Quiet X2 in SLK3000/SLK3800B

Jumper · Post by **Jumper** » Mon May 14, 2007 11:56 am

My 'classic' X2 box (excuse the dust/mess, moving right now):

Ahhh, the understated SLK3800. Calmly concealing the power contained within.

Relatively clean cablegami made possible by the wonderful Corsair 520HX

Hot PCI-on-PCI Card Action!

Washers added to push USB ports forward & allow for USB devices with slightly shorter then normal plugs to work.

Self-stick flooring tiles added to all major case panels to stop resonant vibrations.

I will be reworking the HD suspension (putting drives in cage the normal way and rotating the actual cage 90 degrees and hanging w/elastic) and getting shorter SATA cables to neaten up that part of the case in the near future. I also plan on making a duct from the Ninja to the rear fan and taking the fan off the Ninja, to cut down by one the number of fans in the system.

The SLK3000/3800 is a classic case. With a little bit of work like I did and proper cooling, it can be very quiet indeed.

Chocolinx · Post by **Chocolinx** » Mon May 14, 2007 3:58 pm

You should make some sort of duct to push the air from the Ninja to the back. It should improve you temps by quite a bit. You can use something as cheap as Cardboard from old boxes or what-not.

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Mon May 14, 2007 4:03 pm

Hello,

Have you tried running w/o the fan on the Ninja? Maybe with a cardboard shroud to the case fan? Are you undervolting the CPU?

Jumper · Post by **Jumper** » Mon May 14, 2007 4:22 pm

It's an original series X2 from July 2005, so it doesn't undervolt very well.

I've done the ducting work with cardboard, just waiting to do it again with a more permanent material. I can get the same temps with one fan as with two.

I was waiting until I replaced the PSU so I could do something more permanent.

StanF · Post by **StanF** » Mon May 14, 2007 8:18 pm

I have the same case, and it can be very quiet. I haven't gone to the trouble of adding the tiles to the case sides yet, but I need to do it. I definitely get some extra noise from the side panels resonating.

I love your USB connector fix. Another simple thing that I need to implement.

I have a problem that you didn't mention - the front plastic cover doesn't snap on well, and it also has a tendency to vibrate/resonate. Ever seen this problem? Any ideas on how to easily fix it?

Jumper · Post by **Jumper** » Tue May 15, 2007 5:31 am

StanF wrote:I have the same case, and it can be very quiet. I haven't gone to the trouble of adding the tiles to the case sides yet, but I need to do it. I definitely get some extra noise from the side panels resonating.

I love your USB connector fix. Another simple thing that I need to implement.

I have a problem that you didn't mention - the front plastic cover doesn't snap on well, and it also has a tendency to vibrate/resonate. Ever seen this problem? Any ideas on how to easily fix it?

My side panels started to resonate really badly one day when I tuned a couple fans to frequencies near the resonant frequency of the side panels. Originally, if you tapped the side/top panels they would vibrate and hum for a while afterwards. With the tiles on them, if you tap the panels they sound 'dead' like a well designed speaker enclosure.

The lower set of snaps on my front bezel don't really 'snap' anymore but it doesn't rattle. I suppose adjusting them (I think there are screws in there somewhere) and maybe adding some masking tape to the inside edge of where the front bezel meets the case to preload it a little against the snaps might stop your rattling though.

shades_of_blue · Post by **shades_of_blue** » Tue May 22, 2007 3:49 pm

Skip the suspended drive cage, Iâ€™ve taken that route before. If you balance the case so it's even with the case eventually the elastic will breakdown and you'll notice resonance from the FDD mounting plate. Instead sandwich it between two/four pieces of foam. Works really nicely and if your system is on the floor you won't have to worry about bumping into the tower. Checkout the two links in my signature for pictures of what Iâ€™m talking about.

jhhoffma · Post by **jhhoffma** » Wed May 23, 2007 8:11 am

When I first bought the SLK3000B, I though it was a pretty ugly case. However, I was willing to pay that price for what I thought was a "quiet case". We all know now that there is no such thing as a quiet case (all cases are silent just sitting there with nothing in them), but there are such things as "great platforms upon which to build a silent PC".

Now when I look at the SLK3000B/3800B, and I see drives suspended (neatly or no) and ugly-ass vinyl floor tiles, and cereal box ducts, it makes me smile in appreciation, because silence (no matter the aesthetics) is beautiful.

I might consider directly suspending the drives and removing the cage altogether...

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Sun May 27, 2007 3:07 pm

I gotta love your USB header fix. I had similar problem that not all USB things worked. I just snapped the small plastic bar between USB ports on front panel off, smoothed it with fine sand paper and now all USB things work.

However, I prefer your way as it doesn't involve the case mutilation. But since I already managed to breake my SLK3000B's front door, slightly more mutilation to case was not drastic, especially if it makes somethings working better.

Jumper · Post by **Jumper** » Sun May 27, 2007 6:01 pm

When I built the system, I had 2xTriCools on 'High'.

Oh how much I have learned since then...

I have like 20 of the ugly-ass tiles left if anyone wants some