Case comparison, advice needed

NewHat! wrote:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...talog=7&depa=1

Aspire X-Dreamer II- Mid-Tower, Steel (also available in aluminum),
350W, Fans: 1 front, 2 rear, 1 side, 1 top.



http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...=BROWSE&depa=1

Antec Solution Series- Mid-Tower, 350W (says "Smart Power", whatever
that is), 2 120mm fans (front, rear).

Which would be better for overclocking? Thanks.

tomshardware covers these in huge detail at the moment.

On Fri, 19 Dec 2003 01:02:52 GMT, "NewHat!"
wrote:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...talog=7&depa=1

Aspire X-Dreamer II- Mid-Tower, Steel (also available in aluminum), 350W,
Fans: 1 front, 2 rear, 1 side, 1 top.


http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...=BROWSE&depa=1

Antec Solution Series- Mid-Tower, 350W (says "Smart Power", whatever that
is), 2 120mm fans (front, rear).

Which would be better for overclocking? Thanks.


I like the spec on the Antec SX645BII. Anyone have any experience or
opinion about this case?

Ted

Yes, I would prefer the Cooler Master case instead. I has four 80mm fans (2
front, 1 rear, 1 top). You are also correct about the noise. A good fan
controller is necessary to have the best of both worlds, low noise normally
and good cooling when necessary. I use a Matrix Orbital LCD display to run
my fans low and with little noise for normal computing, and spin up the fans
when my system is under a heavy gamming load. I can maintain a 88-89 degF
interior air temperature under any load. Try that with a low-noise case
like the Antec Sonata. However if you are not gamming, then any good case
is just fine.


"jeffc" wrote in message
.com...

You don't want to go crazy either. 6 80mm fans sounds like a loud PC,
without any real payoff. It says "There are little openings in the case
for
better circulation of air". That sounds extremely dubious to me.

"Frank Fussenegger" wrote in message
link.net...
Yes, I would prefer the Cooler Master case instead. I has four 80mm fans
(2
front, 1 rear, 1 top). You are also correct about the noise. A good fan
controller is necessary to have the best of both worlds, low noise
normally
and good cooling when necessary. I use a Matrix Orbital LCD display to
run
my fans low and with little noise for normal computing, and spin up the
fans
when my system is under a heavy gamming load. I can maintain a 88-89 degF
interior air temperature under any load. Try that with a low-noise case
like the Antec Sonata. However if you are not gamming, then any good case
is just fine.

Now, now, Frank. You can brag about your Cooler Master case all you want,
but don't knock the Antec Sonata until you've tried it.

I have one 120mm fan in back and another in front, both use the automatic
monitor and speed control built into the silent psu. My cpu cooler, a Vantec
Aeroflow, is controlled by the bios of my Abit IC7 and the speed is also
governed by the temps. My fans work just like yours, quiet when cool and
faster when hot, and I don't need an external controller to do it.

As I write this, my case temp is 27C or about 80F. I'm a gamer, too, and
I've never seen my temps go any higher than yours under max load. Not bad
for a 2.4 overclocked and overvolted to 3.3, an overclocked Radeon 9500
modded to 9700 Pro, a gig of overclocked ram and five drives warming up the
box in a room without air conditioning.

Oh yeah, it's quiet, too. The biggest noisemaker in the box is the fan on
the video card, but I'm too lazy to swap it for a heat pipe.

Hiya Skid,

That is good to know about the Sonata. I had bad luck with the case on my
Gateway system. It had a rear 120mm exhaust fan and a good intake opening
on front. No matter what fan I used, I could not get it to cool down
enough. The Cooler Master case and a Zalman CPU cooler solved all my
cooling problems. I guess you have to experiment until you find out what
works.

Frank

"Skid" wrote in message
news:vzjFb.619310$Fm2.558246@attbi_s04...

Now, now, Frank. You can brag about your Cooler Master case all you want,
but don't knock the Antec Sonata until you've tried it.

I have one 120mm fan in back and another in front, both use the automatic
monitor and speed control built into the silent psu. My cpu cooler, a
Vantec
Aeroflow, is controlled by the bios of my Abit IC7 and the speed is also
governed by the temps. My fans work just like yours, quiet when cool and
faster when hot, and I don't need an external controller to do it.

