Antec Solo vs Antec P183 for DAW - help please

Enclosures and acoustic damping to help quiet them.

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outbackyak
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Antec Solo vs Antec P183 for DAW - help please

Post by outbackyak » Sat Jan 23, 2010 3:28 am

I'm planning a new DAW - i7 860, the proposed components of which are here viewtopic.php?t=56862&highlight=

However, I'm wondering if the P183 case isn't overkill - I'm only going to have one (at most two) hard drives, an SSD system drive, a DVD writer, and a single passively cooled Gigabyte 9800GT. It seems to me the only major advantage of the P183 is the separate lower chamber for the PSU - great for keeping the PSU cool, and therefore running at lower fan speeds = quiet. I'd been planning on getting the Antec CP-850 PSU - not because I need that amount of wattage (I obviously don't), but because it got such a great review as a quiet PSU http://www.silentpcreview.com/article971-page7.html, especially at lower wattages.

But maybe an Antec Solo might be better - considerably cheaper, it's got the built in hard drive suspension system, it's plenty big enough. Downside is no separate chamber for the PSU, and that the CP-850 PSU won't fit so I'd have to source an alternative PSU. Trouble is, the obvious PSU to get, the Nexus Value 430, isn't available in Australia AFAIK (I'm assuming that 430 watts is plenty for my proposed system - am I wrong?).

What do you reckon - P183 or Solo? I'd prefer the Solo if it is going to be as quiet (or quieter) than the P183, but I'm prepared to pay the extra money for the P183 if it really is going to be be quieter.

Are there any other upsides/downsides of either case that I haven't considered?

All advice greatly appreciated :)
Last edited by outbackyak on Sat Jan 23, 2010 4:26 am, edited 1 time in total.

bozar
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Post by bozar » Sat Jan 23, 2010 4:26 am

Why buy a 850W power supply? Ridiculous. If you have money you have to spend then buy a Seasonic X-series or Enermax Modu87+.

Solo has one disadvantage over P183, power supply position, if you have a high performance gpu or warm cpu then your fan will spin faster compared to in a P183 but if you make a duct bringing cool air in from the front and preventing hot air from reaching to PSU then you got the best configuration.
Be aware of the difference in cooling performance as well but unless you go all fanless cooling the cpu, the Solo will manage just fine. P183 is not a bad case by any means but i think a minimalistic configuration is a lot easier to get really quiet in the Solo.

outbackyak
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Post by outbackyak » Sat Jan 23, 2010 6:04 am

bozar wrote:Why buy a 850W power supply? Ridiculous. If you have money you have to spend then buy a Seasonic X-series or Enermax Modu87+.
Yes, I agree that 850W is insanely more power than I need. The only reason I chose the CP-850 is that it has incredibly low noise levels when in a P183 - since this is for a DAW.

The review makes it plain that this is the quietest 400W+ PSU (with the exception of the Nexus Value 430, and possibly the Seasonic X-650) ever tested by silentpcreview at the wattage I envisage my system drawing. It's 12dB all the way out to 300W, and even at 700W (which I'll never be drawing) it's only 24dB (these figures are from testing in a P183, not the hot box testing - see the bottom of this page http://www.silentpcreview.com/article971-page6.html)

Even the Nexus Value 430 is only quieter than the CP-850 at very low wattage, though it is hard to compare the figures given, since they are from the hot box testing, and therefore are not directly relevant to performance in a P183. It's conceivable that the 430 might be quieter in the P183 than the CP-850, but if so it would only by a dB or two at most. Since the Nexus Value 430 is unavailable to me here in Australia the CP-850 seemed the obvious choice.

The Seasonic X-650 would be another excellent choice for the P183, and I would certainly choose it for a Solo build - thank you for drawing my attention to this PSU, which I had somehow overlooked. It's a little pricey, but as I said, I'm quite prepared to pay money if it will get me a quieter PC.

The duct idea looks interesting - I found this thread viewtopic.php?t=35177& - is this what you mean? I'll have to think about how I would go about doing it - any more links to ducting how-to guides would be useful.

