But are they quiet, quiet, quiet? The difficult question to answer,
even if you have noise level specs for fans, is how much of a
difference will I notice when compared to my just plain off-the-shelf
parts computer?
Yes - my DAWs are quieter than the average off-the-shelf computer.
Obviously, this would depend on the computer because some are louder
than others.

My DAWs are not as quiet as machines with no fans at all but these
computers are pretty expensive. However, the fans in my DAWs are as
quiet as they can be.

Unfortunately, I don't have audio level ratings for my machines.
There was a recent article in PcWorld on silent PCs - it may be
online.

Mike

I'll start offering my DAWs with this case as soon as I can purchase it.

$2,500 is an outrageous price!

Mike

On 7 Jul 2004 09:13:40 -0700, Mike Cressey wrote:
But are they quiet, quiet, quiet? The difficult question to answer,
even if you have noise level specs for fans, is how much of a
difference will I notice when compared to my just plain off-the-shelf
parts computer?
Yes - my DAWs are quieter than the average off-the-shelf computer.
Obviously, this would depend on the computer because some are louder
than others.

My DAWs are not as quiet as machines with no fans at all but these
computers are pretty expensive. However, the fans in my DAWs are as
quiet as they can be.

Unfortunately, I don't have audio level ratings for my machines.
There was a recent article in PcWorld on silent PCs - it may be
online.

Mike

www.endpcnoise.com has a number of articles discussing the trade-offs.
Their solutions tend to be conservative, but they DO have reasonable
justification for their avoidance of exotic cooling solutions.

I found their articles useful for component selection, but their
integrations are more generic "quiet machines" than purpose-built DAWs.

The only "weird" thing I did was use a "too heavy" chip cooler--figuring
(reasonably) that my machine wouldn't be moved very much, and only by ME
who knows what to do to avoid damage.

In article writes:

I used an Antec Sonata Case modded with a Nexus (Dutch company
specializing in low-noise air cooled supplies). and a Zalman copper
flower cooler.

Is the Sonata the one that's fairly heavy aluminum, with a door on the
front? I saw one at Micro Center that I thought was very nicely made.
It was definitely Antec and Sonata rings a bell.

So far, my CPU core temp has yet to top 30C *knocks wood* I spent about
$60 over and above the cost of a stock Sonata w/ the stock P4 cooler.

I was working over my Mackie hard disk recorders (essentially a PC at
heart) an found that dropping the fan voltage to 7V did about as much
as I could expect without eliminating fan motors entirely. I put a
temperature probe on the the CPU heat sink (and one at the outlet of
the power supply fan, when working with that) and rather than look for
actual CPU temperature (since I wasn't sure where to measure it, if I
even could), I looked at the temperature rise when slowing down the
fan. Since it was only a couple of degrees C, I figured that it was
safe.



--
I'm really Mike Rivers )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

"U-CDK_CHARLES\Charles" "Charles wrote in
message

I used an Antec Sonata Case modded with a Nexus (Dutch company
specializing in low-noise air cooled supplies). and a Zalman copper
flower cooler.

Interesting. I have an Antec Sonata case with a Athlon 64 3200 inside.

It's quiet enough that it's not audible when I bring it to the office
for upgrades, compared to the office machines.

Agreed.

So far, my CPU core temp has yet to top 30C *knocks wood* I spent
about $60 over and above the cost of a stock Sonata w/ the stock P4
cooler.

I put a Zalman FanMate on the stock AMD cooler and slowly backed the fan
speed off until the chip temperature started rising. Currently the CPU chip
temperature is 33C with ambient at 78F. I can just barely hear any of the
fans with the case at ear height, about 3 feet away. I got a bunch of
FanMates on sale for $4 each, some time ago.

"Mike Rivers" wrote in message
news:znr1089219584k@trad
In article
writes:

I used an Antec Sonata Case modded with a Nexus (Dutch company
specializing in low-noise air cooled supplies). and a Zalman copper
flower cooler.

Is the Sonata the one that's fairly heavy aluminum, with a door on the
front?

Sounds about right.

I saw one at Micro Center that I thought was very nicely made.

The door is a PITA when burning CDs with software that opens the CD tray at
the end of the burn.

It was definitely Antec and Sonata rings a bell.

Some problems with panels and the door buzzing. I've tried moving fan speeds
around to avoid the resonances, but it looks like I'm going to have to find
some Mortite...

