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View Full Version : Case fan noise / help me choose a case!

Kuikorosu
07-09-2004, 06:46 AM
I'm trying to find a good case for the system I'm building, but I'm indecisive.

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=11-156-148&DEPA=0 RAIDMAX Black Aluminum Gaming Case with 420W Power Supply, Model "668WBP"</A>

VS.

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=11-130-142&catalog=23AOpen Black ATX Desktop Case with front USB 2.0, Model "A600A"</A>

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Case #1:

Pros:
Full sized acrylic window would REALLY compliment my red cold cathode tube. Neat design on the front. Made from aluminum, making it light and cool (in the temperature sense). Inexpensive.

Cons:
Someone said that a case with that many fans is going to be LOUD. That concerns me more than just a little bit. Plus, the tri-color case fan on the side might be a little fruity, not to mention I'm going to have a red cold cathode tube in the case as well. I was told that stealth fans might work, but I wouldn't know how to go about installing them, or how difficult it would be to install them.

Case #2:

Pros:

Glossy finish would look really nice, heard it was akin to the kind that's used on an automobile. Very minimalistic look, more professional than Case #1. Also made from aluminum. Front USB & Audio ports.

Cons:

Small window. Too professional looking, I'd probably end up having to throw out the cold cathode tube set. No CD-ROM cover, so I'd end up having to make sure all my CD/DVD-ROM drives are black to match the case. Something about the case makes me a little uneasy, too, and I'm not sure what.

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So what do you all think? I want the top one, but the case fan noise really concerns me. I can't sleep around something that's going to sound like a hair dryer. I just can't decide. <img src=smilies/cwm10.gif>

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Kuikorosu
07-09-2004, 06:53 AM
I figured I'd include this, just in case I picked something bad.

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=00-888-027&catalog=23LOGISYS COLD CATHODE KIT 30CM, Model "CLK12RD" -RETAIL</A>

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=27-152-016&catalog=23NEC 8X Silver DVD+RW/-RW Drive, Model ND-2500A, OEM Bulk</A>

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=35-106-038&catalog=23Thermaltake Venus 12 CPU Cooler For AMD Opteron and Athlon 64, Model "A1744"</A> (<img src=smilies/liefde.gif>)

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=20-146-541&catalog=23Crucial 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 8T - OEM</A> (two sticks)

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-130-457&catalog=23MSI nForce3 250 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Athlon 64 Socket 754 CPU, Model "K8N Neo Platinum" (MS-7030) -RETAIL</A>

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-413&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSEAMD Athlon 64 3200+, 1 MB L2 Cache, the Only 64-bit Windows Compatible Processor - OEM</A>

Total cost: $673.97 (without case)

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mFC
07-09-2004, 06:58 AM
im a bitch when it comes to noise, so i would suggest getting a different cpu cooler than the thermaltake. a copper heatsink with a nice 80 or 92mm fan will do an amazing job while staying quiet

Chris

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Kuikorosu
07-09-2004, 07:00 AM
> im a bitch when it comes to noise, so i would suggest
> getting a different cpu cooler than the thermaltake. a
> copper heatsink with a nice 80 or 92mm fan will do an
> amazing job while staying quiet

I heard that putting the fan to medium will keep it quiet while moving quite a bit of air...besides, I'm kind of in love with it. <img src=smilies/liefde.gif>

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Shamanix
07-09-2004, 12:54 PM
I'm not linking all my stuff, but here's what I just put together:

Case: Thermaltake Xaser III Silver Mid-tower
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3000+ (2 GHz, 64-bit)
Heatsink/fan: Thermaltake Venus 12
Memory: 1GB Kingston DDR 400
Motherboard: Soyo Dragon CX8, nForce 3 chipset
Video: BFG nVidia GeForce FX 5900 OC 128MB RAM (pillaged from old machine)
HDD: Western Digital 120 gig drive (pillaged from old machine)
DVD: Lite-On 16x DVD-ROM (pillaged from old machine)
CD-RW: Lite-On 40x12x48 CD-RW (pillaged from old machine)

Get the Venus 12. Trust me on this one. It's *not* that noisy in a closed case, and although it's fragging HUGE, my CPU is currently running at 25.5C. The Xaser III is kind of a bitch to get all the wiring straight, but it's a very nice case. :)

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Kuikorosu
07-09-2004, 03:09 PM
> Case: Thermaltake Xaser III Silver Mid-tower

How loud is this case?

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Kuikorosu
07-09-2004, 08:54 PM
Well, I did a little research, and it turns out that this case is quiet. You sold me, so I'm getting a silver lanfire one. Thanks. <img src=smilies/thumb.gif>

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Shamanix
07-09-2004, 10:55 PM
> Well, I did a little research, and it turns out that this
> case is quiet. You sold me, so I'm getting a silver lanfire
> one. Thanks.

Hehe, bit more expensive than the others, but it's really nice. :)

And yeah, even with all the fans (CPU included) running at max, I stopped hearing the case after about five min. It's about the same volume as the window AC unit in here, which is, from where I'm sitting, about 15 feet away.

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metbot
07-10-2004, 07:18 AM
what you do wit a noisy case you put sound proof stuff on the outside or change the fan(s) to a water cooler

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Kuikorosu
07-17-2004, 11:20 PM
Whew. Finally, I'm finished with this nightmare. It's all set up, for the most part. I'd say it's 95% finished - I don't have some of the LEDs set up, along with the reset switch on the case.

Also...a very irritating quirk with my setup and this motherboard...I can't reboot. The screen goes black, then doesn't do anything. I have to get up and turn the computer off and on when I want to reboot.

And, I'm not very satisfied with the wiring in the case. At all. It's ugly. It's a huge, spiderweb-esque mess of wires clumped between my CPU fan and drives, killing the airflow through there, and looking generally ugly. I'd like to fix it, but I'm not sure how to go about doing that, because the Xaser III Lanfire doesn't have a removable motherboard tray. <img src=smilies/cwm10.gif>

So...hopefully it's smooth sailing from here on out. It's quiet, it's nice, and the cold cathode is kinda neat, but it really doesn't light much up, because it's not very bright and the wires are blocking the light. Also, I used electrical tape to attach it to the bottom of my case. Another "needs to be fixed" sort of thing.

Ahhh...so anyhow. I'm pretty much done. Time to do something fun.

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