Hi all,
I've built my PC in March 2008 in a quite cheap Rebel 9 (without the side-fan). I recently ran out of hard-drive space and added a WD20EARS and decided modestly to revamp the interior. Here are a few images.
1. The "old" layout (in the end not much changed). Two fans at the front (Zalman ZM-F3 and a Sharkoon 140mm fan)
Note the wire grill on the left, which I decided to take out. There is also a ledge underneath the power-supply, which caused the fan to hiss due to turbulence.
2. Front of the old layout.
The hard-drive (WD320AAKS) was suspended with elastics o-rings. Age has taken its toll and it sagged, causing the hard-drive to occasionally vibrate against the upper fan frame. There was also a phenomenal amount of fine dust in there. The front mesh did its job in keeping the coarse particles out.
3. First approach in front fan arrangement.
Only afterwards I realised there is no proper spot to attach a fan at the rear (fan grill removed).
4. Second approach to front fan arrangement.
Now, if I had only noticed beforehand that there is only one SATA power connector cable on the PSU, I wouldn't have left the DVD drive at the top. So I had to move it to the bottom of the case later (*grumble*).
5. Arranging the hard-drive was a different story. But eventually I devised an acceptable arrangement.
I clamped the WD320AAKS in a slot of closed cell foam, while the WD20EARS rested on the floor of the case.
6. Another shot of the case interior.
7. Backside. The routing hole I cut myself when I first assembled the PC.
As it stands, the PC is reasonably quiet. The only time I notice it, is usually late at night, as I live next to a high-street. Word of advice: don't skimp on the case. Spend those extra 30 quid and get a Solo, which would have made a lot of things easier.
The hard-drive idle just under or around 35°C, but don't rise above 47°C under heavy load (e.g. the initial formatting). I haven't checked since I installed Windows 7 though. Better not to worry about such things too much.
In case anyone is wondering about the parts.
* Intel E2160 @ 2.7Ghz
* 3 GB of DDR2 @ 600 Mhz
* WD320AAKS
* WD20EARS
* Powercolor HD3870 SCS3 (neat, not a whisper, usually no coil-whine)
* Abit IP35 Dark Raider
* some Samsung DVD burner
* Scythe Mine (probably not the wisest choice, though it is quit quiet)
* one Zalman ZM-F3 (wouldn't go for this again), runs at ~800-900rpm
* one Sharkoon 140mm, runs at ~800rpm (not the wisest choice either)
Oh and one more thing. Masking tape gets incredible sticky after 2 years in a warm computer environment.
Rebel 9 with some modifications
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee
Re: Rebel 9 with some modifications
Nice build, seeing that you have all those 5.25 bays, why didn't you suspend your two drives in front of the intake fans? They might be a bit quieter and much cooler than their current placement on the foam near the hot graphics card.
Re: Rebel 9 with some modifications
Thanksspeedkar9 wrote:Nice build, seeing that you have all those 5.25 bays, why didn't you suspend your two drives in front of the intake fans? They might be a bit quieter and much cooler than their current placement on the foam near the hot graphics card.
Alas, there isn't an awful lot of space. In the old setup (picture 1), I had the drive suspended above the fans. With the SATA and power plug the drive need about the full length of the bay and there wouldn't be a place to mount the fan.