*QUIET* Case / PSU / Fans - suggestions?

[shathal]

Hello all. (Sheesh - been a while since I've been here... ).

I'm asking around, as I've been searching around the net for a few hours now, and would much rather just get your experience in, as I seem to be having problems finding what I want.

Let's start with where I'm heading:

"Got":
MB: Intel D875PBZ
CPU: Prescott P4 3.4 GHz
HD's: 2 x 250 GB SATA drives (for starters)
Memory: 1 GB (for starters).
<the usual stuff like DVD-RW and so need hardly mention >

"Needs":
* 1 quiet Chassis
* (Maybe fans to go into chassis)
* Quiet PSU with the "oomph" to power the system.
* Quiet CPU FHS?
* Top-range NVIDIA or ATI GFX-card to be out soon. (Mention due to PSU needs)

What I'm looking for / notes:
OK, to be blunt, I'm going on a bit of a spending spree, so money is not so much of an issue. Yes, this is intended to be a bit of a monster .

My irritation comes from the fact that it seems to be a herculean effort to find what I want. That is - in essence - a QUIET case, with good space inside. I'd like this monster to be a QUIET monster, if at all possible.

I'm starting with 2 HD's, but I'll likely be needing more fairly soon.
I want to have 120 mm fans (the sound of silence, eh?)
I want to have a case which has got an air intake filter
IDEALLY - have the chassis be able to swivel the mobo section out (but that's optional - can live without it).
I want a meaty, but quiet PSU. I am thinking 450W minimum, having made a rough power budget of my needs/planned usage.

Yes, I am quite aware that this likely isn't going to come cheap, but I am mostly concerned with FINDING the right stuff, rather how to pay for it (for once) .

Problems:
=======
- NVIDIA's and ATI's next top of the range babies will require 2 additional molex connectors, supposedly from two seperate power-channels, where nothing else can be hanging off. Be that as it may, it's serious power suckage. Hence, I need a beefy PSU - preferrably with lots of Molex connectors (I count I'll need a minimum of 8). :disgust:
- Finding a PSU which has 450 Watts (preferrably more) that doesn't try to emulate a jet trying to take off is not easy, as i've found :frown:
- Finding a case which has got 120 mm fans, AND offers the expansion space I want, AND comes without PSU, AND has an air filter (AND - ideally - can swivel out the mobo section tothe side) ... hard to find.

- Ideally, I'd like the case to be silvery/aluminium - but that's just icing on the cake/chassis
- Anyone know if there's a way to cool a 3.4 GHz Prescott without making it appear as if I'm living near a runway? At the moment, I'm looking at the boxed Intel cooler, which came with the CPU, but would prefer a nifty quiet solution.

I've looked at various cases, Lian-Li, Coolermaster, various smaller ones ... but either have not found the "right" model yet, or have just not seen the forest for the trees. Please help.

What I DON'T want/need:
- Modding the case.
- Glass panels in case.
I am quite happy with just a "solid box", really. Long as it ideally looks nifty, but is quiet .

Please help, if you would. My search is becoming considerably more painful than I'd planned on it being. Many thanks

- Shathal

 

[Cerb]

Try SPCR for the power supply...I'd get a Fortron 300w, but I know the 350w is as loud as any, and haven't used the 400w, which would be my inclination, given your setup.
Case:
Evercase e4252 (the WSF-F from Newegg has 4x3.5 bays): easy to mod into quietness w/ grommets, foam and such, best air flow. Very industrial looking (not to the point of IBM cases, but that sorta thing).
Antec SLK3700AMB: Best combination of looks and good cooling.
Antec ALK3700BQE: slightly different than AMB. If you're willing to spend even a few minutes modding, the differences are minimal.
Antec Sonata: quieter, but not quiet, has a few flaws, another similar case to the two above.

Fans:
Panaflo L, with a bay fan controller or Zalman Fanmate.
CPU: Thermalright is calling your name...if you get a case that fits it (do check clearances!), maybe the Zalman whatever-7000Cu.
Graphics: Wait until they are out and Zalman has an updated heatpipe cooler for them.

More HDs, 120mm fans...OK, get one of those Antecs. One may have a filter. If not, you can make one very easily (filter material and scotch tape if you want to get cheap and easy ).
Forget a mobo tray. Really. We'd all love them, but choose: quiet or tray. With a good case, not having a tray to remove will be a very minor issue.

