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downclock my CPU to get it cooler? Will it be strong enough?
http://forums.linhes.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=17067		 Page 1 of 2
Author:  zetoune [ Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:11 pm ]
Post subject:  downclock my CPU to get it cooler? Will it be strong enough?
I've just changed the hardware in my box to be able to record HD programs.

This is my config
Ahanix Dvine 4 case. (I switched the original PSU for a Seasonic S12-500 and I removed the small fans which extract air from the case. They were too much noisy)
Asus M2NPV-VM
Samsung 512 MB DDR2 667.
Athlon64 X2 4600+ with original fan.
2 Hauppauge PVR 150.

I'm planning to buy a HDHomeRun to get OTA HD. I want to be able to record a HD program, a SD program and watch recorded one in the same time.

I think the CPU is powerful enough to do these tasks without any problem.

The problem is CPU's fan which is too much noisy. I want to get the box as quiet as possible.

I'm looking at 3 replacement heatsinks:
- Artic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro
- Scythe Ninja revision B.
- Scythe Infinity.

I don't know if the last two ones can enter in the case. They are HUGE.
But for all the them, I want to keep them at the lowest RPM I can.

I think I could downclock the CPU to get it cooler.

Do you think it's possible to do what I want ?
Author:  graysky [ Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:23 pm ]
Post subject: 
Sure you can. What's more important to heat production is actually your processor core voltage (vcore). Have a look at the overclocking guide I wrote a while ago for more (except you'll want to underclock your machine.
Author:  zetoune [ Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:31 pm ]
Post subject: 
Ok I'm gonna take a look.
Author:  Too Many Secrets [ Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:41 pm ]
Post subject: 
You might be limited by that MB as I haven't seen much in the way of adjustments for OCing. But I will be watching to see what you can do. Maybe they've updated the BIOS since I checked.

Also you might be a little light in RAM for HD as the onboard video uses some of the RAM. But you can always cross that bridge later.
Author:  zetoune [ Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:48 pm ]
Post subject: 
Yes, I think I could spend some money in more RAM.
I entered in the bios just once and don't even know whic bios revision I have. I bought the MB and CPU in used conditions one week ago. Moreover I have to get a VGA cable to plug to my HDTV. Now I'm using DVI -> HDMI cable and I have no signal (picture) until the nvidia driver is loaded.

Do you know how to active DVI at boot instead of VGA?
Author:  thornsoft [ Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:50 pm ]
Post subject: 
A nicer CPU fan would help, particularly one with a variable-speed fan. Mine works great, came with a variable-speed controller. It's a Zalman, I think. IIRC, it's from the Dragon 1.0 spec.
Author:  zetoune [ Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:52 pm ]
Post subject: 
The motherboard can control the speed of the fan and I have a Zalman controller as well. The question is .. Can the heatsinks I'm looking at enter in the case. They are huge.

Artic cooler is cheaper than two others, but I can't find any "noise" review for it.
Author:  Too Many Secrets [ Tue Oct 23, 2007 2:20 pm ]
Post subject: 
zetoune wrote:
Yes, I think I could spend some money in more RAM.
I entered in the bios just once and don't even know whic bios revision I have. I bought the MB and CPU in used conditions one week ago. Moreover I have to get a VGA cable to plug to my HDTV. Now I'm using DVI -> HDMI cable and I have no signal (picture) until the nvidia driver is loaded.

Do you know how to active DVI at boot instead of VGA?


I'm not sure, I haven't seen that problem. I'v used DVI and it works at boot.
Author:  slowtolearn [ Tue Oct 23, 2007 2:26 pm ]
Post subject: 
zetoune wrote:
The motherboard can control the speed of the fan and I have a Zalman controller as well. The question is .. Can the heatsinks I'm looking at enter in the case. They are huge.

Artic cooler is cheaper than two others, but I can't find any "noise" review for it.
I've been happy with this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835106073 Not nearly as big as many of the others out there, but be sure to check the specs/clearance. I enabled "Q-fan" control (something to that effect, not in front of my M2NPV-VMs at the moment) which makes it very quiet.

zetoune wrote:
Do you know how to active DVI at boot instead of VGA?

I'm using S-Video and DVI -> DVI on my frontends with these boards. Check your video settings in the BIOS again, I made no changes to get video out working during post/bootup.
Author:  zetoune [ Tue Oct 23, 2007 2:27 pm ]
Post subject: 
How lucky you are!
My HDTV stays black until the nvidia logo appears.
Same with my old 17" CRT monitor. So I can't enter the bios to modify settings
Author:  rogerdugans [ Tue Oct 23, 2007 2:48 pm ]
Post subject: 
Underclocking a cpu can help reduce heat somewhat, and reducing core voltage is a part of that, but it is not likely to produce huge gains for you.

A lot of it depends on your specific chip, just like overclocking does.

As far as how slow a cpu can be and do what you want- that depends in large part on the other hardware: hardware encoder cards can get pretty warm, and a motherboard that is in a system running at full tilt (software encoding with high cpu usage and drive use, etc) will also heat things up a bit.

Not sure about your case cooling but this may be an area you want to try and improve: everything will run better if the air inside the case is cooler.

General rule of thumb with cooling:
big, slow fans are quieter
Air IN low and in front, out high and in back (or by the power supply for non-standard cases. ;) )
Author:  zetoune [ Tue Oct 23, 2007 2:51 pm ]
Post subject: 
thank you for advice !
Author:  zetoune [ Tue Oct 23, 2007 2:56 pm ]
Post subject: 
slowtolearn wrote:
I enabled "Q-fan" control (something to that effect, not in front of my M2NPV-VMs at the moment) which makes it very quiet.


I disabled Q-fan because I use a Zalman controler to set the CPU's fan speed.

I may remove the zalman controler and enable Q-fan. I will see.
Author:  Liv2Cod [ Tue Oct 23, 2007 4:05 pm ]
Post subject: 
FWIW I have a similar setup, but I opted for the X2 4800 65W processor. I got tired of my Prescott P4 heating up the room! The new box is waaaay cool, if you dig me.
Author:  slowtolearn [ Tue Oct 23, 2007 4:23 pm ]
Post subject: 
zetoune wrote:
How lucky you are!
My HDTV stays black until the nvidia logo appears.
Same with my old 17" CRT monitor. So I can't enter the bios to modify settings
Sounds like you will need to set the "Reset CMOS" jumper on the motherboard - See the manual for that.

BTW, my BIOS settings are as follows:
    AMD "Cool 'N Quiet" = Auto
    RGB/TV Display = Auto
    TV Mode Support = NTSC-M (yours will depend on locale)
    Q-Fan Controller = Enabled
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