Sonata/BQE dilemma

tomknight · Post by **tomknight** » Thu Sep 09, 2004 1:21 am

I have a choice of cases for my new PC, a Sonata and a 3700BQE.

Okay, I've read the reviews and the recommended cases sections, and the BQE seems to win, but...

The Sonata's second hand, with AcoustiPack, going for 65GBP, while the BQE's going for Â£55 (+delivery) on its own. The downside for me about the Sonata is that in order to save money I'll be picking it up myself and walking through London and travelling home on a full commuter train with it!

Would you take the Sonata or the BQE?

Which has the quieter PSU?

Ta for any help,

Tom.

acaurora · Post by **acaurora** » Thu Sep 09, 2004 3:48 am

Go with the Sonata, which appears to be a better deal for you. Personally i'd rather go with the BQE, but the acoustipak with your sonata is a tough deal to beat. It still is a nice case.

tomknight · Post by **tomknight** » Thu Sep 09, 2004 3:55 am

Ta, that's what I was thinking overall - I just wanted someone out there telling me I'm not about to do somnething stupid (aside from lugging the damn thing across London!). The BQE seems better normally, but at this price....
Thanks for the opinion,

Tom.

liquid_celica · Post by **liquid_celica** » Thu Sep 09, 2004 7:50 am

My roommate has a sonata and my dorm mate as the BQE. Both are very good, but the sonata is very impressive. it takes quite a bit of time to make the BQE very quiet compared to the sonata. The dormmate with the BQE is hardcore about silencing his comp and he was the punk that got me into this.

After an Arctic Cooler VGA, 2 panaflo(one for the PSU and one for the front, a thermalright slk w/panaflo, stretch magic, Nexus 5.25 bay fan controller, and a zalman northbridge heatsink, the computer is finally silent. But if you're not willing to spend that many extra parts for your comp, then the sonata is the better choice. All the sonata needs is a descent heatsink and a fan controller.

burcakb · Post by **burcakb** » Thu Sep 09, 2004 1:17 pm

Sonata's PSU is better suited to modding than the 3700. Plus the Acoustipac is a very good deal. But be prepared for some indoor fighting to get your components inside

acaurora · Post by **acaurora** » Thu Sep 09, 2004 1:19 pm

The only difference between the stock PSUs of the Sonata and the BQE is that the Sonata has fan only connectors x 2 for 5V. Other than that, they're the same, other than wattage (the BQE's is 350, whilst the Sonata's is 300, i think). I dont see how that makes it *better* for modding.

Jordan · Post by **Jordan** » Thu Sep 09, 2004 3:52 pm

If you want the quietest stock PSU the BQE wins easily. I have built 2 systems in the BQE and 2 in the Sonata (inc my own). In the cases I dealt with the PSU and the rear fan of the BQE were both quieter than the equivelent in the Sonatas (Sonata rear fan on 5V).

tomknight · Post by **tomknight** » Fri Sep 10, 2004 6:39 am

Thanks for the feedback.

I'm getting the Sonata, as it looks like being just the right sort of deal.

I guess I'll have to cope with the CPU or see how I can go about making it quieter if it annoys me... so that'll be some more trawling of this site!

I only intend to use two fans so only having 2 5v fan connectors shouldn't be a problem, I hope. I'm also hoping that my stuff will fit inside, the core components are:

Asus KV8 SE Deluxe
Zalman 7000B AlCu
Zalman HP80C on graphics card

The Zalman website says the 7000 will fit on the KV8 without any caveats, unlike with the SocketA boards so I _think_ I'll be okay there

Tom.

xlyz · Post by **xlyz** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 2:52 am

Jordan wrote:If you want the quietest stock PSU the BQE wins easily. I have built 2 systems in the BQE and 2 in the Sonata (inc my own). In the cases I dealt with the PSU and the rear fan of the BQE were both quieter than the equivelent in the Sonatas (Sonata rear fan on 5V).

liquid_celica wrote:But if you're not willing to spend that many extra parts for your comp, the sonata is the better choice. All the sonata needs is a descent heatsink and a fan controller.

I have to take a similar decision, but it's not clear to me which is the best in term of quietness considering that I would like to run it with stock psu and fans.

any final final recommendation?

Jordan · Post by **Jordan** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 5:01 am

Don't get me wrong, I love my Sonata case for the styling and wouldn't swap it for anything else. To get it to a noise level I was comfortable with though required a new PSU, 2 new 120mm fans (running at an inaudible 650PM rather than a single audible fan at 5V) and a fan controller all of which cost me around Â£100.

The BQE has a sinificantly quieter stock PSU and a slightly quieter rear fan, so if you are looking to keep everything stock and save money the BQE wins it easily IMO.

