just got one of the big zalman heatsinks (7000-AlCu) and it doesn't fit well in my case because the power supply is too close. was looking at getting a sonata.

q1. the 7000-AlCu heatsink on an asus a7n8x deluxe in the sonata...does it fit?
q2. how is that psu that comes with the sonata? would it run safely on an L1A at 5V? is any mod possible to make it inaudible (or at least as quiet as an nx-3000)?

the zalman will fit just fine on the a7n8x deluxe in the sonata

dunno bout the psu w/ a l1a though...never tried it

I don't know how much bigger a 7000 is compared to the 6000cu I have. But there is plent of room for mine.



The PSU is "low noise", but unfortunately it is far from silent and it runs very hot.

The only good ting I can say about the Sonata is that it looks good...

- Nik

I have owned my Sonata for about 15 months, and offer you the following oservations:

1. With regards to the 7000 series zalman heatsinks, I would urge anyone to check their website with regards to Motherboard Compatibility with this series heatsink. I believe this is the link you need: http://www.zalman.co.kr/product/cooler/ ... t_eng.html

2. The Antec 380 PSU is on the SCPR recommended list---but my experience with it over the last year was that it gradually grew louder and louder. Finally, I replaced it. I wanted to get a Seasonic 400W PSU with the 120mm fan, but the countless posts on this SPCR BB of its inconsistency led me to the Zalman 400B--not currently on Mike's recommended list like the Antec 380-- but this PSU is certainly quieter in my Sonata case than the Antec 380 ever was.

3. With regards to heat---Ambient room temps, and processor choice, certainly impact the heat factor. My Sonata runs typically at 95F on the MB, and 110F at the CPU. My typical ambient room temps are 68F-72F, and my processor is a P4 2.6B, on an ASUS P4PE MB, with 1024 RAM and 2 HDD. According to D temp, the HDD temps are typically 42C.
(FYI:The MB and CPU temps are identical no matter if using MBM5, or the ASUS Probe.)

I am satisfied with the Sonata. Never tried the included Antec PSU but very happy with the very quiet Nexus NX-3000.

I have for the first time ever a system that is very quiet and I am quite pleased.

I'm using the 380s in another case - a much larger case - along with a PSU duct. The fan in the PSU does ramp up all the way to 1750 rpm. Plus the fan has an annoying bearing noise. Maybe with a little bit of modding it could be made silent