Cheers,

Michael Sandstrom
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Post by Michael Sandstrom » Sat Jan 23, 2010 6:32 am

Go with the Solo. With a quality silent PSU it does not matter that there is no isolated chamber. As a plus the benefit of suspended drives is very significant.

Shakkan
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Post by Shakkan » Sat Jan 23, 2010 9:00 am

Hi there,

I don't want to hijack the thread but I'm also building a new Core i7 rig and I'm also wondering what case I should buy to go with it. I had bought an Antec Solo for my main PC at work and I love it.

- No useless front panel (I have that w/ my current Sonata III and it's really annoying - DVD tray opening against it, power button behind, meh...)
- Suspension system for HDDs

Now, the problem on my end does not affect OP considering his system specs : it's heat dissipation and case depth for video cards. I have a 4870 X2 to fit in there, the card is around 10.5" long, too long for the Solo.

OP, with what I've said, your only concern with the Solo would be case depth if you plan to change video card but since it's a DAW... non-issue I guess eh. ;p

To others: How is P183 noise compared to Solo? The Solo is awesome but I'm a bit concerned about heat dissipation and drilling through the case in order to fit the beast. Mind you, I'm not a big PC gamer but I got the thing for free and it's still among the top so what gives... I'm stuck with it. ;) It's currently working fine in my Sonata III but I will leave the old parts in there and sell the whole system.

Thanks in advance!

bozar
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Post by bozar » Sat Jan 23, 2010 2:06 pm

Michael Sandstrom wrote:Go with the Solo. With a quality silent PSU it does not matter that there is no isolated chamber. As a plus the benefit of suspended drives is very significant.
I would totally agree with you if it wasn't for the Corei7, they consume nasty amounts of power. The duct might not be needed though its a good precaution to ensure quiet drive during load.

Enermax Modu87 is a improved version of Modu85 which have been reviewed here also and in the review from anandtech it shows the lowest spinning fan they've ever come by and lowest measured noise level to.

A 850W PSU is way inefficient at the load level you will reach so it's more expensive in the long run compared to a lower watt PSU, especially a really good one. Also you can't mount that PSU in Solo because it is ridiculously big, you have to go with P183 if you decide for that PSU.

Also don't forget the obvious if you really want it dead quiet, suspend slow spinning mechanical hardrives in dampening boxes, cut out fan grills and get a tidy cable management and off course, undervolting the fans.

outbackyak
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Post by outbackyak » Sat Jan 23, 2010 10:15 pm

bozar wrote: Also you can't mount that PSU in Solo because it is ridiculously big, you have to go with P183 if you decide for that PSU.

Also don't forget the obvious if you really want it dead quiet, suspend slow spinning mechanical hardrives in dampening boxes, cut out fan grills and get a tidy cable management and off course, undervolting the fans.
Yes, I'm aware that the CP-850 wont fit in the Solo case (see my original post). That Anandtech review of the Enermax Modu87 is very interesting - I hope SPCR will be doing a review so we can get a more detailed idea of the noise characteristics (not sure I trust Anandtech's methodology :lol:). It's not available here yet, but the 500W version looks perfect for what I need in the Solo. Unfortunately the pricing is going to be insane - I mean 150 Euros? That's A$235 on a straight conversion, and it will be a lot higher here - we get ripped off big time on component prices in Australia.

I'm planning on doing most of the things you suggest, except that the hard drive won't be slow - I need the 7,200rpm drive for performance when streaming multiple large audio files from disc. I'll suspend the drive(s), but I'm going to wait to see if the noise levels are acceptable to me before investing in a dampening box (the Scythe Quiet Drive isn't available in Australia and buying OS is expensive and fraught with problems).

I'll be replacing the standard Antec Tricool fan, though I'm still trying to work out exactly which 120mm fan to replace it with. Probably either the Noctua NF-S12B FLX or NF-S12B ULN - maybe a Scythe Slipstream 800RPM. The Noctuas cost A$29.95 here (outrageous)and the Slipstreams are "only" A$19.95 (also outrageous when you see what they cost in the US). Advantage of the Noctuas is they come with the adaptors to automatically undervolt them - 1200/900/600RPM for the FLX and 700/500RPM for the ULN.

