Is there enough airflow?

Cheenie · 20 Jan 2020 at 22:11

Zig13 said:
This was covered in this month's Hardware Unboxed Q&A.
It's a really difficult topic. I'm not an AMD fanboy as such but I'd like to see them do well and for there to be improved competition in the CPU and GPU spaces so I'm probably biased by that. I have had good experiences with AMD GPUs and I prefer their software to that of Nvidia*.
That said Nvidia is a much larger company in Revenue, Income, Assets and Equity than the whole of AMD of which The Radeon Technology Group is only part. That means they have more resources to throw at driver development and testing. The majority of AMD drivers are Beta with not insignificant (although often niche) known issues whereas almost all Nvidia drivers are recommend/certified. The release notes of Nvidia drivers are also much more detailed if harder to get to.

Personally I have experienced the black screen/stop outputting issue but only when under-volting quite significantly. I decided to just be patient and wait a few months before I get back to the tweaking.

Some of the specific wording they use makes me a little suspicious but not enough that I'd get all accusational. Does the site these reviews are from allow anyone to leave a review (like Overlockers.co.uk) or only purchasers?
There's also the fact that people having a negative experience are more likely to say something than people where the graphics card behaves as they expect.
Like the best case for a graphics card is that it works. It's not a product that's likely to impress you enough that you're going to go out your way to rave about it online

For a technical consumer product I'd rather just read/watch/listen to as many professional reviews as I can as at least user error is ruled out from their verdict.

*[My GPU history Geforce 6200, HD 4850, R7 265, GTX 970 & RX 5700 XT]

Well my last 3 pc's over about 15 years have all had AMD processors. So I probably am an AMD fanboy. I thought these driver issues had been resolved so I'd better have a good watch of the link you posted here and read up on the 5700xt thread too. You're right in what you say about professional reviews over the odd user with problems just a bit unnerving when the only reviews you can find are negative. Oh they were from Amazon and Scan btw. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction for help overcoming my fears :cool:

Joxeon · 20 Jan 2020 at 22:23

Cheenie said:
I like the idea of being able to have the option of quiet operation or good cooling in a mesh front case with manual control of the fan speed from the bios. So think I might go with a SilverStone RL06 as it looks to offer me that and partpicker says the msi Tomahawk Max motherboard is compatible.

It is compatible as I have that exact set up and the case offers excellent cooling, my Gpu runs 10c cooler than in my last case and that's with the front fans set up to run at a very quiet 800rpm.

tamzzy · 20 Jan 2020 at 22:53

Cheenie said:
Maybe I should have good read of the 5700 XT thread.

Buy it, try it, and return it if it doesn't work

Smiffy-UK · 27 Jan 2020 at 12:05

tamzzy said:
i'd swap this for:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/powe...ddr6-pci-express-graphics-card-gx-19f-pc.html

only £20 more to get a 5700XT
makes no sense to get a 5700 for £320. well overpriced.

I can second @tamzzy I have this powercolor 5700 xt and I'm very happy with it. But only with the 2019s drivers. But you may be one of the lucky ones who can use the 2020 drivers. Definitely get this card. Totally endorse the card.

Cheenie · 27 Jan 2020 at 15:54

Smiffy-UK said:
I can second @tamzzy I have this powercolor 5700 xt and I'm very happy with it. But only with the 2019s drivers. But you may be one of the lucky ones who can use the 2020 drivers. Definitely get this card. Totally endorse the card.

I still haven't bought it yet lol. I keep changing my mind on case and MoBo.

What factors will determine whether I can use the 2020 or 2019 drivers?

Drumroll · 27 Jan 2020 at 17:03

Enough airflow. If needed, just remove the PCI blanking plates.
May be needed only when GPU at full load.

Cheenie · 27 Jan 2020 at 17:20

MrPotato said:
Enough airflow. If needed, just remove the PCI blanking plates.
May be needed only when GPU at full load.

Sorry MrPotato I've ditched this case I've gone with an Coolermaster Mastercase H500 for maximum airflow at handled noise levels.

Drumroll · 27 Jan 2020 at 17:41

Cheenie said:
Sorry MrPotato I've ditched this case I've gone with an Coolermaster Mastercase H500 for maximum airflow at handled noise levels.

Have been a while since I say checked cases, but the dual 200mm front fans should do a good job, I guess.

Cheenie · 27 Jan 2020 at 18:08

It's a new mouse and keyboard that is stalling me now. Way too much choice out there lol.

Disco_P · 28 Jan 2020 at 10:08

Cheenie said:
Sorry MrPotato I've ditched this case I've gone with an Coolermaster Mastercase H500 for maximum airflow at handled noise levels.

You'll find that case can be quieter than pretty much any "silence" oriented case as you can turn the fans right down and still get enough air to the components.

Cheenie · 28 Jan 2020 at 13:26

Disco_P said:
You'll find that case can be quieter than pretty much any "silence" oriented case as you can turn the fans right down and still get enough air to the components.

Thanks Disco P I was thinking the bigger 200mm fans would move the same air at lower rpm and so would auto run at lower speeds. Just didn't think they were 4 pin PWM so wasnt sure if I could control the speed?

Disco_P · 28 Jan 2020 at 13:42

Cheenie said:
Thanks Disco P I was thinking the bigger 200mm fans would move the same air at lower rpm and so would auto run at lower speeds. Just didn't think they were 4 pin PWM so wasnt sure if I could control the speed?

Not just the bigger fans but the open mesh front panel allows a lot more air in than anything solid.

3 pin fans can also be controlled by reducing voltage. Most motherboards offer both PWM control for 4 pin fans and DC control for 3 pin fans (at least they used to). However 3 pin fans tend to have a smaller fan speed range and may exhibit strange behaviour at lower voltages.

PC777 · 28 Jan 2020 at 13:54

Further to what Disco P said, some DC fans will only let you set a limited lowest speed, EG: the Corsair AF 140s would only allow minimum of 50% speed in bios making them louder than I'd like, but Argus fan monitor allowed me to set them at 30% at idle for virtual silent operation in a similar high airflow case to that Coolermaster. I think that Coolermaster case comes with a built in fan controller either way, but there's always Argus if you need it.

Cheenie · 28 Jan 2020 at 15:45

Disco_P said:
Not just the bigger fans but the open mesh front panel allows a lot more air in than anything solid.

3 pin fans can also be controlled by reducing voltage. Most motherboards offer both PWM control for 4 pin fans and DC control for 3 pin fans (at least they used to). However 3 pin fans tend to have a smaller fan speed range and may exhibit strange behaviour at lower voltages.

Didn't know you could adjust the speed using DC voltage through the motherboard? Thought this was all done with molex connectors and resistors? Is this available within newer motherboard bios settings like the Tomahawk Max?

PC777 said:
Further to what Disco P said, some DC fans will only let you set a limited lowest speed, EG: the Corsair AF 140s would only allow minimum of 50% speed in bios making them louder than I'd like, but Argus fan monitor allowed me to set them at 30% at idle for virtual silent operation in a similar high airflow case to that Coolermaster. I think that Coolermaster case comes with a built in fan controller either way, but there's always Argus if you need it.

I think it is just an RGB controller the case comes with. The fans come with 3 pins power and a Y splitter. Thanks for the heads up on Argus that could come in very handy.