Chieftec dragon vs Compucase 6A19 vs 6919 vs YY 5412

[p5]

hi,

my current system is as follows:

• xp1700 jiuhb dut3c @ 2.1ghz @ 1.75v
• coolermaster xdream heatsink but with panaflo 80mm L1A @ 12v
• maxtor dm8+ 40gig sitting on foam
• CWT 450w (antec smartpower sl450) with panaflo 80mm L1A and 92mm papst 3412L (23db) both on temp controlled (subject to change).
• Superflower (atlas) case
• 120mm evercool @ 5v intake front (silent), 80mm evercool @ 7v exhaust rear (almost silent), 80mm generic @ 7v parallel to ATI r8500le (stock).

currently the noisiest thing in my system is the panaflo 80mm L1A on the cpu.

i remember reading somewhere that cases using thicker steel, block out noise better, now my cheapo superflower case(see link above) is only 0.7mm thick. And i happen to think it does leak noise out a fair bit compared to another system with a generic case (apex supercase).

I havent used any dampening material yet as i dont want to cover the whole case only to find i should have bought a new case in the first place. i will use melamine foam (if i can find it in the uk for a reasonable price). there is a bit of vibration from the psu which i will have to get rid of using those fan isolators.

anyway, im currently looking at the chieftec dragon mid tower range of cases as i can find them for £45, which is ok for me. i dont want to spend anymore than this really because i've wasted a lot (as most of you probably have too) on silencing my computer. The thickness of the steel in these cases is 1mm thick, compared to my 0.7mm, is this good for blocking out noise?

i'd also prefer 120mm fan spaces in a case as this evercool @ 5v i have here is silent and pushes much more air than a 80mm L1A at the same noise level. but i hear that 120mm fans wont physically fit in the rear (exhaust) of a chieftec dragon midi DX-01 (one will fit fine in the front intake after cutting). i'd settle for another 92mm papst 3412L @ 7v as exhaust, but are there any good, thick, cheap, cases with 120mm intake and exhaust available in the UK?

[Ralf Hutter]

I'd look at the Antec SLK3700AMB. It's only about the same thickness as your current case but it has 120mm fan mounts and very good ventilation so you can cool it very nicely with a 5 or 7-volted Panaflo L1A. It also has grommet mounts for the HDDs. There's a review of it on the main SPCR site too.

Another case to think about would be the Antec Sonata. It is made from .040" steel and has 120mm fan mounts plus the fairly quiet True380S PSU with the thermally controlled fan connectors so you can run your fans at about 5V when things are cool. It has grommet mounts for the HDDs too.

If you want a case very similar to the Chieftec Dragon mid tower that you're currently considering but that has 120mm fan mounts you should look at the Compucase 6919. It's kind of a cheaper knockoff of the Chieftec/Antec mid towers but had 120mm fan mounts and grommet mounted HDDs. I don't know but suspect that it has around .030" stell walls like the SLK3700AMB because it looks like it's built by the same company.

[p5]

only two problems are
1) price, can't spend too much more on silencing pc, needs to be cheap if possible so no inclusions of psu's too (slightly harder to find decent mid range priced cases in the UK without psus, leading onto my next point)
2) im in the UK so cant get anything from newegg, or from any other place in the US nice and cheaply

the antec SLK3700AMB is £70 with a PSU from insight (the same old case with a psu problem)

the antec sonata case is about £100 with a psu (again) here in the UK

cant get the compucase 6919 but can get the compucase 6A19 (120mm but 0.8mm thick) for £52 from insight uk but again with a bloody psu that costs £30 on it's own at insight.

edit: can get the compucase 6919 now, see post below

would appreciate more suggestions of nice thick, cheap, 120mm, cases

any fellow Uk'ers to help out?

[ruprag]

beware of the Chieftec in that the fan mountings might not be standard !!

I have a chieftec Dragon with 4 80mm fan openings and they use some sort of a plastic mount for the fans (snap in), when that gets removed the holes it leaves are totally non standard

[dubnium]

Don't know about thickness but the Yeong Yang YY-5412 case could be what your looking for.

Can get in uk from pcnextday.co.uk for 27 quid. But shop around.
Has 2 120mm fans
8kg without PSU
size 210W 445D 420H (mm)

Dont know if this is heavy for the size of the case or not? (some help from someone that knows how heavy a heavy small midi should be)

[p5]

thanks dubnium for the suggestion, might consider that case, gonna read up on it a bit

the chieftec case is 12kg, a fair bit heavier.

[p5]

right i've changed the topic title to match my new findings.

Ralf Hutter, i can find the Compucase 6919 now for £52 w/o psu (good), and compucase specs say it does indeed come with 1.0mm thick steel, but it the front has 2x80mm intakes, i wonder if this is moddable to take 1x120mm intake?

if this is the case (no pun intended ) then i will consider this case over the chieftec dragon (£45 no psu) if it's virtually the same case - it does also weigh 12kg.

Another case available to me is the Compucase 6A19 at £52 (inc hec 300w). now what i understand is that this case is the latest model to have replaced the older chenming (antec sx1030/chieftec dragons) range, as antec have taken it on in their latest range.
and from this, i can guess that Intel Thermally Advantage "AIR GUIDE" Chassis does means it has superior air flow than the older sx1030s/dragons.
But it only has 0.8mm thickness (hard work this isn't it).

Another case pointed out to me by dubnium, is the Yeong Yang 5412, i am unsure of the thickness of steel used in this case, but it's at a much better price than the others at £27.

