It must have been divine intervention for me to find this classic Antec P150 case 2 days before all the parts for my new build arrive.
It was posted in a store I rarely look at in the wrong section. After verifying this discontinued case wasn't advertised by mistake I ordered it.

This Sandy bridge build is intended to replace my aging Q6600 Protools LE DAW that is now a gaming rig (swaped the vid card for GTS 450). I'm still keeping it close by as a backup audio rig.

This went into this build

Intel i7 2600K CPU
Intel DP67BG motherboard
TermalRight Ultra Extreme original rev
G-Skill 2X4 GB ripjaw DDR3 1600
Crucial C300 SSD SATA3 6GB/S - System Drive
Nvidia Geforce 8500 512MB passive (from my previous machine) to drive 2x32" 1920*1080 monitors
Nvidia Geforce 210 512MB passive to drive a third monitor in a recording booth.
Antec P-150
Seasonic S12 II 520 80+ Bronze PSU
2 X Nexus 92mm fans
1 X Arctic Cooling PWM fan (older black version)
1 X Noctua 120 fan rated 1300 RPM
Asus optical drive
Audio drives - Samsung F1 1TB and WD 500AAKS

http://img717.imageshack.us/g/img2672m.jpg/

I would have used the Neo HE 430 PSU but has just 4 pin connection to the motherboard and I needed 8. I didn't want to take any chances with it so I swapped it for the Seasonic 520 I had.

QC lable on the P-150 is from 2006, yet I got it brand new!! Un F***KN' believable.
The AC PWM is spinning at ~500 using BIOS. This one is dead silent at 5cm The Noctua is is spinning at ~650 using BIOS control. 2xNexux 92mm fans are hard wired to 5V.

I should mention this is running Windows 7 64 home premium, Pro Tools LE 8.0.4 cs2. I OCed it slightly to 4.2GHz, but anything higher had temps rise to a level I wasn't happy with. It now Idles at 36c. Full load synthetic testing brings it up to 68. Typical work sessions run at ~45.

Very nice and clean build!

You might want to try using some tin snips to cut out the front fan grills - this could help to eliminate the whooshing sound.

Thanks,

I was thinking about it. There is a guy I know with a dermel not far from here and he has cut stuff for me before...

But TBH, I don't think its the wire grill. The (very faint) whooshing sound only happens with the front cover closed - indicating it must be the side vents.

Nice build !

And from my experience, I'd say it's the combination of the front wire grills + intake vents that make that noise. You can't remove the vents, so if you remove the grills, some of the noise should go away

Thanks Frenchie,

I'm still contemplating cutting. It will definatly look better in the forum pics. and its just a matter of removing the fan door and taking it nextdoor...

In terms of quietness I don't see the point though. From where I'm sitting I honestly can't hear it, and the room itself is accoustically isolated and treated for reflections, so I have very low ambient noise. The computer is under the desk so I don't have any direct sound path.

If anything its the hard drives that need treatment, but I'm not planning suspention, even though the case has the newer fabric ones like in the solo. I'm too concerned about the data on those drives to even try it. Plus I like the ability to swap HDDs quickly.

When the AC is on in the room (just about allways) it's contribution to ambient levels, however low, is way abouve anything this computer can produce.

Hey, nice build, but you may want to check your motherboard and see if it's being recalled: http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=61426&p=532302#p532302

They are ALL being recalled.

I don't have this issue as it is somthing that apperantly "5% of hardware may be degraded over a time of three years" according to Intel. Most testers and review sites have not seen any issues either. Its just some OEMs that have reported problems in intensive testing.

So Intel reports they have only recently became aware of it despite testing it for quite a few months now.

I will keep it until I can replace it with a fixed version. Its still working fine on my end.

I did however move my audio drive to the 6GB/s SATA prot as that chip is not affected by this bug.


All the details as well as an informed opinion can be found here

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4142/inte ... ins-recall

I'm not happy about this, yet I may be one of the lucky few who acctually get to work with this great CPU for a few more months to come.

I do have a second machine with 2600 for video editing and that one too is awsome.

EDIT: maybe its time to change my sig.

Great nice and clean setup, it's cool to see people still buying "old" solo

very usefull for us…thanks.

Nice - I'm thinking about doing something similar except w/ a tad more ram and hoping to fit a gtx 570 as the vid card - I know I sacrifice a bit of noise, but what do you think of the cooling/air flow - think it'll be able to handle it?

I've used the Solo for a gaming build a few years back. It was with 4850- a super hot card. The case can handle it if the card has a good enough cooler. I had to install Accelero twin turbo to keep temps in check. it's been all good since

The Solo is not the optimal gamer's case but I thinks it can handle just about any single card setup. If you are looking to push it to the limit you might want to try an open air desgin like Antec 300 - I've used it on many builds and it's as cool as it gets. Not a quiet case though

Thanks =) It's hard to walk away from the P150 / Solo - it's just so wonderfully designed.

can't agree more, the P150 is an awesome little box! I won't swap mine for anything else.

Nice clean build you did. Aint live sweet with a Crucials C300

Ty.

Yup those little C300s make a huge difference in workflow.

Nice build ame!

It's been a while since I've logged in to the forum. I actually stumbled upon your post while googling for a good way to install SSD in an P150, since I do have the same case you have.

Got mine back in 2008, even then it was rare and discontinued, I'd say you're a lucky bast**d!