I doubt you'll get the case you need w/o a PSU . Toss it or sell it?
Aluminum = hum :disgust:.

No modding? That's no fun!
No glass: good for noise.

 

[shathal]

Thanks for the first feedback.

The PSU, I've come to realize, is going to be "one of those things", so I'll assume that I'll toss it / give it to a friend who's running LAN's or so. So I've come to realize that I'll not get around "double"-shopping here most likely - ah well. No pain ... .

Re graphics cards... well yes ... that is my one problem at the moment ... having to wait 'til the critters are out .

Re: "no modding" - you'd know why, if you'd seen my clumsiness. It's near legendary. Best not to ruin nice hardware with it. I am still hesitant to test again, on my (still functional) 386 .

Will go look up that Evercase you suggested. Thanks for the first feedback, Cerb.

More is always welcome .

 

[Mik3y]

if you want a really quiet case, go for the antec sonata. that is one of the quietest cases out there and its built like a bull. the psu it comes with is a true380W psu, which, in essence, should be plenty for your needs. since price is not a problem, go for a higher power antec or enermax that are extremely quiet. otherwise, you can always add sound absorbing foam to the side panel, hard drive coolers/silencers, psu and fan pads to keep them from vibrating too mcuh, and etc. otherwise, go for the sonata. if i were to build a system for someone, i'd go with it too.

 

[shathal]

FOR AMUSEMENT ONLY

Just stumbled across THIS as a silent chassis. Talk about silent, sure, but at WHAT PRICE...

http://www.quietpc.com/uk/tnn500a.php

<The US mirror doesn't show a price yet, but this is quite painful I'd dare claim >

 

[zodder]

Yikes! Great case, but as you said, this thing is going to cost a small fortune.

 

[0roo0roo]

if your really serious about silence. http://www.voodoopc.com/systems/f50.aspx

and be careful about hd's, some are much louder then others

 

[DoobieOnline]

For the PSU, check out the Tagan 480W.

It can be had for $78 shipped here.

Doobie

 

[SuperPickle]

SilentPC Review reviews the new Enermax Noisetaker 475 pretty high and it's supposed to be quiet.

I agree with Cerb about the Antec cases.

Thermalright SP-94 for all your CPU cooling needs.

For fans, I would consider the Panaflo M1As with a fan controller like the Nexus. That PresHott you're going to put in there will need some airflow and these will give you enough and the controller will allow you to tune the system to your noise requirements. 92mm H1A on the CPU w/controler.

Note: the Antec cases with the dual 120s may only accept a 25mm thick fan for the intake. (the SLK-3800 for sure but I don't know about the ALk or the Sonata) All Panaflo 120mm fans are 38mm thick.

Keeping that system cool and quiet with that hot hardware is going to be a challenge. Keep us posted.

 

[0roo0roo]

and the controller will allow you to tune the system to your noise requirements.

and seasons atleast for those without air con. during winter u need very little air flow.

 

[superspacey]

my current setup is quiet enough that i hear my wrist watch ticking over the noise of the computer -- i went to great lengths because i sleep next to the computer.

barton 2500+ mobile @ 2.4 ghz cooled by a zalman CNPS-7000A-Cu @ 5v
asus a7n8x deluxe mobo with its northbridge passive heatsink replaced with a zalman NB-47J
antec sonata case with default 120 mm fan and another 120 mm antec smart fan on a vantec controller @ 5v each
asus v9280 gf4 ti-4200 with a passively cooled zalman HP-80C heatsink
antec truepower 380w power supply with its fan swapped for a panaflo L1A low speed fan
segate 80 gb 7200.7 single platter drive (2) suspended in the case using stretchy bungee string to nullify vibration

i think the last thing i could do is to buy an acousticpak foam kit but its not worth the money for me right now.

the thing with making the computer quiet is to go after the loudest parts first, there's no point quieting the 2nd loudest thing, because the loudest will still annoy you. my concern for your computer will be your powerhouse video card, cuz you could put an extra $500 into having a very quiet case, but stick in a leaf blower video card and that would just waste all your money.

panaflo fans are probably the quietest you can get for the price, if you want to spend more, silenx or papst are good too. zalman makes great heatsinks. the case honestly i don't think is that important, its the fans inside it that make the noise. the sonata has been criticized to having poor airflow because of the placement of the front intake fan. i think any of the antec cases with 120 mm fan mounts would do you nicely. powersupply, go for antec / zalman / nexus / enermax / seasonic and definately try that hard drive suspension thing, www.silentpcreview.com is basically the number one site you want to visit, they have many tips and brand suggestions in their forum and articles.

