Advice needed regarding existing case upgrades

Telix · Post by **Telix** » Sun May 15, 2005 4:16 pm

I currently have the following system setup:

Fong Kai FK-603 case with:
generic 80mm rear case fan
Antec Truepower 550w power supply with fan speed controller

Abit NF7-S 2.0 with stock chipset fan
Athlon XP 2400+ @ 200x10 with Vantec Aeroflow HSF
512MB Corsair XMS RAM (Going to 1 GB this week, finally)
Five HD's. 2 currently external, one of which will be put into the case, one removed completly.
ATI 9800XT with VGA Silencer
Chaintech AV710 (music)
Soundblaster Audigy (games)

Since I recently upgraded my audio card and speakers (got two M-Audio BX5 monitors), I really want to reduce the noise from my case. Here are my plans:

Replace Vantec Aeroflow with Thermalright SI-97 and a Nexus 92MM fan
Replace generic 80mm case fan with Nexus 80MM case fan
Move external drive to internal.
Mount HDs with rubber grommets, or suspend the four drives.
Tape off all extra holes on case, use car air filter in front of intake holes for maximum surface area.
Possibly dremel out metal where air intake/exhaust takes place.

I feel these steps will significantly reduce noise from my case. Do you think it would be advantageous to replace the stock chipset fan with a large heatsink (ie Zalman) designed for chipset cooling? Are there better performing/quieter Socket A HSF solutions than the SI-97 with a Nexus 92MM?

Thanks for any advice.

vapb400 · Post by **vapb400** » Sun May 15, 2005 4:23 pm

It would definitely be advantageous to remove the chipset fan, they tend to be incredibly loud.

Telix · Post by **Telix** » Sun May 15, 2005 4:25 pm

vapb400 wrote:it would definitely be advantageous to remove the chipset fan, they tend to be incredibly loud.

And for $5 for a zalman kit, it's hardly worth worrying about the cost!

scara · Post by **scara** » Mon May 16, 2005 3:30 am

You may want to change the power supply while you're at it. You'll definately want to within a week of making the other changes.