I guess that the good news is that mine has had no problems living at 80F.

In article scruffy writes:

I figured it was safe too. I had a resistor in line with my ps fan for
over a year. Nice and quiet. 2 weeks ago we had 3 days of 80 degree
temps, unusual for our area. The ps overheated, blew it's fuse and
took out the CPU in the process.

Are you sure the CPU fan was running when the computer died? I used a
5.1V Zener diode to drop the voltage to my fan because it will drop 5V
regardless of the current. As the fan gets crudded up or the lubricant
dries out, it can require more current. A resistor will just drop more
voltage and the fan may not start.

Apparently there's a folk culture that does the same thing by (given a
12V fan) replacing the ground wire to the fan with a 5V lead from the
power suppoly. This puts 7V (12 - 5) across the fan, at any reasonable
current.




--
I'm really Mike Rivers )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

spud scruffy lad wrote:
I figured it was safe too. I had a resistor in line with my ps fan for
over a year. Nice and quiet. 2 weeks ago we had 3 days of 80 degree
temps, unusual for our area. The ps overheated, blew it's fuse and
took out the CPU in the process. A different pc in the same building,
one with the Invincible Bucket System Cooler is still bubbling along.
s.

Hmm... how about a resistor in parallel with a polyfuse? At normal
temperatures, it's nice and quiet. When it gets hot, it goes up to
full speed.

I am becoming a big fan of the polyfuse things.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

On Wed, 7 Jul 2004 18:31:21 -0400, Arny Krueger wrote:

So far, my CPU core temp has yet to top 30C *knocks wood* I spent
about $60 over and above the cost of a stock Sonata w/ the stock P4
cooler.

I put a Zalman FanMate on the stock AMD cooler and slowly backed the fan
speed off until the chip temperature started rising. Currently the CPU chip
temperature is 33C with ambient at 78F. I can just barely hear any of the
fans with the case at ear height, about 3 feet away. I got a bunch of
FanMates on sale for $4 each, some time ago.


The cooler came with one, but I'm leery of putting a fixed device on my
chip cooler. Right now, I have more problems with ambient sounds than
DAW sounds, but I may look eventually at a front panel control or an
automatic control if I ever have enough time or money to make the rest
of my environment quiet.

On 7 Jul 2004 16:53:14 -0400, Mike Rivers wrote:

In article writes:

I used an Antec Sonata Case modded with a Nexus (Dutch company
specializing in low-noise air cooled supplies). and a Zalman copper
flower cooler.

Is the Sonata the one that's fairly heavy aluminum, with a door on the
front? I saw one at Micro Center that I thought was very nicely made.
It was definitely Antec and Sonata rings a bell.


Probably? The Sonata has a special single-fan version of their (iirc)
Tru Power 380, which they also put in thier "BQE" version of their
standard case.

The Sonata is distinct in that the drives are mounted from below in
removable trays on rubber grommets, sideways. I put the cables on the
door side of the case.

Their other case (SLK3700BQE) uses rubber grommets, but the drives mount
conventionally from the side.

The CD door is probably going to leave. It's the weak spot in an
otherwise well-designed case.

I have links to endpcnoise.com from my site.

BTW - my DAWs are less expensive than theirs.

Mike
http://www.MusicIsLove.com

Is the Sonata the one that's fairly heavy aluminum, with a door on the
front?

Sounds about right.

I saw one at Micro Center that I thought was very nicely made.

The door is a PITA when burning CDs with software that opens the CD tray at
the end of the burn.
I use Antec Sonata & they are well made. The plastic door is just a
dust cover & can easily be removed.

On 8 Jul 2004 09:13:38 -0700, Mike Cressey wrote:
I have links to endpcnoise.com from my site.

BTW - my DAWs are less expensive than theirs.

Mike
http://www.MusicIsLove.com

Yes, I only found them at all because they were linked as a source for
low-noise components on some other site.

Everything else I got from NewEgg like a normal persion. Only
"troublesome bit" was my '465PE mobo has Firewire with the Agere
chipset which I didn't know gave some periferals fits.

The card with the TI chipset was cheap enough, but I had to pick through
an entire Comp USA to find it--I couldn't find an online source that
listed the chipset.

But I like mucking about with systems, which isn't everyone's thing.

