Case (Fong Kai 320 sweetness) and Cooling Questions

[DrMon21]

I'm thinking about buying a Fong Kai ATX Case from Direction.com. This is the best looking case I have seen yet with the cooling performance to match. Has anyone bought is case or used it, is it loud? How much did you pay for it and is there anything I should know before buying this kick ass case?

Where can I get good quality 120cm (35dba or lower) fans for a fair price?

 

[jello]

I bought that case from directron myself. Very nice, lots of room inside. I did add a hole in the front for extra airflow though, just to be safe (and because it was fun =). As for noise, I hardly notice it at all with the fop32 in there. I can hear it clearly if I listen for it, but it's definatly not intrusive.

 

[jebus]

Just wondering, how much did you pay for the FK320 total?

 

[jello]

I paid right at a hundred for the case, and extra fan, a gorb fan, and a keyboard. Not too shabby. Case is 69 I believe, 8 for the extra fan (well worth it).

 

[jebus]

you bought it from here correct?

http://www.directron.com/fk320w.html

It says sale price $99.. i would appreciate it if you could tell me how you got the case for only 100 shipped.

 

[Djahngo]

Directron will give free shipping (max $10)to first time CC orders placed on weekends.

 

[MereMortal]

I also got the case from directron. It's noisier than I had hoped,
but not too bad overall. I think much of the noise comes from the intake duct over the CPU. As for cooling, it's great. I have yet to get an intake fan for the front, but my system temp never goes above 27 C (ambient 22 C).

One thing to note, if it matters to you, this case does not have a
system speaker.

I paid $104 shipped, for the black version of the case. The listed price has not been constant.

 

[Djahngo]

Hard for me to say about the noise level because this is the first I have been around that has more than one case fan. The case now includes the system speaker

 

[bwgriff]

I've got the FK 320 from Directron too. Cost was 99 play 17 for shipping. I placed a 120mm fan in front and a FOP38 on CPU. I drilled extra air holes in the plastic front cover to enable more air flow. With the FOP38 and the 120mm in front, this case is loud. The 120mm rests on metal and that increases the sound because of vibration. I placed weather stripping around the plastic housing of the 120 in an effort to reduce noise. Helped some, but still loud. In fact, I can hear the case 50 feet and 3 rooms away. Much louder than my other two cases. My wife hates the noise. With the 120mm in front and the 92mm fan in back (plus ps 80mm), the case is very cool--stays about room temp in there. Good case, but loud.

 

[Berkut]

I got the same case from Directron, with the 120mm fan upgrade.

That fan lasted about an hour. It was SO loud that I replaced it with a 80mm fan. The case still stays plenty cool.

The thing is, that fan is extremely loud even when it is not installed in anything. I would not blame it on the case.

Jeff Heidman

 

[bwgriff]

With mine, it is the case. The fan causes vibration that causes noise, but the 120 fan itself is quiet when outside the case.

 

[MelvinPSquidmond]

With respect to the acoustic problems, the fans will always be much more quiet when not mounted. They are isolated from a structure and therefore the resonance acoustics will not exist. I would recommend either trying another fan with less aggressive blade pitch or even better a fan with a thermistor. I have a 320 in my bedroom and I could not let it be in there w/o a good quality fan.
Thanks
Melvin

 

[Trilobyte1]

I ordered mine from directron too ( geez what a kick ass case ) but I didn't get a speaker...Maybe i missed it. Can anyone tell me where it is or maybe why i didn't get one?

 

[clumsum]

bwgriff, If you are using a GlobalWin FOP-38 hsf on your cpu, then.............it isn't the fault of the F-K 320 case that your pc is loud, it's that 7000rpm fan mounted on your heatsink!!!
That motha would be loud in a coffin!

I have the FOP-32-1 in my F-K 320, plus the 92mm T&T fan that comes mounted in/rear case duct plus I added a 120mm US Toyo fan in the case front. It's kinda loud, not too bad, but I'm thinking of replacing them all w/Panaflos' and trying a different approach to cooling, quieter w/less airflow.

It's really not the case that determines sound level, it's basically what choices you make in cooling and fan selection that make the biggest difference.

I purchased my case locally at CompuCare in Tacoma, WA for $119. it came w/no internal speaker or case alarm switch, so it's not Directrons' fault either.

 

[busmech1]

Trilobyte1

I have this case. Bought it in September, cost 99 + shipping and 92mm case fan. I didn't get a speaker either. I called Directron and told them because in the documentation it stated that they were shipping with speakers. They sent me a speaker NO CHARGE.