I don't know if I'll need a 92mm fan for the front of the Solo - guess I'll wait and see what hard drive temperatures I get. What's your best bet - will I need one? Summer temperatures here can be pretty extreme - we've just had 3 successive days over 42C! And no, my flat isn't air conditioned.
Shakkan wrote:your only concern with the Solo would be case depth if you plan to change video card but since it's a DAW... non-issue I guess eh.
Yeah, I will be doing some very moderate gaming (thus the 9800GT Silent Cell), but I've no intention of compromising quietness by fitting an uber-card, and SLI - no way :lol: .

Cheers,

danimal
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Post by danimal » Sat Jan 23, 2010 10:30 pm

the cp-850 was measured at about 83% efficiency, at ~200 watts, it's no slouch, we are talking bronze rating capability:
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?na ... 2&reid=142

spcr said that it was 80% efficient at less than 90 watts... the size of the p183 is probably less efficient than the power supply is :o

bozar
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Post by bozar » Sun Jan 24, 2010 8:41 am

You wont be needing a 7200 drive for samples, I've used my Seagate LP for this purpose and i notice no difference at all compared to my 7200 RPM 3200AAKS which I previously used. I use Superior drummer 2.0, Guitarrig and East West Orchestral so I doubt you'll gonna need one.

Will you be using a SSD for system and sequencer as well as mastering software?

bozar
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Post by bozar » Sun Jan 24, 2010 8:55 am

danimal wrote:the cp-850 was measured at about 83% efficiency, at ~200 watts, it's no slouch, we are talking bronze rating capability:
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?na ... 2&reid=142

spcr said that it was 80% efficient at less than 90 watts... the size of the p183 is probably less efficient than the power supply is :o
Well the Seasonic measure 90% efficiency at the same load so it's a better choice anyway. Pro/Modu87is also way more efficient at 200W, 90% and 330 RPM is very low.

For a fanless 9800GT you will probably need a intake fan, especially i it's not cooled by a Accelero S1. The temps might become unpleasantly high during load otherwise.

danimal
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Post by danimal » Sun Jan 24, 2010 6:19 pm

bozar wrote: Well the Seasonic measure 90% efficiency at the same load so it's a better choice anyway. Pro/Modu87is also way more efficient at 200W, 90% and 330 RPM is very low
for $235Au, it had better be a lot more efficient :D it'll take a looong time to make up the price difference with power savings, if you ever really could... i haven't been very impressed with the limited enermax warranty periods in the past, funny that they are forced to change it now:

"In our power supply roundup published last night, we criticized Enermax for only covering its otherwise high-end Revolution 85+ 850W power supply with a three-year warranty. Well, guess what? The company issued a press release earlier today saying it's "pleased to announce the upgrade of its current 3 year warranty on REVOLUTION85+ and GALAXY EVO PSU series' to 5 years."

This warranty increase applies retroactively, so folks who purchased these units before today will enjoy five years of coverage, with no paperwork or registration required. A trip down to the warranty page of Enermax's website shows that the Modu 87+ and Pro 87+ units have five-year warranties, now, as well.

According to Bing's cache, the Enermax warranty page said the firm offered only three years of coverage as of January 12, so it certainly seems like our review might have had something to do with this sudden change. Enermax's official press release tells a different tale, however:"
http://techreport.com/discussions.x/18306

outbackyak
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Post by outbackyak » Mon Jan 25, 2010 6:37 am

bozar wrote:You wont be needing a 7200 drive for samples, I've used my Seagate LP for this purpose and i notice no difference at all compared to my 7200 RPM 3200AAKS which I previously used. I use Superior drummer 2.0, Guitarrig and East West Orchestral so I doubt you'll gonna need one.
I'm just basing this on all the purpose-built DAW machines, and what I've read about hard drives in the music technology mags (Computer Music, Sound on Sound, Future Music, etc). All recommend 7,200RPM drives for DAWS. As I understand it, speed only becomes an issue when you are streaming a large number of files - it's not that you can't use a slower drive, but that you will hit the wall earlier than with a 7,200RPM drive.
bozar wrote:Will you be using a SSD for system and sequencer as well as mastering software?
Yes, I will. A question that I have is how I should best set up my project partition on my new system - or indeed if I'm going to need one at all.

