Hi guys, i have been reading through these forums for a while now as a guest.
As you will see from my setup am am aiming for a silent media centre pc.
I bought, making a grave mistake a Thermaltake Mozart full atx compatible case.

Specs as follows:

http://www.thermaltake.com/product/Chassis/desktop/mozart/vc4001sns.asp

Dual 60mm fans quoted as being 19dba- No way!
What a disappointment.
Single 80mm fan quoted as 19dba- just as noisy, or noisier than the 60mm fans!

Along with it, i bought a spire Whisperrock V cpu cooler, also quoted at 19 dba- this is also not the case!

When i use speed fan to lower the rpm of the cpu cooler down to 900 rpm its still just as noisy.

Check out the product on their web page:
http://www.spirecoolers.com/main/product_cpu_detail.asp?ProdID=239

I’ve been thinking for a while about what i can do to silence my case, i have already suspending my two hard drives with elastic bands, but it hasn’t seemed to make any difference.

My power supply is a cooler master true power 380 w that is also suppose to be 19dba it isn’t but its way more quieter than anything else.

Tbh atm i am totally pissed that both these manufactures have been totally misleading allowing me to waste my hard earned money on products that don’t match the description!I thought i would have a silent case out of the box:(

My questions are, if anyone can be kind enough to help:

The spire cooler has mounting holes for an 80mm fan, is it worth replacing the stock fan on there with another fan?
I have been looking keenly at sharkoons eagle series, but as they are not popular here and i am unsure if they are better than some papst and panoflo's some guys in the forums would swear with, however they one the most recent custom pc fan labs, for being so quiet.

http://www.sharkoon.com/flash/data/PRODUKTE/fan/HTML/silenteagle_e.html

I’m interested in either getting an 80mm version, or a 120mm for my cpu heatsink with an adaptor, what do you suggest is it worth using an adaptor?
With the mozart case directly above the cpu heatsink there is actually a pre built circular duct built to hold a 120 fan, is it worth using that? as atm my case temperature is quite high. 40’c or so.
Does anyone one have any experience with sharkoon? or would anyone recommend anything else?
What about using a fan control panel? And if so, is it worth using it with my thermaltake fans first?
The airflow of the stock fans is really good, does this mean getting one of these quiet models would make my case temperature allot worse, if so i guess i could take use of that extra 120 slot.

AS mentioned previously i have made my own suspended drive section for my 2 hard disks, is it really worth getting an enclosure instead? and are there any that you can get that fit elsewhere but a 5.25 bay? because I don’t have the room! especially with a fan controller!?!

What 2 60mm case fans can i buy that will be quiet!!!?
I cannot find this answer anywhere, because of the way the Mozart is designed i cannot use an adaptor either! I am a bit conscious about overheating as well.

With regard to my 80mm case fan, will the sharkoons also be capable for that job and if so, which model should i get.

Are there any flexible fan adaptors 80-120 that i can use with this fan slot?

Is case dampening worth it? if so what is the best material to use/get?

I hope you peeps can help me as this has been looping my mind for weeks now.

I am sorry if this post seemed a bit blunt at times, but atm i am just eager to get to bed(early start tomorrow)

Thanks in advance!

ps just one more thing, I heard that these sharkoons wouldn’t let you lower the rpm speed with some fan controllers, is this possible?

Please can someone help me!i am so confused with what fans to buy, i notice the reccomended fan section of the site quotes fans that are quite old now, theyre are a lot of alternatives not listed, which will be the best models for me!
Thanks

Hello & welcome to SPCR!

For 80mm fans, it is possible to get models that are quiet at 12v. I have not used the Sharkoon fans, though. You can check the recommended fans section, and the Fan Test #1, which tested 80mm fans. I have used the Enermax thermally controlled 80mm fan (made by Globe) on heatsinks, and it is very quiet, but can be setup to run a little faster when it heats up.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811999014

For the intake, you might look at the 80mm Nexus; or possibly the Enermax Enlobal, or the Scythe NMB.

Quiet 60mm fans is pretty much an oxymoron -- they are not possible to be quiet, and still move enough air, unfortunately. There are maybe quieter models -- I would look for threads on 60mm fans and/or on other HTPC cases that use them.

