Can you recommend case w/2 fan exhaust?

Wedge · Post by **Wedge** » Fri Jun 06, 2003 8:55 am

I think I want to go the route of using 2x80mm exhaust fans for the PC I'm going to build, 1 intake fan. Can you recommend one for under $100 that is quiet or modifiable?

DeadBySundown · Post by **DeadBySundown** » Fri Jun 06, 2003 9:08 am

The Antec 1080 is a nice one. Lots of room, good airflow.

http://www.antec-inc.com/pro_details_en ... odID=91082

Also comes in a clear side panel version:

http://www.antec-inc.com/pro_details_en ... odID=90510

Vaeltaja · Post by **Vaeltaja** » Fri Jun 06, 2003 9:20 am

That Antec 1080 seems to be a Chenming 601AE variant, much like some of the Chiefted Dragon and Matrix cases. I've heard said that they're one of the few cases that are properly designed for airflow, and I think they are good for the price.

A cursory browse around the net would show the Chieftec Dragon/Matrix steel variants going for around fifty-ish dollars (here and here)

Wedge · Post by **Wedge** » Fri Jun 06, 2003 11:10 am

Thanks fellas, these look nice. Definitely have my attention, and the price is right.

Will these cases present more obstacles than the smaller cases in terms of quietening them (compared with the smaller cases with 1x120 front, 1x120 back fans).

Vaeltaja · Post by **Vaeltaja** » Fri Jun 06, 2003 11:35 am

I could not really compare these cases to smaller cases, largely because we just moved from laptops to desktops and these are the first desktops we've dealt with (hands-on like) in years.

With that out of the way, I have had some success in quieting our computers built into the Chieftec Matrix cases. They certainly are quieter than our laptops ever were!

Our computers are fairly high-end modern heat factories. We have five fans inside each case, of which two are operational at any given time and the rest are on standby behind a rheobus in case we want to crank up the performance or the ambient temperature gets too hot! Sunny California summer and all that.

In operation the computers are fairly quiet. I use "fairly" because the fans are not my ideal for a quiet PC, but we got a load of them for $0.39 each (from here) so the price was the winner there -- we'll switch them over to proper quiet fans in the future, and five-volted even these work somewhat quiet while still providing enough airflow

As you may have noticed the fans we're using are 92mm fans instead of 80mm; we've modified the case by removing the fan grills and by removing the fan trays that you normally use to attach 80mm fans to the case. These 80mm trays may provide an obstacle for quieting the fans as you won't have as easy time decoupling the fans using rubber grommets as with some other cases. That said, improvization is the key and the results can be pleasing.

There's plenty of room for suspending hard drives in the 5.25" drive bays, and also of room around the case for pulling all the wiring out of the way of the airflow. In general there seems to be plenty of opportunities for quiet modifications, with some imagination, starting with the front bezel. Most of the mods likely won't be plainly visible, but it's the end result that counts anyway. The material, 1mm thich steel, certainly is a good candidate for quietness.

All in all even with the current not-so-great-for-quietness fans, the computers are near indistinguishable from ambient noise at 2ft, and the noise there is has a pleasant quality to it. I will endeavor to explore quieting these computers further with inclusion of fan decoupling and better fans sometime in the future -- lest we switch full-time to watercooling that is.

On a different note, if you ever get interested in watercooling, these cases have enough space in them for somewhat elaborate setups. The 5.25" bays can house certain famous Toyota Camry heatercores as-is, for example

That flexibility is a plus in my opinion.

Wedge · Post by **Wedge** » Fri Jun 06, 2003 12:58 pm

Vaeltaja,

are you a vendor?

Vaeltaja · Post by **Vaeltaja** » Fri Jun 06, 2003 1:02 pm

No, I am not.

Wedge · Post by **Wedge** » Sun Jun 08, 2003 6:47 pm

I'm really diggin' that Antec 1080. Does anybody know where I can order one WITHOUT the power suppy?

DeadBySundown · Post by **DeadBySundown** » Sun Jun 08, 2003 6:53 pm

Vendor down the street from me has them without the PS for $99. I haven't done mail order from him, but he's treated me fairly on walk-in sales.

http://www.vtcomputers.rite2u.com/scrip ... IEW1000AMG

Vaeltaja · Post by **Vaeltaja** » Sun Jun 08, 2003 7:27 pm

How about Antec 1000? Far as I can tell it's the same as 1080 except without a PSU, though do verify this beforehand. Newegg has 'em for $80 with free shipping..

Wedge · Post by **Wedge** » Sun Jun 08, 2003 8:37 pm

Thank you Vaeltaja

The only thing I'm not sure about is the clear side panel; don't know if I like that although I know its becoming popular. If you know of this same model without the clear side panel please let me know where I might find it.

