Need opinions on my possible future build

256 Views 6 Replies 2 Participants Last post by Shiobock, Mar 16, 2009

Shiobock

Discussion Starter · Mar 16, 2009

Hi!

I just happened to get an Antec Three Hundred for a very cheap price, and since I'm planning on a new build anyway I thought of asking the more experienced members here for any tips or criticism on my plans for my air cooling solution (not necessarily mine since it seems to be very common. Anyway..).

Specs of the build:
Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R
Intel i7 920
3 x 1GB Kingston HyperX 1600MHz DDR3
Gigabyte 9800GT with Zalman's cooler
Cooler Master Silent Pro 500W (thanks Re-Evolution!)

Now for the cooling:
Two Scythe Ultra Kaze 1000rpm's taking air in from the front side.
One Ultra Kaze 1000rpm in the back and a 140mm Spire on the top as exhaust.
For CPU cooling I was planning to get me a Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 or OCZ Vendetta II (if the LGA1366 brackets are to be found). For whichever it might be I'd aim either a push-pull or singe push fan blowing to the direction of either one of the exhausts.
Now of course I value silence over overclockability (especially because I'll be overclocking the 920 only ever so slightly), so I might go with the Noctua NF-P12's with U.L.N.A's if I get the extra dough, instead of Scythes. Silence is golden and duct tape is silver and all that jazz. Which one do you recommend? I'm a bit worried about getting too loud fans, since my present PSU fan is giving my right ear some tinnitus, I suppose.

Would a white paint + clear laquer on the body and black paint on the internals harm conductivity too much, considering my level of OCing (few hundred MHz?)?
Whilst thinking about it I quickly found myself modeling the 300 and I came up with this render:
I was thinking of calling it FjÃ¤llrÃ¤ven (mountain fox in Swedish)

Oh, and for the PSU I was considering Cooler Master Real Power M520 Silent Pro 500W (loving dem modular wires), which in this case (heh) would be put to the bottom, from where it would suck some air from under the GPU and blow it out, I suppose?

Here comes the crude drawing to aid my nonsensical babbling:

Now how about isolating the CPU by giving it it's own ventilation duct (I've seen people do it and get better results)? Also, there are these so called "BeamAir" systems from Nexus, which are sold as being able to focus the airflow better. I was thinking that maybe I should get one of these for the lower fan in order to blow the air more efficiently onto the GPU.

They look something like this, which in my opinion seem like bit of a hindrance to the airflow, eating away precious CFM (especially with low noise fans am I right?)

Sorry if the structure of the text is confusing, and thanks for reading all of it!

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Re-Evolution

· #2 · Mar 16, 2009

Looks good to me the only thing I would change is the PSU and go with the CM Silent Pro series instead since you are concerned with noise and it is also a single 12v rail system which has it's advantages.
500w
http://www.provantage.com/cooler-master-rs500-ambad3~7COOL062.htm
600w
http://www.provantage.com/cooler-master-rs600-ambad3~7COOL063.htm

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Shiobock

Discussion Starter · #3 · Mar 16, 2009

Thank you a bunch! That thing only added $15 to my expenses whilst making me feel already alot better

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Re-Evolution

· #4 · Mar 16, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shiobock

Thank you a bunch! That thing only added $15 to my expenses whilst making me feel already alot better

You're quite welcome.
I almost always check provantage first when pricing. There selection is a bit lacking but almost always the lowest price on what they have. I got my CM Cosmos there for $152 while newegg which is where many people go first it was $199.

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Shiobock

Discussion Starter · #5 · Mar 16, 2009

Amusing to notice that Newegg has higher prices than a general internet store in Finland (didn't use your site, sorry D

. Well I guess nobody is the ultimate best.

Someone on another (rather zealot filled) forum just told me the Three Hundred is bad for cooling, and that the Antec P182 would be heaps better in every way, not just more silent. Should I ignore this, as I really can't understand how would it be worth the price.

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Re-Evolution

· #6 · Mar 16, 2009

I would have to disagree based on the information I found.
No details were given on the test setup but they appear to be similar.
temps for the 182 you linked to above with an ambient of 23Â°

temps from a review I found comparing the 300 to the 1200 ambient was 26Â°

As you can see by the temps of the 300 vs 1200 the 300 actually outperforms the 1200 in areas and I really don't think that the 182 is better at cooling than the 1200. The test was done without the option front fans in the 300 so with those it would be even better. I would imagine the 182 is quieter though since it is a more sealed case and has a door.
Don't know about you but I will sacrifice a bit of quiet to acheive better cooling performance.

Source for 300 vs 1200 data
http://metku.net/index.html?path=rev...1200/index_eng

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Shiobock

Discussion Starter · #7 · Mar 16, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Re-Evolution

Don't know about you but I will sacrifice a bit of quiet to acheive better cooling performance.

That's what I was thinking!
I'm a bit worried about using three Ultra Kazes, since they're all rated at around 20dB. The bit more expensive S-FLEXes ought to do the job though, with the most silent one rated at about 9dB! I guess building a silent PC requires some money too, then!

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