I tested both Sonata;s and BQEs with only the case fan and PSU on. In each case the CPU fan was disconnected and there were no HDs connected. During operation (running Idle) neither the PSU in the Sonata or BQE ever ramped up their fan speed.

xlyz · Post by **xlyz** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 9:55 am

cheaper and quieter: that's good

what kind of quietness shall I expect? I will be placing beside me, 70-80 cm from where I sit. No desk or other stuff in between

currently I have a shuttle ss51g that it's driving me crazy

Jordan · Post by **Jordan** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 2:07 pm

"I will be placing beside me, 70-80 cm from where I sit" Like a desk fan?

You should never expect any PC to be extremely quiet from stock without working on it. Also your choice of CPU HS and fan, graphics card fan (if any) and NB fan (again if any) and HD will play a big part too. I should have said, the new Nexus case should be quieter than the Sonata and Antec but I wouldn't put a high powered system in it as the PSU is the sole exhaust.

Glitch · Post by **Glitch** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 2:42 pm

To correct a few things.

the BQE is 350watts (correctly stated)
the sonata has a 380 watt psu not 300... that's 30watts more than the BQE.

personally i have found the sonata psu quieter than the BQE. this was after i removed the fans from the sonata i realised how quiet it was.
because of the design of the sonata you need to have quieter fans inside the machine.

simply put i thought that the psu was making alot of noise in the sonata.. infact it was fans inside the case and not the psu at all.. the sonata's is near silent.

xlyz · Post by **xlyz** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 4:31 pm

Jordan wrote:"I will be placing beside me, 70-80 cm from where I sit" Like a desk fan?

on a small (and low) table just beside my desk

Also your choice of CPU HS and fan, graphics card fan (if any) and NB fan (again if any) and HD will play a big part too.

undervolted xp, possibly mobile, with zalman 7000, 9600xt possibly passively cooled, passive heatsink on nb. no decision yet for the hd

Jordan · Post by **Jordan** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 5:14 pm

"simply put i thought that the psu was making alot of noise in the sonata.. infact it was fans inside the case and not the psu at all.. the sonata's is near silent."

I have to disagree (again). I have had the Sonata and BQE PSUs running off the Mobo without any other fans. You may have got lucky with your sample or I may have been unlucky but the 2 I've dealt with have been fairly quiet but not SPCR standard. If you stick something in to stop the fan and listen to the nise difference it becomes pretty obvious. Near Silent is not a term I'd use to describe the Stock PSU or rear fan on the Sonata at 5V.

Agent420 · Post by **Agent420** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 5:29 pm

Skip it. Get the compucase LX-6A19. The Antec AMB is much better than the BQE and Sonata.
I will never buy another BQE. You must modify the harddrive cage,or the air flow sucks. The AMB/LX-6A19 just pulls out. Ive got my hdds and drive cage decoupled in the AMB,its great. Ill be posting pics soon.
The Antec PSU isnt gona be used in a quiet system,why pay for it. The LX-6A19 is $39 US,not sure how much elswehre,but your not paying ofr a PSU you will be replacing and the case is much more open at the top without the support bar that I belive Antec puts in the case just to ship with the PSU for added support. Dont think it does anything 2 help.

Jordan · Post by **Jordan** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 5:29 am

Remeber though not everyone needs absolute silence. The BQE is still decently quiet and the rubber grommets will be a big improvement over standard mounting systems for most people out there. I think the drive cages in the Sonata and BQE are great for custom suspension. You just have to string some ellastic or Stretch Magic across it and the drives will sit nicely.

EDIT: Though if you want a quick and very quiet solution try going for the Nexus Breeze case.

burcakb · Post by **burcakb** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 6:08 am

Sorry about my earlier post, I mixed up the BQE and AMB PSUs.

tomknight's question however was between a stock BQE and a Sonata with Acoustipack which IMO is a pretty good deal.

I completely agree on the Sonata/BQE drive cage however and used with suspension it's difficult to cool the drives with that drive cage arrangement.

Agent420, I'd love to see your pics. I've been turning over my mind how to suspend that cage and I'm still searching for ideas.

liquid_celica · Post by **liquid_celica** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 8:10 am

I also found that the sonata would be easier to suspend harddrives in. The drive cage is very easy to pull out and it allows a lot of room for suspension. That may affect your decision. The case about the sonata vs. the BQE psu, you would have to really be close to hear a significant difference in the psu. I checked it out and i would say that the psu fan for the sonata is a bit quieter if that. The one recommendation is a psu mod and a 120 mm swap along with a fan controller. Thats all you really need mainly for the sonata.

