Need a cheap but quiet case + PSU

Enclosures and acoustic damping to help quiet them.

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Devonavar

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b0ng0
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Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2005 3:37 am

Need a cheap but quiet case + PSU

Post by b0ng0 » Thu Jul 21, 2005 1:30 am

Hi, I am going to be building a new computer which has an AMD Athlon 64 3000+ (Venice), 1 GB RAM, 80-120GB SATA Seagate HD, Leadtek 6600GT graphics + DVD-RW. However, because I am trying to cheap the computer under £500, the case and power supply add quite a significant amount to the cost.

Basically I am looking for a decent, cheap but quiet case recommendation and also a PSU (probably about 400W). If the power supply comes with the case, all teh better (I think...)

Thanks

Bad ConNecTioN
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Joined: Wed Jul 20, 2005 3:19 pm

Post by Bad ConNecTioN » Thu Jul 21, 2005 1:43 am

How cheap?

b0ng0
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2005 3:37 am

Post by b0ng0 » Thu Jul 21, 2005 1:45 am

Em.. like up to £50 inc. PSU (so like $90/100), or £20-35 ($35-70) without PSU.

(Not sure about currency conversion, but I think im near enough..)

merovingian
Posts: 96
Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2005 7:56 am

Post by merovingian » Thu Jul 21, 2005 1:53 am

MSI-Neo4-F
Corsair Value select ram
Coolermaster Centurion 5 case
250GB Western Digital Hard Drive
NEC 3540 DVD-RW
Lite on DVD
Seasonic 430W PSU
Gigabyte GV-NX66T128VP 6600 GT

How does that sound?

b0ng0
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2005 3:37 am

Post by b0ng0 » Thu Jul 21, 2005 2:00 am

Sounds pretty damned good!

But how much would all that cost?.. :shock:

scara
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Location: UK

Post by scara » Thu Jul 21, 2005 2:12 am

The Antec SLK 3000B is one of the most popular cases around here.

It costs around £30 from Micro Direct and eBuyer without PSU.

b0ng0
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2005 3:37 am

Post by b0ng0 » Thu Jul 21, 2005 2:17 am

That looks pretty good, although a Centurion 530 would cost only £5 more and looks nicer ;).

The main thing that bothers me is PSU. I dont want to fork out 40 bones for a PSU, but at the same time I want one that is like 400W or thereabouts, and relatively quiet..

merovingian
Posts: 96
Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2005 7:56 am

Post by merovingian » Thu Jul 21, 2005 2:44 am

I'm in the U.S. and the C5 is 33% cheaper here than the 530. :shock:

So by all means I like the 530 more for just a little more cash, it has two 120mm fans inside! :D

PSU wise I would stress to go higher quality. I like the Antec 430W True Power 2.0 but while it seems to be cheaper (25%) it's also louder by a bit.

Eitherway you will have a kick ass system. :D

The antec case doesn't look like it gets solid airflow to me and those vents on the side usually just create hard drive noise in my experiance. I dunno though. :wink:

Ralf Hutter
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Post by Ralf Hutter » Thu Jul 21, 2005 5:42 am

merovingian wrote:The antec case doesn't look like it gets solid airflow to me and those vents on the side usually just create hard drive noise in my experiance. I dunno though. :wink:
The Antec SLK3xxx series has great airflow. The CAG can be covered up, if that's not your bag. SLK3000B's have been going for $50 shipped lately. I can't imagine a better case for that sort of money. Heck, even for $70-80 shipped, it's still a great deal.

The 530 has the same CAG as the SLK300B plus it has the funky sideways (airflow-blocking) HDD cages that would probably need to be removed for optimal cooling.

Devonavar
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Post by Devonavar » Thu Jul 21, 2005 9:07 am

I'd recommend cutting the capacity of your PSU to 300W but make sure you get a quality brand (Seasonic S12 330W, e.g.). The wattage capacites are pretty much all marketing anyway, and the cheapest higher wattage power supplies tend to just be over-rated low capacity units. Both the Centurion 5 and SLK3000B are decent cases, but the SLK3000B probably gets the nod, if only because it's been a favourite around here for so long.

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