Antec Solo - included fans and how good is that 120mm?

HedgeHocker · Post by **HedgeHocker** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 11:38 pm

Does the Antec Solo Mid come with two 92mm fans in teh front of do I need to buy those? Anandtech says the Antec included 120mm fan is near silent but... is it? I have an extra 120mm Nexus anyway but it is the orange bleh ugly one.

Lawrence Lee · Post by **Lawrence Lee** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 12:56 am

Comes with one fan, an Antec TriCool 120mm pre-installed in the exhaust placement. At low speed it was fairly quiet, but I could hear some bearing noise coming from it so I ditched it.

Michael Sandstrom · Post by **Michael Sandstrom** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 1:46 am

Depending on your system, you may not need front fans. Many SPCR members only run a rear fan with the Solo. The Solo breathes very well.

HedgeHocker · Post by **HedgeHocker** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 3:46 am

Good. The filters are still up front right?

I'll try my nexus 120mm but it may not be powerfull enough - hopefully.

thanks

HedgeHocker · Post by **HedgeHocker** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 4:15 am

I'll be running a Gigabyte DQ6 3.3 overclocking an Intel E2140 about 400Mhz only. The CPU cooler will be the one that it comes with. One Seagate 300gb HDD, a Ben-Q DVD-RW, and a PC Power &Cooling Silencer 430w.

You folks think considering all this I should opt for the two 92mm fans? I need to make a descision soon if I will include it in my fan order with PerformancePC's.

Atmosper · Post by **Atmosper** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 5:37 am

Skip the 92 mm fans. Not needed and won't add any noticable cooling. A single 120 mm Nexus in the back will be perfectly fine (a bit less noisy as well).

Anodyne · Post by **Anodyne** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 5:39 am

My Solo setup has never been as quiet as I had hoped. However I am using the stock 120 fan (on low), two Nexus 92 fans at the front, and an old Zalman 7000 cooler. I haven't been able to figure out where most of the whooshing noise comes from but I suspect the front 92's and the old Zalman.

I have two hard drives, so I was concerned about keeping them cool. With the two 92's they both run at about 29-31 C. I suspect I could lose at least one of the 92's (or both) and be fine but haven't had the time to crack open the case again.

roadie · Post by **roadie** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 9:31 am

The Antec Tricool at the rear is not slow enough in my opinion to be considered for a very quiet computer. A Yate Loon at ~860rpm is what cools mine when idle, and that's just about right. Of course this rpm increases when gaming to help improve heat extraction under load.

Rqyteqto · Post by **Rqyteqto** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 10:27 pm

With the rig you describe, the single extraction fan should probably be enough. The Antec TriCool on low would probably suffice air flow wise and it's not that noisy. You'll probably hear the cooler fan more than the TriCool on low. Then again, your Nexus 120mm will be a bit quiet and since you have it, why not use it. The only downside would be if you want to ramp up performance the Nexus can't react, it's top end is the TriCool's bottom. I doubt your overclocking would strain the Nexus though it would depend on your graphics set up.

Though your PSU is likely to be fairly quiet, you might cut some of the noise from the processor cooler and insulate the power supply from the main compartment by inserting a baffle between the main compartment and the upper bay/5.25 drive bay. That puts a break between you and the primary noise maker. I have a thread in here someplace, maybe a year ago or so with pics of my SOLO with its baffle.

That said, the 92mms in front are generally barely audible, they are behind the filter and the front panel and its inlets face towards the rear. You don't get much if any noise from them.

Meanwhile, the exhaust fan sucks the noise from the cooler right out the back with no baffling at all. I'd suggest having something soft and absorbent behind the SOLO. Something very soft and absorbent.

Atmosper · Post by **Atmosper** » Sun Dec 02, 2007 6:10 am

Most likely, the noisiest component is the Zalman 7000. Zalman is known for having crappy fans on their heatsinks.

Post by **CA_Steve** » Sun Dec 02, 2007 7:23 am

I went with one slow rpm Scythe fan in front - merely to cool the HDD's a bit.

colin2 · Post by **colin2** » Sun Dec 02, 2007 6:10 pm

I put one Nexus in the back, threw out the whole filter setup in the front (both the plastic filter and the metal plate with the fan grille) and also removed the rear fan grille with snips and a little grinding. Better airflow and less noise.

You need to reseat the HDD light if you do this, but that's easy since since the lens on the front panel picks it up if it's even approximately in the right place.