Also, I'm wondering if the hard drives could be grommeted or somehow decoupled for quietness.

And at newegg they are currently wanting $89.99 for this one, which isn't bad if I get shipping for free. It's the Metallic Gray color which I think looks very cool.

DeadBySundown · Post by **DeadBySundown** » Mon Jun 09, 2003 4:43 am

The NewEgg price at $89.99 with free Fedex shipping seems a real bargain to me.

They also have the all-steel version (no side window) with an Antec 430W PS for $118.99 + $18 shipping, search on PLUS1080AMG. I use that same PS in my PlusView version of the case, and am extremely pleased with it, but you're still paying a lot for shipping there.

I too was a bit hesitant regarding the clear side window, but it's actually proved to be very convenient; the mark-1 eyeball is still the best fan rotation and dust accumulation monitor available. If nothing else, it's nice to be able to glance inside the case and ensure that everything is still spinning and the dust bunnies aren't taking over.

Regarding grommeting/decoupling - there are 4 internal/external 5.25 inch bays which could be used by suspension units or silencing enclosures, so long as they aren't being used for CD/DVD drives or the like. The remaining 6 3.5 inch bays (4 internal, 2 internal/external) are just wide enough to accomodate 3.5 inch devices, but I suppose the mounting holes could be enlarged in order to accept grommets.

I personally use 3 of the new Maxtor DM9s with the 8MB cache option in the 3.5 inch bays; with acoustic management enabled on these, they're practically inaudible. I'd think the same would be true of any of the 'quiet' drives recommended here, as I note that SPCR doesn't seem to regard these Maxtors as quiet.

Wedge · Post by **Wedge** » Tue Jun 10, 2003 7:43 pm

Do the snap-in fan mounts work in lieu of fan isolators?

If yes, do they work as well as fan isolators?

aphonos · Post by **aphonos** » Tue Jun 10, 2003 8:08 pm

Wedge wrote:Do the snap-in fan mounts work in lieu of fan isolators?

If yes, do they work as well as fan isolators?

Nope, snap in mounts may actually give you more vibration noise due to the way they are mounted to the case.

You'd have to do some case modding.....remove the snap in mounts, cut the grills if you're so inclined and drill 2 new 3/16" mounting holes.

I used the EAR isolators and was able to use 2 of the existing holes from the snap in mounts and drilled 2 new holes for the other 2 isolators. Or you could turn the fan 30º or so and drill 4 new holes.

If you do your case work on the front end of your PC build (before installing components), it's not too bad.

Wedge · Post by **Wedge** » Wed Jun 11, 2003 8:31 am

aphonos, in your opinion do aluminum cases offer any advantage besides being light-weight?

Do they not contain (muffle) sound as well as a steel case?

aphonos · Post by **aphonos** » Wed Jun 11, 2003 10:03 am

Wedge wrote:aphonos, in your opinion do aluminum cases offer any advantage besides being light-weight?

Do they not contain (muffle) sound as well as a steel case?

I've never owned an aluminum case, so my only experience is with the steel. IIRC, the consensus in the forums is that steel generally dampens noise better than aluminum and that the thicker the steel, the better damping (I'm sure that will get corrected by someone if it needs it). Aluminum is generally easier to cut if you are going to trim fan grills, etc, but steel is no problem with the right tools.

You're right, steel cases are heavier...and steel cases with any kind of acoustic damping material can be quite heavy. Mine weighs a ton, but it is also pretty doggone quiet.

Hope this helps.

Vaeltaja · Post by **Vaeltaja** » Wed Jun 11, 2003 3:17 pm

Pardon the delay in responce here...

As a small addition to aphonos' post, if you feel so inclined you could try what I did for fan mounts: after drilling a few new mounting holes for the fans (ours are 92mm fans hence new holes were needed, your 80mm fans might not need it), I put some of that window-thingamabob stuff... that rubbery strip of stuff that are used to make windows less drafty, I forget what they're called... around the edges of the fan holes.

Following that, I used some leftover elastic string, the same one used for hard drive decoupling, tied a knot on one end, inserted it from through the mounting holes in the case (from outside to inside), and then pulled the string IN through one set of mounting holes of the fan, out through another set of mounting holes, and out through a case mounting hole again, and tied a knot on the outside of the case. Repeat for the other two fan mounting holes. End result being that the fan's pulled to the case wall by the elastic band, but you can even lift it off the wall if you want to. A bit of adjustment for keeping the string from being in front of the fan blades (however minorly) and it's a good fit.

This small bit of ghetto decoupling gave a nice rubbery layer between the fan and the metallic case, so I'm kinda assuming that it has a similar effect as the rubbery isolators you can buy for $1 each. A fair bit cheaper too, especially if you've multiple fans in the case as there is in our case.