a good quiet case?

[schmoron13]

my new processor came in. It's a p4 3.06ghz 533fsb. After carefully installing the chip, and the new heat sink, and blowing out all the excess dust (with compressed air), I loaded up the machine and it worked like a charm ....that is until I tried a test render (graphics stuff) to compare the stats with the wip I'm working on.

 

Now the issue arose as all of a sudden as I got a temperature warning from my intel-monitor. Also, office2k starting installing somethin out of the blue after this message arose (3ds max 5.1 and vray were the only 2 apps running). I had to pop the cd in just to let it install...I let the render finish and it was indeed A LOT faster (8min and change with HT vs 15+ using a p4 2.2ghz 400fsb). However, the lil red warning icon in my start menu wouldn't go away till I rebooted, and it seemed to crash a lot of dll's...so I'm wondering if this is gonna be a serious problem with the circulation? Since I also render on this machine for graphics work (super cpu intensive stuff, using 3ds max), the machine gets up to 60degrees with the case open, which is WAY WAY WAY too high.

 

Here's what I've got

Intel® Desktop Board D845PEBT2 -onboard sound disabled

 

p4 3.06ghz at 533 fsb-HyperThreading enabled

 

2x512mb (1024mb total) ddr2700 (capable of 333mhz

2x 80gb WD 7200rpm IDE drives

 

Radeon 8500 128mb (dvi)

 

aardvark Direct pro Q10 (pro sound card)

Win XP Pro

 

Some people over at www.cgarchitect.com gave some great advice, and I'm looking heavily at the Antec Plus1080AMG (specs here) but I'm worried about noise issues. Since it's a music machine, does anyone have any advice or recommendations for a (relatively) quiet machine?

 

thanks in advance

[schmoron13]

in terms of the cases that intel officially supports, here's the list: Thermally Advantaged Tested Chassis List

[not Cereal]

here is a box i built, it cuts the noise almost to nothing.

http://24.119.33.52/box5.jpg

 

and just so ya know, ultrawide scsi server drives are noisy as hell. the box cuts the noise to almost nothing. the box uses chimney effect cooling.

 

i have another box with two computers in it, that box uses active cooling.

 

but first, you really need to get the cpu temp down to a normal level. try a good heatsink, compound, and fan.

 

(sorry, we had to shut the server down with the pics on it. it should be back up in an hour or so)

[Jan Folkson]

I've got a cabinet from these folks and I couldn't be happier with it.

 

http://www.acoustilock.com/

[schmoron13]

jan, they look cool, but are WAYYYYYY to pricey for me.

 

coaster, after checking with some cg guys and with intel's site, the problem is not the compound, but primarily airflow. When I removed the side panel, the temp dropped about 20 degrees...I was looking at a Zalman CNPS7000-Cu review but at roughly $70, I figured I could get a new case that was intel approved which would solve this dilema. Mind you, I'm not recording acoustic professionaly, so keeping it down below 30db is overkill, but with the previous case, the noise ration was negligable... so is that rack that you built essentially a box with a ton of vents along the top? do you have working drawings of it, or at the least, some specs (blueprints, not sound analysis)?

 

thanks for the quick replies!!

[not Cereal]

those are screws not vents, the screws are holding the high density fiberboard to the ribs inside the box. you cannot screw into the fiberboard, but you can screw THROUGH it hence the ribs inside.

 

basically the box is simple. there is a shelf inside the box 1.5 inches off the bottom; the computer sits on the shelf. the shelf is an air intake from the back of the box. this is where the computer gets its cold air. the air comes from behind the box, along the bottom towards the front of the computer, turns upward and the front of the computer has a cold air supply.

 

there is no back on this box, just a towel to block the sound. this box actually work very very well and the computer maintains room tempurature because of the vents.

 

another box i have has a rear panel. this box is based on the same principle but needs a rear panel (the first box's sound is absorbed by room paneling behind the box) because the room the box is in and the location of the box yeilds high levels of noise out the back of the box. it still uses the chimney effect (heat rises) but has a 60CFM fan on the back. the fan is noisy as hell, so i had to build a baffle for the fan. it moves a SERIOUS amount of air through the box. so much so that it will literally suck the doors shut and hold them tight. the first box needs a magnet to hold the door shut; the second box uses the air sucked out the back to hold the doors shut.

 

both boxes keep the computer noise down to almost nothing.

 

they would cost you between $20 and $40 depending on how fancy you get.

 

i'm happy to show you a lot more about these if you want. the key element here is to get your computer cooled NOW they way you need it to run regardless of noise. the box will take care of the noise for you. my two macs inside the second box have NO side panels at all. you dont need panels on your computer.

 

the box (if built right) will allow your computer to run at a temp that it would sitting there in your room without the box. this is why you need to get the thing to cool FIRST, because the box will not cool the computer - it only supplys room temperature air to the computer for it to cool itself.

 

without airflow inside the box, a computer will cook itself in about 15 minutes.

[schmoron13]

coaster, YOU'RE THE MAN!!!

 

the advice is awesome. I'd love more info so I can build it this weekend...correctly.

 

I'm still debating if I should go with a heatsink, a case, or both (ofcourse I'll add the "coasterbox")

[jcskid]

building an iso box is over kill.

