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D'Espice · 10:03 AM

I just returned from Hannover which is actually around 700km to the north of Munich. It was a heck of a weekend but the most important thing is, I have good news.

First thing I did in the morning was to visit Verax and take a look at their low noise kit for the PowerMac G4 MDD. Luckily these guys remembered me (I used to test Verax coolers and fans for German websites some time ago) and offered to give me a presentation.
We went into a small, rather quiet back room, and there it was: The new low noise PowerMac G4 MDD by Verax and a brand new PowerMac G4 1.25 with its stock fans. The difference was truly mind-blowing, never have I heard such a quiet PowerMac before, even my Sawtooth is louder.
They've swapped every single fan. The CPUs are now cooled by two 80mm Verax fans, the big vacuum cleaner fan was replaced by a low noise Verax fan and the two 60mm Black Delta fans in the power supply had to yield to two 60mm Verax fans. The only thing I'm concerned about is the fact, that there's very little room between the video card cooler and the blue cover for the CPU heatsink, I'd say it's definitely less than an inch. In case the video card doesn't have a fan (like the GeForce2 MX or Radeon 9000) that might cause some serious heat issues there.

Here are some photos. Sorry about the quality, the pics are a bit blurry but I went there first thing in the morning, even before I had my first coffee

sideus · Mar 16, 2003, 05:59 PM

Nice!
What about the CPU fans when the case is closed? How close to the hard drive are they?

G4ME · Mar 16, 2003, 06:23 PM

nice i am glad that we are finaly getting some mods for our G4's too bad mine is too old for any of these

CheesePuff · Mar 16, 2003, 06:31 PM

This looks great! Did you ask them about the video card concerns that you had?

Also, was it as quiet as a Dell? Now those are some quiet machines... (The 8200 Tower I was using and keep it on my desk on top next right next to my monitor and can not even tell if its off or on).

JB72 · Mar 17, 2003, 12:20 AM

I see that kit in my future.

D'Espice · 10:08 AM

Yes, I did ask them about my video card concerns, they said that shouldn't be a problem. I do not agree though. I know that video cards can get very hot, after all GPUs have become more complex than CPUs. The Radeon's heatsink (was a Radeon 9000 in that Mac) was pretty hot yet the computer was still running fine. I wonder how that might be in 3D games and 3D applications.
Also, how about video cards like the Radeon 9700 or GeForce Ti4800? Both get much hotter than the Radeon 9000. They weren't able to answer these questions, however they promised to look into it.

sideus:
Unfortunately I don't have X-ray eyes (yet) so I wasn't able to see that. According to the technician I talked to it should be a bit more than an inch though with a harddrive in the upper drive bay, which is enough for these fans.

And there's something else I forgot to mention: The vacuum cleaner fan ain't working the way it used to anymore. Before, that was a temp-controlled fan that kicked in every now and then to cool down the CPUs. Now, this fan is constantly running, helping to ensure the air flow inside the case. The fan is still temp-controlled though and inaudible even at full speed. And since there are two large 80mm fans on the CPU heatsink, there's no real need for the vacuum cleaner fan the way it used to work anymore.

sideus · Mar 17, 2003, 09:44 PM

http://www.verax.de/news/FS_newsmac.html

Can't wait to order!

Eugene Fields · 01:05 PM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by D'Espice:
[B]I just returned from Hannover which is actually around 700km to the north of Munich. It was a heck of a weekend but the most important thing is, I have good news.

First thing I did in the morning was to visit Verax and take a look at their low noise kit for the PowerMac G4 MDD. Luckily these guys remembered me (I used to test Verax coolers and fans for German websites some time ago) and offered to give me a presentation.
We went into a small, rather quiet back room, and there it was: The new low noise PowerMac G4 MDD by Verax and a brand new PowerMac G4 1.25 with its stock fans. The difference was truly mind-blowing, never have I heard such a quiet PowerMac before, even my Sawtooth is louder.
They've swapped every single fan. The CPUs are now cooled by two 80mm Verax fans, the big vacuum cleaner fan was replaced by a low noise Verax fan and the two 60mm Black Delta fans in the power supply had to yield to two 60mm Verax fans. The only thing I'm concerned about is the fact, that there's very little room between the video card cooler and the blue cover for the CPU heatsink, I'd say it's definitely less than an inch. In case the video card doesn't have a fan (like the GeForce2 MX or Radeon 9000) that might cause some serious heat issues there.

Here are some photos. Sorry about the quality, the pics are a bit blurry but I went there first thing in the morning, even before I had my first coffee

My FW800 1.42 was as quiet as a Whisper then after about 20-30 mins this ticking started, then repeadly tickiing Ive heard it described as a Diesel well that about sums it up. Mine was intermittent.

IT started to annoy me quickly.. I was in love with the unit at first Dead Silent..

Quickly the Dieseling returned after a Series of Delta replacements, and several Papst replacements, I recieved my M10 abnd M11 from Verax. Install was very quick and easy. If you havedone the Apple kit you'll have no issues with the Verax. My Mac is now silent and Im in Heaven. Some users (a few from the thousands sold) have heat issues. The Older MDD's ran WAY hotter, then Apple replaced the proccessors with a cooler rework, so the older 2002 Towers are could have issues, but rest assured the Verax Team is on the case, and a resolution has already been developed. They are just field Testing now before they release. One other issue to consider is if you already think your Power Supply is quiet, just start with the M10 Verax kit. The difference is astonishing and a Great deal of Heat is expelled through the back of the case. The interior of the Case is way cooler!

