Case choice help?

AstroCat · Post by **AstroCat** » Fri Jun 11, 2004 11:28 am

Hi all...I figure this is the place for the best advice!

I am going to be building 2 new systems:

1. I want a very quiet mid tower case and power supply. I plan on a 939 socket AMD. I don’t want to have to do any special modding but my budget is pretty open for this one. I also need a quiet power supply that can handle the newer nvidia 6800 ultra’s. (480w)

2. This second one has a more modest budget, it just needs to be a good all round case. It will also need a power supply that can handle the newer nvidia 6800 ultra’s. This one might be a 754 or 939 socket AMD.

Thank you very much for any advice or help!

Best Regards,
Jordan “AstroCat”

POLIST8 · Post by **POLIST8** » Fri Jun 11, 2004 12:25 pm

Antec Sonata. Nuff said.

POLIST8 · Post by **POLIST8** » Fri Jun 11, 2004 12:29 pm

Or just go here...

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article75-page1.html

AstroCat · Post by **AstroCat** » Fri Jun 11, 2004 1:47 pm

What about this for the higher end system? Any opinions?

CASE
Lian Li Silver Aluminum Mid-Tower Case, Model "PC-6070A"

PS
Thermaltake W0014 Silent Purepower 480W with Black housing - Xaser Edition ATX 2-Fan Power Supply

CPU FAN
ZALMAN CNPS7000A-AlCu Aluminum + Copper CPU CoolerMemory (System Memory)

Jordan "AstroCat"

Edward Ng · Post by **Edward Ng** » Fri Jun 11, 2004 4:42 pm

Aluminum enclosures are commonly considered inferior, acoustically, due to the ease of vibration translating into the case itself and causing resonance. This is the main reason why steel enclosures are recommended; the idea that aluminum cases conduct away heat better is pretty much myth, as we and others have proven before, so unless you desire the reduction in weight of aluminum, all else considered, it yields no advantages.

Thermaltake PSUs are far from the quietest PSUs; while they are of pretty decent quality, if you seek to build a quiet machine, we recommend the SeaSonic line in particular, as well as the Enermax NoiseTaker line.

CNPS7000A is a good choice of heatsink and fan, but some people have reported the fan being clicky. Replacing it is not impossible, but it is a bit of a chore. For K8 your choices are going to be Hyper 6 (a bit risky unless you plan to make do with desktop i.e. flat cases) or the SLK-948U; because of the large heatspreader-to-heatsink surface contact area, you do not run any risk of the TIM squeezing out from excessive lateral slack, which is a problem I found with installations of the SLK-947U on K7 platforms. All-in-all, I'd say SLK-948U would be a better choice because you can be more choosey with the fan you install with less effort.

Good luck; keep the questions coming.

-Ed

AstroCat · Post by **AstroCat** » Sun Jun 13, 2004 6:00 am

Hey, thanks for the advice! Ok, this leads to 2 more questions.

1. What fan for the SLK-948U heatsink?
2. What case?

Thanks a lot for helping me out!

Jordan "AstroCat"

Edward Ng · Post by **Edward Ng** » Sun Jun 13, 2004 8:04 am

For SLK-948U and a K8 at stock speed and voltage , a 92mm Panaflo L1A would suffice; if you're worried about quality consistency of Panaflos, I personally would recommend an AcoustiFan AF92CT over one of those, and it, too would be sufficient for cooling a stock speed/voltage K8.

Judging by the case you were looking at, it might be a little difficult to pick a case you would really, really like... Take a look at the user gallery and see if you like anyo f the cases in use. I suggest the BQE3700 or Sonata.

-Ed

AstroCat · Post by **AstroCat** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 11:07 am

To be honest I don't care really what the case looks like.

I want it quiet, cool, and to be able to fit my stuff!

New upgraded system includes:
2 WD EIDE drives
1 DVD-ROM
1 DVD+/- R

AMD Socket 939 Athlon 64 FX-53 or 3800 Socket 939
Thermalright Copper Heatsink "SLK948U"
AcoustiFan™ AF92CT

ASUS "A8V Deluxe Wi-Fi" K8T800 Pro
Geforce 6800ultra (coming soon)
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2
1 gig 2x512 TWINX1024-3200LLPRO

ENERMAX Noisetaker 470W Power Supply, Model "EG475AX-VE-SFMA"

Wow...so now it's just the case!

Based on my specs what do think would work best? There are so many choices it's dizzying!
I'm thinking the ANTEC "SONATA" might be the way to go...I have a Lian Li PC-65 in my current setup, which I find pretty loud.

Thanks so much for your help!

