Case Suggestion

[isekii]

I've been running on a Antec 700 case ( I believe it's a 700 ).
Looking to getting a quieter case with update ports.
Would prefer good airflow as in the summer it does tend to get a lil warm.

current specs as follows

2500k
16gb ram
ati 6850 256mb
500watt psu
2 x 1tb 7200rpm
1 x 128gb ssd

I was browsing through the forum and R4 or R5 might be the way to go.. any other suggested cases?

 

[BlueWeasel]

The R4 or R5 would be a good choice.

About to buy a R5 myself, as the Corsiar Air 540 I got for Christmas is way too loud.

 

[isekii]

yea i'm looking at a variety and those seem to be pretty good options.
Just took a look at the carbide 300R and that's like $60 AR at microcenter. Also a possibility i think.

 

[lehtv]

In Anandtech's review, Antec GX700 is actually quieter than Corsair 300R.

Apart from that, $60 AR isn't a particularly good price for a 300R. It's been on sale on newegg for much less than that.

 

[lehtv]

If you want both quiet operation and good cooling... optimally you'd want components that stay quiet and don't heat up too much ,that way you wouldn't even need to compromise between cost, cooling performance and noise. With that in mind, are you absolutely sure it's the GX700 that's making noise in your system, and not the components themselves? Maybe your PSU is particularly noisy - what model is it? Or maybe it's the CPU's stock fan, or the graphics card cooler is sub par. It would be good to be 100% sure the case is at fault before buying a new one.

If it is indeed your case and not your components that are noisy, then the cheapest solution is to upgrade the fan setup of your case, but buying a Define R5 wouldn't be a bad idea either. If your components are noisy but you don't want to pay for quieter components, then upgrading to a Define R5 will improve the situation although it won't fix it entirely.

 

[isekii]

It was my mistake.

I have the
Antec 900
http://www.amazon.com/Antec-Nine-Hun.../dp/B000I5JHB0
CPU cooler = Arctic Cooling Freezer 7
Graphics is stock cooler

PSU brand is Ultra so i think it could be the PSU, but my case also has a crap ton of fans as well which I run on low.

 

[Fallen Kell]

Personally I would go with a R5 right now. I havn't really seen anything that else that would make me change my opinion (unless you needed more than 2x5.25" slots or needed more than 8x3.5" hard drives).

 

[lehtv]

I would recommend opening the side panel and disconnecting all case fans from power supply. This way you'll be able to easily tell which component is making the most noise.

I was actually in your shoes a few years ago. I had an Antec 900 case and an OCZ GameXStream power supply. After some time using it, I found it way too noisy for my taste, and decided that a new case would fix it, so I bought a Fractal Design Define R3. But lo' and behold, it was just as noisy as before, I had simply reached a conclusion before even investigating thoroughly. The OCZ PSU was really loud, and as soon as I replaced that with a Seasonic X-650, all was well.

I think your Ultra PSU is at least partly to blame, but regardless of that, Ultra is not a reliable PSU brand and you should upgrade it to something decent. If you buy a new case, you'll have to migrate all your components over to it, so it would be a good time to upgrade the PSU along with it. On the other hand, if you replace the PSU with a quieter one, you might as well replace the case while you're at it, as the Antec 900 is an ancient design with almost none of the features of a modern PC case.

 

[lehtv]

ati 6850 256mb

AMD 6850 is a 1GB card (though some 2GB models were also released). You were probably thinking of its 256-bit memory bus?

 

[isekii]

AMD 6850 is a 1GB card (though some 2GB models were also released). You were probably thinking of its 256-bit memory bus?

Yea I meant 2gb. I just haven't bothered to upgrade like I used to back in the day since all I use it for is light gaming movies and browsing.

Surprising ultra psi is the oldest component in the build. Got it free after rebate from tiger direct or close to it and it's been running 6+ years at least.
I already purchased a xfx 550 bronze model so I'll swap that in. But I'll try the case fan test first by disconnecting all of me. Is there a easy way to short out the led lights in the case fans those are annoying as well.

 

[lehtv]

You already ordered an XFX 550W? It's a good unit, but unfortunately not the quietest one you could've picked. In fact, many find it somewhat noisy. See bit-tech's noise tests: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/psus/2014/06/20/550w-650w-psu-roundup/17

Is there a easy way to short out the led lights in the case fans those are annoying as well.

No, you'll have to either cover the LEDs with something that dims them, electrical tape for example, or cut the wires that power the LEDs. Or upgrade to different fans.

 

[isekii]

You already ordered an XFX 550W? It's a good unit, but unfortunately not the quietest one you could've picked. In fact, many find it somewhat noisy. See bit-tech's noise tests: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/psus/2014/06/20/550w-650w-psu-roundup/17



No, you'll have to either cover the LEDs with something that dims them, electrical tape for example, or cut the wires that power the LEDs. Or upgrade to different fans.

I ordered it like 4 months back bc it was like $20 bucks after rebate (XFX TS550). If the noise is less than what it currently is i'll be happy as a clam. Apparently it's a seasonic built unit. As far as the fans, maybe I can pickup a fan controller to further slow em down.

This is the Ultra PSU I have

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1273332

 

[lehtv]

Interesting that the Ultra 500W unit has worked so well for you, given it only has 336W on the +12V rail, similar to what you'd expect in a high quality 350W unit.

 

[isekii]

Interesting that the Ultra 500W unit has worked so well for you, given it only has 336W on the +12V rail, similar to what you'd expect in a high quality 350W unit.

lol yea it's the oldest hardware in my computer. I'll store it away as a backup.