Currently (just using Reason and Mulab, but I'll soon be getting Record) I archive my projects on a slower (storage) partition on my secondary drive. When I want to work on a project I copy it to the first (small and fastest) partition on the same drive, and when I'm finished I archive it again i.e. there is never anything on my project partition other than the project I am currently working on. It's a pain doing this, but on my more complex projects doing it this way can make the difference between a project that runs and one that "hangs" and gets audio drop outs.

But if I've got the SSD for a system drive should I bother with a project partition on the secondary drive? Wouldn't I be better to just copy the project to the SSD, since it's so much faster? Sequential read speed is vastly higher on an SSD than on a hard drive, even if sequential write isn't necessarily faster than a hard drive (depends on SSD model). (Obviously there won't be enough room on the SSD to archive all my projects, so I'll still have to archive them on the hard drive.)

I'm not sure how continually copying and then cutting projects to the SSD will affect the SSD's life - is all this copying and cutting going to significantly reduce the life of the drive? I'm planning on getting either the Intel x25m 80GB or possibly the SuperTalent UltraDrive ME 128GB, both of which support TRIM.

Cheers,

netmask254
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Post by netmask254 » Thu Jan 28, 2010 2:02 am

Personally I think the major limitation of Solo is that its PSU is on the top and doesn't have a seperate air flow for PSU (otherwise it will be perfect to me), while recent cases prefer to place the PSU to the bottom and breath fresh air from the bottom.

If we are going to build an extremely quiet system, i.e. using very low speed case fan (e.g. 600~700rpm) and even passive heatsink. I didn't try but I think it's difficult for Solo, since the inlet airflow will be too hot for the PSU. No matter how silent the PSU is, it can be no long quiet once its fan begins spin up.

outbackyak
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Post by outbackyak » Thu Jan 28, 2010 5:57 am

netmask254 wrote:Personally I think the major limitation of Solo is that its PSU is on the top and doesn't have a seperate air flow for PSU (otherwise it will be perfect to me), while recent cases prefer to place the PSU to the bottom and breath fresh air from the bottom.

If we are going to build an extremely quiet system, i.e. using very low speed case fan (e.g. 600~700rpm) and even passive heatsink. I didn't try but I think it's difficult for Solo, since the inlet airflow will be too hot for the PSU. No matter how silent the PSU is, it can be no long quiet once its fan begins spin up.
I agree - I far prefer the position of the PSU in the P183. However, it doesn't look particularly difficult to fit a duct so that the PSU in the Solo is pulling cool air in from the front of the case, instead of acting as an exhaust fan for hot case air. The duct should keep the PSU cool enough to keep noise to a minimum.

Cheers!

danimal
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Post by danimal » Thu Jan 28, 2010 1:04 pm

outbackyak wrote:I agree - I far prefer the position of the PSU in the P183. However, it doesn't look particularly difficult to fit a duct so that the PSU in the Solo is pulling cool air in from the front of the case, instead of acting as an exhaust fan for hot case air. The duct should keep the PSU cool enough to keep noise to a minimum.

Cheers!
depending on how you design the duct, you could end up with frictional losses that require the power supply fan to turn harder, which would end up putting more noise out the back of the power supply.

the front intake is located at the bottom of the case, so the duct would have to navigate around the cpu fan.

outbackyak
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Post by outbackyak » Thu Jan 28, 2010 9:09 pm

danimal wrote:depending on how you design the duct, you could end up with frictional losses that require the power supply fan to turn harder, which would end up putting more noise out the back of the power supply.

the front intake is located at the bottom of the case, so the duct would have to navigate around the cpu fan.
I was planning on running the duct from the top 5.25 bays similar to RAFH's system in this post viewtopic.php?t=35177&highlight=antec+solo+duct.