As the 60mm fans won't do much good, I'd recommend removing them so they don't restrict the exhaust airflow. Try to design a positive pressure case. I would remove the fan on your CPU heatsink, and mount a 120mm on the vent above it so it blows down on the CPU. Don't bother with 120mm to 80mm adapters, axial fans don't work well against restrictions like that.

I've used the same thermally controlled Enermax 80mm that Neil mentioned, it's pretty good. The Arctic Cooling 80mm thermally controlled fan is even quieter, but moves less air. Nexus, Panaflo, Enermax, Arctic Cooling, and Scythe are pretty safe bets, I think.

For the 120mm, Yate-Loon or Scythe are the way to go.

Thanks so much for the reply guys, i was so glad to recieved two messages back!
I think your right about the airflow, the enermax offerings look very nice indeed(also very good value for money) although over in europe i have to pay more than double than it costs on newegg.com in the US!
I did however find a respectable dealer who ive ordered from before selling them.
The artic cooling also look nice.
Just a few more questions before i place the order really, first of all you mentioned placing a 120 fan above the heatsink after removing the spire fan would be a good idea..i just opened my case to find the lovely guys at thermaltake have made a fan bracket like this:


If you cant see in the pic the distance between lines is 80

On thermaltakes site there is no detail on what fans you can use in that hole, i searched for triangular fans-cannot find any, as i am waiting an email back from thermaltake about the fact they lie about there fan specifications i will not even bother to email them again!

I was mistaken in thinking the hole was for a 120 fan.
How the hell can i mount something in there?Drill my own holes?
Will taking the fan off my spire and using a 80,92 - or 120 fan (depending on what you reccomend)with that hole provide enough cooling but remain silent with using the normal spire heatsink?Or will i have to buy a better heatsink like a passive version?

At the front intake will def buy that enermax as it is V good bang for buck.

I just need to decide about the cpu fan/mount above the fan, bearing in mind the heatsink will hold a standard 80mm fan as standard.

Considering the circumstances, is it worth using that hole above the heatsink case?Or shall is stick to just replacing the 80mm fan?If so will the enermax provide enough silent push to keep it from overheating?

Thanks again!
Tim

Hi Tim,
I can agree with disphenoidal about trying to make a positive pressure case with removing the 60mm rear fans. I really recommend the Arctic Cooling Arctic Fan Pro2L case fan for the front spot. I have three; there is negligible sample variance and they are practically silent at the low setting. It's also only US$6. You can use hot glue or silicone caulk to mount a 120mm on the top vent. It's what I would do - I'm a ghetto modder. Best wishes silencing your system. After you're done, show it off in the General Gallery forum!

Thanks guys, yesterday i ordered 2 x artic pro tc 80mm and one 120mm nexus(as i heard its the same fan as included in my gaming systems power supply-and it is dead silent)
I also bought some case dampening and rounded cables/shrink wrap and cable wraps for my cables.
I decided to mount 1 80mm infront as the intake fan and the other directly above the heatsink, i bought rubber mounts and grommits for these aswell aswell for the power supply.

I noticed next to that 80 x 80 hole there was a secret hard drive mount, with screw slots on the side, after looking at zalmans mount anywhere fan bracket, i realised there would be enough room to attach a 120mm fan there blowing from the cpu towards my pci card rack(inc my passive 9200se) this should keep temps below the 50 mark that i was usually getting.
I also bought some cheap elastic of ebay to dangle my 2 hard drives infront of the intake 80mm-these drives would get burning hot.
I will remove the 2 x 60mm or volt mod them, as i also bought the akasa 5.25 bay volt controller.
However these thermaltake fans only have the 4 pin molex connector, but offer good airflow, i think its def worth modding them as its better having them than nothing, they do fit in with the possitive airflow as they extract air out the back of the case.
How can i mod the fans to work with my akasa when i get it, because im quite sure it wont have connectors for the 4 pin molex.
Is this the best thing to do?as there will be 2 fans blowing towards my pci agp slots, is it worth taking away all the slot plates, to let more air escape at the back, or will this increase more?
Atm the only ventilation is at the top-a grill above the agp slot and above the cpu cooler, ofcourse the vents behind the 60mm fans are already there!
Abit more advice, mainly on modding the 4 pin molex to a 3 pin connector would be usefull!

