Got a Antec Sonata

[nOObBooB]

I reecently got a new Antec Sonata for its claim to be really quiet. It indeed is really quiet however there isnt as much airflow thru teh front of the pc. The front intake really doesnt allow much air to flow thru. I was wondering if there is anythnig i can do to allow more air flow thru the front. I was thinking about cutting slots in the front but are there any better ideas.l

Today i put in a blow hole to release teh hot air out of teh top. With my dremel man i love this thing. However anythhnig to improve airflow in teh front????

 

[0roo0roo]

why? the slots are adequate unless you want to create a noisy sonata u cut those slots and u lose the whole point of no direct path for the sound to get out. u can install the 2nd 120mm in the front to basically force more air through with both case fans working together basically. your system is kinda toasty i guess, maybe u should go water?

 

[Subhuman25]

I have the SLK-3700BQE wich is basically the same layout as the Sonata.
A couple things I did to improve cooling in my case are:

1.Replaced stock AMD64 HSF with Zalman 7000a AlCu (I know you're Intel - research best HSF for it)

2.Replaced stock eVGA 6800GT HSF with Arctic cooling NV Silencer5 (you need this)

3.Replaced stock PSU (Antec 350W) with Antec NeoPower 480W -quieter/cooler- 1200mm push fan

4.Replaced rear 120mm exhaust fan with Antec Pro dual BB 120mm fan and added same fan to front for improved intake.These fans push 79CFM @ 29db

For reference,my 'puter sits in my living room about 6' from my TV and does not create enough sound to disturb watching TV while browsing.My prior computer was noisier with 80mm intake/exhaust fan and 300W Antec PSU in an Antec SX-630 case running stock P4 2.26 + GF4 4400Ti,both stock cooled.I had to turn my TV up to 15 on volume bar to hear TV well enough and overpower the computer noise.
Now I can go as low as 10 on the volume bar on TV and still not have real noise interference from my current computer setup.
In other words it's a whole lot quieter than my prior setup and it cools a whole better too all the while offering a whole lot more performance all around.

If you do the mods I've done above,you'll definately have a far improved system,although the PSU swap might not really be neccessary.I just wanted to max out my options of performance & cooling & silence within reasonable cost factor of course.

EDIT:I just noticed you already added a blowhole on top of your case.Obviously you're not looking for a quiet case.And I doubt that did anything to help your cooling situation at all since you already have 2 exhaust fans in the rear 1 x 120mm & PSU fan.That's plenty exhaust already.ALl you needed to do was add a front 120mm fan and replace your 6800GT HSF with the NV Silencer5 (it exhausts through rear panel leaving the 2 aforementioned fans to exhaust the rest wich is plenty)
IMO you ruined the whole concept of the Sonata case and it's brethren by opening up the top.It's forte' is silence.

 

[0roo0roo]

yea he should just get a resorator or somethin

 

[nOObBooB]

Oh ok thanks, the top blow hole i have a fan controller on it. So that top fan is silent i cant hear it all at. I was just allowing hot air a way out of the top. I was thinking about sealing those holes in the side of the case that says antec. Is that a good idea. I was thinking it will force the air to move in from the front and not just allow the air to come in from the sides?


Currently this is what i have in my case:

Abit IS7
Intel p4 2.8B oc to 3.31 at 1.675V
Zalman Heatsink AlCu
Kingston HyperX DDR 400 at 1.7V
Antec TruePower 550W
eVGA 6800GT
Audigy ZS 2
Maxtor 160GB
Western Digital 80GB
CD-R Drive

 

[Mik3y]

the front intake is not very important. it's the least effective fan slot, even though it does help in air flow a bit. that's why many cases dont include a front fan.

 

[Subhuman25]

Originally posted by: Mik3y
the front intake is not very important. it's the least effective fan slot, even though it does help in air flow a bit. that's why many cases dont include a front fan.

Yes and No to that statement.It really depends on the case design.Cold air should be forced in from low since that is where the coldest air is in your environment(room) and expelled out the top.Your PSU usually is located at the top and most supplemental case exhaust fans are usually located right under it.That gives you 2 exhuast fans already.If they're both 120mm then you're already pushing out quite a bit of air.Sufficient for most applications.An additional front intake fan allows cold air to be directe into the case and then taken up by the inner HSF's of your CPU,GPU(vidcard),active MB-chip HSF if applicable,and also usually helps cool the HD's wich are traditionally located behind hte front intake fan slot or nearby.
That cold air gets directed towards those HSF's and the PSU/exhaust fan from the bottom front of the case.
Preferably you'd have an airtight case with only the intake/exhaust fans as openings/exits for air to flow in/out of.That would really maximize the entire effect.
In usual traditional cases available that is not an option though.Air get's drawn in from the easiest and closest entrances(cracks and crevices) of your case and also hot expelled air from your components and their respective HSF's get's recirculated,unwantingly.
Hence it is better to opt for forced air induction by way of a front bottom intake fan.This way you have more control over what air is introduced into the case.Hence improved cooling.
The idea of sealing off all the cracks nad crevices other than your intake/exhaust areas is a good one.Air would then have no option other than to flow in the direction and take the path you want it to.Not to mention the overall silencing effect being a benefit.
It's simple physics.
So add a front fan and seal off those holes in the sides of that case.That should make a bit of a difference.
Maybe use some Aluminum foil taped in behind the logo holes inside the side panels?Or a couple layers even to improve silencing.Too bad you already have that hole on top now though.

 

[nOObBooB]

Thanks that helped alot, acutally when i tested sealing off the side holes where it says "Antec". The case got alot quieter and acutally teh top blow hole i added use very useful. It is expelling alot of the hot air at the top of the case. The top of the case is realivitly cool. And its quiet since i have a zalman fanmate 1 on it. PC is near slient now after i got this program EXPERTool to control the fan speed of my 6800GT while i am not gaming. Thanks, i lvoe this antec sonata case much much improvement of noise compared to my last case.

 

[Subhuman25]

Most of the air that your top blowhole is expelling was being expelled by your PSU and rear exhaust fan before.Like I said before,air will take the easiest route,and hot air obviously rises to the top.
Before you did your mod w/ the blowhole the air was merely being expelled sideways.The blowhole simply offers an easier route for that air now.The air being expelled by the PSU & rear exhaust fan will be a lot cooler now since they're not as "functional" now as they were before.
Glad to be of help

 

[nOObBooB]

OH i c what you mean now, Thanks

 

[rforum]

For what its worth: I have an Antec P160 with front and rear 120mm fans connected to a fan controller. I also have a case thermal probe. The difference in case temperature when I have the front fan on instead of off is approximately 1 degree. In my case, having the front fan on caused more noise than it was worth cooling wise. I supposed keeping the front fan on could help cool the hard disks, but they caused little change in my case temperature.