Hexus Monthly PC Build Guide September 2011

[Pob255]

My general advice would be don't, sleeve bearing fans have become popular because, they are cheaper and they are quieter, although they have a shorter life span.
The other major issue is that they are more fragile, easier to be damaged in transport.
Although not many fans are true sleeve bearing now, because a true sleeve bearing don't use oil/fluid, where as most fans now use a "hydro / Fluid Dynamic" bearing where a sleeve bearing have some grooves cut in it and oil/fluid added.
This means the bearing no longer works by degrading the surface layer into a powder and running on that as a dry lubricant, which means a harder more robust material can be used for the bearing rings, leading to longer life spans and less shock/impact damage.

For low cost + low noise the Bitfenix fans are great http://www.specialtech.co.uk/spshop/...pid-12718.html

Up the cost slightly and the Fractal design http://www.scan.co.uk/products/120mm...ber-fan-mounts and new antec true quiet are good http://www.scan.co.uk/products/120mm...2-speed-switch both also come with added anti-vibration mounts.

For a ball bearing fan the Akasa Amber is still your best bet http://www.scan.co.uk/products/120mm...-and-long-life although you'll need to slow it down to get it really silent.

Fan controller, a simple 3 knob 3.5" bay controller the AKASA AK-FC-06 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/akasa...2-usb-20-ports which also has 2 additional USB2 ports which plug into the usb motherboard header.

Don't forget the good old resistor based reducer Zalman do a 5v one http://www.scan.co.uk/products/zalma...our-3-pin-fan) Sharkoon also do a 9.5v version http://www.scan.co.uk/products/shark...rpm-and-noise) which will slow down a fan but not as much.

[G4Z]

I just picked up a Hanns-G HZ281 27.5" monitor for £230 from dabs.

Only just set it up and played some world of tank on it, seems very nice so far for such a cheap monitor and it is MASSIVE. It dwarfs my second monitor which is a 24" Acer X243w.

I will drop back here later with more impressions, but for a gaming monitor so far it seems pretty amazing value.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Thanks for the sugestions Pob,I knew I could rely on you!! A user review would be appreciated,G4Z. I did not mention any 27" monitors due to the paucity of reviews. ATM,I am trying to re-organise the wording of the whole guide to make it flow better.

[Pob255]

Yes the HannsG monitors are very good for the cost, I've been impressed with them too, got one of the HannsG HL196DBBE at work, it's a 19" 4:3 LED back lit monitor and probably the best 19" 4:3 monitor I've used.

Although the Iiyama monitors are very nice too, esp the hard glass ones.

[Noxvayl]

I recently bought this fan controler> NZXT Sentry2

Can be found here for under £30> http://www.scan.co.uk/products/nzxt-...controller-525

My personal review of the device:

Pros
Touch screen
Turn off the light
Auto fan control based on sensor readings
Ability to turn fans off completely

Cons
Sounds for each touch(can be turned off)
Single fan control only
Limited to 5 fans

The NZXT is a good looking fan controller, it has clean lines and fits neatly into a single 5.25" drive bay; It also has the added benefit of a touch screen so is perfect for use with a case that has a door covering the front. The colour scheme of the screen is well balanced, vivid blue for the spinning fan and and speed indicator bar with a mix of red and brown for outlines and words.

Installing the NZXT Sentry2 is easy enough, getting the sensors in the places you want might be tricky but if you aren't that bothered it could be done within 5 minutes. The holes provided for installing it are good enough for tool-less mounting even though I used screws, just to be sure it was secure because of the touch screen. The touch screen is responsive with each "button" being adequately spaced and well marked. Changing to each fan is a bit annoying but is easily overlooked if you prefer not having mechanical knobs sticking out your case.

If you have set up the sensors properly the "auto" feature works brilliantly. Keeps most fans relatively quiet unless you have really high RPM fans like the Enermax Magma. The ability to control 5 fans is great but I'd like the option to control more even if you only get direct access to 5 of them. Most cases don't offer more than 5 fan slots so I think they hit the sweet spot there.

The sensors come with a sticky tape to attach them to a surface within the case. As long as the positioning is good the tape should hold fine but some awkward sensor positions caused a bit too much force for the tape to handle and came off. The readings the sensors give is more responsive and reliable than software like AIDA64 and can be a good judge of whether your fan setup is optimal.