Anyone have experience of all 4 of these cases? (long shot )
or even just advice on thickness of steel to noise dampening.

thanks

[mahkum2]

p5 -- It struck me how similar your experiences are to mine. I too had thought about getting a compucase but changed my mind for various reasons. Instead I've opted for an Evercase ECE 4252 (£32 delivered without psu) as I think it makes much more sense. Why....because its air flow design is in my opinion just about the best. If you are not the modding type as I am then ready made good air flow design is essential. It is also in the recommended list as well. See here

http://www.silentpcreview.com/modules.p ... =75&page=2

It is also used by Arm System's STEALTH XP2000+. Reviewed here
http://www.silentpcreview.com/modules.p ... =51&page=2

And here is the case spec
http://www.evercase.com/Products/e4252.htm

If you want to know more about where I ordered it from UK let me know.

[p5]

mahkum2:

thanks for your input, sounds like this case may just be the one for me, the price sounds very good too, a lot cheaper than the £50 range of chieftec dragons/compucase 6A19 and 6919.

As I was looking for 120mm cases, I can pretty much see that the intake is easily 120mm moddable, might not even need a mod.

for the rear, 120mm might be possible. could you take a ruler to measure the back to see if a 120mm fan will fit there?

You're half right in saying I'm not the modding type, but i can cut a few holes and stick some insulating materials in, but i hear that doing holes in cases that have 1mm thick steel (eg chieftec dragon/antec sx10x0) takes it out of you a bit.

What's the thickness of the ECE 4252? and why does it have the best air flow design? and best noise design? is it just the front bezel that's well adapted for air flow and noise?

Yes, i would be grateful if you would let me know where you ordered it from in the UK.

[mahkum2]

p5 -- First of all I haven't got the case yet. I ordered it last week but didn't have the time to fax the receipt to the company. At the moment they accept cheques and bank transfer only. If you do pay by bank transfer please make sure to fax the receipt.

Their website here http://www.evercase.co.uk

I delt with one Mr. Vincent ([email protected] or [email protected]) who was very helpfull and prompt in answering all my e-mail queries. You could also e-mail him about the possiblity of picking up the case directly from their London warehouse (a long shot btw) just in case you live nearby. You could save £8.00+vat if that is possible.

Now to the question of whether you should go for the 6A19 or not. It all depends on whether you are determined (just as I was before I changed my mind) to have 120mm fans. I changed my mind about the 6A19 for two reasons:

1. airflow restricting fan grill design (without modding airflow limited and more noisy?).
2. difficulties in finding 25mm depth, quiet (panaflo, papst) fans.

If you are comfortable with modding (cutting front and back grills) then I think it would still make sense to go for the 6A19 as it should provide good airflow relative to noise levels. But you still have the problem of locating 25mm depth quiet fans. Also keep in mind that front cover of 6A19 is not that airflow friendly.

I would take the advice of Mike Chin (the Yoda of silent computing ) when he had this to say about the ECE 4252 :

excellent open vents front and back, the best airflow bezel design we've seen yet with good noise reduction path, and drive mounts ready for serious grommets

This open grill and the generous intake vents in the bezel ensures a high level of unobstructed airflow. If I was building a quiet PC with this case, I would not need any cutting tools

If you need more help I will be glad to help.....just ask.

[NeilBlanchard]

Hello:

for the rear, 120mm might be possible. could you take a ruler to measure the back to see if a 120mm fan will fit there?.

A 92mm will fit, and you have to cut out the grill area; a 120mm would take some pretty "heavy" mods. If you block it out (to fill in the stepped grill area) or do some really big cutting, you might get it to work for a 120mm. But, cutting would weaken the case, and I doubt that you need a 120mm case fan. Actually you can fit a 120mm fan -- if it's in the PS!

But, if it already keeps things cool enough with 80mm fans -- why bother? It has very good airflow, and the price is unbeatable. There are a lot more options for fans in the 80mm size, anyway.

[p5]

Thanks mahkum2

I've mailed vincent for an order.

advice taken neil, i probably wont be cutting this for a 120mm exhaust

[mahkum2]

p5 --Please keep in mind that this case is available in several colors. Black ones look very nice but I opted for an all beige version because I didn't want it to conflict with my existing beige drives. I received an excellent color brochure from Vincent as well. May be you should check it out before ordering.

[p5]

mahkum2, thanks for the advice, i mailed him last night asking for the range of colours and i too opted for the all beige model.

I paid by debit card and should be expecting delivery tomorrow

thanks a lot mahkum2, cases like these are so damn hard to find in the UK.

[p5]

got the case this morning

i'm pleased with the noise reduction it has provided over my old superflower case, it's a fair bit heavier too (8.2kg compared to 5.5kg), which is good for the basic stock noise insulation.

The only gripes i have with this case is the small exhaust space for an 80mm fan, like Neil said, you'd need to do some heavy cutting to the case to stick a 120mm in there.
The airflow at the front intake is indeed very good, my evercool 120mm @ 5v pushes the same amount of air in that position as it does when i'm holding it in my hand.
Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the rear exhaust. The grill is better than most, but the holes fall short of an 80mm spacing, and the bottom of my 80mm evercool @7v is blocked. The airflow through the grill feels a lot less than it was before in my old case with the grill hacked open. But something i will dremel out for a full 80mm hole soon.

The other thing is my case temps have actually gone up, from about 16C to 24C right now, probably due to the exhaust fan blockage and the fact that my old case was modded purely for airflow, (pure open space through front bezel and rear 80mm full hole).

Next thing i need to get are fan isolators and maybe another 80mm L1A/NMB 80mm. Also some roofer's tape from wickes and some carpet underlay.