TR Forums

Hello all!

I was considering purchasing the Econobox setup featured in the summer system guide 2008
http://techreport.com/articles.x/15009/2

The enclosure listed there is the Antec NSK 4480
Newegg currently lists it for around $80 + $20 shipping
I noticed the Sonata 3 case on Newegg is currently around $100 + free shipping.

Is the Sonata 3 a better case?
The PSU is bigger, but I may not need the bigger PSU.

Should I change the case selection?
Should I change any of the other parts?

If you don't need the bigger power supply or you don't care about the quiet features of the Sonata, you can just go by looks. Some people hate the door thing on the Sonata with a passion.

Well, I do care about having a quieter PC. Would the Sonata case be quieter? Or would the larger power supply (perhaps generating more heat, more noise) offset the benefits?

droberts wrote:

Well, I do care about having a quieter PC. Would the Sonata case be quieter? Or would the larger power supply (perhaps generating more heat, more noise) offset the benefits?

Most likely the Sonata 3 will be quieter. If you are ok with the door thing, go ahead.

If you want to go without a door, the Antec Three Hundred is $60 and also has free shipping. It has no external 3.5" bay, if that is important. The Antec EA500 is onlt $55 with free shipping. That's $115 for the combination which is a pretty good deal.

The Sonata is probably the quietest of the three. But I have an old SLK3700AMB and the door, while not awful, is pretty annoying at time. The door does cut down on drive noise when it is closed, though...so it does make sense with the Sonata series attempt to reduce noise levels.

Thanks for the tip Mantis!

The 300 case looks very appealing to me because I can puts a couple fans in the front for intakes, and keeps my case relatively dust free with the front mesh filter provided, and add an output fan to the top of the case.

My concern with this case is that it is advertised as a budget gaming case. Will it be much louder than the Sonata 3? Remember I only want to build the econobox, not a very big gaming system. Will four fans be overkill? Will the side air vent bring in dust anyway?

Also of note, Newegg is out of the Palit 9600GT I was looking at (instead of the louder/hotter 9600GT listed with the econobox) Can anybody recommend a cheap and reputable place to get it?

The Three Hundred is a great enthusiast case, but it's definitely noisier than the Sonata III or the P182 series of cases.

Still, it's a great deal at $60. Sometimes MicroCenter has them on sale for $45.

Thanks for the input hero

I'm excited about the Three Hundred, but I definitely don't want a noisy PC.

My current setup has a Sonata II.

I believe the noisiest thing is the video card under load.

My train of logic was that a system with four large fans spinning slowly can effectively and quietly cool my modest system, thus keeping the video card (and the entire system) quiet. Is my logic flawed? Please tell me.

droberts wrote:

Thanks for the input hero

I'm excited about the Three Hundred, but I definitely don't want a noisy PC.

My current setup has a Sonata II.

I believe the noisiest thing is the video card under load.

My train of logic was that a system with four large fans spinning slowly can effectively and quietly cool my modest system, thus keeping the video card (and the entire system) quiet. Is my logic flawed? Please tell me.

A loud graphics card is a loud graphics card. Some graphics cards will be intolerably loud outside of a case. At least motherboard manufacturer's have all but gone back to passive cooling.

If you want quiet, check the P180 on special atm - post in Hot Deals linked below.

Link

It is a tough balancing act between airflow and noise. With all the "holes" in the Antec 300/900, noise is bound to leak out. It really depends on how much overclocking (and hence generated heat) and what GPU you are going to use. The P18x and Sonata 3 achieve their silence with not as many holes for the airflow. Ultimately it is up to you which end of the spectrum you want to be. If you are not going crazy with overclocking and other heat generating components, the Sonata 3 may be cool enough for the lower noise level. But you can achieve lower noise with the Antec 300/900 by using lower flow lower noise fans too.

Well, if there was a perfect case, we'd all be using it.

Currently, the Sonata 3 looks like it fits my needs best. That conclusion is a bit disappointing because I have a Sonata 2 now and of course have the itch to get something different (I'm selling the old PC)

A friend of mine attests first hand that four PC fans can be very quiet (he has a Mac), and his case is very sexy!

Anybody know of a case that's not too big, has dust filters, four large quiet fans and looks sexy, with preferably no side window or lights?

droberts wrote:

Anybody know of a case that's not too big, has dust filters, four large quiet fans and looks sexy, with preferably no side window or lights?

Sounds like you are stepping on P180/P182 territory. Notice the matching price tag.

p180/p182 is HUGE!

The Antec P182 is not huge. In fact, It would suit me if the motherboard compartment were one centimeter deeper, to accommodate extra-long graphics cards.

JustAnEngineer wrote:

The Antec P182 is not huge. In fact, It would suit me if the motherboard compartment were one centimeter deeper, to accommodate extra-long graphics cards.

Will a P182 not take the 10.5" cards? I've read that even my little X-QPack2 will (just barely) take a 10.5" card.

Are there even longer cards? Or is it an issue with the power connectors on the ends running into things?

With my Radeon HD3870X2, it's the shroud on the GPU cooler that protrudes beyond the end of the graphics card. It prevents installation of hard-drives in the cage directly in front of the card when the graphics card is installed in the top slot. I moved the card to the lower PCIe X16 slot of my X48 motherboard, where it lines up with the floppy drive bay, and there is no interference problem. There are still 4 drive mounting locations in the lower compartment and the floppy bay that could be used.

I don't know why everyone thinks the P18x is a huge case. It's a standard mid-tower chassis. Like JAE pointed out, it doesn't even fit the really big graphics cards all that well.

Now the Cosmos.. that's a big case.

Do you guys really find fan filers useful? I'd rather use a canned air once every few months than try to clean a dirty filter.

Besides, filters always let the really fine dust through anyway.. and then you still gotta get in and clean that off which I normally find harder to do than the normal dust.

The P18x is a little bit bigger than a standard midtower. It's a little wider, and a little taller than old fashioned ones.

Tamale wrote:

Do you guys really find fan filers useful? I'd rather use a canned air once every few months than try to clean a dirty filter.

Besides, filters always let the really fine dust through anyway.. and then you still gotta get in and clean that off which I normally find harder to do than the normal dust.

I have an Antec Solo, and I've found that using the supplied front fan filter means that I don't have to clean the inside of the case more than once a year or two. For me, it's less of a hassle to just pop off the fan filter every now and then and clean it with canned air than clean the case entirely every time.

Sorry to breathe life in a somewhat old thread, but had a question regarding both cases in question. What are the biggest video cards both cases can hold? It seems like the Sonata can hold a bigger one, but what are the biggest one's you've seen/heard of for both cases?

I would also recommend Antec Three Hundred over NSK 4480. Price is nearly same too.