Motherboard with very good fan control and big space between PCI

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TudorBuda

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Sep 29, 2015
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Hello,

i want to upgrade my MB from the Asus Z97-K to another one with excelent fan controls and eventually a larger space between the PCIe slots, for a SLI with Prolimatech MK-26 gpu heatsinks (if i can find a long enough and flexible SLI bridge. If it isn`t posible i will buy somethink like the 980ti Evga ACX, on top of the Mk-26 cooled one.

I want full pwm control over the fans, because i want a completely passive system under 50c and then a custom power curve. I`ve read that the ROG motherboards offer that option, but i want to know for sure.

The cpu is i5 4690k, the case is Corsair Air 540 (untill the Phanteks Evolv Atx Tempered Glass
launches)

Probably i will stick to Z97, as the price difference to X99 isn`t justified whatsoever.
Price mark would be ~200 euro.
900x900px-LL-ac6eac06_20160229_132718.jpeg


Thank you!
 
Solution
photonboy
Hey,
1) First of all, passive power supplies usually specify the case have sufficient case cooling as they aren't designed to dissipate much added heat.

2) If your point is to be QUIET, then you can buy fans that are essentially silent.

3) I suspect the Asus motherboard you have now has sufficient fan control for your needs, but can't verify that. Most of the modern Asus solutions have software you can download which includes the ability to DISABLE the fans.

4) CPU fans are the exception and usually have no ability to disable via software.

Summary:
My advice would be to investigate essentially inaudible fans, especially with a GTX980Ti. I'll look up some to recommend.
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photonboy

photonboy

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Jun 20, 2006
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Hey,
1) First of all, passive power supplies usually specify the case have sufficient case cooling as they aren't designed to dissipate much added heat.

2) If your point is to be QUIET, then you can buy fans that are essentially silent.

3) I suspect the Asus motherboard you have now has sufficient fan control for your needs, but can't verify that. Most of the modern Asus solutions have software you can download which includes the ability to DISABLE the fans.

4) CPU fans are the exception and usually have no ability to disable via software.

Summary:
My advice would be to investigate essentially inaudible fans, especially with a GTX980Ti. I'll look up some to recommend.
 
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Solution
photonboy

photonboy

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Jun 20, 2006
21,567
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1) 140mm, inaudible (13dB) case fan: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/noctua-case-fan-nfp14sredux900

2) Not clear what you're doing about the CPU Cooler but lots of inaudible solutions

3) You want an 2xGTX980Ti setup with those extensions?

Again, I'm really not sure your plan is that good. That's my opinion but I've spent a lot of time on this before and have built systems that are essentially silent.

If it's going to be GTX980Ti's then i think Hybrid cards would be best and exhaust the heat outside the case via the 12cm radiator. Not silent, but then if you use normal air-cooled fans which DO have a silent option then they'll be louder when under load so... depends what you want to optimize for.

For example:
a) Noctua 13dB case fans
b) 0dB graphics cards (fans turn on under load)
c) "ECO" mode PSU (fan turns on if load high enough)
d) Noctua or similar CPU cooler (with fan inaudible at roughly 300RPM)

Some of the systems i build can't be heard from a few inches away, and are only slightly audible once the GPU fans kick in.

 
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TudorBuda

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Sep 29, 2015
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Hello, thank you for your answer, but it isn`t helpful. The PSU is AX1200i, its fan never EVER started. no matter how much i`ve stressed the pc (even with the olx 290x). Anyway, it`s in another chamber of the Corsair Air case and also, it has 5 years warranty, so i don`t care :)

2 - as you can see in the photo, i only have Noctuas. The 2 140mm spin from 250 to max 600 rpm and the two 120mm on the gpu spin from 350 to 1050 rpm. Trust me, it can`t get better than this, WHEN FDANS NEED TO SPIN. I want them not to, when the pc is in idle state.

3 - it seems it doesn`t. It can`t fully stop the fans under a certain temperature. I want one that does.

4 - solved it by not plugging a fan into the cpu pwm fan header. I only have them on CHA fan headers.

summary: i ended up with the Noctua NF A12s after dozens of other fans. The only ones on par with these were the Scythe Gentle Typhoons, which i owned several years ago (the lowest rpm ones, and even those had emphasis on performance, not silence)
 
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TudorBuda

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Sep 29, 2015
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auvg5e05f
1 - i can confirm, i have the p14 redux on the back of my case, it`s the best 14cm fan i`ve ever heard (actually, didn`t hear :)) ) I have it and i think i will get another two for top exhaust.
2- The cpu cooler is Prolimatech Genesis, it`s somewhere between the Noctua NDH14 and Ndh15. It`s passively cooled, the cpu rarely gets to 50c.

3 - not now, but perhaps in the near future, depending on how well does the VR gaming escalate. a single 980 Ti can drive the Oculus, but i`m waiting for all the contenders to launch. I`m more impressed by the one with 5k display, 180 degrees FOV and eye movement scanning. I`m pretty sure that 1 980 ti won`t cope.
My plan is near perfect, trust me. It`s made based on trial and error. Hell, i even burned 2 290x`s in my "research" :))
I made some wicked hybrids on my own, long before the EVGA Hybrids were launched. With Corsair H110 and huge passive heatsinks on the vrm1. Trust me, there`s nothing water can do, that air+huge heatsinks can`t do better. So far, the Mk-26 is in a league of it`s own.
http://www.overclock.net/t/1578236/mild-oc-in-total-silence-i5-4690k-980-ti/10#post_24556696

My plan will finally be perfect when i find the motherboard that allows me to completely turn off the fans in idle and then power curve them via it`s pwm headers and my own cuustom curve,
AND if a GPU bios flash to an ACX model which has that 0db mode will work with the Noctuas (i have problems with that now. If i plug them intro the gpu`s fan header via mini 4 pin pwm adapter&Ysplitter, the fans spin at 1050 rpm, which is the minimum 24% speed of the original blower fan). Untill now, i couldn`t find out if the flash will solve the 0db mode problem.
http://postimg.org/image/n6c8va97p/
 
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TudorBuda

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Sep 29, 2015
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@Unolocogringo Unfortunately, FanXpert 3 isn`t working. I tried downloading AI suite and everything i found out one the Asus Website, and it simply doesn`t work.
I`m fiddling with SpeedFan, but it`s not what i wanted.
At least i got a semi solution to the 0 db GPU. i plugged the 2 12cm Noctuas in the Sys Fan, with temperature reads form the GPU, but it`s more like an on/off solution, not a custom power curve that starts at 50-60 degrees and rises gradually to 1000 rpm at 80 degrees (which never happens)
 
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TudorBuda

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Sep 29, 2015
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That was the first thing i`ve done. There is a y splitter for the gpu in the MK-26 package, but it doesn`t work. Not only that the fans won`t drop under 1050 rpm (as i said, it`s the minimum speed of the original blower), but the fan sliders or either MSI Ab or PrecisionX won`t change anything.
Evga doesn`t have an answer to that, neither if a bios flash would change anything. Btw, neither does the whole internet, as it seems. There are 2 more persons with the same problem.
 
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