Is there any reason why I couldn't mount the optical drive in the lowest of the 5.25 bays, and then just have a straight through duct from the top two 5.25 inch bays, instead of the rather convoluted path in RAHF's system?

Looks the simplest way to do it, but this is my first self-build and I'm not sure if there is a reason why this wouldn't work. I'd have thought that with a straight duct the fan on the PSU would provide sufficient air flow without needing a fan on the intake of the duct - am I wrong?

Cheers!

JamieG
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Post by JamieG » Thu Jan 28, 2010 9:24 pm

RAFH's duct in the thread you linked to is for a PSU with a straight through rear 80mm fan design.

Most PSU's these days have downward facing 120mm fans, including most of the PSU's mentioned below (the CP850 being the exception).

For a duct to work in the Solo with a downward facing 120mm fan PSU, you would have to leave a bit of spare room between the bottom edge of the duct and the PSU so that the PSU's fan has room to suck some air in from the duct. The Solo is already pretty cramped for space around the CPU area (particularly if you have a tall CPU cooler), so you may not have much room at all.

This might lead to less than ideal airflow for the PSU, which may in turn cause the PSU's fan to speed up to suck more air in to keep the PSU cool. (This is all pretty much theory though, so don't take it for gospel. YMMV.)

outbackyak
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Post by outbackyak » Thu Jan 28, 2010 11:34 pm

Thanks for that info JamieG - I see the problem.

Am I wrong in thinking that the PSU could be mounted upside down, with the fan facing upwards? Then (depending on how much room there is between the PSU and the top of the case) it might give better airflow than with it mounted normally, since I'm planning on using the Megahalems CPU heatsink which is massive.

Alternatively, with it mounted upside down it would be possible to cut a hole in the top of the case directly over the PSU fan for a direct duct, which would be very short and would be bringing in cool air. I suppose the down side would be that there is also a direct line for the sound of the PSU fan to escape the case, but given a really quiet semi-passive PSU like the Seasonic X-650 the better cooling might more than make up for this.

Any reason why this wouldn't work?

Cheers!

JamieG
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Post by JamieG » Fri Jan 29, 2010 3:01 pm

If you mounted the PSU upside down, I don't think there is much room at all left at the top - you would have to cut a hole in the top of the case like you suggested. This could be fine for the X650 though, as the fan may only turn on at high loads with your components (if it turns on at all).

Alternatively, the Antec Signature 650 is also high up on the SPCR recommended PSU list and features the rear 80mm pull through design. Again, it is overkill for your PSU needs for your system but it would allow you to duct it to the front of the Solo using the top 2 optical bays. If you don't want to mod your case to cut out a vent in the top for an X650, this is something you could consider.

MikeC
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Post by MikeC » Fri Jan 29, 2010 4:25 pm

Your CPU and video card probably draw less than 130W both going full tilt together. If you have a good CPU heatsink very closely positioned to the back panel case fan, in a Solo, a good PSU should not ramp its fan up.

But since you're in Oz where summers are hot, perhaps it'd be wise to take a more conservative approach and go with a P183/CP-850. The extra power capacity doesn't actually hurt; the PSU only delivers the power the components demand. Certainly the CP-850 is cheap for a quality 850W PSU. And with the PSU isolated from other system components, it should never ramp up in speed. It's not difficult to rig up an elastic suspension in the bottom HDD cage -- two of them will float nicely down there. Besides, with the quietest of today's HDDs, the rubber grommets are often enough.

outbackyak
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Post by outbackyak » Fri Jan 29, 2010 9:18 pm

Mike, would you recommend the CP-850 over the Seasonic X-650 if I go with a P183 case? Wouldn't the semi-passive X-650 be quieter?