Tibors · Post by **Tibors** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 8:16 am

liquid_celica wrote:I also found that the sonata would be easier to suspend harddrives in. The drive cage is very easy to pull out and it allows a lot of room for suspension. [...]

Before anybody gets strange idea's. The drive sleds are easy to pull out. To remove the drive cage, you need to drill out four rivets. Two of which are in a difficult to reach location.

EDIT: Or maybe my drill is just too large

liquid_celica · Post by **liquid_celica** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 8:26 am

i concur...but those two screws you mention aren't that bad..

also taking out the drive sled only will do the trick but the airflow will not be as good as taking the cage out all together.

jnotop · Post by **jnotop** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 1:14 am

The sonata package-deal is the better deal, probably considerably so. The sonata's PSU makes it a better value even without the acoustipack-the truepowers claim transient response percentages around 3, while the SL series is 5% and has a weaker 12v rail.

That said, if you've already got a psu or are planning on needing something with a little more juice in the near future--the bqe is the better case. I put a noisetaker 470 in mine and it's the best case I've ever owned. The sonata's "antec" logo and shininess are frankly cheesy and it didn't have enough 5.25 bays. The sonata seemed a little tight inside to the point it looked like you'd have trouble accessing some things without taking others out or moving them around and makes anal cable-management a necessary practice for good airflow.

Glitch · Post by **Glitch** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 1:57 pm

Jordan wrote:I have had the Sonata and BQE PSUs running off the Mobo without any other fans. You may have got lucky with your sample or I may have been unlucky but the 2 I've dealt with have been fairly quiet but not SPCR standard.

hmm i'll only comment on the difference between the BQE and sonata i got.
side by side, without any other fan running, this is with the sides on.

i found the sonata psu to be quieter, just subtly, quite possibly 3-6 difference. to justify near silent operation, i can't hear the psu over the sound of my harddrives, which are a seagate, and maxtor 200gb drives (the seagate is quite a bit louder). if you need quieter just replace the fan, the psu itself is brilliant.

now there could be several reasons for our difference, with the side on the sonata is getting cooler air than the BQE. i think you might have got lucky with your BQE.

if your really looking for quiet, i would say you should look to do something with the harddrives first, for me the rubber grommets seem to do near nothing.

the shinness of my sonata is great i like it, it gives it an air of class, and the antec holes.. well i like that, and definatly helps with the psu temperatures. but if you want any airflow over the harddrives you will need a fan for them, cos the rear fan pulls almost all its air through the antec holes.

Jordan · Post by **Jordan** » Sat Sep 18, 2004 7:51 am

I don't actually have a BQE, both I tested were for customers. I have a Sonata with a Nexus NX4090 PSU and Nexus RS 120mm fans in front and back. I have also built a PC for a customer around the Sonata, hence 2 of each.

I put a blue cold cathode either side of the case on the support rails so it shines out of the Antec logo. It compliments the blue lights on the front a treat

xlyz · Post by **xlyz** » Sat Sep 18, 2004 12:04 pm

found a very nice case from silverstonetek: the tj 04

any experience with it?

Tibors · Post by **Tibors** » Sat Sep 18, 2004 1:16 pm

I have no personal experience with this case. But...
The front bottom intake looks even more restrictive as in the Antec Sonata. So his case is only usefull if you plan to create your own intake in the bottom of the case.

surfed · Post by **surfed** » Sat Sep 18, 2004 3:15 pm

The PSU Fan in the sonata is noisy in my opinion, its the only fan left in my case running at 1700rpm and I can clearly hear mechanical noise apart from airflow.

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Sun Sep 19, 2004 5:35 am

xlyz wrote:found a very nice case from silverstonetek: the tj 04

any experience with it?

Kinda reminds me of that Gmono case. It's an elegant looking case with poor front ventilation. Back fan grills would definitely need to be modded too.

I'd stay away from it unless you really don't mind doing some amount of case modding. It's certainly not a "turn-key" solution like the Evercase 4252 or the Antec SLK3700AMB/Compucase 6A19.

xlyz · Post by **xlyz** » Sun Sep 19, 2004 11:35 am

I think I'll settle for a slk 2650 BQE. I'm not completely happy with it, but at least it does not cost much, and I can always upgrade when I'll find the perfect one (quiet *and* stylish)

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Sun Sep 19, 2004 12:12 pm

xlyz wrote:I think I'll settle for a slk 2650 BQE. I'm not completely happy with it, but at least it does not cost much, and I can always upgrade when I'll find the perfect one (quiet *and* stylish)

blech. That would be settling, if you ask me.

Definitely inferior to the 3700/6A19 or the 4252.

Comments of the 2650BQE here and here.

Sonata/BQE dilemma

Sonata/BQE dilemma

Antec case + PSU