Silencing an Antec 900

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Just bought this case since it was on sale, but I'm wondering how quiet you can make this case. I know it doesn't have the sound proofing that my p180 had, but I figure I can make up for it by picking out quieter components and utilizing the cooler airflow.

So anyone have any experience using this case with say just the 200 mm fan on low? How loud is that fan? Also would I gain anything by finding quieter 120 mm fans?

I'm wondering if a gemini II used passive would work if I added the side fan.
http://www.anandtech.com/casec...howdoc.aspx?i=2978&p=2
I've heard the 45 nm chips run much cooler as long as you don't raise the voltage too much so I'm hopeful I can do a small overclock to at least 3.4 gigs passive.

Have no idea about the video card right now, but I wanted to get an ATI since my last build was an nvidia. Heard that the new cards are really loud and hot though so any advice on this is appreciated as well.

 

[z1ggy]

You can get good airflow just using the fans on medium.. they are somewhat loud but are really good at cooling, so I am sure you could put them on low and be fine. Just get good cable management and you really should be happy.

 

[scruffypup]

I don't have that exact case,.. I do have an Antec case with the tri cool 120 mm fans,... really if you have a good Heatsink/fan combo and maybe an aftermarket graphics cooler if you go with the ati 4850/4870 you should be able to run the system with the 200 and the 120 fans included on low settings without heat issues.

The low setting on the 120 mm is fairly quiet, there are quieter ones if you want. I would also think about sealing the back holes by the pci slots with some clear postal tape, as well as around the 120 mm side fan opening,.. that will help and is easy to remove if you need to have more airflow. Also you might want to cut out the rear honeycomb on the back 120 mm fan and get one of those circular wire grill guards,... the honeycomb is a bit safer if you have little kids around, but if not worried about that the circular grill prevents you from injury in most cases as well as quiets it)

This case will not be super quiet though since half the case is perforated (front, side, back, top).

Lastly, if you need a better cooling than the 120mm tricool antec fans at low speed while still having good airflow there are some fans that are a bit quieter with better airflow (I would get a nice quality 4-6 fan speed controller to put in one of the 5 1/4" drives for $30-$50 since you can then adjust for airflow or silence)

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article695-page1.html has a comparison with the antec tricool 120mm fans and a few others,...

 

[Team42]

I have this case, and while I like it a lot, I am fed up with the noise it makes. I started off thinking it was fine but now, a year later, I'm not quite so pleased. Most of the noise comes from the Antec fans, but some of it comes from the "wind rush" of the air flow and the side-mounted (exhaust) fan.

I have 2 Antec TriCools at the front, on medium speed, both of which are daisy-chained to a Zalman MFC1 fan controller, and I keep them at 5v for most situations. They are not, by any stretch of the imagination, quiet. So far, I've replaced the rear fan with a high CFM, but quieter, CoolerMaster fan and have another (Xigmatek?) fan on the side, both of which are also on the fan controller and are inaudible when turned down low.

When I upgrade (hopefully within the next 2 months), I'm going to replace all the case fans with Scythe S-Flex 120mm 1200rpm fans and replace the very restrictive front mesh panels with some AC Ryan Hex mesh panel, similar to what's covering the rear 120mm fan slot. And I'm going to replace my Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro (which is probably the most noisy component in my case) with something that will take a 120mm fan too (like a ducted Thermalright HR-01 Plus).

The 200mm top-mounted fan is quiet, even on high setting. It's highly unlikely to annoy you. I keep it on medium.

Re. getting an ATi card: if you go for a HD4850 or HD4870 and want it cool, you'll probably be thinking of replacing the "standard" cooler with an Arctic Cooling Accelero AC-S1 GPU cooler or similar. Smart move. However, you can forget about the side fan on the Antec 900. There isn't enough room, if my measurements are correct. The window panel would need to be modified to retain the side fan, perhaps even to the extent of mounting it fully outside the case! And I may just do that myself, if I'm feeling brave or reckless enough.

Happy computing!