 

[shathal]

Links are provided for reading convenience of others . I try to name reasons for each decision,

Case:
After much ho and fro, I've finally decided to go with the AcoustiCase C6607 which can be found here:
http://www.acoustiproducts.com/en/acousticase.asp#acc6607

Ultimately, the decision maker has been that it's got:
(1) a filter
(2) can take 2 x 120 mm fans.
(3) Comes with custom-cut dampeners.

That finally won out over the Antec ALK3700BQE and the Ahanix Black Knight, though it was in no way an easy call. Each case has it's strengths.

Power Supply:
This one will pretty much turn out to be the EnerMax NoiseTaker 475, as reviewed on SPCR:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article149-page1.html

As mentioned higher up, this one seemed quite, quite interesting - Tagan TG480-U01 480W:
http://www.ocprices.com/index.php?action=reviews&rev_id=210&page=1

A difference of 5 Watts is negilgible. I do quite like their concept of a "straight" 2-fan setup. Should be the way of the future, I would say - makes for smoother airflow. www.scan.co.uk sell these babies, as I've found out. Nifty

Also, the seperate 12V rail from EnerMax is a *GOOD* idea. Coming from the server world, I like that one very much. Estimated/calculated power-budget would have been OK with either of the PSU's.

So - maybe the Tagan is for someone else to try? It certainly seems nice . (Also - a black PSU ... pretty) .

IMPORTANT: :Q
Despite having a clear preference for the EnerMax Noisetaker 475, I can't FIND any reseller in the UK (or Europe, for that matter) which sells the critter. If anyone has got ANY idea as to where I can get one, please let me know.

If all fails, looks like I might go with the Tagan after all, but would really prefer the EnerMax ...

<Murphy's law says that this is where I have pointed out to me that I can't see the forest for the trees...>

Cooler:
OK, I am convinced. The Thermalright SP94 it shall be, as per here:
http://www.thermalright.com/a_page/main_product_sp94.htm

My original reason for looking at the Zalman CNPS7000A into consideration, was primarily laziness (not having to remove the stock retention mechanism). Cost wasn't so much the issue.

Looks like the Thermalright SP94 is really, REALLY popular.

Will have to sort out fanage at some point. I see here the Panaflo is quite popular. I've also been recommended Papbst (sp?) - any suggestions here for 120 mm (case x2) and 92 mm (FHS) per chance?

I think that's it all covered for now? I'll keep you chaps posted on how it goes.

Due to lack of NVIDIA (whateverthey'llcallit), I'll obviously only be able to stick one of my current cards in it (nothing to write home about), but it'll give a good idea on how the system behaves.

I'd appreciate a hand with sourcing the Enermax PSU in the UK/Europe if one's offered . My (2 hour long) search has not had any luck

Thanks all .

- Shathal.

 

[shathal]

I seem to remember reading ...

... that all Panaflo 120 mm fans are 38 mm thick, not 25. That'd be a problem, as I think the case can only take 25 mm thick fans. (Same as Antec, incidentally).

So ... what to do? (he asketh innocently) .

 

[shathal]

Another addendum:

Am contemplating to get one of these:
http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1373

They look like a good method for controlling the volume. Has anyone used these? What's the good/bad news?

Are there any particular 92 mm / 120 mm fans that this baby works on especially well? .

 

[SuperPickle]

Originally posted by: shathal
I seem to remember reading ...

... that all Panaflo 120 mm fans are 38 mm thick, not 25. That'd be a problem, as I think the case can only take 25 mm thick fans. (Same as Antec, incidentally).

So ... what to do? (he asketh innocently) .

Check out Gizzo's fan database. Since you're in Europe, you might have an easier time finding the sintec-sleave bearing Papst fans (tougher to find in the States). Good information in that DB to find the fans that suit your needs.

 

[Cerb]

The quiet Papst fans might not push enough air for your CPU. A Panaflo L should be enough w/ that HS and no big cable mess behind the HDs.

 

[pukemon]

hrm... those acousticases are just pre-modded Heroichi cases with a higher price tag.