[sandreas]

Hey,

i got 2 ASRock ION330. An old one and a new one (330HT). I noticed that the the 330HT is much louder than the 1st generation of ION330. So i read in different forums about reasons for that.

The main-reason, which is obviously clear, must be the fans. Here is what i found out about it:

There are two fans. One is on the back of the device, which can be reached easily and one is integrated and can not be reached without problems. The first fan on the back is the same in both devices. I took the one from the old ASRock and replaced the one in the 330HT. The noise is exactly the same as before. So it MUST be the other fan, which is responsible for the higher noise.

So i went further and removed the essential parts to see what fan it is... I am not an expert, but it seems that the fan in the 330HT is a bit smaller than the an in the old one (I read something about 30mm, which is uncommon and hard to find). I turned the device on and noticed that this smaller fan is the reason... like expected.

So here are my questions:

- Can someone tell me the specifications of this second fan? (Size, air volume, etc.)
- Is it possible/senseful to use a fan with bigger size (e.g. 40mm as replacement for 30mm)?
- What minimum air volume / fan speed is needed for replacing the fan with one that is more silent to get the optimal noise-level/cooling?
- Perhaps someone can recommend me a piece of hardware, which he uses himself and give me a link to a howto or something (I'm from Germany, so it would be helpful to respect that fact)


Thank you

[valk]

I cannot answer your questions but I just want to confirm your experiences with the old and new version of the asrock. I bought the asrock 330 HT and my mother in law has the old one. That one is much more silent than the new one is. A really high pitch sound which is pretty annoying!
I will send mine back and look for an old one or otherwise look at alternatives like the new Intel i3 clarkdale eg...

[sandreas]

Okay, here is some new Information:

It is definetely mainly one thing that is responsible for the annoying noise: The second fan, which is hidden under the drives. It's size is 30mm and it is the only difference between old and new ASRock device making any noise.

Fan of the old ASRock: Y.S.-Tech fan FD123010LS (good / silent)
Fan of the new ASRock: Power Logic PLA03010S12M (bad / loud)

Like i said before, it is hard to find alternatives. 30mm fans are not very common. I ordered the following and will test it as soon as i get it:
Titan, 30x30x7mm, TFD-3007M12S, 4,60€

I read about using a bigger fan instead, but there were comments, that 40mm fans would not fit. So the only possibility to test would be a 35mm fan, which is even harder to find than 30mm alternatives.

The big 50mm fan on the back is both the same Y.S.-Tech. So, there are some other things that would make the devices more silent:

- The screws of the little fan are metal on metal... would be better to use some rubber
- The other bigger fan can be replaced by a more silent one (would not make so much difference, the Y.S.-Tech 50mm is not as bad)
- The 30mm fan can be "optimized" by a fan-control device (e.g. Zalman Fanmate 2)

So, choose your Weapon...

My advice: Do not buy a 330HT, it is not worth the additional money. Reasons:

- The remote control does not work very well (bad angle, bad reaction time and it does not perform as keyboard)
- The current Linux-Driver for the remote is broken (1.02, use 1.01 instead)
- Wifi is not hard to add to the old 330 (USB-Stick)
- The 330HT is f***ing too loud

The only really advantage is, that the device can be turned on via remote control, which is nice but not essential i think.

Greetings

Here is an Image of the fan i am talking about:

[tehsoul]

the loudness of the asrock has been discussed in detail in another thread as well:
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=61604

personally, i installed a zalman fanmate II and life is good

[Steve Evans]

I purchased an Evercool 30mm fan from eBay. Nice draught. Even more noise. I then mounted the standard fan using small O rings to space/isolate it a little from the heatsink fins. This reduced noise a little; most likely from the fins, not the fan. Then I gently peeled back the sticker in the centre of the motor exposing the shaft, and applied a small drop of teflon loaded oil and replaced the sticker... SILENT! Still moving plenty of air, but no noise whatsoever.

Steve