? It looks like it has a number of useful features, however if it actually makes the system it is monitoring do things it wouldn't normally do, its value is somewhat decreased! Anyone have a fan monitoring tool to recommend that I might try instead? Thx, DL

Using a Ryzen 5 2600 on this board in a CoolerMaster SG13 case. The CPU fan is a Noctua something PWM mode and behaves itself well. I've set the fan profile up in BIOS using QFan control and am monitoring temps and fan RPMS using the AIDA64 Extreme utility. I came back from going downtown while leaving the AIDA64 tool running and the chassis fan (set for DC mode) suddenly went from about 450 RPM (idle setting) to 1400 RPM. I wasn't there when it happened but this correlates with nothing else at all. The CPU fan did not change a blip. There is no spike in CPU load, chipset temp, or anything else. As the CPU fan appears more effective, and is less noisy, I have that one running a little faster at low temps and ramping up sooner. Rebooting the PC makes it behave again, so it seems unlikely to be a wiring problem (e.g. losing the tach signal). I'm just using the stock front fan in the case and am willing to replace that if it would be likely to help. It seems more likely to be a BIOS issue but don't have a good way to be sure about it. If need be I can put a scope on any of the signals, though that would be a hassle for sure. I did note that the BIOS is not the latest, but the release notes on the newer BIOS doesn't say anything specific about this issue. I have had this PC for about 18 months, and hadn't noticed this behavior before the past couple of days. That said, I just moved it to behind the monitor from behind me and near the floor where I'd be a little less likely to notice it.

I tried various recovery tools and e.g. 1 or them claimed to have found a bunch of ZIP files, but they are all corrupted. I think it's a goner. Oh well. One of the tools offers "Drive Info" and when I accessed this, very clear "Temperature Failure" was indicated. I think the lesson I'd like to pass along here, in addition to back up your data, is that dialing down the fan RPMs to get a more quiet PC does put more stress on the components most likely. I repositioned my PC yesterday to be behind the monitor instead of behind where I sit (the desk faces into a corner) and all of a sudden I am noticing the fan noise. Now it may be that I reset the BIOS when I was trying everything possible with the M.2 drive. I'd caution M.2 drive users of quiet PCs to keep an eye on the temp, which I didn't do. I have 2 SSDs already in this box and don't really need the extra storage of the M.2. I'm sorry I ever used it. I didn't lose everything but yes I lost some recent stuff I'd been working on that was not backed up. I went back into BIOS and set some manual profiles for fan RPM so that it's not whirring most of the time, otherwise it goes up and down when I launch my browser which is somewhat annoying. Then I checked temps and RPMS. At idle the CPU temp is about 42C which seems higher than the 35C I read somewhere. At 100% CPU stress test it goes to about 71C and levels off but the fans are going pretty good there too. I think the CPU fan is PWM and the case fan is DC. Would I get better low power noise performance going to a PWM case fan? Thx, DL

as far as I can tell, anyway. It's a 1 TB chip and has been working well for a bit over a year. I had been using it frequently recently. This morning, I go to use it and get a dialog: Location is not available (athough the drive letter is there). D:\ is not accessible. Incorect function. I took the board out and the PC boots quickly, but then of course it only has the C: and E: drives which are SSDs. I replaced the board (put the same one back in). After BIOS I get the Windows Spinner.... it went into a Recovery Mode but claimed not to be able to do anything, maybe I should try continuing to Windows again. It didn't help. I tried chkdsk but it says the disk is RAW. I'm going to check the recovery mode options again. I use Avast Anti-Virus, paid version, doesn't report anything off. Anything else to check? I think I backed it up a couple months back so hopefully it's not a complete disaster, but even then I lost a fair amount of work. Thx, DL

Regarding the SG13 case: I'm concerned about finding a "quiet" CPU cooler for a 65W CPU that will fit in that space. I know that 65W is not exactly fusion reactor, just don't know enough about the millions of options. Thoughts?

ooooh pink! LOL. Yeah I was considering that one too. Thanks!!