Could you please provide info on what adapter you used to install the SSD in the P150 ? I have two Intel 320 80GB on it's way from NCIX, just need a way to install them.

I've found this: http://ca.startech.com/HDD/Mobile-Racks/25in-SATA-Removable-Hard-Drive-Bay-for-PC-Expansion-Slot~S25SLOTR , it's an interresting idea, but I'd rather leave my PCI slot bracket alone, since they're meshed and help with the heat of the graphic card. I've got an old 8800GT, almost the same as you.

Edit: I've finally found something, the Scythe 2.5" Twin Mounter Rev. C will do the trick. This picture confirmed everything for me. Previous revision do not have the mount holes below for use with the P150/SOLO HDD bracket.

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/image ... c-81_5.jpg

Why a P150 and not something like a P280 or R3? If this is for music production you want as little noise as possible and you're using 92mm fans for intake when you could be using 120's and there's no sound dampening material in there. I don't count the P150's vinyl sheets as doing anything but looking black btw ;D

I use my rig for mixing before I bring finals to the studio and I couldn't imagine using 92mm fans is all.

OP posted this almost a year ago. P280 and R3 weren't out.

As for me, I built my system in Frebruary 2008, and I do not wish to upgrade, the system works fine and is silent enough to my standard.

In the end, it really is a perception of the noise level you can tolerate. My computer is actually quiter than my 2007's MacBook Pro. The PC being below the desktop, I do not have direct fan/air ventilation noise. Sure, you're right, a single 120mm fan is quiter than two 92mm fans and moves about the same amount of air. But in the end, it all comes down to what dba level is correct for you.

I do not have the equipment to mesure my dba, but I'm quite certain that it's below 20dba @ 1m. Unless I overclock my system, the fans won't run at 1000rpm, but rather 600rpm.

The only noise that bother me, is a small whining electrical noise that I've been hearing when the computer is off since I've replaced my Phantom 500W for that Seasonic 850W. This is bisare, I had actualy the opposite once with a FSP Group 300W fanless PSU and an ASUS mobo. When the computer was turned on, but the load was too low, I had this same noise. But now it is happenning when the computer is off only. In the end, I just end up cutting the current with the PSU switch and I can sleep, otherwise this small continuous beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep would make me crazy!!

As Mari0 was kind enough to mention this is before P280 days, but even so if you had any experience with the Solo you'd know it is a very solid choice for a quiet build.

When running at low speed 92mm can be as quiet as 120mm, 140mm or 180mm. It depends on the fan itself not the size. Yes it would have been better to have 120mm intakes like in the Solo II. The only reason I'm using intake fans is to have more air come into the case thru the filter. Its not positive pressure but more of a balanced with a slight negative (tested using smoke). I opted to use a large number of very slow fans on this build and I am super happy with the way is sounds. I can say with great confidence that a single 120mm nexus at 12V (~100RPM) is more noticeable to the human ear than this system.

The vinyl sheets are very effective at stopping sound as opposed to foam that absorbs reflections to lower case resonance. Fortunately there isn't much to stop as the only noise sources are the slow ~600 rpm fans and the HDDs.

The system is overclocked to 4.4 and temps are 40-50 while mixing.


Mari0, i used a plastic $3 no-name adapter from 5.25 to 2.5 that ha room for 3 SSD. You can see it in one of the PICs.

My bad guys, I didn't see the post date and will be more careful going forward.

It's a nice looking rig however

Actually the P280 and the R3 are derivate of P180. Back in 2005, I was one of the lucky to get my hands on a P180 Black SPCR Limited Edition. I traded off this cse for the P150 in 2008, because cable management was a pain in the 3 different chamber of the P180. It was also very complicated to install anything in the P180 because of the various chambers, my hands wouldn't fit easily once the system was assembled, had to remove the graphic card to install additional DIMM just to make some room for my hands next to the Ultra-120 I had back then.

I also used to make LAN party event, and carrying this P180 was a real pain. Back then I had a huge NEC MultiSync FE992-BK monitor that was big too, carrying those two often made me sick. The P180 door also bugging me in the long run, i finally (by accident) ripped it off.

The P180 also had a top exhaust fan, which was completetly cancelling any kind of noise reduction in the rest of the case. I had to remove this fan and block that hole. The case was also very tall, it was a full tower instead of a mid tower. It wouldn't fit on the shelf below my desk, I had to put the P180 directly on the floor to be able to fit it under the desk. And we all know, that at the floor "level" there's a lot more dust that gets into the computer. I was washing every week the intake filters.

I wouldn't say the P180 wasn't a good case, but it definitely wasn't the case for my needs. I did have fun with it nevertheless, I remember my friend saying while we were at a LAN party: "Hey, does any of you have some RedBull?" and another answering: "Ask Phil, he brought his fridge!".

The P180 did look like a fridge.

The P150 is definately my favorite case so far. The SOLO II is an excellent revision of the P150, it brings lots of amelioration that were much needed for todays component.

The only problem with the P150 is also why I prefer it, it is white. Get me a SOLO II white, I would buy it straight away. But, white peripheral are rare to find, unless I go with some crappy Apple bluetooth pice of s**t keyboard and mouse. Right now, I have a Logitech mouse from the Logitech S 530 combo, but the keyboard died and I couldn't find any good quality full-sized white keyboard. I am now stuck with a tiny Logitech Wii keyboard. Yet again, my friend are laughting at me.