SilverStone Grandia GD07 Review: Centering and Serving Your Media
by Dustin Sklavos on April 29, 2012 1:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- HTPC
- SilverStone
Noise and Thermal Testing
As the SilverStone GD07 is the first case we've tested using our revised Mini-ITX testbed, it's the only case we have Mini-ITX results for. This will change soon, though; we have two more Mini-ITX cases lined up for May. The GD07 is an ATX case being tested using our Mini-ITX testbed for reasons explained previously, but the fan speed percentages should at least give us a good idea of how much thermal headroom the GD07 actually has.
Testing for the GD07 was done with an ambient temperature floating around 24C. Note that ambient temperatures are not consistent between case tests; this is why we display our results in delta-over-ambient instead of as strict thermal readings like we used to. Ambient temperatures for case testing will generally range between 21C and 24C, and the GD07 was tested at the latter end of that spectrum.
Without having to drive the IGP, the CPU doesn't have to work quite as hard, but thermals are generally reasonable. The heatsink itself has a rated cap of 95 watts, so it's not being pushed all that hard either. In fact...
You'll notice we still have plenty of headroom on both the processor and the graphics card. The Zotac GeForce GTS 450 Eco sports a single-slot cooler and no external power lead, but that cooler doesn't seem to have to work particularly hard, even under OC Scanner load.
Finally, the GD07's acoustics are actually quite good, at least with this combination of parts. The heatsink we use is specced to be able to get fairly loud, but without having to work very hard we're left largely with the fan noise of the fans included with the GD07 itself. These fans are a major improvement over what was found in the GD04, which really required a dedicated fan controller to be appropriate for use as a media center. A fan controller could no doubt serve the GD07 almost as well, but at least here the noise isn't onerous to begin with.
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pimogo - Tuesday, May 8, 2012 - link
Hi ChrisQuestion: in your build you included an h100, which is precisely what i'd like to do.. either that or the smaller h60. However, the reviewer here basically said that closed radiator systems were a no go due to the motherboard to sideboard constraints. Given that this case is fairly similar to the case you have, what gives? Is it then possible to install an h100 in a stock case or did you have to mod it?
Many thanks!
Chris Simmo - Wednesday, May 9, 2012 - link
I removed the fans on the inside, removed the filter and secured the 2 120mm fans on the outside with fan grills I pulled off dead PSU's. Due to the positive pressure design, I pointed the fans to bow air into the case. The CPU sits at 30c at idle and 65c under load. The GPU is at 40-43 under load.Chris Simmo - Wednesday, May 9, 2012 - link
I don't know if the post will let me put this in, but here are pics of my personal system.http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.248327595...
Chris Simmo - Wednesday, May 9, 2012 - link
Sorry, the GPU temp is at idle not load! I also made an extended Molex cable that comes off the PSU harness to the outside of the case. My entertainment unit has been modified with 2x140mm Bitfenix fans and a Zalman fan control to suck hot air away from the HTPC and receiver amp. I mod I highly recommend! I also find the corsair fans to loud and the corsair controller doesn't make them quiet enough, so use the MB headers and artic cooling PWM fans. I also replaced the fan in the PSU.I have pictures on face book, but the link I wanted to put got removed.
pimogo - Wednesday, May 9, 2012 - link
Thanks for the comprehensive response! So you have the 2 fans on the side for the Corsair which are themselves replacements--not the OEM fans? You found the OEM loud?If they're loud, i wonder if its worth going in that direction. I wonder if just a noctua slim cpu fan would not suffice. Btw how many fans in your case do you have total?
Thanks!
Chris Simmo - Wednesday, May 9, 2012 - link
The fans are ok on their own most of the time, but on the outside they were a little louder. Since I build computers for a living, I have access to a fair few parts, and the Artic cooling ones have more blades, shifting more air at a lower speed. I think the H100 is worth it. No modifying of any structures is done thoughaudioman83 - Wednesday, May 28, 2014 - link
I'm selling one used-Like New at Amazon. I treated it with kid gloves. It's in perfect condition.