Antec SLK3700BQE is out!

wumpus · Post by **wumpus** » Sun Sep 28, 2003 9:02 pm

The key to getting better thermal & noise performance from the Sonata is to hack away behind the front bezel. As noted in my review, there is an extra layer of plastic between the outside bezel and the filter, as well as excessive plastic around the vent slots on the outside. All of this can be cut away & the airflow capacity through the bezel vents at least doubled with NO visible signs of modding from the outside.

So true.. what the heck were they thinking with that front panel? The case can't "breathe" normally. And yet they put those silly Antec logo holes in the side.. like noise isn't going to escape from there, or anything.

I agree that straight out of the box in stock form, it is moderately quiet and does not have great thermal behavior, the 3700 is better. But as repeated in the forums ad nauseum, noise perception is highly subjective; most who have never heard a really quiet computer will consider a decently built Sonata PC to be very quiet.

I actually prefer the smaller size of the Sonata, though.

I actually found that my System (see spec below) Ran heaps better WITHOUT a front fan than with.

The trick with the front fan-- at least on the Sonata-- is to make sure it's moving less CFM than the exhaust fan. Otherwise, you're setting yourself up for seriously screwed up case temps..

Post by **MikeC** » Sun Sep 28, 2003 9:22 pm

Starsky, that is a very good point. I have never used a front fan on the Sonata, either, and I have not experienced any serious overheating issues.

pony-tail · Post by **pony-tail** » Sun Sep 28, 2003 9:45 pm

Ihave run both with 2 fans and with just the exhaust fan , I have cleared the bezel vents , I have trid it with antec holes covered and not covered. the front fan makes little difference to the case temp either way ,but the hard drives run a lot cooler with it in . I have an SLK 3700 which has taken less work for a better result . The Sonata runs within Spec , just!.
I only bought the SLK because of problems with the Sonata ,or it would have been in a Sonata too.

hyum · Post by **hyum** » Fri Oct 03, 2003 8:12 am

does the front fan support 38 mm thickness fans or only 25 mm thickness fans?

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Fri Oct 03, 2003 12:36 pm

hyum wrote:does the front fan support 38 mm thickness fans or only 25 mm thickness fans?

The front fan of which one, the SLK3700AMB or the SLK3700BQE?

hyum · Post by **hyum** » Fri Oct 03, 2003 12:58 pm

BQE, but now that you mention it, it would be helpful to know for the AMB as well for comparison.

pony-tail · Post by **pony-tail** » Fri Oct 03, 2003 9:35 pm

A 38mm fan can be fitted to the front of an SLK 3700mb -BUT only if you remove the plastic mount and drill holes in the case and even then it is very tight ,I tried a panaflo in mine and on rubber mounts it hit on the drive cage while running (more vibrated against it ) but with time and effort it could be done , possibly removing a thin amount of plastic from the fan - the exact clearance is 1.5 inches (about 39 mm) which is a very tight fit (that is without the plastic mount) I personally do not recomend it but it is possible.
I dont know about the BQE as they are not yet available here But would suspect it to be similar in clearance

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Sat Oct 04, 2003 5:06 am

hyum wrote:BQE, but now that you mention it, it would be helpful to know for the AMB as well for comparison.

I'm building a system with a BQE right now so I just tried a 38mm (L1A) on the front and it dosen't fit at all. It only has about 1.25" of clearance so you're limited to a 1" fan, max.

This front fan mounting system on the BQE certainly isn't one of it's strong points. Personally, I don't use a front fan on these cases for case cooling but I do like to use a very quiet fan running at 5V to cool the HDDs. On this case it's going to be hard to run anything but a 120mm x 1" fan and I've never found one of those that's as quiet as an 80mm or 92mm L1A Panaflo running at 5V.

Katana Man · Post by **Katana Man** » Sat Oct 04, 2003 12:02 pm

Ralph, Antec doesn't know how to put up decent pictures. Would you mind taking a few shots and posting them? To me, the sideways hard drive cage doesn't look like air would flow through it as well as a normal hard drive cage.

