Would a new case+fans benefit me?

[Elcs]

So I have an Antec SLK3000B with Acoustipack Deluxe, 1,600 rpm slipstreams on my CPU, front intake and rear exhaust.

My CPU fan is controlled by the motherboard and is running as slow as I can possibly make it run. My intakes and exhausts are on my fan controller at the lowest they can possibly run at too. As you can see, I like my quiet.

A brief rig rundown:

AMD X2 6000+ AM2 with TR Ultima 90 (stock clocks, undervolted from 1.4 to 1.325)
MSI K9N Neo V3
4 x 1 gb OCZ DDR2 6400
1 Samsing Spinpoint HDD
1 Optical drive
Powercolor HD4870 with TR HR-03 GT and AC Turbo Module (for the purposes of this thread, stock speeds)
Club 3D Theatron Agrippa 7.1
Seasonic S12 600W PSU

7:47am. 26C ambient, PC has been running for 30 minutes doing webbrowsing only. CPU 38C idle, GPU idle 48C.

Last night during gaming at approximately the same ambient in the 25/26C area, my CPU was getting up to 55C and my GPU hitting around 60C.

Whilst I am fully aware that these temperatures are ok and in the case of my GPU, fantastic.... I am wondering whether better cooling and even quieter running can be had from a new case and a change of fans.

I was looking at the Antec 300 "Gaming Case". 2 x 120 intakes, 2 x120 exhausts, 1 x 120 over the graphics card and a 1 x 140 spot. I was thinking 4 x 1,200 RPM Slipstreams (maybe even the model below) as the case fans, a slower slipsttream on the side and replacing my 1,600 rpm slipstream on my CPU with an S-Flex as they are reportedly better with the heatsinks.

That looks like it should provide nice airflow at silent speeds.

My concerns:

The HD4870 is a long card and barely fits my SLK3000B. Will I have the same problem with the Antec 300?

Its a "PSU at the bottom of the case" design. If my memory serves me correctly, many Antec P180/182 users had problems with their Seasonic PSU's not having enough length on the cables to reach. Would this be the case with... this case?

Sorry for the long wall of text but I wanted to give as much background as I could and attempt to explain things better.

Bear in mind, I am from the UK which meanswhat is cheap there may not be cheap here.

 

[cubeless]

if u r @ those temps under stress your case cools fine... if u want quieter u might want to try super premium fans, not a new case... u could get better flow with less noise... and if u decide to go with aq new case afterall u can still reuse the fans...

u end up going with a case that has sound deadening padding in it to get much quieter... i tried carpet type waffle padding and it worked a bit, but nothing spectacular... most of the noise seems to come out of the gaps in the front of the case and the psu...

 

[RallyMaster]

The Antec 300 is a small case. I'd say it'll barely fit a HD4850 let alone a HD4870.

 

[Elcs]

Originally posted by: RallyMaster
The Antec 300 is a small case. I'd say it'll barely fit a HD4850 let alone a HD4870.

The 300 is a touch taller than my SLK3000B but alos a touch shorter in width and depth. Looks like the 300 comes up a little short if you'll excuse the pun.

The 300 interests me for the dual 120mm's front and back. I could plump for lower RPM fans and achieve higher airflow with lower noise.

Also cubeness: you missed out the part where I said I had my case padded with AcoustiPack Deluxe. SPCR reviewed it and thought well of it... a last piece in the puzzle of sound abatement.

Im having to RMA my Seasonic S12... the fan is going and producing noise above that of the rest of my case. Cannot afford the PSU to go nevermind taking several hundreds of pounds of equipment with it. While thats away, I have no replacement so I may do some DIY on the fan grills while I have the chance.

My CPU temps from Idle to Load have a huge delta and I do get concerned that it is the lack of airflow, clean air in or hot air out that is my problem.

At this moment in time, work is stressy and PC's are my hobby. I do not wish to burn money on something that isnt going to be useful and from this thread, I am not so sure a case upgrade with new fans would prove to be useful.

 

[Zepper]

If you are worrying about your CPU temp, an option is to just use your front fan to move a bit of air over the drives (very slow speed), and cut a vent hole under the HDD rack but a bit toward the rear to supply cooler air for the rest of the system (filter the opening of course - I'd use some AC foam filter material held on with self-stick Velcro hooks. Turn up your CPU and exhaust fans just a bit. See the latest installment of Vapor's 120mm fan tests in the Air Cooling section of the forums at http://www.XtremeSystems.com - I don't think they are all that good for CPU duty - OK for intake/exhaust.

.bh.

 

[cubeless]

getting a 6000 to run under 55c at full load will be a job for any cooler in any case... i just put one in and the stock cooler can't keep it under 60c in a closed case (that has pretty good airflow)... ambient is 77ish f... but haven't had any problems with it so far... may stick the vendetta that i have coming on it to see if it's any better...

 

[shabby]

I had that slk3000b case before, when i upgraded to the p190 my cpu/gpu temps dropped by 10c right after the swap. Airflow is a wonderful thing.

 

[Arc 0V]

Yeah as Zepper stated, the SlipStreams are good for exhaust and even then maybe intake depends on how it would be placed. I have 2 1200RPM SlipStreams for exhaust and they are amazing. Put the SlipStreams under a air filter or heatsink and their noise goes up considerably. I tried this and put a one of the SlipStreams in my Tuniq 120 heatsink and at 1200RPM it was much louder than open air. Vapor has real nice tests around fans wouldn't hurt you to go check them out.

The reason I said maybe for intake is because I have one as intake in my NZXT Zero case, and it doesn't move any air. It doesn't move any air because although it has the CFM it doesn't have any static pressure. So I plan on replacing my front SlipStream with a fan with higher static pressure like a Yate or a S-Flex.