Jordan "AstroCat"

Edward Ng wrote:For SLK-948U and a K8 at stock speed and voltage , a 92mm Panaflo L1A would suffice; if you're worried about quality consistency of Panaflos, I personally would recommend an AcoustiFan AF92CT over one of those, and it, too would be sufficient for cooling a stock speed/voltage K8.

Judging by the case you were looking at, it might be a little difficult to pick a case you would really, really like... Take a look at the user gallery and see if you like anyo f the cases in use. I suggest the BQE3700 or Sonata.

-Ed

RLiu818 · Post by **RLiu818** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 5:12 pm

AstroCat wrote:To be honest I don't care really what the case looks like.
I want it quiet, cool, and to be able to fit my stuff!

New upgraded system includes:
2 WD EIDE drives
1 DVD-ROM
1 DVD+/- R

AMD Socket 939 Athlon 64 FX-53 or 3800 Socket 939
Thermalright Copper Heatsink "SLK948U"
AcoustiFan™ AF92CT

ASUS "A8V Deluxe Wi-Fi" K8T800 Pro
Geforce 6800ultra (coming soon)
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2
1 gig 2x512 TWINX1024-3200LLPRO

ENERMAX Noisetaker 470W Power Supply, Model "EG475AX-VE-SFMA"

Wow...so now it's just the case! Based on my specs what do think would work best? There are so many choices it's dizzying!
I'm thinking the ANTEC "SONATA" might be the way to go...I have a Lian Li PC-65 in my current setup, which I find pretty loud.

Thanks so much for your help!

Jordan "AstroCat"

Edward Ng wrote:For SLK-948U and a K8 at stock speed and voltage , a 92mm Panaflo L1A would suffice; if you're worried about quality consistency of Panaflos, I personally would recommend an AcoustiFan AF92CT over one of those, and it, too would be sufficient for cooling a stock speed/voltage K8.

Judging by the case you were looking at, it might be a little difficult to pick a case you would really, really like... Take a look at the user gallery and see if you like anyo f the cases in use. I suggest the BQE3700 or Sonata.

-Ed

UH OH! WD HARDRIVE!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..........

Edward Ng · Post by **Edward Ng** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 5:20 pm

RLiu818 wrote:UH OH! WD HARDRIVE!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..........

TheWesson · Post by **TheWesson** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 5:30 pm

Fans are most of the noise.

Whatever the case, it can only do so much about loud fans.

So you want to be able to reduce fans as much as possible while keeping airflow passable and case temps below "ouch" (this will let you reduce CPU HS fan speed as well.)

So first you have to find a case that actually has decent thru-airflow (or give it good airflow yourself.)

Mostly that means something that actually has some kind of ports for air in the front. Or modding a Sonata to have some air intake, I guess.

Little tiny pinpricks of holes in the front bezel for airflow just won't do it.

I like the idea of a side blowhole putting air right onto the CPU HSF, myself, but I suppose parties here will disagree.

the wesson

Edward Ng · Post by **Edward Ng** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 5:34 pm

the side intake is best when the primary heat source, by far, is the CPU. Such is the situation in my virtually-silent build, Sigma One. However, with those WD hard drives, it's not the best idea as you will need front intake air to keep them cool, and having the front intake plus the side intake will yield too little intake pressure as a whole unless you have a rather large amount of exhaust pressure to equalize. That means more air noise and fan speed.

-Ed

AstroCat · Post by **AstroCat** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 7:02 pm

Well I have one 100 gig and one 200 gig Western Digital drives that I don't think I will be giving up, so I'll have to deal with them.

So, are you saying that my setup will not work out? Or, am I ok but will have to deal with the noise of the drives?

If, the SONATA won't work then what will? I'm getting really anxious to order this sucker so I really appreciate the help!

Jordan "AstroCat"

peacefulpc · Post by **peacefulpc** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 7:19 pm

i love my 6070's - very roomy and easy to work on. built-in fan speed control switch for 2 front fans, nice rubber sealed bezel door. a bit too deep maybe, and you'll want to chop out the rear fan grill, but overall a snazzy case.

Edward Ng · Post by **Edward Ng** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 7:27 pm

AstroCat, did you copy & paste that into two different threads?

My response is in the other one!

Whoa what the... argh somehow I replied twice and one reply overwrote my other. Damn...

Anyhow, the basic premise was that Sonata works pretty decently for me, even with my four hard drives, and they're not overheating, but BQE offers better cooling if you're worried, over Sonata's better looks (which is subjective).

-Ed

AstroCat · Post by **AstroCat** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 8:06 pm

Hmm...strange I only got this one thread going.

Thanks for the quick response!

Ok...I'll have to make a choice now. I read that the SONATA drive placement is difficult for normal EIDE cables, did you have any problems with the cables reaching?

