Biostar IDEQ 200T

psklenar · Post by **psklenar** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 6:24 am

When I got this system, I thought it was nice and quiet (and compared to the full tower it replaced, it was). However, I've since obtained a Shuttle G5 8300g and realize that my poor ol' 200T is a monster sound machine.

So. What can I do to quiet it down? Has anyone done any work on one of these cases before (so I don't have to reinvent the wheel)?

Current plans are:

1. suspend HD
2. gel or rubber washers on DVD drive mount screws
3. cut out rear case grill behind heat sink
4. move case fan from inside (pushing) to outside (pulling), maybe going up a size?
5. should i remove the cpu fan (pushes thru heatsink from front to back - feeding into case fan see here)?

Any other thoughts, ideas or recommendations for this particular SFF?

Thanks,
pat----

dukla2000 · Post by **dukla2000** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 1:17 pm

For a 200V I

1) Bungee mounted the hdd - bin the hdd tray and use p-clips to clamp the bungee. IIRC I altered the (SATA) hdd orientation for space reasons - instead of connectors on rhs they are now on lhs of case (viewed from front)
2) Cut out finger guards/fan grills from both rear case and psu (inlet) fans. The PSU inlet was a bugger to get to but worth it: the 200V has a 70mm fan there. Also remember trimmimg some plastic (clear) sheeting inside the psu that is there to insulate the PSU case from the psu bits, but was obstructing the psu exhaust vents.
3) Used rubber grommets & bolts to mount rear fan.
4) Replaced rear fan - the one I had was rattly. Managed to get a slightly slower (so quieter bearing as well as quieter cause slower) 60mm replacement Evercool. On the 200V there is no chance of an 80mm retrofit due to the CPU heatsink. (Possibly a 15mm deep but those are a bit like hens teeth.)

The thing is pretty quiet with Speedfan in Windows (better than the auto options in BIOS) and fair with BIOS options in Linux. Under load or on hot days it is noisier.

psklenar · Post by **psklenar** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 6:44 am

dukla2000,

Thanks for the response. One more question, did you leave the fan on the side of the heat sink (that blows thru the heat pipe cooling fins) or remove/replace it?

Thank you,
pat----

dukla2000 · Post by **dukla2000** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 10:38 am

Yup - the CPU hsf is (on the 200V at least) pretty much beyond my mod skills. The 200V has a plain hs - no heat pipes (again IIRC).

No room on the heatsink to fit a bigger fan (either diameter or depth) and as Speedfan and the BIOS play with the fan speeds independently I think the config I deployed was the case fan in general very slow, the CPU fan in general around medium. That way I have the case fan and the psu fan creating flow through the case, and the CPU fan free to deal with the CPU temp only. The psu fan is also thermally controlled within the psu itself, and speeds up when things start cooking.

I think the question you are asking is whether to use just the case fan and create a duct between it and the CPU hsf? To be honest I cant recall I considered this option. Also, IIRC, on the 200V the case fan and CPU are not completely aligned (and some of the dimples on the base of the case are not close to mobo components that need cooling - n/b, regulators etc.)

psklenar · Post by **psklenar** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 12:25 pm

Thank you very much for such a quick response!

pat----