Over all the device is easy to use, simple to setup and works great. I recommend it to anyone looking for a fan controller, especially if you have a case with a front door.

[Noxvayl]

Just noticed you added some extra stuff and have skipped Gameboards like the Logitech G13 and Razor Nostromo. Since I've gotten the G13 I have not felt more comfortable while gaming and if it broke in the next 15minutes I'd order another instantly.

I have a small Logitech K300 Keyboard for general use and a G500 Mouse with G13 Gameboard for gaming (yes I love Logitech peripherals) and would recommend that type of setup over anything else for the amazing comfort and flexibility it provides.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The peripherals section is not meant to be an all out guide for these sorts of things. It is more of a basic setup thing. There are loads of other things I missed but TBH it would make the guide too long.

[Biscuit]

honestly i would stick to the system side and leave out the peripherals and other bits. More hassle than its worth and as you can see, everyone thinks they know better.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I finally finished all the sections and thanks to Agent for adding some posts for me. I have rewritten parts of the guide with more humour to avoiding it sounding a tad dry.

I stuck the peripherals onto one page and I have decided not to go into excessive details as it could easily be another guide.

BTW,Pob I linked to your post about fans in the body of the guide. ExHail,I have added a link to your post too.

[Pob255]

Oh yes I should of mentioned the NZXT sentry2 Being a touch screen fan controller gives it one major advantage over knob types, case doors.
On some cases with doors, you cannot fit a knob type fan controller correctly as the knobs stop the door from closing, this is one area a touch screen fans controller is really nice for.

PS CAT I'd also stress the gtx560 is the non-ti version on your basic gamer build, personally I'd rate the hyper212+ over the A50 for one main reason, The fan, the a50 fan in not PWM and the blade master fan that comes with the hyper 212+ is very good, not quite as high a quality as the Apache but still very good.
I'd also add the Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 PRO £25 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/arcti...m2-am2plus-am3
the 13 non-Pro is a bit rubbish but the 13 Pro is good, esp for the novice, as it has Arctic Cooling's easy to use mounting system and pre-applied MX3

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

If you can add any more information to your post Pob it would be great. I have linked directly to it from the guide.

[Pob255]

Ok will do.

PS I think you could add in headsets too
I can fully support the speedlink Medusa NXv2 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/speed...adset-with-mic for a stereo headset
At least so far, I've had mine for about 4 months now and I still love them, mike mute, tone and volume control on the wire, very comfy, still going strong and they've not fallen apart.
great for £19

I know there's been some bad reports about the 5.1 version but the stereo one has been great so far.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

PS CAT I'd also stress the gtx560 is the non-ti version on your basic gamer build, personally I'd rate the hyper212+ over the A50 for one main reason, The fan, the a50 fan in not PWM and the blade master fan that comes with the hyper 212+ is very good, not quite as high a quality as the Apache but still very good.
I'd also add the Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 PRO £25 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/arcti...m2-am2plus-am3
the 13 non-Pro is a bit rubbish but the 13 Pro is good, esp for the novice, as it has Arctic Cooling's easy to use mounting system and pre-applied MX3

Good point about the GTX560 - I will add the blurb to the guide.

I was looking at the cooling fan rathar than the noise,but I will have a look around at what other alternatives are available. Regarding the Arctic Cooling I have heard that the mounting system was not like by some people??

[kalniel]

I was looking at the cooling fan rathar than the noise,but I will have a look around at what other alternatives are available. Regarding the Arctic Cooling I have heard that the mounting system was not like by some people??

I love the artic cooling mounting system, really easy for both AMD and Intel. However xbit don't rate it as a cooler:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coo...er-13-pro.html

Lack of PWM on the A50 default fan isn't a biggie as all motherboards in the guide provide variable speed CPU fan headers without needing PWM. But I wasn't very happy with the default fan - quite noisy.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I read something was something about it being flimsy? Maybe I am thinking of the latest version of the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro??

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I am such a Moose.

I was going to recommend the Titan Fenrir but it seemed to have vanished.

However,I just had a Google and realised this is the replacement:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/titan...oogle+shopping

I stuck with the Corsair A50 as it seems to be a generally solid cooler and the same goes with the Gelid Tranquillo.

Basically,for the Bigger Budget build the cooler should not cost more than £30 and ideally around £20 to £25.

With the Gamer Build ideally,I want to have at least one under £20 alternative.

So,if people can make some suggestions for coolers I will have a look at them.