Hi,

In message , Arny Krueger
writes
"Mike Rivers" wrote in message
news:znr1089219584k@trad

I saw one at Micro Center that I thought was very nicely made.

The door is a PITA when burning CDs with software that opens the CD tray at
the end of the burn.

Ain't it just? I've managed to damage my Sony DVD burner because of
that. It no longer opens or closes without assistance after it collided
with the door during an automatic open. I'm guessing some teeth got
burred off a cog while it tried to push the tray out.

Still, it's an excuse to buy something decent. The damn thing never
would work right with UDMA enabled. Seems to burn at 4x ok in PIO mode
though.


It was definitely Antec and Sonata rings a bell.

Some problems with panels and the door buzzing. I've tried moving fan speeds
around to avoid the resonances, but it looks like I'm going to have to find
some Mortite...

Mine's been pretty quiet (except when the side is off...which is most of
the time at the moment). No buzzing, so I guess they vary in tolerance a
bit.

I guess that the good news is that mine has had no problems living at 80F.

I wouldn't know. It's mid-July and London got 1/2 inch of rain today ...


--
Regards,
Glenn Booth

U-CDK_CHARLES\Charles wrote:
The Sonata is distinct in that the drives are mounted from below in
removable trays on rubber grommets, sideways. I put the cables on the
door side of the case.

I looooove this feature. You can actually add and remove drives without
having to dig way down deep into the computer. For a while, I was
dual-booting Windows and Linux on a machine in a Sonata case, and it
was so easy to get at the drives, I'd just shut the computer down
and move the IDE cable from one boot drive to another. (I finally
stopped that when I wore out the IDE cable...)

The CD door is probably going to leave. It's the weak spot in an
otherwise well-designed case.

It's a little annoying that it sometimes catches the CD-ROM and
keeps it from opening, but I do like it since it keeps the noise
down a little (especially while reading or writing a CD). However,
I've noticed that it's not a problem (at least with my drive)
if I leave the door almost closed but not quite; then the CD
can eject just fine. One idea, although I haven't tried this
myself, is to break off the plastic tab that holds the door shut.
It's in the center vertically and on the outer edge of the door.
If you break that thing off, then you should be able to close the
door all the way and the CD drive should still eject just fine.
And you'd still get a neater appearance and some reduction in
noise when it's closed.

By the way, I actually have two Antec Sonata cases, and the
newer one is noticeably louder than the older one! The newer
one has a power supply that has connectors for Serial ATA
drives, so I think it's the power supply that is making the
difference in noise.

- Logan

spud scruffy lad wrote:
On 8 Jul 2004 09:16:53 -0400, (Scott Dorsey) wrote:


Well now I know what that thing is in my DAP-1 battery pack but how
would that help the simple fan circuit I was describing? The polyfuse
is normally closed- a short, if it were in parallel with my resistor
is seems like the resistor would have no effect, being shunted out of
the circuit and I would have noisy, full fan speed (but proper
cooling) as a normal condition. When it got hot (which it wouldn't
because the fan is roaring away) it would open and current would have
no other path and finally start going through the resistor and I would
then have low fan speed when I need full speed. We need the opposite
to happen, right? I'm probably missing the boat here as usual.
Thanks for your reply.

You can get 'em with both positive and negative temperature coefficients.
And also you can get traditional thermistors, which have a slow change in
resistance with temperature rather than the abrupt transition that the
polyfuse does.

I'll see if I can dig up a data sheet around here.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

spud scruffy lad wrote:
On 8 Jul 2004 09:16:53 -0400, (Scott Dorsey) wrote:


Well now I know what that thing is in my DAP-1 battery pack but how
would that help the simple fan circuit I was describing? The polyfuse
is normally closed- a short, if it were in parallel with my resistor
is seems like the resistor would have no effect, being shunted out of
the circuit and I would have noisy, full fan speed (but proper
cooling) as a normal condition. When it got hot (which it wouldn't
because the fan is roaring away) it would open and current would have
no other path and finally start going through the resistor and I would
then have low fan speed when I need full speed. We need the opposite
to happen, right? I'm probably missing the boat here as usual.
Thanks for your reply.

You can get 'em with both positive and negative temperature coefficients.
And also you can get traditional thermistors, which have a slow change in
resistance with temperature rather than the abrupt transition that the
polyfuse does.

I'll see if I can dig up a data sheet around here.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."