Post by **MikeC** » Sat Oct 04, 2003 12:44 pm

Be patient: Ralf will be writing a complete review of the case -- as a kind of follow up to his original 3700 article. He IS the resident 3700 expert.

Katana Man · Post by **Katana Man** » Sat Oct 04, 2003 12:49 pm

Thanks Mike and Ralph.

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Sat Oct 04, 2003 4:27 pm

Katana Man wrote:Ralph, Antec doesn't know how to put up decent pictures. Would you mind taking a few shots and posting them? To me, the sideways hard drive cage doesn't look like air would flow through it as well as a normal hard drive cage.

Actually Antec doesn't even have the correct picture of the rear of the case posted. The picture they have up there is of the 3700AMB, the actual 3700BQE has grills like the Sonata.

Pics will follow with the review.

mieses · Post by **mieses** » Sun Oct 05, 2003 6:00 pm

Ralf, thanks for the info about the rear grill being the same as on the Sonata. I'm sold on the BQE now.

The drive cage does need to change to allow for more air flow.

and it would be nice for Antec to sell spare parts like the silicone fan mounts, etc.

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Mon Oct 06, 2003 3:55 am

mieses wrote:
and it would be nice for Antec to sell spare parts like the silicone fan mounts, etc.

You can get the E.A.R. version from Silicon Acoustics for $1 each, or you can get the same thing from McMaster-Carr for 50¢ each. Instructions on ordering them are posted here.

I prefer the EAR versions over the Antec version because they're easier to use.

hyum · Post by **hyum** » Mon Oct 06, 2003 6:56 am

Ralf Hutter wrote: I'm building a system with a BQE right now so I just tried a 38mm (L1A) on the front and it dosen't fit at all. It only has about 1.25" of clearance so you're limited to a 1" fan, max.

This front fan mounting system on the BQE certainly isn't one of it's strong points. Personally, I don't use a front fan on these cases for case cooling but I do like to use a very quiet fan running at 5V to cool the HDDs. On this case it's going to be hard to run anything but a 120mm x 1" fan and I've never found one of those that's as quiet as an 80mm or 92mm L1A Panaflo running at 5V.

Thanks for the feedback, Ralf. I basically have the same thoughts and concerns as you. I don't really need a front fan for case cooling, but my drives tend to get very warm, especially in the summer months (no air conditioning) so i prefer some direct air blowing on them from a front case fan (e.g., 92mm panaflo at 5V). I, too, have not found a quiet 120mmx25mm fan, so this leads to my next question- does 3700 (AMB and BQE) fit 92mmx25mm fans up front without modification? If so, is it direct chassis mount or does it require a plastic fan bracket?

Thanks in advance!!!

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Mon Oct 06, 2003 11:30 am

hyum wrote:
Ralf Hutter wrote: I'm building a system with a BQE right now so I just tried a 38mm (L1A) on the front and it dosen't fit at all. It only has about 1.25" of clearance so you're limited to a 1" fan, max.

This front fan mounting system on the BQE certainly isn't one of it's strong points. Personally, I don't use a front fan on these cases for case cooling but I do like to use a very quiet fan running at 5V to cool the HDDs. On this case it's going to be hard to run anything but a 120mm x 1" fan and I've never found one of those that's as quiet as an 80mm or 92mm L1A Panaflo running at 5V.
Thanks for the feedback, Ralf. I basically have the same thoughts and concerns as you. I don't really need a front fan for case cooling, but my drives tend to get very warm, especially in the summer months (no air conditioning) so i prefer some direct air blowing on them from a front case fan (e.g., 92mm panaflo at 5V). I, too, have not found a quiet 120mmx25mm fan, so this leads to my next question- does 3700 (AMB and BQE) fit 92mmx25mm fans up front without modification? If so, is it direct chassis mount or does it require a plastic fan bracket?

