SPCR

Current situation:

I'm using an original Antec Sonata with an old Zalman 9000 CPU cooler and a cheap ThermalTake replacement PSU after the original Antec died. The most annoying source of noise is HD seeking amplified by the case, followed by a low, constant fan whoosh (mostly from the aging case fan, I think). Unfortunately, it sits in a doorless wooden cabinet, which I think amplifies the noise.

Prospective build:

Most demanding uses: Light gaming (1680x1050 Source games), HD movies, large Outlook folders, frequent user switching.

• Intel i5-2500K (not for OCing, just for HD 3000 graphics)
• Intel DH67BL (mATX)
• Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333
• DVD burner that fits
• Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Either:

• Reused Western Digital WD3200AAKS (320 GB boot) + Reused Samsung SP0812C (80 GB backup)
• New Sandforce 1200 SSD (120 GB boot) + Reused Western Digital WD3200AAKS (320 GB backup)

$200 is a lot to drop on an SSD, but if I got a smaller one I'd need a media storage drive and a backup drive anyway. I could also move the backup drive outside the case, but it's tidier inside. And then there's the possibility of a new quieter-seeking HDD, even though I don't need the capacity. I haven't decided on this. :-s

Some combination of Case + PSU + HSF, for which my current frontrunners are:

• Antec NSK-3480
• Scythe Mugen 2 Rev. B

Please give me advice on Case + PSU + HSF + Fans + etc:

It's got to fit my stuff (including mATX MB), it's got to cost less than $200 altogether ($150 is better), it's got to be quieter than what I have now, and it's got to be shorter and shallower than my Sonata (17"x17", so ideally 14"x14" or less). I am having a devil of a time finding something appropriate.

There's slim cases like the Antec Minuet and similar, but they would be very cramped with two HDDs, they usually don't have good isolation, and I'm scared of TFX PSUs. I like the looks of Fractal Design, but they don't have anything small enough. Lian Li PC-V354 is too big. Lian Li PC-V351A is on the big side, and is a bit of an odd duck. Antec NSK-1380 might be a possibility. Win IW-BK623 is a possibility, except no HDD damping and a cheap PSU. Silverstone SG01, SG02, SG03, and SG04 are possibilities, but appear to lack any kind of damping.

So at this point, I'm looking at an Antec NSK-3480, with stock case fan (lowest speed, or possibly removed) and stock PSU (SPCR said the included Earthwatts 380 won't ramp up the fan until abou 200W). Then replace the stock HSF with a Scythe Mugen 2 Rev. B, which is probably overkill. Together, that comes to about $140 shipped. Then put one HDD on the bottom of the case, and another below the optical drive. Possible variations of this plan include: cheap case damping material, alternative HDD mounting, replacement PSU, replacement case fan, or different HSF.

Any thoughts on what my priorities should be?

Your plan sounds fine. If the EA PSU ends up being a bit too noisy for you, you could always do a fan swap later.

nilstycho wrote:Any thoughts on what my priorities should be?

I have (among the others) the NSK3480, the MicroFusion (NSK1480 with VFD), and the Minuet.

First of all the Minuet and 1480 share the same NOISY PSU: you likely can't swap its fan (it's a two wire slim one, I've tried a couple of times without luck) but you can drive it externally like MikeC does (see the relevant review). I also tried a BeQuiet TFX, but I didn't find it noticeably better than the stock Seasonic.

The SPCR test over the NSK3480 is way old: with nowadays standards that 380W is too much noisy ever.
Moreover today it's no more a Seasonic unit, but a Delta one, maybe a bit further annoying: at anyway you can easily swap the fan with some good 80mm long life fan (S-Flex or Noctua R8) with excellent result (mine has a ~700rpm R8 feeding an 9300 IGP and a 3.3GHz Core 2 Duo, and it is almost inaudible 40cm from the user ears).

IMO a possible alternative to the NSK3480 is the forthcoming SilverStone TJ-08E, but I can't give you different options over the NSK1480 right now.