Jordan "AstroCat"

Edward Ng · Post by **Edward Ng** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 8:13 pm

I did not have a problem of this sort; I used SATA, however, for the bottom drives, and my drive in the half-height bays is SCSI, with a longer rounded cable.

-Ed

AstroCat · Post by **AstroCat** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 7:53 am

You know, one thing about the Sonata is because of the hard drive placement I will not be able use my optical drives as slaves, not good for a/v work. This might be a deal breaker for the Sonata for me.
Is there a work around? If not what other case could I use...how bad for noise and cooling is the Lian Li 6070?
I really like my PC-65, just way too loud!
What about the SLK3700AMB - this one seems to have the drives in the traditional way?

Thanks again for all the help!

Jordan "AstroCat"

AstroCat · Post by **AstroCat** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 10:17 am

Sheesh, this is sad...answering my own post! I can get those extra long round cables from Antec and that'll solve my optical drive master/slave problem.

Jordan "AstroCat"

Edward Ng · Post by **Edward Ng** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 11:14 am

Well I am not entirely sure what the lengths are that you need; the BQE may or may not be the solution (or the AMB0; this is something you'll have to figure out for yourself.

-Ed

quksilver · Post by **quksilver** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 11:19 am

In the pursuit of a quieter computer, I replaced the power supply, the CPU cooler, and the fans in an effort to quiet it down. But the two WD 200GB 8MB cache drives I had were so loud that it felt like none of the other changes really affected the overall noise. I had to replace them with a Samsung. I recommend saving yourself the time and trouble and just start with a quiet drive. You can always sell the WDs on Ebay to offset the cost.

Jalum · Post by **Jalum** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 11:52 am

I have 2 6070 cases here at work that I built.

Lian Li 6070 cases are pretty nice but there are couple of things...

1. put a 120mm blowhole with a fan on the top or the case ambient temp will get hot under load (I'm running P4 2.8C processors on em)

2. don't get black unless you like cleaning your finger prints off the cases alot.

Other than that, they are great cases... the dampening foam does seem to help muffle the sound coming from the fans but to make it totally silent, you will need to choose your fans/cooler carefully.

I have a Lian Li pc-v1100 that UPS just dropped off... if you are interested, I'll post how it is after I build it out sometime next week.

Post by **MikeC** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 1:39 pm

That 6800 card is going to kill you to cool quietly. Persoanlly I would not opt for such a hot card. But if you must... then you will pay with more noise.

The case airflow will have to be very good, very well thought out. You really need to think through on how to remove the heat from that VGA /CPU / PSU -- Death Valley Triangle.

Forget the Sonata. The Sonata in stock form is only good for what I'd consider mid/low power systems -- ie max ~160W AC power draw. The included PSU is NOT that quiet, and the case airflow in stock form is NOT very good. There are MUCH better choices.

Go through the Recommended Cases and read every one of the top choices very carefully. Then look through the top ranked PSUs -- don't choose anything not in the top 2 or 3.

AstroCat · Post by **AstroCat** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 3:56 pm

Thanks for the input! I'm going to get the ENERMAX Noisetaker 470W PSU, but I'd like to try the Sonata case, if it doesn't work out even with the 2nd fan added when I get the 6800u I'll try something else, perhaps the Fong Kai FK330 Mid-tower.

Thanks for everyone for the help!

Jordan "AstroCat"

Edward Ng · Post by **Edward Ng** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 4:01 pm

Uhhhh... "Oooookeh....."

AstroCat · Post by **AstroCat** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 4:12 pm

Really, I have a taker for the Sonata if it doesn't work out, It seems on the Recommended Cases section there are several other choices...the Chenbro PC-610 looks interesting as well.

RLiu818 · Post by **RLiu818** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 4:39 pm

I honestly think that if your system has a WD 8mb cache drive then i would suggest you get louder pleasantly sounding fans to drown out the noise of the horrible whine.

Because if you quiet everything else and still have the WD 8mb cache harddrives then your computer will just produce a loud anoying whine that is much more annoying than the sound of fans overpowering the hardrive. This was actually my case, where I ended up purchasing a Samsung drive in the end.

AstroCat · Post by **AstroCat** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 4:47 pm

Totally understood about the drives...I guess my case is too loud now, because I never noticed the drives before, like the case if they don't work out, I can swap them. I own the drives now so, I'm going to give them a chance. As far as cases go, maybe I'll just order the Sonata and let my buddy have it. The more I check out the Coolcases / Chenbro PC-610 Custom Case the more it seems like a good one.

Case choice help?

Case choice help?

6070

Lian Li 6070 Cases