Hi, I want to cool down:

• 4 WD HDD (buying Samsung or Seagate next time)
• GF3Ti200 passive cooled (buying Radeon when HL2 is out)
• A64 3000+ (or even better, faster, stronger) on a nForce3 mobo (DFI LanParty maybe, have to be passive cooled chipset)!

I am just wondering if any of theese combos would work on my Antec Sonata. Which is the best?

1. XP-120 with Papst 26dB (airflow direction up) routing hot air out the 120mm fan hole at the back of the Antec Sonata using a fanduct!
2. Fanless XP-120, with Papst 26dB as exhaustfan mounted at the 120mm fan hole at the back of the Antec Sonata. (airflowdirection up or down?)

I am using the standard Antec 120mm fan for fresh air intake through the harddisks in front!

Think I will notice a big difference if I buy a PSU with 120mm fan in any of the above configs?

Or is the Zalman Reserator1 Fanless WC System the way to go?

If You duct the CPU through the back case fan hole, what means are You planning to use to remove the rest of the heat out of the case?

It could work w/ a PSU that has a 120 mm fan...

Cheers,

Jan

I voted for option #2 but I'd either ditch the Sonata for something with better airflow (SLK3700AMB, Evercase 4252) or do some major modding to the front wall+ sub bezel of the Sonata to increase it's airflow. Your CPU cooling plan may work fine but it's going to put the majority of the cooling load for the rest of your case onto your PSU exhaust fan. That makes it more important to have very good airflow through your case.

I agree with modding the front of the case.

I've been thinking about an issue similar to this. I think you may need to look into a 120mm fanned PSU to make it work. There is nothing to stop you from trying it out though. 120mm fan duct + 120mm PSU, no front case fan, but modded bezel for airflow may work well.

I think those HDDs will be really making you suffer mind. They are very likely to be contributing the most amount of noise you hear from your case. New HDDs or silent drive bay enclosures are an expensive option though

You'd probably want to make sure that it was a 120mm PSU whose fan didn't ramp up as the internal PSU temps increase, since you'd be pulling hot case air through it.

maybe he should move teh psu back so the duckt is not up against the 120mm fan.

And are you sure that the XP-120 will fit in the Sonata ? It's a fairly small case and you might have problems with the XP-120 butting up against the psu. One of the reasons I decided to go with the BQE over the Sonata was because of space concerns with the XP-120.