New card for system/cooling/noise

[Grasshopper]

Hi Folks,

I currently have a very straightforward Sage Client machine running in my family room. It's a Shuttle MN31N (nforce2) with an Athlon XP 2200+, using the onboard video to output via VGA cable to a 27" CRT displaying 1024x768 and using the onboard Soundstorm to output audio via spdif to a receiver. It's all in an Antec Aria (sff) case.

My problem is that the pc lives in an entertainment center with a door, and gets rather hot. I took it out and put it on top of the entertainment center, but there it's louder than I'd like. The chipset fan in particular has developed a noise. So I'm thinking of going watercooled and getting a Zantec Reserator for the system. I'm familiar with watercooling and have a Koolance system for my Sage server.

So I got to thinking (always dangerous) and am seriously considering also getting a decent video card and installing it. When I install the watercooling system, I'll have to run water tubing out the entertainment center, so the unit will be very difficult to move and I'll have to drain the system each time I do. I'd rather set it up right and be done.

With that long-winded preamble: What AGP video cards should I consider? Is the Volari XGI appropriate for my application, or is that more for output to a TV? Will a better card improve picture quality or smoothness? (No DVI input for this monitor).

Oh, and one more question: Should I look at other water cooling solutions other than the Reserator? Recommendations?

Thanks heaps for all your help.

[Toddly]

Are you referring to the CPU cooler or the chipset cooler? I have an old ABIT board and the chipset fan was terribly noisy. I just replaced that with a passive cooler and all is well. If you need a CPU heatsink/fan you might consider the Zalman ALCU copper\aluminum model. I used this one on my main PC and it is pretty quiet plus the fan speed is adjustable. You should make sure there is enough room in your case because this thing is big and heavy.

[Grasshopper]

It's the chipset cooler that's making a godawful noise right now. I already have a Zalman CPU cooler on an adjustable fan. But the problem with any air cooler is that the PC lives in a poorly ventilated cabinet with a glass door. So while the cabinet certainly cuts down on ambient noise, it creates problems for heat dissipation. Sure, I could get another 40mm chipset fan or passive cooler and take care of this noise, but I'm tossing around the idea of doing it right.

Doing it right, I think, would be watercooling -- but watercooling with a radiator that lives outside my entertainment center cabinet. Putting the radiator in the cabinet won't help me, as I still have the heat in the cabinet (and there's a receiver in there making heat as well). So I'm thinking of getting the Zantec Reserator. Problem is, the installation of water cooled units is something of a pain, and probably not something I'd enjoy doing twice. So I'm thinking that if I want to stick a decent video card in the box, now (or never) is the time, as I'll plumb the system to watercool the video card as well.

So I'm most interested in video card recommendations for my application. I'm running Sage only (well, occasionally Windows Media Player as well) on an Athlon XP 2200+, using an nForce2 board with onboard GeForce 4 MX 440 video and outputting to a Phillips 27 inch CRT at 1024x768 via the 15 pin analog VGA cable. Will I realize substantial improvements in picture quality if I pop in an FX5200? 5700? 6800? I'd value the wisdom of somebody's hard-earned experience here.

[Wheemer]

Why don't you just vent your cabinet... with an exhaust fan or something.

[Toddly]

Originally Posted by Grasshopper

Hi Folks,



Oh, and one more question: Should I look at other water cooling solutions other than the Reserator? Recommendations?

Thanks heaps for all your help.

Check out this thread at AnandTech for a couple of water cooling options. In this thread there are some pictures of a modification to the Aria case.
I am far from an expert on video cards but I do have a NVidia 6600 and it is wonderful. It has a fan though so there would be some additional noise and heat you would need to factor in to your system.

[turak]

I use innovatek waterblocks. CPU, northbridge and GPU. I've been pretty happy with thier performance.

[dynamix]

Hrm... Watercooling is nice, but it can get expensive and still be kind of loud. I have Koolance Exos watercooling on my gaming rig, and it does a great job, but I would say it's too loud for a htpc.

To control heat and noise in my htpc, I bought a MATX p4 board, and popped in the cheapest celeron I could find. I then installed a zalman heatsink on it (without a fan). Finished up the install with a fanless 250watt Engelking PSU. I only have 1 60mm fan in the whole system, maintaining a slow circulation of air.

Over all, I think the Celeron generates much less heat. And the system is also quiet enough to put outside of a cabinet.

Another thing to point out, if your system runs hot, I really wouldn't worry too much as long as it's stable. I would only worry about excess heat causing a HD to fail prematurely. In that case you could easily buy a $20 USB2 enclosure and place the HD outside the computer case. Just a suggestion, though.

[Grasshopper]

I agree that watercooling isn't necessarily quiet. I have a Koolance PC2-601 case (basically a built-in Exos) in my office, and I'd never call it quiet. Effective (and how), but not quiet. But the Zantec Reserator is different -- it's totally passive. It's basically a big radiator that relies on convection, rather than a fan, to dissipate heat.

But the reason I'm worried is that the system isn't quite stable as is, and I don't know the cause. It occasionally locks up (hard restart necessary). I'm trying to troubleshoot, and heat is one suspected cause.