Atm i cant wait to get all my stuff delivered!Exciting and addictive stuff!
Thanks again

I have the same case. I actully put a Yate Loon 120mm fan in the front. Since there aren't any holes for the 120, I was able to get the hard drive bracket to hold the fan in place, while the 2 case prongs hold the bottom of the fan.

Its not pretty but it works great. It greatly reduced the sound. For the CPU heatsink, I bought the Thermalright SI-97A CPU Cooler and the Nexus 92mm fan. Very quiet and has helped to keep the CPU temp down.

Let me know how your build goes. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with the 2 rear 60mm fans. If you find a solution let me know.

Thanks for the reply, it strange to have a reply in such a long time!

Here is the update to my current info.

I currently have the following fans in the following possitions

At the rear i have 2x accoustifan dustproofs 60mm- they make a clicking close but are inaudible far away, the good thing is that they come with 5v/7v/12v adaptors, at 12v they are bit to audible tho.

On my cpu i have my stock spire heatsink(i removed the whisperock fan because it was like a lawn mower) and instead placed an 80mm artic cooling tc pro fan-it is temp controlled, unfortunatley it doesnt do a very good job with the crappy standard spire heatsink as my cpu idles at 50'c

Atm i have a nexus 120mm 1000rpm resting on the hd fan hole plate that fits above there, using some elastic bands it is directly above the ac heatsink fan, it doesnt make much of a difference to cpu temps but has reduced the case temps to about 35.

At the front as an intake i use another temp controll artic cooling 80mm, it is absolutley useless for the job,does not pull in enough air(they are not really powerfull, its the same with the one on top of my heatsink)very quiet but not impressed by the temp sensor, nor the cfm.

At the back i realise my radeon 9250 was generating a lot of heat, so i bought an extracting pc adaptor fan(these are suppose to be very noisy, but i voltmodded mine down to 7v, its just about audible when you are near but im satisfied)

On top of that i padded my case with some akasa damping, i was really impressed with that padding, it takes away a lot of fan high pitch noises/rattling, which is depremental with the mozart.

However my case temps idle 35 and my cpu 50, i think i may get that thermaltake heatsink you have next and leave my nexus 120 above it alone,(not sure what il do with the other 80mm ac)

Infront of my intake 80mm ac i also have two hds held in scythe quiet drives and suspended beneath the panel on the left of the case, with elastic bands suspended of each other, this keeps my case temps down compared to before but i am sure its blocking the airflow from the crappy cfm ac fan.

The problem with the case is airflow design, the front needs more ventalation and I DEF need a more powerfull fan there to make up for it.

Heat also rises, and sucking air down from the cpu air vent is not going to help with it escaping.

I think however improving the cpu cooling will aprove alot with my case temps as well.

Does your yate loon increase your airflow?where are your hdd's?in the standard bay?

How did you get that yate loon on the front?did you buy the drive bay from a shop? or did you rip it from an old case?or was it the one that cae seperate with the case?

Personally i will never buy anything thermalintake again.

Stock fans are terribly noisy completed marketed wrong.
Never got a reply from there support(this was also the case with the spire whsiperock i had)
Case is cheap build-aliminum rattling,terrible airflow design.
The imedian software that comes with the VFD is good, it has the potential along with the IMON software for the remote to be ALOT better and the remote control is useless to use as you need to point it always at the front of the case?!?!?#


Do you have the same problem, or do you not have the vfd version?

Your solution for the rear fans sounds interesting, I may have too look into that.

The Thermalright, not thermaltake, is the heatsink you want. There is a difference. Just make sure you get the Thermalright, and use your Nexus fan for it. Mine could take a 80 or 92.

My HD are using the standard location. I also took out the 3.5 bay holder since it served no use. THe 120mm fan will fit betwween the HD rack and the case, its atight squeeze, but it works. Good air flow.

