I bought the QPack and even though I knew the measurements I was still surprised at the bulk of the case but that is the not the point here.
I First set it up with all the stock equipment and a Celeron D with the retail boxed fan. It was really loud and ran really hot so
Step 1 ... reversed the 120mm fan to blow in (system sits in an small space and would get really hot). Once I did that it made a temperature difference of about 10 degress C but no difference in sound.
Step 2 ... I replace the HSF with a Zalman CNPS 7000-CU. Temps dropped another 10 degrees sound a little quieter but still kinda loud.
Step 3 ... Nexus 120mm fan blowing in from the back. Temps went up about 5 degrees but sound was dramatically reduced.
Now the only thing left that is annoyingly loud is the Power supply. My DVD drive is not a short one so replacing the power supply with a full size one is a last resort.
The hum from the power supply is annoying more so than loud but nonetheless this quieting crap is addictive. Any smaller power supplies or fan swapping ideas would be appreciated.
I still can't believe how damn big that case is. I don't know why I was expecting a case slightly larger than a shuttle but it is definitely much larger.
Aprevia Qpack - Big loud case
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee
Now the only thing left that is annoyingly loud is the Power supply. My DVD drive is not a short one so replacing the power supply with a full size one is a last resort.
Which DVD drive do you have? I can fit an standard ATX PSU into my X-Q [well, I have a microfly which is 1'' longer, so 25mm longer]
Right now with my Pioneer DVR111D and a standard ATX PSU , I still have about 5cm of space between the DVD drive and the PSU. I think you can fit a regular PSU into the case so long as you don't use a longer DVD drive. Again, it all comes down to what DVD drive you use.
Also, check out [h] for more information. They have a thread called 'will it fit' and it basically takes into account many SFF cases and checks compatibility between components. Take a look!
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1119311
Which DVD drive do you have? I can fit an standard ATX PSU into my X-Q [well, I have a microfly which is 1'' longer, so 25mm longer]
Right now with my Pioneer DVR111D and a standard ATX PSU , I still have about 5cm of space between the DVD drive and the PSU. I think you can fit a regular PSU into the case so long as you don't use a longer DVD drive. Again, it all comes down to what DVD drive you use.
Also, check out [h] for more information. They have a thread called 'will it fit' and it basically takes into account many SFF cases and checks compatibility between components. Take a look!
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1119311
Qpack noisy case
I agree the Qpack is a loud case (but it still looks good!). I also cannot live with a noisy system and have done the following to make it a silent PC.
1. Replaced the power supply with a Nesteq 450W. This is a superb unit and in the two weeks I have had it installed the fan has not yet needed to fire up. If you do use the manual fan control possibility the fan is audible at low speeds (but loud at full speed). Nesteq claim this fan will run only for 1% of the PC use which by my experience is correct. I have pushed a temp sensor above the cooling fins inside the PSU and temperatures appear to be stable at between 44-49C.
2. I have replaced the 120mm case fan with a Papst 120mm 16.5db which is nearly inaudible when run at 5volt (690rpm) and gives no more than an ‘air rushing noise’ at 12volt (1200rpm).
Although noise levels have been reduced by about 50% I was disappointed with the Zalman CNPS9500. It is a real piece of engineering art (which I had to mod the case to get it in) but it is incredibly noisy when pumped up to full speed. The little 40mm fan on the VGA card also makes a bit of noise even at 5volt.
I have become obsessed with the whole silent PC concept and have now just ordered a Zalman Reserator 1 Plus water-cooling system. This is a fan less (passive) system and I have also ordered the Northbridge block cooler to get as much heat out the case as possible.
Another future idea I have is to replace the fan in the Nesteq with the Papst. This may enable me to run the system with just one fan. That is taking away the case fan and run the Nesteq in manual mode to get a little air through the case. I have found the case to be very cool (using the Samsung HD and DVD helps a lot – they never go above 32c).
I hope to have a very silent (and cool) PC by next weekend.
Apevia X-Qpack, Asus P5B-VM, G965, Socket-775, Duo E6600 2.4GHz, Corsair TWIN2X 6400 DDR2, 2048MB, Zalman CNPS9500LED, XFX GeForce 7300GS 256MB, Creative SB X-Fi Xtreme Audio, Samsung SpinPoint T133 400GB SATA2, Samsung DVD-Burner SH-S183A, Akasa 5 ¼â€
1. Replaced the power supply with a Nesteq 450W. This is a superb unit and in the two weeks I have had it installed the fan has not yet needed to fire up. If you do use the manual fan control possibility the fan is audible at low speeds (but loud at full speed). Nesteq claim this fan will run only for 1% of the PC use which by my experience is correct. I have pushed a temp sensor above the cooling fins inside the PSU and temperatures appear to be stable at between 44-49C.
2. I have replaced the 120mm case fan with a Papst 120mm 16.5db which is nearly inaudible when run at 5volt (690rpm) and gives no more than an ‘air rushing noise’ at 12volt (1200rpm).
Although noise levels have been reduced by about 50% I was disappointed with the Zalman CNPS9500. It is a real piece of engineering art (which I had to mod the case to get it in) but it is incredibly noisy when pumped up to full speed. The little 40mm fan on the VGA card also makes a bit of noise even at 5volt.
I have become obsessed with the whole silent PC concept and have now just ordered a Zalman Reserator 1 Plus water-cooling system. This is a fan less (passive) system and I have also ordered the Northbridge block cooler to get as much heat out the case as possible.
Another future idea I have is to replace the fan in the Nesteq with the Papst. This may enable me to run the system with just one fan. That is taking away the case fan and run the Nesteq in manual mode to get a little air through the case. I have found the case to be very cool (using the Samsung HD and DVD helps a lot – they never go above 32c).
I hope to have a very silent (and cool) PC by next weekend.
Apevia X-Qpack, Asus P5B-VM, G965, Socket-775, Duo E6600 2.4GHz, Corsair TWIN2X 6400 DDR2, 2048MB, Zalman CNPS9500LED, XFX GeForce 7300GS 256MB, Creative SB X-Fi Xtreme Audio, Samsung SpinPoint T133 400GB SATA2, Samsung DVD-Burner SH-S183A, Akasa 5 ¼â€