 

Silentmaxx ST11 Case $133 (noise insulated)

2) Pabst 80mm Fans 12 DB $17 each

1) SilenX power supply 14DB $99 or Silentmaxx 0DB $225

Zalman 7000AL-CU $30

 

and that gets you about 14DB or less.

 

if you want 28 DB

then Antec Sonata with 380W truepower $130

Zalamn 7000 $30

Vantec 80mm stealth $16

 

done no iso box needed.

FWI i have all this stuff

Scott

ADK

[realtrance]

The best case is one that is open and shut.

 

rt

[not Cereal]

here are more pics of the box. however in these pis there is no bottom shelf, the pictures are of the testing process and are not current. since we took these pictures the shelf was added on the bottom (above the ribs) for cold air intake.

 

http://24.119.33.52/echosedge%20picts.html

 

i am shutting this computer off now for maintanence but it will be back in an hour or less (you wont see the pics when the computer is off). we need to add a new controller card for the hard drive.

[schmoron13]

Originally posted by Coaster:

here are more pics of the box. however in these pis there is no bottom shelf, the pictures are of the testing process and are not current. since we took these pictures the shelf was added on the bottom (above the ribs) for cold air intake.

 

http://24.119.33.52/echosedge%20picts.html

 

i am shutting this computer off now for maintanence but it will be back in an hour or less (you wont see the pics when the computer is off). we need to add a new controller card for the hard drive.

thanks for the great pics...looks like it will take just a second to build.

[schmoron13]

Originally posted by jcskid:

building an iso box is over kill.

 

Silentmaxx ST11 Case $133 (noise insulated)

2) Pabst 80mm Fans 12 DB $17 each

1) SilenX power supply 14DB $99 or Silentmaxx 0DB $225

Zalman 7000AL-CU $30

 

and that gets you about 14DB or less.

 

if you want 28 DB

then Antec Sonata with 380W truepower $130

Zalamn 7000 $30

Vantec 80mm stealth $16

 

done no iso box needed.

FWI i have all this stuff

Scott

ADK

granted, but the whole point is I want an economical solution. why spend hundreds and hundreds to get silent drives and all, when you can build an iso rack for like $40? I have the room in the studio...

 

also, i was trying to avoid rebuilding my machine...

[schmoron13]

i ended up biting the bullet (now that I had some time) and went with a new case. After doing wayyyy too much research, i decided on the Antec Sonata . The case itself is superb! Of particular interest to those of us in the audio realm is the rubber grommets which allow the hd to "float" on removable trays, and also the quiet fan/quiet power supply.

 

it was an adventure:

 

I started switching the components from my old systemt to the new at roughly midnight on saturday. After a couple of glitches, i was done by 1:30, with only the front hinged door broken (more below). I plugged it in and....NOTHING. Being an idiot, I noticed that the bios loaded but then I'd get a dos-like prompt (strange since I use XP pro) Rather than look thoroughly, and being far to impulsive, I started swapping out hd's, the video card and the ram, and by 6'am, I'd gotten nowhere, had cracked/scratched (gf's opinion but I heard a crack when it happened) the top front corner of the case, and worst of all: had sheared off one of the install pins for ram. The way the mobo is set up, to take ram out, you have to remove the video card, and I forgot to move those ram-aids (?) out of the way (JACKASS)...the ram still read fine though, so go figure...

 

in any case, I suddenly realized that maybe something was unplugged, and sure enough, my floppy disk was plugged in, but the power cable was unplugged (moron)...worked like a charm once it was plugged in...

 

I checked the temp with my intel active monitoring, and it read a measely 42degrees (I later figured out, when the temp stabilized at about 35, that having the lights on, with the widows closed for 6 hours, and the heating going turned my home-studio into a sauna).

 

The front case door can be removed for installing the 5.5" drives, but when I put it back, the hinge on the door broke. I tried supergluing the piece back 3 times, but then remembered that I saw replacement parts on Antec's site while researching cases. So I ordered it Sunday night for $7 +$8 shipping and got it today.

 

The case was still rather loud but I quickly discovered it was due to my heatsink (stock). So I also ordered a Zalman Copper CPU Fan (7000CU) for 35.23 (including shipping) from ewiz and it also came in today. T'was a bitch to install (didn't have slim enough tools) but once installed, the computer is now virtually silent. I ran a rendering test with 3ds max 5.1 (which overheated my system initially and the cpu temp, even using zalman's "silent mode" (at 1538rpm's) was still only at 45-46 Celsius. The one concern is that intel says not to use a cpu cooler heavier than 440g, and the zalman, designed for this processor is 700g, so zalman said to not move the computer to violently...we'll see

 

I also bought a Vantec Stealth 80mm fan but I have to return it cause the case ONLY accepts 120mm fans and I don't need it anyways...maybe I'll get a 120 (in case of an emergency).

 

In summary,I highly highly recommend everyone check these products out!! it's amazing how little it costs to fix yo system up!!

 

I ended up shelling $135 for the case (110 plus tax at Fry's, then 15 for the replacement part),

$10 for the fan, and $35.23 for the cpu cooler....a lil more than I initially wanted, but definitaly worth the money for the sound supression, quality of parts, and heat dissapation....

 

thanks for the help everyone!!!