I got the fan at nextfan.com. I think it was 3.99 in orange (wanted to keep the color scheme going). http://www.nexfan.com/yate-loon-all-ora ... sl-12.html

I ddin't buy the VFD. I actually got the case through Thermaltake refub shop, so at least it only cost me 50 bucks shipped. I agree, its not the best HTPC box out there (that's what i'm using it for). No box should require a 60mm fan. They are way too loud.

Thanks for the update and good luck. Where did you purchase your 60mm fans from?

Is it possible to put a 120mm fan above the heat sink as an extractor rather than a inlet fan with the CPU cooler fan reversed to pull ait through the heatsink? This should lower case temps all around.

Yes, im not sure if you have the mozart also, but there is a long metal pane that has a whole in above the heatsink, it goes underneath the top cover of the case(where this is also a ventilation hole).

Although i dont think your idea would work, the heatsink would get to hot with just an extracting fan, it needs air blown on to it, i suppose it would be possible to turn that fan around and then use a fan to blow the heatsink from the side, but if the fan is blowing down you cant turn a stronger fan against it blowing the other way, this would muck up airflow completely.
I was looking at maybe a skythe katana with a fan on the side but the thermalright cooler also seems very attractive.

When I said to try reversing the CPU fan, I meant flipping it over so the fan sucked air up through the heatsink rather than blowing it down into the heatsink. Even if the case doesn't allow you to fit an extractor fan above, this alone could help reduce temps.

Im not entirely sure if that would work, the heatsink isnt very big, have you found it reduces temps compared to the other way round then?even with for example a stock amd heatsink?

In a 'normal' situation, I don't think it would make much difference which way the fan flows air but given your case has the open vent above the CPU, it would make sense to blow towards it and aid the convection flow rather than fight it blowing down.

Hi,

you have my sympathies. The mozart is the worst case I've ever had the misfortune to own. Personally, I will NEVER buy another TT product. Today, I decided to actually scrap the case and start again. The case is so poorly designed that it's almost impossible to mount your hardware inside it. Why are the cables so long - you know, the front panel and vfd cables are about 5 times as long as they need to be. As soon as I saw this I knew that no real effort had been put into the design of this. And yeah, as for the silent fans. Well, if you're watching a movie through this box and turn the volume up to near deafening levels then, yes, you can't hear the fans. Every time I've opened it up I get irritated by the awful design. Also, airflow - there isn't any decent airflow at all in this case. Even using the supplied fans at stock speeds my HDDs (2 installed) were reaching temps of 55 degrees whilst idle. Not happy with it at all. I might try and sell it on ebay but I would feel really bad taking someone elses hard earned cash for this pos.

Anyway, rant over - my advice, get a new case. The mozart sucks big time.

Hi Guys,
I can't believe how bad this case is. There is no way it should be classed as a htpc case with the noise that it makes. At the moment I am running the case with the supplied 80mm front intake fan and the supplied cpu fan. The majority of the noise now seems to be coming from the supplied 430w thermaltake power supply. The case is running hotter than I would like, I have tried a number of options. I installed a Thermaltake XTunner fan controller which slowed the fans down, but the wind noise was replaced with an even worse humming sound. I have added rubber strips underneath the top of the case which has dampened the vibrations a lot. Also tried strapping a 120mm fan above the cpu to blow heat out of the top vent but as indicated above this seems to affect the cpu cooling which is blowing air in the other direction. The 120mm fan also added to the noise. I found the supplied 80mm and 60mm fans were quiet when not installed in the box and that the majority of the noise was due to the air passing through the vents, so tomorrow I am going to pull everything out of the case and take to it with an angle grinder to remove the vents. I have the case in an entertainment unit with an open front and an open section out the back. I attempted to build a fan snorkel (using the 2 60mm fans) to suck the air out the back of the unit and to take it above and away from the unit, this did take the hot air away but the noise was like a wind tunnel. I am considering replacing the thermaltake psu with a heatpipe cooled zalman psu. I have one hdd installed vertically in the 3.5"bay and the other horizontally behind the 80mm intake. The comment about the extra long front panel cables was on the mark...perhaps thermaltake intended for all the components to be installed outside the case....the ventilation is shocking. If anyone has persisted with this case and has come up with a quiet solution I'd love to hear about it.