Antec Sonata front 120mm fan recs

[devers]

I just bought an Antec Sonata. I will be running the following components:

Barton 2500+ <- stock retail HSF (to keep the warranty, and save money)
9700Pro
1 WD 200GB ATA100 HDD
Lite-on 52x CDRW
Lite-on 16x DVD
1GB Crucial PC2700 RAM
onboard sound

I'm wondering what I should do for cooling the Sonata with this set up. I figure the first step is to get a front in-take fan. The Sonata takes a 25mm thick 120mm wide fan on the front.

Have any recommendations for a 25mm thick 120mm fan that pushes a good amount of air, is cheap, and quiet. (hehe... and will also make me a sammich)

Have any other general recommendations for best practices on cooling the Sonata? I've heard a few people suggest replacing the front fan grill and/or removing parts of the front bezel. Anybody have any more detailed replacement/removal suggestions?

Thanks for any help!

 

[Wintermute76]

In my Sonata I have a panaflo L1A 120mm exhausting out the back and the PSU fan and that's it, never had any problems, full load temps are around 37C. Running a 2100+ Tbred on A7N8X-DX and ATi radeon 8500.

 

[Sid59]

i almost have the same specs .. not yet runing . waiting for a fan for my heatsink .. but here's whats gonna go in

Barton2500
PLex 40 CDRW
NEC 1300A
120 Maxtor
160 Maxtor
200 WD
120 WD

im gonna pull off teh front bezel and let the fan suck in fresh air.

 

[JZilla]

I am only using the supplied Antec fan as exhaust, no intake fan. Temps are alright.

Edit: Maybe do as kenaf?

Edit no. 2: Another excellent thread. There are several good threads here at AT, at ars (linked), and at SilentPC Reviews (in their forums).

That is all.

 

[devers]

Nice links.

Thanks for the info, all. Keep it comin, if there's any more to be had. I'm sure this thread could make a nice reference for lots of people.

 

[HiTek21]

How loud is the stock Antec Sonata 120mm fan? I just picked up the case and am waiting for a few more parts before I can put it together to test it out. I need a quiet fan because its going to be on all the time.

 

[JZilla]

Originally posted by: HiTek21
How loud is the stock Antec Sonata 120mm fan? I just picked up the case and am waiting for a few more parts before I can put it together to test it out. I need a quiet fan because its going to be on all the time.

Actually I think it's ok. The loudest part in my Sonata is the psu.

 

[tallman45]

The second 120 fan on a Sonata is designed to be more of a middle fan, it is a weird setup. You can mod the case to put a fan in front of the grill which would pull cool air into the case. The stock setup pulls warm air away from the drives.

 

[Sid59]

Originally posted by: tallman45
The second 120 fan on a Sonata is designed to be more of a middle fan, it is a weird setup. You can mod the case to put a fan in front of the grill which would pull cool air into the case. The stock setup pulls warm air away from the drives.

do you have a link? Im about to finish my build and would like to see some pictures and mods for it. thanks.

 

[tallman45]

I have not see pics of the front fan mod but I read that the grill and filter need to be removed (and tossed) and 4 holes drilled and that's it. Note: this case is designed to be quiet not cool, 4 HDD's may warrant a close eye on the temps, especially if you OC.

 

[devers]

Well, my system should be put together by 9/18. I will post in this thread w/ my temps under load given the above set up and with only the stock rear fan.

 

[hytek369]

any links to cheap panaflos?

 

[Robor]

Also looking for 120mm Panaflo's... They appear to be out of stock everywhere...

 

[crypt0n1c]

You should be fine with the rear 120mm fan it comes with but for me im running a 10,000rpm U160 scsi disk and it runs hot so I added a 120mm antec fan in front of case to keep HD cool. It's still just as quite. If you have a HD that runs cool then you shouldent worry about it. Oh and it blows air on my geforce FX 5200 heatsink that dosent have a fan, so it helps with video card cooling to.

 

[muddocktor]

Another alternative for a 120 X 25 mm fan is the Enermax adjustable. I have one and you can just dial in the amount of airflow (and noise ) you need for cooling. If you have enough room for it, the 120 X 38 mm Panaflo M1A is also a fairly quiet fan that moves a lot of air. It's actually a bit quieter than the Enermax set on full speed, with less blade pop.

 

[Sid59]

the case temp reads 29C with my sonata. I actually hooked up the the fans to the FAN ONLY and it's great. running Barton 2500 at 3200 (11x200).

When i put the fans on regular PSU .. gah it's was terrible. I love my sonata.

 

[Mday]

www.svc.com

pic one.

 

[BigEdMuustaffa]

I understand that the front 120mm fan is actually mounted inside the case, on the hard drive cage, not on the front of the case just behind the front bezel as is true with most other cases. According to "sonata" reviews, this was done to make the case quiet, not to give the best cooling. Since I plans on using 2 IBM deskstar hds in a RAID , along with a third hd (maxtor) for the OS, will this fan set up sufficently cool the case and hds? The IBMs tend to run hot I heard. Thanks....

 

[Sid59]

eh, i run 4 hdds .. 200, 160 and 2x120s. though i'd like my system temps a bit lower, my hdds aren't hot to touch. Yes i do run the 2nd fan. In fact, i run both fans on the fan only line.

 

[paperfist]

My case runs cool and quiet in it's stock form. Running a Barton 2500+, Radeon 9800 Pro, 2 opticals and 1 hardrive and underload I am at around 52C (overclocked) and case temps are 29C. I'd run it in stock form to see how it goes as the whole purpose of this case is to keep everything quiet

 

[BigEdMuustaffa]

Thanks, I think I'll get me one.... Just one last question...
The two ANTEC logs that are drillled into each side of the case at the top are supposed to aid in airflow. (some say it detracts from air flow) Does anyone think that blocking the holes off from the inside would help or hurt airflow?

 

[tallman45]

I think it will help. I have used both the Sonata and Slk3700, both use 120mm fans. The 3700 does not have the name holes in the sides of the case, and definately pulls more in through the front filter. I think this is beneficial for a couple of reasons over the Sonata design. First, ALL of your intake air is running through a filter, second it all gets pulled in across the HDD area which aids in cooling them down.

A problem with the Sonata's holes is that cool air enters the case close to the rear exhaust fan, causing less draw from the front intake, causing the air space near the HDD area to be dead.

Try using tape first to cover the name holes, then hold some tissue in front of the intake as a simple way to see how much better the air flow becomes.

 

[BigEdMuustaffa]

Thanks, I'll give that a try. I was looking at the SLK3700 and thinking of getting that case, but unlike the Sonata, it doesn't have front firewire. I know the full tower "chaintech" cases do, but they are too tall for the area I want to put this computer in.

 

[tallman45]

The Slk3700 is definately taller than the Sonata so it may not have fit for you. Front ports can be added by putting in an adapter to any case that goes into one of the external bays.

 

[BigEdMuustaffa]

Originally posted by: tallman45
The Slk3700 is definately taller than the Sonata so it may not have fit for you. Front ports can be added by putting in an adapter to any case that goes into one of the external bays.

Yes I've seen the external bay adapters, they just don't have the "look" of cases with built in front ports...

I'm sorry I didn't get the Medion computer from the Aldi deal last spring, it was close to perfect for what I want to do......