Thanks in advance!!!

Bear with me, I'm trying to get a review of this case published but I'll give this a quick once-over. I totally agree with your position on HDD cooling, my own experiences match your exactly.

I've been running this case and without any front cooling for the drive (80GB Barracuda IV). The drive idles at 41°C while the case temp is running at 31°C. In my regular 3700AMB with a 5V 92mm L1A in front of the same drive I can keep it at case temp + 1°C.

The BQE front fan is designed to be a 120mm fan mounted on the outside of the case. Like you, I've found that a 5V 92mm fan seems optimal for cooling a drive so I wanted to see if I could mount one on the front of the BQE. I was able to mount one using a set of EAR fan isolaters through the exsisting holes in the fan grill. I hooked it up at 5V and ran the system again. After the temps stabilized I was getting 35°C on the drive at idle with a case temp of 31°C. This is about 3-4°C warmer than the 3700AMB with an identical hardware setup except for the arrangement of the HDD cage and front fan mounting setup.

My quick conclusion os that the front ventilation of the BQE isn't as good as the AMB.

hyum · Post by **hyum** » Mon Oct 06, 2003 12:28 pm

Thanks for answering all my questions. I'm definitely looking forward to your review! Your 3700AMB review was very good.

hitman47 · Post by **hitman47** » Fri Oct 10, 2003 10:04 am

Popped over to antec-inc.com today, noticed they've finally updated their rear photos of the SLK3700-BQE

Lovely open grills

Enjoy

Kind Regards

GamingGod · Post by **GamingGod** » Fri Oct 10, 2003 10:20 am

The 3700amb has changed their exhausts also. They are made of a honeycomb with 6 sided holes. But it is still kinda restrictive so I cut mine out. Also there isnt a solid part in the center like the 3700bqe pictured above.

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Fri Oct 10, 2003 12:11 pm

hitman47 wrote:Popped over to antec-inc.com today, noticed they've finally updated their rear photos of the SLK3700-BQE

{img]http://www.antec-inc.com/images/400/bac ... 700BQE.jpg[/img}

Lovely open grills Enjoy

Kind Regards

Yep, dat be da right one.

That grillwork is the best thing about the new case. No modding required any more.

vaalten · Post by **vaalten** » Sun Oct 12, 2003 3:41 am

Ralph,

I'm also eagerly awaiting your review of the 3700BQE, but maybe in the meantime you can advice me:

I'm thinking of changing my Lian-Li PC60 case into either the Antec Sonata or the (not yet available here) 3700BQE. The main reason is that I find my 3 low-speed Papst fans too 'clickety', so I would like to try something with 12cm fans.

If I want 'quiet', but I don't like to mod too much of a brand new case, which of the two Antecs would you advice?

Thanks,
Matthijs

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Sun Oct 12, 2003 4:00 am

vaalten wrote:Ralph,

I'm also eagerly awaiting your review of the 3700BQE, but maybe in the meantime you can advice me:

I'm thinking of changing my Lian-Li PC60 case into either the Antec Sonata or the (not yet available here) 3700BQE. The main reason is that I find my 3 low-speed Papst fans too 'clickety', so I would like to try something with 12cm fans.

If I want 'quiet', but I don't like to mod too much of a brand new case, which of the two Antecs would you advice?

Thanks,
Matthijs

I'd definitely go with the 3700BQE, it has much better ventilation than the Sonata. I actually don't see any reason to ever choose the Sonata over the 3700BQE. The Sonata doesn't do anything better than the 3700BQE and costs more money. I suppose if you had to have front Firewire that'd be a consideration, but you could always add a 3.5" accessory bay to the SLK3700 and you'd be back in business.

vaalten · Post by **vaalten** » Sun Oct 12, 2003 7:02 am

Thanks for the quick reply!
Now I'll go disappoint a friend who -accidently- bought *two* Sonatas for himself.
I'll also start bugging vendors & Antec about the release date for the 3700BQE in The Netherlands...