Eventually the stock case fans are simply NOT acceptable at any speed.

i've got both the nsk1380 and 3400, which is the nsk3480 with the su380 psu instead of the ea.

they're both nice cases, but the 1380 requires much more modding for the same level of quiet as the 3480. the single 120mm fan for the psu is a real pain, it pretty much needs to cool everything in the case and is severely restricted so it runs fast, and soft mounting a 3/5" hdd in there is pretty much impossible if you have an odd and the original psu.
all the 3480 needs is a fan swap on the psu, and if the stock fan is too loud even on low, wire it to 5v, and if it's still too loud set it to med speed.
if you do get the mugen 2, you can use the scythe fan as exhaust and run the heatsink fanless.

intel suck for not putting the hd3000 on low end sb cpus

quest_for_silence wrote:but you can drive it externally like MikeC does (see the relevant review).

I mean: you can drive *a replacement fan" externally like MikeC does.

It's ordered:

• Intel i5-2500K
• Intel DH67BL
• Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333
• New Seagate Momentus XT (500 GB boot) + Bracket [+ Reused Western Digital WD3200AAKS]
• Antec NSK-3480
• Scythe Mugen 2 Rev. B
• Lite-On DVD burner
• Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Minus the OS, it comes to about $630 shipped. I'll decide whether to do a case fan swap and/or a PSU fan swap after I know what they sound like. On the storage front, it looks like the firmware issues that were scaring me away from the awesome-in-theory Momentus XT appear to have been mostly resolved with recent firmware versions, so I'll try it out.

Just realized my title is wrong! It should say "NSK-3480", not "NSK-1380". The body of my post is correct. :-p

So far, I'm pretty happy with it. Quieter than my old computer, runs nice and cool (28 C idle at 21 C ambient). I like the Momentus XT, too.

I am going to do a fan swap on the PSU, though. The fan that's in there now is resistance-controlled, right? So I get a non-PWM fan and leave off the tachometer wire entirely? So I'd be looking at something like the S-FLEX SFF80C? The max airflow on that fan is a lot lower than the factory-installed fan, though, so I want to be sure that's OK. And there's the Noctua NF-R8-1800, but If there's something equally good for half the cost, I'd rather do that...

nilstycho wrote:I am going to do a fan swap on the PSU, though. The fan that's in there now is resistance-controlled, right? So I get a non-PWM fan and leave off the tachometer wire entirely? So I'd be looking at something like the S-FLEX SFF80C? The max airflow on that fan is a lot lower than the factory-installed fan, though, so I want to be sure that's OK. And there's the Noctua NF-R8-1800, but If there's something equally good for half the cost, I'd rather do that...

Not sure what you mean by resistance controlled. The fan voltage is varied up/down via a thermistor somewhere in the PSU.

Beware -- the stock fan is 80x15mm, not the usual 25mm depth. Here's what I did: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article998-page7.html -- see the postscript about the simple mod at the bottom of the page.

MikeC wrote:Not sure what you mean by resistance controlled. The fan voltage is varied up/down via a thermistor somewhere in the PSU.

A thermistor is a kind of resistor, so thermistor-controlled counts as resistor-controlled, right?

MikeC wrote:Beware -- the stock fan is 80x15mm, not the usual 25mm depth. Here's what I did: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article998-page7.html -- see the postscript about the simple mod at the bottom of the page.

Thanks, but I have the NSK-3480 with the EA380D.

I have essentially the same build configuration but with an i3-530 and a 6400AAKS. I think the loudest thing you'll have is the rear case fan, tied with the HDD, then the PSU fan and finally the Mugen2 fan.

psyopper wrote:I have essentially the same build configuration but with an i3-530 and a 6400AAKS. I think the loudest thing you'll have is the rear case fan, tied with the HDD, then the PSU fan and finally the Mugen2 fan.

I've already put it together, and the loudest thing for me is definitely the PSU fan. It buzzes a bit. That's why I want to replace it.

nilstycho wrote:

MikeC wrote:Beware -- the stock fan is 80x15mm, not the usual 25mm depth. Here's what I did: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article998-page7.html -- see the postscript about the simple mod at the bottom of the page.

Thanks, but I have the NSK-3480 with the EA380D.

nilstycho wrote:
I've already put it together, and the loudest thing for me is definitely the PSU fan. It buzzes a bit. That's why I want to replace it.

I replaced mine with a Nexus 80mm plugged into the fan header inside of the PS. No problems after 12 months of daily 12 hour usage. For me the HDD is the loudest component, suspended in the upper bay.

psyopper wrote:I replaced mine with a Nexus 80mm plugged into the fan header inside of the PS.

SP802512L-03? It pushes way less air than the stock fan, but if you've been using it for a year, I suppose it's probably OK.