For some reason I got fixated on micro-ATX. I think my current box is a uATX but it's really hard to find cases in that "cubey" form factor any more. This one's something like 10w x 15d x 9h. I'm planning to give this whole system to my son after I get a new one so I'm not so interested in rebuilding it. I'm looking for example at the CoolerMaster 120 https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/cases/mini-itx/elite-120-advanced-white/ and 130: https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/cases/mini-itx/elite130/ The 130 says it "supports a 120mm radiator in the front" and the 120 doesn't say anything about a radiator at all. As far as a CPU goes, it really looks like the Ryzen 5 2600 is at a price/performance sweet spot. Even figuring in a $90 passive cooled graphics card, it's hard to get comparable performance out of a similarly priced i5 or Ryzen-G. From what I can tell, if you add internal GPU to a Ryzen then you lose 2 CPU cores. I'd rather stick with 6 CPU cores and just get the external graphics card. So I'm looking for any comments about: - the cases' ability to fit a suitable "quiet" CPU cooler. - good mini-ITX mobo for Ryzen 5 2600 - a good "quiet" power supply. I think both of the CoolerMaster cases support an ATX supply. My power requirement is most likely way under 400 watts. Just going to have the above CPU and gfx card, an SSD and an M2 drive. Thanks! DL

I presume coil whine can be a factor, fanless or not. With my hearing I doubt I can hear much over 9 kHz anyway. And being honest, I don't live in an anechoic chanber - there's always some background noise from planes, the freeway, etc. I'll investigate "quiet" vs. "silent" as very likely having more options and better performance bang per buck spent. Thx.

OK, regarding the mobo, I didn't have any specific reason to pick the DS3H, will investigate the other one. On your second remark, would you mind elaborating a bit more on your thought process? Since I don't know why you are saying that. a) Fanless systems cost too much? b) Fanless systems aren't reliable? c) Fanless systems can sneak up on you and cause a heart attack? d) The Gigabyte system claims to have a "fan off" mode like I mentioned could work, but I doubt this extends to the power supply. So is it OK to have a fanless power supply and everything else (CPU/case fan) "on demand"? e) Something else? Thanks a bunch. DL

I'm trying to spec out a new system for doing sound recording. I'd like it to be as quiet as possible for those times I'm recording through a microphone. My current hovercraft-spec fans are far from silent. My studio space is really small and the best solution would simply replace the current system which is about 12" wide, 10" tall, and 15" deep. The current system is based on a very old Q6600 (Core 2 Quad) with 4 GB RAM and Windows 10, so it's not going to be very hard to improve on that one's performance. I'm expecting "mid" rather than "top" performance which should be fine. I'm planning on using the following components: Ryzen R5 2600 Micro-ATX motherboard https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/B450M-DS3H-rev-10#kf NoFan 500W fanless PS https://www.quietpcusa.com/NoFan-P-500A-Fanless-Power-Supply-500W.aspx NoFan passive CPU cooler https://www.quietpcusa.com/Nofan-CR-80EH-IcePipe-Fanless-CPU-Cooler Video card something like this: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/s3YWGX/gigabyte-geforce-gt-1030-2gb-silent-low-profile-video-card-gv-n1030sl-2gl 2.5" SSD M2 drive The NoFan cooler is pretty huge so needs clearance above and around the CPU. Don't need an optical drive or any 3.5" drives. Don't care about running games. Current video card is a GeForce 8400? It's fine (other than it has a fan). I was looking at the SilverStone SUGO SG11B which is about the right size externally but the ATX PS mounts over the CPU which forces you to use a low profile cooler. I'm skeptical I can get a fanless cooler into that space. I also see fan controls, etc. and the reality is is don't need it silent all the time, just when I am recording with a mic. So conceivably I could also use a system which allowed shutting the fan off or spinning way down for awhile (10-30 minutes?), and then it would speed up if it needed to. So, I'm interested in: a) case recommendations b) recommendations for ways to find a case starting with its external dimensions and clearance over/around CPU (PC part picker is a little abstract in that regard) c) Thoughts about other cooling approaches (a "quiet" vs. "Silent" fan, spinning down temporarily, etc.) Thanks! DL

I may even be OK with a mini tower. I would need to reroute some USB cables. I hope it's OK to put a USB hub on the end of a ten or fifteen foot cable. Anyone familiar with the "nofan" products, esp. this cooler and fanless power supply? https://www.quietpcusa.com/NoFan-P-500A-Fanless-Power-Supply-500W.aspx https://www.quietpcusa.com/Nofan-CR-80EH-IcePipe-Fanless-CPU-Cooler I'm thinking that a 65W CPU should suit my needs (looking at AMD models).

Yeah, I've owned a Mac Mini and have a Macbook Pro which I might press into service. I've tried it for the stuff I'm doing and the laptop display is hysterically small. My eyes are not so great any more and so I need a bigger display. I've even considered a used iMac. I've got a fair investment in Windows only programs unfortunately. Thanks for the tips!

Wow thanks for all the info, will take a while to digest.