SPCR

Hi ppl!

I've decided to tackle the hairdryer under my desk and had a little look around the site. I need to silence my xp2500 and 6600gt, and here are my chosen, unless guided otherwise, options :


slk3700AMB (£40) - retekdirect.co.uk bargain, not sure about colour though!

slk3700BQE (£62) - quieter fan/psu than above.

slk3000B (£37) & Hiper 350w (£20) (total £67)- seems like the perfect case but the psu could be a wildcard, though it does say 18db.


Spending less makes me happy, but it's gotta be quiet. Any recommendations based on these products and prices?

Also, I was thinking a slapping a £5 Antec TriCool on gfx card, just so I could be a fully branded Antec fanboy. =/

I say go with the 3000B. Very easy for upgrading, can block off the side vents if you so wish, and has the option for you to choose your PSU.

As for the PSU you've chosen, I do not know as I have never heard of them. Seasonic is always the best way to go, IMHO.

Yeah, thanks for that. Was looking at the seasonics, but a bit more expensive. Though if I get the Hiper I could always swap the fan (what am I letting myself in for...).

I'd beware of any noise claims made by the marketing for the PSU. They're rarely even close to accurate. On the other hand, if you're willing to do a fan mod that opens up the market quite a bit, as the only variable noise-wise will be the quality of the fan controller.

If you end up going this route, post your impression of the Hiper! We can always use more details about what's out there!

A new PSU enters the stage... Rather than risk the hiper and end up haveing to fan mod it, I think I'll just pay the extra £8 ( £28 ) for an FSP 350W Super Quiet PSU FSP350-60PN(PF).

I ordered an SLK-3700AMB from retek yesterday, and am waiting for a confirmation e-mail (they don't give stock levels, so they might be out) apparently the colour is actually grey in reality, not bronze (according to the review so I reckon it'll be alright. I'll post back once I get an e-mail and let you know if they're in stock or not. Amazon were the next cheapest I found at £47.50, which still isn't too shabby.

The supplied PSU is the biggest concern for me, but it should be easy to swap out the fan for a quieter model and hopefully once that's done it will be a very nice quiet case, for £40 plus the price of a quiet 80mm fan. If system temps aren't a major concern for you then I think you'd do well to find anything quieter for the money.

Even if the PSU is too noisy, have you seen how much they sell for on ebay recently? you'd more than cover the cost of a Fortron off komplett. Which is my fallback plan.

At £40 delivered they do look very tempting!

But alas, I gave in a went for the slk3000b (on order, £35 from spacecoputers) and now I have a Fortron FSP350-60PN sat on my desk (£28 from microdirect).

Next up is the HSF, I'm thinking the variably controlled Artic Cooling 2 TC (~£7 from ebuyer). With the 3000Bs funel it should run pretty quiet.

And a fan for the 6600gt - I was thinking about a Antec tricool 80mm (~£5 from ebuyer) with a 80-60mm converter to direct the air into the cards heatsink (that way I wont have to validate the warranty and start hacking the card to bits). Not too sure how I'm going to mount it yet though. Probably with bits of string, bluetac and double sided sticky tape, lol.

Funniest thing - I got an e-mail from re-tek saying they were 'processing' my order yesterday, but had no folow up today to confirm or say they did or didn't have them in stock.

I took this to mean they weren't available, or re-tek weren't up to scratch.

Then about 10 minutes ago a courier delivered the case - yay! big thumbs up for re-tek, as it's technically next working day delivery, given the time I ordered on wednesday, and a fantastic price. The case looks brilliant - a real step up from my £30 codegen. Now I'm looking forward to a happy sunday spent building my system in it.

They looked a bit dodgy from their website, but obviously not, pretty quick delivery, and a steal at the price!