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Computer Running Hot

The Antec 900 is nice for cooling, don't get me wrong, but I don't care what folks say, even on the fans (4 of them 3x120 and the massive one on top) on their lowest setting that case is simply loud. It?s not just from the fans it?s the way the case is made IMO.

I can't say anything about the case you linked as I have no experience with it. However I can say that before I bought the Antec 900, I had my same rig in my Antec Sonata (first gen case).

My specs are:
C2D e6600 at 3200Mhz
Tunic Tower
eVGA 680i mobo
4 X 1GIG Ballistix 4-3-3-10 800mhz
2 X 500 GB HD SATA WD
1 Raptor 36 SATA (main drive)
eVGA 8800GTX
OCZ 700 PS
Antec 900

I had the EXACT same temps using my Antec Sonata as I do now on my 900 -- on the CPU that is. My Video card and my HD's are both hotter for sure but not hugely. Again I am debating just getting another Sonata as the 900 the way it is now is just too loud.

However, I am blaming my 900 but I have been trying to isolate completely from where the most of my noise comes from and I hate to admit it but it seems my OCZ 700 PS is one of the culprits. Together with all the other items it all adds up.

My point with the 900 is that it does not seem to be well insulated to keep the noise in. The side panel is open to house another fan... but even with that closed it does a poor job of housing that noise. I still can't say enough good things of the Antec Sonata series. And my 8800 GTX DOES fit in there along with my Tunic Tower or my Big Typhoon. If you go for the Sonata 2 you need to completely remove all that airflow channels they include.

The Sonata?s also have the filter in the front. The only crud part of that case is that there is no airflow from the front but again I never seemed to suffer from that
 
Of course with the Windtunnel you won't have a problem with cooling or creating a positive pressure environment. But from what I've heard, the Lexa is a pretty well designed case that isn't that hard to cool.

To create a positive pressure environment, you have to block off all superfluous vent holes so you won't have to use too powerful (i.e. loud) of a fan to achieve CFM in > CFM out. A good fan controller will be useful in getting the optimum balance. IDK what fans you have now but you may want to look at a bit more powerful intake fan. Check the recent fan threads looking for the link to the test of 29 fans. the fans in the test with the steepest graph slopes have the best combo of CFM to noise.

Some temps may rise a bit if you achieve Pos Press as the air velocity won't be as high, so the air stays around a bit longer and picks up more heat.

.bh.
 
Club IT has a Thermaltake Armor for 119AR. Decent deal on a decent case. I would exhaust-no pun intended-all possible fixes on your case before making a somewhat lateral move to that weird looking xclio thing. I had horrible airflow on old CM cavalier, spent weeks trying to get good airflow and finally decided to buy a case that I would never have to replace after buying medium price cases that I was never happy with, I got a SilverstoneTJ09.

 
I agree with zepper, unless you just want a new case I'd work with that. Do your temps drop signifigantly with the side open? If so check into better fans. Consider cutting a fam into the floor of the case for another intake?
I prefer positive pressure boxes as they are quieter IMO. As to the dust you can use filters (I use AC filter screen) but now you'll need to clean them. One benefit of a pos. press. system is the fact you can control where the dust comes in, you won't have little collections of dust around and in your burners. I haven't seen a temp difference either way, pos, neg, or balanced air pressure in the box. No matter how you move the air as long as it moves.
 
You think if I block all the vents It'll make it positive pressure? Doesn't positive pressure mean basically no dust?
 
Honestly, if you want good cooling go with an Antec 900. If you use all Yate Loons, I seriously doubt you'll be complaining about the noise. There will be a low hum, but as soon as you put on headphones, you will no longer hear it. I don't see how people can be such silence freaks.

My suggestion is to keep the current case and mod the hell out of it. Remove the front door whatever, dremel out whatever crap is blocking the front 120s (and get a Scythe Kama Bay once you remove the door) and make it a functional case. Form < Function when you want airflow without paying a lot for a new case.
 