Your going to LOVE the SILENCE!! Verax has given me the 1.42 I thought I was getting in the first Place. Refined and Silent. Very High Quality parts and a pleasure to deal with. Cris C. Friewald of Veraxfans.com is an American Distibuter, an owner operator who is a pleasure to deal with. When you deal with him you are getting it from the Owner, real nice bonus. I recommend His company for USA needs.

dissident · 08:27 AM

Will the verax kit work on the new single processor 1 ghz MDD, or are they only making them for the dual processor machanines? I think my 1 ghz mdd could use a low noise kit, it is pretty loud.

And another thing, did they tell you anything about an estimated price?

milhouse · Mar 20, 2003, 04:42 PM

I want one.

Now.

...no seriously...I do..

Akarso · Mar 20, 2003, 08:48 PM

how easy is it to install/remove the fan setup on the processor?

i like the how they're cooling the ram chips as well as the processor. but my concern is when you want to add or remove ram modules, it looks like you'll have to remove the whole setup in order to access the dimm slots. or am i missing something?

either way, this is definitely an impressive kit, and it looks high quality. did they comment on the price of the kit?

D'Espice · Mar 21, 2003, 07:09 AM

Originally posted by Akarso:
how easy is it to install/remove the fan setup on the processor?

i like the how they're cooling the ram chips as well as the processor. but my concern is when you want to add or remove ram modules, it looks like you'll have to remove the whole setup in order to access the dimm slots. or am i missing something?

either way, this is definitely an impressive kit, and it looks high quality. did they comment on the price of the kit?

You're not missing the point. In case you want to add or remove ram sticks, you gotta remove the whole blue cover thingy. Which however ain't complicated, you can do that within few seconds.
Installation is also very simple. Unfortunately they didn't comment on the price although I asked them several times. They said they didn't know exactly yet but it'll be around as much as the Pabst kit.

sideus · May 1, 2003, 12:37 AM

Any updates about the new kit? Price?

sideus · 06:06 AM

Received the CPU kit today. Installed it and to my amazement my system is running hotter. After visiting g4noise.com, apparently this is a known issue with MDD from 2002 (which is what I have).

http://www.verax.de/verax.php?templa...entryid=23?=en

D'Espice · Jun 13, 2003, 08:32 AM

If you would've know that, you could have gotten that kit for free. They're saying that they need some of these old '02 MDD PowerMacs, they'll keep'em for 3-4 days then give'em back - hushed

Eugene Fields · 02:59 PM

Just installed the Full kit on a 1.42..Its wonderfull

By now the mod is working full speed and its a gentle whoosh of air, sort of like, when it was at its quietest when the Apple standard parts were in there and you just Strat-Up after the leafblower noise ends.

I remember thinking when I just got the 1.42 and turned it on, and heard this quiet level of sound, after the full throttle Fan startup, I thought to myself, if this is as loud as it gets WOW this is perfect!

Well 20 mins later we all know how it sounded ARGGH..But now I'm under full heat/load 2 hrs later, and it sounds like it did that first time I turned it on, before any mods, nice And quiet.. gentle whoosh of air - really quiet for a machine of this caliber.

It seems the 360Watt Power Supply is already almost as quiet as the Verax Kit..if you were lucky enough to get a quiet AcBel360w. Some have issues with Apple's replacement PS being very noisy. Wow It's verry cool to be so Quiet now Very Happy Camper here.

As far as recommending the M11 (PS Kit) to FW800 Owners Id say you could probably be happy with the standard 360W Apple ships, If you consider yours quiet. Quite a bit of differance, and as I said, way higher quality, so about the upper kit ,its different for each user. The M11 is definitley quieter though. My AcBel was pretty quiet. Verax is nearly silent! just a whoosh of air!

Defintlety the M10 is the major noise reducer for the FW800, and M11 would optional depending on if you think you have a noisy 360W, as some have complained theirs are. I don't think mine was too noisy, but since I orderd the Whole kit I had to try it. Im happy Its installed. It was already pretty quiet after the M10 was installed. The M11 just added the final reduction to Bliss State!

Some ask, Can I load my Mac all the Slots, with many DSP's? We need more feedback on this issue. I have only have 2/120gb drives + Both Opticals full and the ATI 9700 card has its own tiny fan. So we need to hear from users that added 2 more Drives, plus a full array of Cards.. More fully maxed than mine. Even those users are being cared for Verax will release a piece in 2 weeks to solve any outstanding issues. It will be free to current owners who need it. This outfit Really Cares and wants us to be Happy. A definite Score!

I disconnected the Optical Door Fan, as its no longer needed and wait for a reduced voltage cable from Verax, they said it will take a few weeks to get. It will be Free. Then the ODF will run at 5V and be silent too No matter all is well in my world....

Im at my Mac and all I hear is a whoosh of air

Its neat to feel the Back of the Box and feel Heat comming from 2 areas instead of just the Power Supply verry neat

ReggieX · Jun 15, 2003, 07:37 PM

Originally posted by D'Espice:
Here are some photos. Sorry about the quality, the pics are a bit blurry but I went there first thing in the morning, even before I had my first coffee

You should know better than that. Coffee first!

Eugene Fields · Jun 22, 2003, 12:01 AM

I have the full kit and Verax rules just a whoosh of air. I heartilly recommned the kits to any MDD owner who demands quiet and quality!

Eugene Fields · Jun 24, 2003, 09:16 AM

Originally posted by JB72:
I see that kit in my future.

My 1.42 Veraxed is still 10/15DB Quieter than the New G5 and I have all the expansion so Im Pretty Happy!! When I got to sell for Rev. 2 or 3 of the G5 It should be Easy with this quiet and expansion Bays the New one Lacks..Cool!