The CP-850 is about A$20 cheaper than the Seasonic, but I'm quite prepared to pay a little more if it will be quieter.

Cheers,

bozar
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Post by bozar » Sat Jan 30, 2010 8:29 am

outbackyak wrote:Mike, would you recommend the CP-850 over the Seasonic X-650 if I go with a P183 case? Wouldn't the semi-passive X-650 be quieter?

The CP-850 is about A$20 cheaper than the Seasonic, but I'm quite prepared to pay a little more if it will be quieter.

Cheers,
The X-650 is more quiet until the fan starts to spin but you might reach this point a bit early if your live in a zone that warm. But I still think ducting to PSU would be superior compared to a P183. Although you might not even need to do that because even if it isn't fanless it is really quiet.

My P182 has required quite a bit of modding to get it near as quiet as my modded Chieftec midtower despite that my older computer contains more noisy components like a Zalman CPU cooler, old PATA-drives, a top mounted PSU and noisier fans. You might be a bit less sensitive than me but I think Solo is better out of the Box with better HD-dampening, HD-cooling and only one mediocre fan to switch. It was tricky to suspend my himuro-drive.

Concerning the drives: I've used a 7200 RPM SATA drive for projects as well as samplings before but my 5900 RPM drive writes faster so I notice no downside. The recommendations are probably really old and originate from the time in which you used a Pentium 4 or less (a 486 maybe) and the alternative was really slow but today modern slower spinning drives are fast enough for almost everything.
I only use about 3 major VSTi's so I might not reach the limit but unless you use a ridiculous amount of plugins (comparable to VST-benchmarks) you should be fine with a GP, F3 eco or similar. The extra heat and noise of a 7200 drive is seldom worth it.

mdrumt
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Post by mdrumt » Wed Feb 10, 2010 4:15 pm

Hi There, Im an Aussie too who does the home studio thing too.

I have built systems in both the p180 and the solo. My current DAW sys uses the p180. In my experience the Solo would've been better for my needs. Solo is Smaller, lighter, HDD suspension, simpler, cheaper, and less fragile (p180 plastic bits break!).

PSU: Antec Sig 650W, Corsair HX-650, Seasonic X-Series 650W.

HDD: I would go with a 7200rpm for your audio read/writes, if your audio projects get large you don't want any hiccups there! (Hint: Regular Defrags!)

Fans: With a couple of HDDs a passive 9800gt and Aussie summer heat I would grab at least 1 of the 92mm nexus fans just in case and plonk it in front of your HDD's If you need it.

All this stuff i found on Aussie site pccasegear, They also have a deal on 5 nexus 120mm fans bulk packs for $49, leaves you some spare quiet fans for other projects :)

Superior Drummer uses ram
BFD reads from disk

outbackyak
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Post by outbackyak » Thu Feb 11, 2010 12:26 am

Thanks for that advice, mdrumt - very useful to hear your view on the benefits of the Solo vs the P180, since you've used both. I think if I go for the Solo I can take the money I've saved and get a fan controller so I can easily bump up the fan speeds if I'm gaming (not that I game much, but it would be nice to be able to play modern games, even if only at lower resolutions).

The rest of your advice seems very sensible too.

Yes, I've been looking at PCCaseGear for some of my build components (like the Prolimatech Megahalems CPU cooler, and I'm still tossing up between the Nexus fans and the Scythe Slipstreams), but I'll probably buy most of the components here in WA to save delivery costs.

Incidentally, do you know Static Ice? http://www.staticice.com.au/ a very useful search engine for Australian computer gear - best feature is if you put state:WA (or state:QLD or state:NSW ...) it will return results only from your state. No Prolimatech dealers in WA, apparently.

