superiour case? in cooling, performance, sturdiness, and quietness

[Mucker]

Here is my 3000b door with a modded duct: http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=969

The hole is precisely centered over my nF4 Ultra-D CPU socket and extends all the way to the fins on my Zalman 7000Cu. This case kicks major ass for $46 shipped.

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[gcxbrian]

hmm.. the slk300b is very cheap money wise. how are the temps and sounds? i want a quiet case as well and needs air filter i hate dust and i hate cleaning the stuff if it doesnt have dust filter

 

[EndGame]

Originally posted by: gcxbrian
hmm.. the slk300b is very cheap money wise. how are the temps and sounds? i want a quiet case as well and needs air filter i hate dust and i hate cleaning the stuff if it doesnt have dust filter

The Antec 300b is on the preferred list at Silent PC for being one of the best "quiet cases" available........

 

[gcxbrian]

do you have a full list by any cahnce?

 

[ExpertNovice]

Basically what I want is a cool PC that is quiet without spending a fortune. Esthetics is unimportant and flashing lights are unwanted.

It seems that using 120mm fans (good ones), a Thermaltake CPU heatsink with a good 120mm fan, a Phantom 350 PSU, a good case using gaskets for fans and HDDS, Smartdrive enclosures for the HDDs, should do this. It also seems that a separate compartment for the PSU should help.

I was waiting for the P180 Antec case, but have given up. Any suggestions?

 

[ExpertNovice]

Originally posted by: Phantronius
Other then the enlarged intake area and the duct modifications, the Sonata 1 and 2 are not dramatically different. After some dremeling goodness, my Sonata 2 breaths just fine. I"ll have a worklog for it up soon.

I've just visited the Antec website and the Sonata 2 is not listed, yet. Are you saying it has been released? If so, is the P180 out yet? I'm getting a bit frustrated with Antec!

 

[ExpertNovice]

Originally posted by: wisdomtooth
I have owned both an Antec Sonata and a Lian-Li V1000.. I seem to have better luck at cooling the Sonata because I had a 120mm-fan PSU that helped with the venting, so essentially I had two 120mm fans in the back of the Sonata blowing out and one 120mm fan in the front blowing in. In the V1000 the PSU does not help with venting the main case interior because the PSU is isolated in its own compartment. My case temps with the Sonata when I had my P4 3.0C system in there was 30C when room temp is 25C. In the V1000 the case temp was 32C.

Small difference, but every little bit helps I guess.

One of the reasons the P180 is attractive to me is the separated compartment for the PSU. The PSU area in the P180 is supposed to be sealed with gaskets to prevent the PSU from adding heat to the main compartment. It appears to have space for 4 120mm fans. An intake and one venting for each of the two compartments.

Thus, I like the idea of the separate compartment the Lian-Li v1000 looked like a good alternative. (<cough> and it is available...)

My thought was to use the Phantom 350 and add very quiet 120mm fans to keep the PSU compartment cooled. However, it doesn't appear this would be feasible with the V1000. It seems that the PSU must have the fans built in (Thus, probably a Truepower PSU).

 

[wisdomtooth]

If you choose a PSU carefully, it will NOT contribute to the heat load in the case. Basically, you want to look for a high-efficiency PSU (this is NOT the same as Active Power Factor Correction-- Active PFC is something else), because efficient PSUs generate less waste heat. The PSU also needs to have a 120mm fan, which is far better at venting than those with just 80mm fans.

A good PSU with the attributes I described will actually help vent the case, which means it's better off in a case that does NOT have a separate PSU compartment.

I don't like fanless PSUs, because you usually end up having to add extra fans to the case to help vent it anyway (which defeats the purpose of a fanless PSU in the first place!). And in a quiet PC, you are looking to ELIMINATE as many fans as possible, not add them. Might as well get a high-efficiency PSU with a slow-spinning 120mm-fan.

 

[gcxbrian]

i hear p160 has some temp issues..