As I write this, my case temp is 27C or about 80F. I'm a gamer, too, and
I've never seen my temps go any higher than yours under max load. Not bad
for a 2.4 overclocked and overvolted to 3.3, an overclocked Radeon 9500
modded to 9700 Pro, a gig of overclocked ram and five drives warming up
the
box in a room without air conditioning.

Oh yeah, it's quiet, too. The biggest noisemaker in the box is the fan on
the video card, but I'm too lazy to swap it for a heat pipe.

"Frank Fussenegger" wrote in message
hlink.net...
Hiya Skid,

That is good to know about the Sonata. I had bad luck with the case on my
Gateway system. It had a rear 120mm exhaust fan and a good intake opening
on front. No matter what fan I used, I could not get it to cool down
enough. The Cooler Master case and a Zalman CPU cooler solved all my
cooling problems. I guess you have to experiment until you find out what
works.

Frank

Different strokes, etc.

My last box was an industrial-strength Macase all-steel tower. You needed a
forklift to move it, but it would have survived a fall from a three-story
building. I had four 80 mm fans, two 60 mm fans and a 7000 rpm Delta
screamer on the cpu. It could have doubled as a hovercraft. I had to cut it
off at night to be able to sleep in the next room with the door closed.

The Sonata isn't completely silent with two 120 mm fans, but it's a more
efficient design with airflow that makes sense and some creative approaches
to keeping the noise to a reasonable level.

On Sat, 20 Dec 2003 15:17:54 -0800, Ted K
wrote:

On Fri, 19 Dec 2003 01:02:52 GMT, "NewHat!"
wrote:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...talog=7&depa=1

Aspire X-Dreamer II- Mid-Tower, Steel (also available in aluminum), 350W,
Fans: 1 front, 2 rear, 1 side, 1 top.


http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...=BROWSE&depa=1

Antec Solution Series- Mid-Tower, 350W (says "Smart Power", whatever that
is), 2 120mm fans (front, rear).

Which would be better for overclocking? Thanks.


I like the spec on the Antec SX645BII. Anyone have any experience or
opinion about this case?

Ted

aaargh! That's SX635BII. Sorry.

I like the spec on the Antec SX645BII. Anyone have any experience or
opinion about this case?

Ted

aaargh! That's SX635BII. Sorry.


I used an Antec SX635 (beige not black) for about a year. Great power
supply, slide out HD cage, EZ install for floppy and CD's and snap off side
panel. Side panel great convenience if you're always changing things ;-) I
sold it and got a couple of SX835's. Simply wanted more room. Very solid mid
tower.

FRH

On Tue, 23 Dec 2003 01:35:01 GMT, "Frank Hagan"
wrote:

I like the spec on the Antec SX645BII. Anyone have any experience or
opinion about this case?

Ted

aaargh! That's SX635BII. Sorry.


I used an Antec SX635 (beige not black) for about a year. Great power
supply, slide out HD cage, EZ install for floppy and CD's and snap off side
panel. Side panel great convenience if you're always changing things ;-) I
sold it and got a couple of SX835's. Simply wanted more room. Very solid mid
tower.

FRH

Thanks Frank. That's what I was hoping to hear. One question though,
did you encounter any problems with the front panel USB2 or Firewire
ports?

"Ted K" wrote in message
news
On Tue, 23 Dec 2003 01:35:01 GMT, "Frank Hagan"
wrote:

I like the spec on the Antec SX645BII. Anyone have any experience or
opinion about this case?

Ted

aaargh! That's SX635BII. Sorry.


I used an Antec SX635 (beige not black) for about a year. Great power
supply, slide out HD cage, EZ install for floppy and CD's and snap off
side
panel. Side panel great convenience if you're always changing things ;-)
I
sold it and got a couple of SX835's. Simply wanted more room. Very solid
mid
tower.

FRH

Thanks Frank. That's what I was hoping to hear. One question though,
did you encounter any problems with the front panel USB2 or Firewire
ports?


Never used Firewire and my case never had built in USB connectors, but that
wasn't a problem. For $10 at CompUSA I got front USB adapters that fit in an
unused 5.25" drive bay. They are USB 2.0 compliant and my board supports 4
extra in addition to the 2 on the back.

FRH