Quiet case/PSU for a Prescott setup?
 

I just wonder if anyone has a good recommendation for a midi-tower case and PSU for a Prescott. As mentioned elsewhere, I've got a regular farm underneath my desk in the living room. My newest PC with a 3GHz Prescott, however, makes more noise than the rest of them put together. I've replaced the original heatsink unit with this [I]huge[/I] [URL=http://www.thermalright.com/a_page/main_product_xp120.htm]Thermalright XP-120[/URL] and a 120 mm Papst fan on top, but it still makes a lot of noise. So, I think that I'll replace the case, a cheapo thing with built-in PSU (the name doesn't matter) that I bought mostly on impulse, with something quieter as well.

I really like the big and quiet 120 mm Papst fans, so I want something that's got space for those both in back and front. The PSU may or may not be purchased separately; what really matters is that the noise level is minimal.

And, of course, there must be sufficient space above the mobo to accomodate the Thermalright heat sink.

Suggestions, anyone?

regards, Leif.

I have earlier bought the Compucase Miditower CI-6A21 Ultrasilent. You can see those cases [URL=http://www.mersenneforum.org/showpost.php?p=43967&postcount=3]here[/URL] (the towers). However recently they started making a head duct through the case to the CPU (to support Prescott). This works for the cooling, but a lot of noise from the CPU comes out of that hole.

For my latest computer I tried something else, the Acousti Miditower AC-C6607B with a pre-cut set of sound-absorbing stuff to stick to the sides of the cases, in unused drive bays etc. The chassi turns out to be the same as the CI-6A21, only a different front (and no hole in the side). And the Acousti box comes without PSU. Both (since the chassi is the same) have holes for 120 mm fans at front and rear.

I'm not sure if it is certified for Prescott. I have run it (with Prime95) for over a week now at stock speed (a 3.2 GHz P4 Prescott). The ASUS Probe reports 64 deg C for CPU and 30 deg C for motherboard. The Prescott manual says that the air temperature inside the box must be at most 38 deg C. I haven't started overclocking yet.

Edit: I just wanted to add that I don't know how quiet it is, since I haven't turned off my other comuters since I bought it. (I can't hear it in the noise from the other ones.)

[url]http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=558336&CatId=1524[/url]
thats a nice case right there all fans are controlable and move a decent ammount of air there are airfilters on intakes but it has no psu its also thick at least front bezial it weighs a consederable ammount so dont break ur back trying to move it.

[QUOTE=moo][url]http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=558336&CatId=1524[/url]
thats a nice case right there all fans are controlable and move a decent ammount of air there are airfilters on intakes but it has no psu its also thick at least front bezial it weighs a consederable ammount so dont break ur back trying to move it.[/QUOTE]

Sure, it's probably a good case, but how silent is it with those side fans? The, uh, "futuristic" front panel isn't exactly my style, either.

I looked around on my own and have already ordered a [URL=http://www.thermaltake.com/xaserCase/tsunami/bwa/bwa.htm]Thermaltake Xaser Tsunami VA3000BWA[/URL]. It's a beautiful box. And it'd better be good, for that price :shock: I also ordered a [url="http://www.northq.dk/products/powersupply/nq4000.html"]NorthQ Silent 400W NQ 4001 PSU[/url], a Danish product with what looks like a good reputation.

Thanks to both you and Patrik for posting.

regards, Leif.

[QUOTE=moo][url="http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=558336&CatId=1524"]http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=558336&CatId=1524[/url]
[/QUOTE]

I'm not in the market for one, but I enjoyed how Features include [my italics] "Thermaltake elegant [i]blue E-LED[/i] light in front panel" while Additional Specifications include "Thermaltake elegant [i]E-LED blue[/i] light in front panel". Looks spiffy. I could probably read by it at night. :smile:

im not talking about the eled im talking about the size the dam thing is large lots of airflow plus has 8 controlable fans and 2 temp sensors im saying that its large has lots of airflow lows of features and what not that are good for keeping it cool as well as future expantion....

[QUOTE=leifbk]I looked around on my own and have already ordered a [URL=http://www.thermaltake.com/xaserCase/tsunami/bwa/bwa.htm]Thermaltake Xaser Tsunami VA3000BWA[/URL]. It's a beautiful box. And it'd better be good, for that price.[/QUOTE]

I got the box yesterday and have already got it up and going. It was a delight to assemble; everything just slid into place. But I'm not entirely satisfied. The box has a transparent door with a side fan in it. I believed that I ordered the model with the compact door sans fan. I just talked with the guys in the shop about it, and it seems that they don't know what they're selling. I can return the case within ten days, full refund and no questions asked, so I'll think a little about what to do. With the glass door & blue lights all over the place, it's got a definite juvenile look about it. Any teenager bringing this rig to a LAN party, would probably be bursting with pride.

The noise level is not significantly lower than in the old cheapo box with a single 60 mm fan, either. The CPU temperature has dropped from 62 to 54 degrees centigrade, however, which probably is a good thing.

What I perceive as "noise" now is actually a steady "whossssh" as the air is moved through the case. Perhaps I'll just have to live with the sound of an industry-grade vacuum-cleaner beneath my desk. As long as I'm torturing it to figure out insanely high numbers, that is. The Prescott is a great cruncher, but this capacity definitely comes at a price. :nuke:

regards, Leif.

I moved the innards back to the old case, an In-Win S551. With the new power supply, it's not half bad, either. The NorthQ Silent 400W PSU has a peculiar design: It's got a big 120mm fan in the bottom, sucking air out of the case directly above the CPU. So, it's doubling as a very efficient air outlet, bringing the CPU temp down to around 58 C.

At the same time, I turned the 120 mm CPU fan around so that it now is blowing air towards the CPU.

The one thing making significant noise in the old case now, is the original 80 mm outlet fan that's wailing like a banshee. I've ordered two 92 mm Papst fans, one for the front and one for the back, as there's no space in it for 120 mm fans. When I've got these installed, I'll block the hole in the side door and maybe apply some sound dampening stuff to the inside, like [URL=http://www.dynamat.com/computer_kits.htm]Dynamat[/URL] or something. Maybe I'll get a quiet rig after all.

By the way, I found a web site that's entirely focused on quiet PCs: [URL=http://www.silentpcreview.com/]Silent PC Review[/URL]. Lots of interesting stuff there.

regards, Leif.

I turned the 120 mm CPU fan around so that it now is blowing air towards the CPU.


is that in the front or back of comp???

[QUOTE=moo]is that in the front or back of comp???[/QUOTE]

Here's a look at it. At the top is the PSU with a 120 mm fan in the bottom. The big fan in the center is the 120 mm Papst blowing air into the giant Thermalright XP-120 heatsink. To the left, and in the back, you see the pitiful system fan that came with the box.

I think that the CPU fan would provide better cooling with a bent duct on top of it; preferrably pointing towards the lower right. Those three fans are mounted so close to one another, that there are probably all kinds of turbulences and uncontrollable air flows around them. This is bad both for noise and cooling performance.

why arnt u useing the bigger case you have the whole perpose of a atx design is to have air flow in from bottom front though up near proc and then be sucked out hte back...