Antec SLK3700-BQE - HD Cooling / Noise Comparison?

[mplutodh1]

How does the Antec SLK3700-BQE do with HD cooling and overall case volume?

When I built my system a little while back I put the wrong Antec case in my cart at Newegg and ended up with the 2650BQE. Decent case, mildly quiet, CRAPPY HD setup. Suckers sit so close together they just bounce heat back and forth. With 2 Maxtor 300G 16MB cache mildly pricey HD's in my box, plus a spare storage drive or two (I am a storage fiend!) I don't want to run the risk of running the HD's at high temps. I live in a small apartment and my computer stays on 24x7 and unfortunately is about 4 feet from my head when I sleep. Needless to say a big part of my decisions are based on keeping the friggin computer quiet.

I am not a performance freak, I don't play games, not super hard on my box. It's used primarily for work and the daily messing around. I like mild to low temps with volume as low as I can get it within a tight budget.

Today I bought my brother an inexpensive ECS/Sempron setup and plan to get rid of his loud case/system and build him one thats mildly quiet. He only has one HD and is even easier on his computer then I am.

So my thought was, give him my old 2650, get a 3700 for me. Before I order one though, can anyone tell me their experience with the case. Doesn't look like it has a front fan, does it need it for the HDs? I like the mounting for the 3700, appears to space them out.

 

[Zepper]

The SLK3000-BK is an updated version of the 3700 case. Amazon and Provantage have been selling it for ~$50. shipped (it is considered an OEM case by Antec, so you have to get a PSU for it and DL the user's guide from the Antec site - while the older 3700 includes a basic PSU and user's guide). Either one has very cooling and noise control as shipped (you will want to add a second 120mm fan for the front or rear (it comes with one 120mm fan mounted in the rear) - a lot of case mojo for the money. The rear can take any thickness of fan while the front needs 25mm fan to clear. I've seen some say the front of the 3000 can take a 38mm fan, but use a 25mm unless you are sure of it. See CoolCases.com for more ideas on cooling, noise and appearance mods - the 3000/3700 are the same as the CompuCase 6A19 inside.

.bh.

 

[mk]

Reviews @ SPCR:

SLK3700BQE
SLK3000B.

 

[mechBgon]

The SLK3000-B should be satisfactory as long as you use a quiet power supply and use the stock 120mm rear fan on Low. People say great things about the Seasonic S12 power supplies, so you might check those out.

You're particularly interested in the HDD cooling. The HDD rack has five positions, so you could have your three HDDs in staggered positions with lots of airspace between them.

What I did on my rig was to put a Nexus 120mm fan in the rear at reduced voltage, and move the SLK3000-B's stock 120mm fan to the front to cool the HDD rack, running at Low speed. I mounted the fans using rubber isolators I picked up from Jab-tech (thanks to a timely tip from Zepper ). The isolators do work in the front position.

But that extra 120mm fan might be an unnecessary expense if you'll only have three drives. What you might do instead is to block off the side vents on the SLK3000-B. This would force all incoming air to enter through the front of the case, cooling the hard drives in the process while not involving the noise or expense of an additional fan. You could always add the 120mm fan later if your drives are still running too hot for comfort.

 

[HomerSapien]

I have a 3000b with suspended hard drive setup. I just took the hd cage, rotated it 90 degrees and tied it with shoestrings and picture hooks to the 5.25 drive cage. No more hd noise at all unless you keep your head 5 inches from the computer. I blocked off the video card vent on the side panel, and hooked up a nexus 80mm fan on the duct. It does lower my cpu temps some.

I have a nexus 120mm fan blowing across the hds and a nexus fan in the back. These are going full speed, which is only 1000rpm, so its not too loud. I only have one hd, so heat isnt that big of an issue, but im looking to get another one or two. Its really quiet. The loudest component is the psu, which is a seasonic tornado 400w, but even that is not very loud.

The 3700bqe is the older version of the 3000b. The hard drive cage is not removable and the drives are mounted sideways.

Best part about the 3000b is its only ~$40 at amazon with free shipping

 

[blurp]

I also put a 120x120x25 fan at low speed in front of the HD cage. Does a nice job.