Positive Pressure means that all air flow needs to be controlled by fans - superfluous vents will short-circuit that. And that the CFM total of the filtered intake fans is greater than the CFM total of the exhaust fans. That way, no air will be drawn in thru unfiltered openings around drives, etc. IOW air should be flowing out thru any and all small openings so that dust can't come in. If you don't seal off all large areas of extra venting, you will need too large of a fan for the intake(s) to overcome the escape routes, thus more noisy. Negative pressure cases like most draw air and dust in thru every available opening large or small. Unfiltered intake fans makes it worse. If you mounted a tire valve into a hole in a Pos Pressure case and hooked a low-range pressure gauge (say 0 to 1 PSI) to it, then you should get a small reading on it.

The more effective you are at blocking off extraneous air escape routes, the less differential CFM you'll need between intake and exhaust to achieve positive pressure.

The Windtunnel with its dual 250mm fans has beaucoup air so it will be looking for any available avenue of escape. So it isn't necessary to block off the venting - if you did, the fans would possibly stall from the back-pressure.

The PSU will also provide some exhaust CFM, though generally not much as well as some uncontrolled venting.

.bh.
 
The Windtunnel with its dual 250mm fans has beaucoup air so it will be looking for any available avenue of escape. So it isn't necessary to block off the venting - if you did, the fans would possibly stall from the back-pressure.
Click to expand...

What do you mean?

So my case right now has a 120mm door fan, 120mm back fan, 80mm top fan and a 120mm fan in the front that doesn't really do much. If I wanted to make it positive pressure, I just aim them all outward?
 
Originally posted by: foodfightr
The Windtunnel with its dual 250mm fans has beaucoup air so it will be looking for any available avenue of escape. So it isn't necessary to block off the venting - if you did, the fans would possibly stall from the back-pressure.
Click to expand...

What do you mean?

So my case right now has a 120mm door fan, 120mm back fan, 80mm top fan and a 120mm fan in the front that doesn't really do much. If I wanted to make it positive pressure, I just aim them all outward?
Click to expand...

Inward. A pos pressure box simply has more fans in than out. Clean rooms for hard drive assembly is an example, another is a spray-booth for painting. Air pressure at sea level is 14.7, you increase that in a box by having fans blowing in, filter those fans and you have a "clean room" or box. If you have 2 fans 120mm 50cfm and an 92mm 45 cfm, the 120 in 92 out creates a pos press box. Reverse them, 92 in 120 out you have a neg press box, If you have 2 the same cfm one in, one out you have a balanced box.
What zepper said about a fan stalling is pretty extreme and would not happen with a pc box but does occur with sealed chambers, cover the intake of your vacum cleaner,,, It will stall, smoke , fire, all sorts of good things. a vacum cleaner is a neg press box, an air compressor is a pos press box. My limited education prevents a better or simpler explanation. I hope this helps.
If you want more detail or education in this area a good topic of study would be HVAC.
 
Put an intake fan on a closed box, once the fan has pressurized the box up to its pressure rating, it will stall (stop spinning) as it can't force any more air in. The same would happen in the Windtunnel if you closed off enough venting.

I've explained the concept of positive pressure as well as I can. Which means one would have to be resolutely ineducable not to get it. It boils down to slightly more air going in than can go out in the same period of time. But you do have to have enough air going out to carry the generated heat away which is why you can't have all fans blowing into the case.

.bh.
 
yh.. said it Pos. Pressure with filters on the intakes - you'll have to compensate for the filters as fans with filters won't deliver as many CFM as those without.

.bh.
 
Originally posted by: foodfightr
any other comments?
Click to expand...
Heh! I love those Lexa Euro Retro Toasters! 😀

Don't get me wrong --I would never buy one -- but, if I did own one, I wouldn't get rid of it either! No way!

Those things are a modern marvel!

Having said that, what I would do is custom install dual 120 chimneys on top, and get some major air moving through that thing!

Just my opinion... 😉
 
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