How do I get the damn thing off? Because theres only 1 side panel, I only seem to be able to get at and remove the 3 plastic lugs on the left side of the front bezel but I can only get to 1 lug on the right side (the rest seem to be blocked by the drive cages etc) I don't want to use too much brute ...

I haven't tried many of the cases on your list but of the ones I've tried I don't think the Antec PSUs are that quiet (380W single fan Sonata PSU is okay but not particularly quiet). I thought that the Aopen 300W that came with my Aopen tower case was much quieter at idle (although it ramps up to lo...

Thanks for the all the replies (and the pictures ;) ) Ralf - what's wrong with the fan mountings on 1000 series? Also, don't the removable drive bays have screw which secures them in? Is there any difference between the various 1000 models - I see 1040, 1080, 1040 Performance II etc etc Any suggesti...

What do you think looks better? The black or the metallic grey?

http://www.dabs.com/images/uk/products/Computer_Cases/2QJQ_large_150x150.jpg . http://www.dabs.com/images/uk/products/Computer_Cases/236W_large_150x150.jpg I'm thinking about trading in my Sonata and getting one of these as a replacement. I'm disappointed with the looks, build quality, cooling and ...

Is Seasonic SuperSilencer 400w PSU available in the UK?

Any websites / links?

Only had this case for a couple of weeks. No mods. Just running the stock PSU and 120mm case fan. PC is kept on 24/7. The strange this is though, its obviously sucking in alot of air, but there's loads of dust which seems to acculumate on the left and right sides of the outside of the front 5.25inch...

If you want a cheap(ish) quality quiet case out of the box, get the Aopen 600HB. The PSU is suprisingly quiet at idle (although not when it ramps up). Built well too.

I haven't tried the SmartPower but I've got the 380W Truepower (single fan) PSU from the Antec case. It's not annoying but then again not particularly quiet either. If your PSU comes with 2x80mm fans then I guess its going to be noiser. Not the sort of PSU you'd want if you're aiming for a silent / ...

Just pull the fan off the northbridge heatsink. It'll be fine. I've did that to my old Abit KT7 board which has a TINY 0.5cm high heatsink on the northbridge. Never had a problem at PC default levels. Had the odd crash every month or two when the machine was massive overclocked and under alot of str...

I posted info about the Seagate Medallist 5400rpm only because its a (very) old drive I've got and thought it would be an amusing comparator. The Samsung Spinpoint I've got is a 7200rpm drive which seems to be average in terms of temps. I haven't done any measurements with temperature probs or anyth...

Seagate Medallist - quiet? Hahahhaha! Fast? Hahahahha! Old? Yup. Seagate 7200.7 - rubbish. I have one. Quiet when idle but noisy when it seeks 2/5 Maxtor DM9 - rubbish - I have one too. Sounds like ripping velco when seeking 1/5 WD800B - Excellent speed. Forget about this rubbish about FDM vs BB mot...

Thanks for the info. That Sonata pre-cut stuff looks strange though - the deluxe version seems to be egg box shaped (better for sound reduction) whereas the Sonata pre-cut version just have flat pieces of material. What figures? There are suggestions for modding here:- http://forums.silentpcreview.c...

Okay, this doesn't answer your question, but I was wondering where you bought the Sonata pre-cut acoustipack stuff from? I can only find the (non Sonata) versions sold in the UK. Any info would be appreciated?

I'm disappointed with the SilentBoost. Out of the box and plugged into the mobo header, the fan is LOUD - the loudest thing in my Sonata system by a long way. It's nowhere near 20db. If you 5v the fan, then it becomes pretty much silent - you can't hear it unless its out the case and you put your ea...

The Aopen PSU is defintely very quiet - much quieter than the 380W single fan PSU in the Antec Sonata. So much for Antec's "hear the silence" slogan.

The mesh on the filter is not that fine - certainly not as fine as I expected it to be. If you've ever bought insect netting from a gardening shop, the holes in the air filter are certainly bigger than that.

Akasa Paxmate is rubbish. It muffles the sound a fraction but changes the tone of the sound (from high to low) rather than reducing noise by any significant (or even noticeable) amount. The temperature of my case / CPU increased by 2-3 degrees C as well.

Cavicchi - I think the thing to look at is MikeC's recommended list. It would be worth you comparing numbers to get an idea of relative quietness. The Sonata scores 6/10 for quietness. The Seasonic PSU scores 8/10 for quietness. A fanless PSU would be 10/10. No, that is not the Sonata. You are look...

The box of screws are normally behind the 3.5inch drive cage. Removing one of the drive rails - just by sliding it - should let you get at the screws. You don't have to remove the front panel. As for parts of the case breaking etc, are you sure you're not being heavy handed with it, or using force w...

Cavicchi - I think the thing to look at is MikeC's recommended list. It would be worth you comparing numbers to get an idea of relative quietness. The Sonata scores 6/10 for quietness. The Seasonic PSU scores 8/10 for quietness. A fanless PSU would be 10/10.

Sounds like a good idea, although I'd be worried about this:- "The acoustic foam pieces are designed to occupy unused void space inside the case, and serve to reduce internal volume and absorb internally generated noise. For example, fitting of one of the large blocks supplied into the void space un...

Don't know how these guys measure noise levels but there is no way that the fan on the Silent Boost is silent or 21db. It's definitely audible and more like a high pitched sawing / whirring sound. Supposed to be some sort of Panaflo fan too. They must have measured the noise levels whilst standing i...

Thanks for all the replies and links!

I'm going to have a go at swapping the fan.

How do I mod the fan in the Sonata PSU? Is it a simply case of unpluggin the old one and putting a new one in or do I have to start cutting wires (which I don't really want to do)?

Don't get me wrong - its a quality case - but the PSU is just too loud for its designated purpose. If I can find a really quiet PSU or a fanless PSU, it will be perfect!

No, I definitely don't think its a lemon. The PSU is average to above average in terms of quietness. It's certainly alot less noisy that some generic PSU's I've used. But think about it - all they've done is remove one of the fans from their Truepower range of PSUs and stuck it in the Sonata. There ...

Has anyone successfully modded the fan in the Antec PSU? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I can't believe that they market this case as a quiet case. This biggest problem is the PSU which is nowhere near silent or even anywhere near what I would call very quiet. It's by far the loudest thing in the system. Makes a whoosing / sawing sound which is higher pitched than I would have expected...