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What case should I get? With poll

L

LW07

Golden Member
I'm asking in terms of airflow. Will 2 120mm fans in an Antec Solution SLK3000-B case be enough to keep things cool with a X1900XT in there, or will a Sonata II with 2 120mm fans, an 80mm, and a 92mm fan be needed to do the job? Will an X1900XT even fit inside the Solution SLK 3000?
 
I don't care about looks. I just care about airflow. BTW, how good would the airflow be with the Centurion, since I'm considering it now. Thanks for teh recommendation.
 
I suggest that instead of focusing on multiple case fans to achieve adequate case-ventilation, you should focus on 'which case will provide adequate case-ventilation for my system with an X1900XT, using only a single 120mm rear case vent fan?'.

Re-visit reviews of your candidate cases, scrutinize rear, front and internal case photos. Pay attention to restrictive grills, restrictive front panel openings and restrictive filters.

Forget any case that 'features' smaller case vent fans. Forget side-vent, side-ducts and rear vent holes - they tend to create in-the-side-and-out-the-back air paths that result in high drive temperatures.

Consider that some very simple mods such as snipping out restrictive grills, using low-restriction air filter media and taping off side vent holes can greatly increase ventilation, and result in quieter operation to boot. Multiple fans are multiple noise sources.

No criticism intended - just my suggestions. Hope this helps!
 
If you wish, check out my thread here.

Its topic is unrelated but it contains a few decent pics of my SLK3000B with full system in and a few specialised bits and bobs that you might be considering purchasing such as a Zalman VF700CU or the Blue Zalman Northbridge heatsink.

It could provide you with a bit more "inside" information (pun intended).
 
Originally posted by: dunkster
I suggest that instead of focusing on multiple case fans to achieve adequate case-ventilation, you should focus on 'which case will provide adequate case-ventilation for my system with an X1900XT, using only a single 120mm rear case vent fan?'.

Re-visit reviews of your candidate cases, scrutinize rear, front and internal case photos. Pay attention to restrictive grills, restrictive front panel openings and restrictive filters.

Forget any case that 'features' smaller case vent fans. Forget side-vent, side-ducts and rear vent holes - they tend to create in-the-side-and-out-the-back air paths that result in high drive temperatures.

Consider that some very simple mods such as snipping out restrictive grills, using low-restriction air filter media and taping off side vent holes can greatly increase ventilation, and result in quieter operation to boot. Multiple fans are multiple noise sources.

No criticism intended - just my suggestions. Hope this helps!
Click to expand...

Would you recommend the Solution SLK3000?
 
I voted for the 3000B for three reasons (as in most respects the two are very similar): 1-The HDs mount in "normal" orientation (better cooling and easier cabling for PATA) - I don't like side-saddle drive mounting (really only good for SATA or SCSI, IMO); 2- You can choose your own PSU so you can get one of those great new Fortron/Sparkle models!; 3- Still under $50. shipped from provantage.com and maybe others.

.bh.
 
Another vote for the SLK3000B. My son has one and the only thing he dislikes about it is the front door. With the 120 mm rear fan it comes with, a 120 mm front fan, and the Thermalright XP-90, his Athlon64 3500 idles at around 30C.
Amazon did have the best price, but as Zepper pointed out, Provantage now looks like the best deal.
Link
 
The Antec SLK3000B appears to be an excellent case and excellent value.

Some mods I'd do for quieter and cooler operation:
- Remove the side-duct and tape over all side vents.
- Snip off the bottom HD-cage support and float the HD cage on foam on case floor.
- Simple foam snubbers to keep the suspended HD cage in place.
- Snip out the front metal case grill.
- Probably replace front intake filter with 1" loose-mesh fiberglass furnace duct media.
- Vibration-isolate the vent fan.

I think the result would be a very quiet and cool-running case. I would expect internal case temps of 30C or less at idle with just the single included rear vent fan, including your X1900XT vid card. Air-flow over hard drives will keep them cool.

Hope this helps!

 
Originally posted by: Zepper
I voted for the 3000B for three reasons (as in most respects the two are very similar): 2- You can choose your own PSU so you can get one of those great new Fortron/Sparkle models!;

.bh.
Click to expand...

I'm getting a PC Power and Cooling to go in the case. 😀
 
That's OK - if you want to spend at least 2x the price it's your money... Nobody is stopping you. 😉 And I'd look at the new Akasa Amber fans from sidewindercomputers.com et al. as I've read some negative reports on the longevity of the Silverstone fans - but those SS beauties sure do look fine!

.bh.
 
Originally posted by: Zepper
And I'd look at the new Akasa Amber fans from sidewindercomputers.com et al. as I've read some negative reports on the longevity of the Silverstone fans - but those SS beauties shure do look fine!

.bh.
Click to expand...

The Silverstones have a MTBF of 50000 hours and they provide 111 CFM airflow. BTW, where did you hear the bad things about those SS fans?

 
In threads in various techie forums. Search the threads in GH and C&C on 'fan' or 'fans' AND Silverstone and you should find some. To be honest, there were only a couple of those instances so it may be just a case of them being improperly shipped.

.bh.
 
Originally posted by: dunkster
The Antec SLK3000B appears to be an excellent case and excellent value.

Some mods I'd do for quieter and cooler operation:
- Remove the side-duct and tape over all side vents.
- Snip off the bottom HD-cage support and float the HD cage on foam on case floor.
- Simple foam snubbers to keep the suspended HD cage in place.
- Snip out the front metal case grill.
- Probably replace front intake filter with 1" loose-mesh fiberglass furnace duct media.
- Vibration-isolate the vent fan.

I think the result would be a very quiet and cool-running case. I would expect internal case temps of 30C or less at idle with just the single included rear vent fan, including your X1900XT vid card. Air-flow over hard drives will keep them cool.

Hope this helps!
Click to expand...

electrostatic heating vent filters that come in 12packs for 3 bucks at wallyworld or where ever are better. they are made to be put behind the rectangular ceiling or floor vents..but can make decent case filters. messing with fiberglass mesh isn't so hot, and its a bad filter material.
 
So, 2 120mm fans will be able to cool my X1900XT really well and the SLK3000B will give me enough airflow, right? Are vantec tornado fans as loud as they're cracked up to be?
 
Any 120mm fan running @ more than 1200RPM will be loud because of the amount of air that's being moved. If you can do then get 3 pin fans so they can be run from the motherboard, that way you can use a software app to control the speed depending on temperatures. Those silverstones should do, but they will be rather noisy even at lowish speeds.

The akasa fans are good, i've got two 1400RPM ones, they are slightly louder than antec tricools at medium but the noise is almost all air rather than the bearings and they undervolt very well.

Your computer is not going to be quiet no matter what fans you use, i wouldn't worry too much. Yes, two 120mm fans should be enough.
 
@ 110CFM any fan will sound like a hairdryer. The sound rating they give is utter rubbish by they way, just not reliable, virtually none of the noise ratings given match up to real world measurements.

I wouldn't go for the case you linked to, it's not going to be any where near quiet although it would give quite good airflow to the CPU, and if you were to swap the fans round so it exhausted from the front it'd work well enough.
 
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