Cheers!

bozar
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Post by bozar » Thu Feb 11, 2010 9:54 am

Have you made up your mind yet? Followed this thread for a while now :)

Rucker
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Post by Rucker » Thu Feb 11, 2010 1:23 pm

I'm using a Solo for my DAW, with many similar parts as you:

OS: Windows 7 64 Ultimate
CPU: Intel i860
CPU Cooler: Megahalems
RAM: g.skill DDR3 2 x 2GB 1600
MOBO: EVGA P55 LE
GPU: HIS iSilence 4670
PSU: Nexus Value 430
Case: Antec Solo (modded for silence)
Sound Card: m-audio Delta 1010LT
Monitor: HP LP2465
SSD: OCZ Vertex Turbo 60GB/WD Scorpio Blue 500GB
Fan Controller: Scythe Master Ace.

With the intake fans off, room ambient temperatute at 17C, temps right now are:

CPU: 27/27/29/22
VREG: 38
GPU: 48
HDD: 25/25

I am 100% pleased with my choice of the Solo.

Here's a few pictures of the modded case with the previous Mobo/CPU combo.

viewtopic.php?t=55183&highlight=

mdrumt
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Post by mdrumt » Thu Feb 11, 2010 5:35 pm

hey outbackyak.

Yup I use Staticice quite often! :) but I didnt know about the "state" feature, although it would be pretty useless for me as im in the ACT and we have no great online stores to speak of.

Looks like the Megahalems fits and works well!

See how you go with prices in WA and online, I have often found delivery is cheap enough that I can buy single items from other retail stores and still save money incl shipping!

Concerning the i860, do other uses think its worth the extra 1/3 price increase when you could just do a mild overclock to match it? Like is it bad with heat etc to do this? Everything else seems identical with these processors. I would be curious to know.

As i said the Nexus 5 pack is pretty good value, but either way i think you would end up with a sweet setup. It is a shame that there is now "silent" PSU's listed on pccasegear that i know of, perhaps some other users could advise? I would recommend a modular psu for the solo so you dont have to hide the "Medusa's hairdoo" :)

let us know how you go :)

outbackyak
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Post by outbackyak » Thu Feb 11, 2010 6:14 pm

bozar wrote:Have you made up your mind yet? Followed this thread for a while now :)
Yes, I'm going with the Solo, and the Seasonic X-650 PSU (mdrumt: it's fully modular :D). Now I've just got to work out where to buy all the gear to get the best deal.

Rucker: thanks for that info - good to know your temps especially. Where did you get the limp mass vinyl you used to damp your panels? Is it available in small quantities? And what's your opinion of the Scythe Kaze Master Ace - is it easy to use?

I've no idea when I'll get this build started/finished - currently kind of busy doing my business tax hell. My brother, who has done lots of builds (though not silent ones), has kindly offered to help me with the build, so it also depends on when he has time available. I've never built a computer before, so having someone who actually knows what he is doing seems like a good idea.

Cheers!

Rucker
Posts: 65
Joined: Mon Aug 03, 2009 12:44 pm
Location: Colorado USA

Post by Rucker » Fri Feb 12, 2010 8:37 am

mdrumt wrote:
Concerning the i860, do other uses think its worth the extra 1/3 price increase when you could just do a mild overclock to match it? Like is it bad with heat etc to do this? Everything else seems identical with these processors. I would be curious to know.
I went with the i860 over the i750 (bought the latter then returned it before building) for hyperthreading, as I'll also use this system for video ripping and encoding.

Rucker
Posts: 65
Joined: Mon Aug 03, 2009 12:44 pm
Location: Colorado USA

Post by Rucker » Fri Feb 12, 2010 8:43 am

outbackyak wrote:
Rucker: thanks for that info - good to know your temps especially. Where did you get the limp mass vinyl you used to damp your panels? Is it available in small quantities? And what's your opinion of the Scythe Kaze Master Ace - is it easy to use?

Cheers!
I got mine from a buddy who had leftovers after building a home studio. It's available from various purveyors of wall soundproofing materials, such as http://www.soundprooffoam.com/econo-barrier.html

I haven't seen anything smaller than 4' x 8' sheets, but that should do a couple of computers. You can find someone to buy half easily, I'd bet.

The Master Ace is pretty easy to install and use. I'm not using the temperature sensors, though, as they really add to the clutter inside the case and manual control works fine.

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