Greetings gents, Im starting a new case mode project named "Night Wind" The pure main goal is as much silence as possible and as such, I decided for the Sonata case for this project.
I've already been very well informed and read on the lack of air intakes due to Antecs poor design of the front panels. Im already planning an extensive dremling job on the front panel to allow more airflow. Im planning on replacing my noisey Western Digital HDD"s with some new twin 160gig SeaGates. I plan on using my current Vantec 120mm fan controlled with my Coolermaster Aerogate II to cool the system
My big question is, would I get a better airflow both for my case and my HDD"s if I mounted the two HDD"s on the lower portion of the drive cage or upper? I plan on cutting out the remaining drive holders to allow maximum airflow with minimual resriction. If the HDD"s are mounted on the lower portion, i'll get more airflow over the HDD"s but Im wondering how well the fan will pull air through the higher intake holes after I cut them out. Or, if I put the HDD's top, the bottom will have a nice big open area for air to flow through but my HDD"s probably won't get much.
Im aware I can only have two HDD"s as a result of this much cutting, but thats fine for my needs.
Whats your guys theory?
Sonata intake mod questions
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Devonavar
I wouldn't butcher the drive bays. In fact, I'd tape off the ports around the unused bays to force the air to flow around your drives. Drive temps are my biggest concern with the Sonata.
I've tried moving the drives around and couldn't tell a difference.
I'll be blown away if your Vantec 120mm fan is as quiet as the stock Sontata 120mm fan. I'd upgrade the PSU fan but leave the stock case fan.
I've tried moving the drives around and couldn't tell a difference.
I'll be blown away if your Vantec 120mm fan is as quiet as the stock Sontata 120mm fan. I'd upgrade the PSU fan but leave the stock case fan.
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IceWindius
- Posts: 72
- Joined: Sun Mar 14, 2004 11:32 am
Well, im not really concerned with HDD" temps as i've never had a HDD temp problem where my PC is at over the years. Heck, people throw HDD"s in Shuttles which have very little airflow and they run just fine, so im not worried about them in a bigger Sonata case.
I think i'll go ahead and move the HDD's to the top portion and hack the bottom intakes to allow maximum airflow. The PSU will be replaced with my Antec NeoPower and the entire case will be sealed with a new case paneling, so the Antec names in the panels won't be a problem.
And the Vantec is very, very quiet in my existing setup so I see no problem in using it. It moves more air at quieter range then my 120mm Panflo does
I think i'll go ahead and move the HDD's to the top portion and hack the bottom intakes to allow maximum airflow. The PSU will be replaced with my Antec NeoPower and the entire case will be sealed with a new case paneling, so the Antec names in the panels won't be a problem.
And the Vantec is very, very quiet in my existing setup so I see no problem in using it. It moves more air at quieter range then my 120mm Panflo does
I know exactly what you mean, because I was thinking of doing the same.
Assuming that you modify the bezel to provide better air input, I would put one drive on the top tray (or maybe 2nd tray) and other drive on the bottom tray. Then you can cut out the middle supports. Just cutting out one of them should be sufficient. Obviously, any un-used trays would be removed.
On reason that I would not use the top drive tray, is that my drives sit a little higher than normal with this modified Sonata drive tray mounting:
http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=10450
You might find that your old drives are quiet enough with this mounting.
Assuming that you modify the bezel to provide better air input, I would put one drive on the top tray (or maybe 2nd tray) and other drive on the bottom tray. Then you can cut out the middle supports. Just cutting out one of them should be sufficient. Obviously, any un-used trays would be removed.
On reason that I would not use the top drive tray, is that my drives sit a little higher than normal with this modified Sonata drive tray mounting:
http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=10450
You might find that your old drives are quiet enough with this mounting.
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IceWindius
- Posts: 72
- Joined: Sun Mar 14, 2004 11:32 am
Hmmm, I wonder what I can do to prevent the case from trying to suck air through the USB port section so I don't have dust crap all over the place.
Im also wondering where I can purchase some REAL light foam to replace the crappy plastic filter mesh to keep the dust down to a minimum. Combine the 120m with the NeoPowers 120mm plus my VGA 5 silencer for my 6800GT and you can see the serious amount of air that will be need to be pulled through to keep this thing cool.
Wish the Sonata II would be coming out sooner, owell...
Im also wondering where I can purchase some REAL light foam to replace the crappy plastic filter mesh to keep the dust down to a minimum. Combine the 120m with the NeoPowers 120mm plus my VGA 5 silencer for my 6800GT and you can see the serious amount of air that will be need to be pulled through to keep this thing cool.
Wish the Sonata II would be coming out sooner, owell...
IceWindius,
I've opened both the bottom and side bezel slots on my Sonata, and the TP anemometer says that more airflow is coming through the side slots then through the bottom. The inner plastic bezel was already open from the factory. I strongly encourage a quiet fan at 5V (or connected to "Fan Only" on the TP380S) in the inlet position to draw air over the HDD's. The plastic inlet filter seems to work pretty well (system sits on a desk) and it filters air that enters via the USB area, too.
