OK, I can't answer all your questions, but here goes: Case: Sonata is OK, but the Antec SLK3700BQE is a better choice for silencing and around the same price. It's also more roomy. You may find the PSU quiet enough to start with, so see how it goes and get the Tornado later on if it becomes the nois...

Is it SLK3000B or SLK3800B, because the web page refers to both? Which one is the typo?

Yes, most (if not all) of the DirectX 9.0 cards do. You can normally view temps in the control panel that gets installed with the drivers.

Which ones I'm not sure, but I expect someone else can enlighten you!

Yes it would. If you copy a DVD image on to your HDD you can use a virtual DVD/CD Rom emulator such as Daemon Tools to watch it exactly like a real one. Mind you, we're getting a bit off topic now. You should look in a hardware/homeware store and they might have some kind of thin self adhesive foam ...

Altogether now: It seems to me... ....60Hz AC is like a candle in the wind ne-na-ne-na-ne-na-neee-naaaaaaaaa 8) :lol: But seriously, this is a great thread, ferdb, some useful stuff in here for anyone interested in AC fans. It seems a bit too much work for too little gain in my opinion at the moment...

Or get yourself a voltage controlled (not PWM) rheobus, so you can set your fan speed manually.

Depending on what type of foam it is (if it's rigid enough) you could make a Bird House enclosure for your hard drive. A bit ambitious I know, but probably the best way out there to cool/quiet your drives.

For a good (but somewhat geeky/complicated) remote solution, you can use Girder remote control software together with a cheap IR receiver and almost any remote. This can be used to control almost anything in your PC. Highly recommended, but it does require a bit of setting up. It's also a cheap solu...

How many fans do you think I could get with this lot?:

No, that just means it's getting too hot. As long as you don't keep playing like that for extended periods of time (you probably won't be able to as it may crash before that) you won't do any damage. But seeing tearing or artifacts is a sign that you are overclocking it too much or you need to look ...

I live in Sydney too but I still don't believe you need that much CFM if you have a decent heatsink (which the SP-97 is) and good unrestricted airflow in your case. Although if you're overclocking a Prescott with the latest graphics card to the max you might. But in that case you're probably in the ...

Although using those fans won't be particularly quiet. Why do you want the 35mm thick fan anyway?

I don't think you'll have any problem with the Zalman, and your case temps should not actually go up at all, as the heat from the card stays in the case with the Zalman or the stock cooler. As long as your airflow inside the case is good you should be fine. Try it without a fan first, and see how it...

Actually your stamped fan grilles are pretty good - that hexagonal pattern is at least 80% air. Cutting that out completely might make some difference, but not a lot. You might want to check the bezel though to make sure plenty of air is getting around/under it before going into the intake. As for t...

Yes, a bottom vent (with castors to raise it up) is probably your best bet. Whether you filter it or not is up to you, but you can always run it that way for a few months and see what the dust build-up is like. The other advantage of bottom filters is that it should make your PC slightly quieter, as...

He, he. We've all been there!

Nope, couldn't even see them if I copied & pasted the links. Tried both Mozilla and IE

Yes definitely. If you are prepared to mod that case i.e. cut a proper intake in the front (including the bottom/sides of the bezel), open up the rear stamped fan grille etc and tidy up the cabling inside then there's no reason it shouldn't be quiet enough. It's certainly big enough, looks like a st...

Not wanting to turn this thread into a "this BT client is better than that one" type thread, but.... I use BitComet, which is written in C++ so has very low processor/memory overhead. OK it's not as comprehensive as Azureus but it's pretty good. It does everything I need. And as for speeds, I'm told...

Crikey, that's a pretty awesome achievement by any standards, although I've noticed you've seriously undervolted/underclocked your CPU.

Do you have any photos? Where is the fan currently sitting?

Unlikely, as most of the noise from a Panaflo at 12V is the air noise. The Nexus would be quieter but shift much less air.

But why do you need that amount of airflow? It sounds like you need a new heatsink or rethink your airflow strategy!

When I say I've cut out the fan gards, these are gards INSIDE the case! Its like a plastic box you put the fan in, inside the case, I'll take some photos tomorrow when the new CPU cooler and my TV card arrive. So all I'm left with now is this box which clips into the case, holding the fan. What tee...

Are those Briggs & Stratton air filters? I thought you weren't keen on them as they are quite restrictive compared to the car pollen filters you've used?

If you want a front mounted fan controller, you can't go wrong with the Sunbeam Rheobus. Even the esteemed Bill over at mnpctech swears by it. Analogue fan control from nearly 12V right down to 0V and very bright LEDs. Zalman fanmates are good too if you want something mounted inside your case, but ...

Did you use this PSU to replace the one in your single fan system, Blue? i.e. the one with the separate wooden PSU "box"

Or is this another project you're working on you haven't told us about yet?

Wow that's pretty impressive. But then not all CPUs are created equal. I've no idea about the G3, but it's well known that the Via processors have a very high tolerance to heat.

I doubt an AMD/Intel would be able to withstand that kind of abuse for long though....

Depending on your budget, but if you want to do it on the cheap I would start by replacing the CPU cooler first and just modding your existing case as per burcakb's suggestions. You can also improve airflow a lot by tidying up your internal cabling. After you've done that you'll probably notice othe...

Rusty, your picture is what I thought Mike meant at first, but his last picture makes more sense to me, as it doesn't rely purely on convection to cool the large heatsink. The fans blow up both sides, through a channel between the HS and outer case. Which one is better, and whether you need one or t...

For silencing purposes definitely streaming, so you can direct the airflow exactly where you want it. Even cases like the BQE can be improved by judicial use of duct tape, sealing up around the optical/floppy drive slots etc behind the bezel. As well as keeping the sound inside the case better, you ...

I thought Seagate stopped using AAM due to a licencing dispute. It would be surprising (but good) if they have started using it again.

Let's hope it's not an anomaly and Seagate can regain the silent HDD crown!