I used the stock Antec exhaust and a Vantec Stealth 120 as inlet and would agree that both were fairly quiet on "Fan Only", but the current Yate Loons seems to quietly move plenty of air, even though they are now at 5V fixed.
Using Speedfan to provide HDD temps, I found position 2 (counting from the top) is coolest, then position 3. Right now, both drives have been largely idle for the last few hours. Seagate SATA in position 2 reads 31-32, and Maxtor PATA in position 3, only used for backups, is 35-36C. Earler today I tried the latter in position 4 where it was idling at 39C. I suspect that position 1 would also be warmer. When the Maxtor and Seagate were reversed in position 2 and 3, the Maxtor read lower.
m0002a,
Today I used the electrical outlet foam HDD "suspension" method that you mention above. It certainly is effective for $2, and the drives still feel quite secure. Thanks for the idea! Surprisingly, my other temps have increased by 1-3C with this change, but they're still fairly benign.
I use foam blocks to cover the inlets in HDD positions 4 and under the drives to force more air to flow over the drives, but maybe these need to be removed since the drives now create more inlet impedance in their higher positions.
I've opened both the bottom and side bezel slots on my Sonata, and the TP anemometer says that more airflow is coming through the side slots then through the bottom. The inner plastic bezel was already open from the factory. I strongly encourage a quiet fan at 5V (or connected to "Fan Only" on the TP380S) in the inlet position to draw air over the HDD's. The plastic inlet filter seems to work pretty well (system sits on a desk) and it filters air that enters via the USB area, too.
I used the stock Antec exhaust and a Vantec Stealth 120 as inlet and would agree that both were fairly quiet on "Fan Only", but the current Yate Loons seems to quietly move plenty of air, even though they are now at 5V fixed.
Using Speedfan to provide HDD temps, I found position 2 (counting from the top) is coolest, then position 3. Right now, both drives have been largely idle for the last few hours. Seagate SATA in position 2 reads 31-32, and Maxtor PATA in position 3, only used for backups, is 35-36C. Earler today I tried the latter in position 4 where it was idling at 39C. I suspect that position 1 would also be warmer. When the Maxtor and Seagate were reversed in position 2 and 3, the Maxtor read lower.
m0002a,
Today I used the electrical outlet foam HDD "suspension" method that you mention above. It certainly is effective for $2, and the drives still feel quite secure. Thanks for the idea! Surprisingly, my other temps have increased by 1-3C with this change, but they're still fairly benign.
I use foam blocks to cover the inlets in HDD positions 4 and under the drives to force more air to flow over the drives, but maybe these need to be removed since the drives now create more inlet impedance in their higher positions.
Yes, I would try it without the foam blocks. If you would like, you can glue the electrical outlet foam sheets to the top and bottom of the cage (or anywhere else in your case) to absorb some of the sound, but without blocking the air path.dfrost wrote:I use foam blocks to cover the inlets in HDD positions 4 and under the drives to force more air to flow over the drives, but maybe these need to be removed since the drives now create more inlet impedance in their higher positions.
I wish that I could find that same foam in large sheets. I think it would give AcoustiPack a run for it its money, at a fraction of the cost.
Hi guys
I have a Sonata case, totally stock so far. I too realize that the front bezel is obstructing airflow a bit too much. When I bought the case, I didn't realize that there were actually HOLES drilled in the sides to form the antec logo. bummer. The damn holes let out quite a bit of noise, and after this machine has been running a number of months, I can see dust forming little dots on the cables inside. not good. Also, these holes let the air in at the wrong place, don't yo think? So, heres my idea: Covering the side holes with something, and drilling holes through the bottom of the case. Then, put dust filter material over these holes. How does that sound to you?
//digix
I have a Sonata case, totally stock so far. I too realize that the front bezel is obstructing airflow a bit too much. When I bought the case, I didn't realize that there were actually HOLES drilled in the sides to form the antec logo. bummer. The damn holes let out quite a bit of noise, and after this machine has been running a number of months, I can see dust forming little dots on the cables inside. not good. Also, these holes let the air in at the wrong place, don't yo think? So, heres my idea: Covering the side holes with something, and drilling holes through the bottom of the case. Then, put dust filter material over these holes. How does that sound to you?
//digix
After a few months, a few little dots of dust isn't much, especially if it's on the floor. Maybe you could just tape some dryer softener cloths to the inside.
You might also try what I'm going to do in the couple of days. I've been using cheap food containers (like Tupperware) to control the airflow in my system.
One of them came with a long rounded lid which I cut in half lengthwise, then sanded off the logo and painted black. I'm going to try to hang these over the logo holes. The 1cm x 30cm openings will be facing down, and that should reduce the sound and still permit enough air to enter.
You might also try what I'm going to do in the couple of days. I've been using cheap food containers (like Tupperware) to control the airflow in my system.
One of them came with a long rounded lid which I cut in half lengthwise, then sanded off the logo and painted black. I'm going to try to hang these over the logo holes. The 1cm x 30cm openings will be facing down, and that should reduce the sound and still permit enough air to enter.