Good case/PSU for i3 530, H55 & Radeon 5770

Olaf van der Spek · Post by **Olaf van der Spek** » Thu Feb 18, 2010 7:28 am

I'm building a new PC for a friend and I'm a bit stuck on case and PSU. It should be a quiet (game) PC, so I picked a i3 530, H55 board and Radeon 5770. I live in the Netherlands (might be important for availability).

The processor and videocard don't generate much heat, especially at idle, so is noise a non-issue? It should be quiet, silent isn't a requirement.

For cases I've looked at AOpen QF50G (just cheap), Cooler Master Elite 342 (just cheap), Nexus Clodius, Antec Sonata III 500 (includes 500 W PSU) Antec Three Hundred and Antec Performance One Mini P180.
For PSUs I've looked at Antec Earthwatts EA 380D Green, Antec Earthwatts EA 500 (two PCI-E power plugs, needed if videocard is upgraded) and Nexus Value 430.

Would noise differ a lot between the cheapest case and PSU (AOpen QF50G) and the more expensive ones (Antec Sonata III 500)?

maalitehdas · Post by **maalitehdas** » Fri Feb 19, 2010 1:29 am

Your selection of cases look good, lacking Antec SOLO thou. I'd go for one with ideal locations of exhaust vents (ideally in a direction where possible noise may flow). Also make sure that your GPU fits in for its lenght. SPCR's recommended PSU's with one 12cm fan are ok, if the fan is still too noisy you can always replace it inside the PSU. Corsair, Seasonic and Enermax makes pretty nice PSU's to add to your list.

Olaf van der Spek · Post by **Olaf van der Spek** » Fri Feb 19, 2010 5:39 am

I can't find the Solo at http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?Series=NDE=

The 5770 isn't a big card AFAIK, so that's no problem.

bozar · Post by **bozar** » Fri Feb 19, 2010 6:44 am

Olaf van der Spek wrote:I can't find the Solo at http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?Series=NDE=

The 5770 isn't a big card AFAIK, so that's no problem.

It's in the Sonata family now.

Olaf van der Spek · Post by **Olaf van der Spek** » Fri Feb 19, 2010 9:32 am

I don't really like the design.
Are there any reviews that compare something like the AOpen to an Antec case? It'd be interesting to see how big the differences are.

Fungi · Post by **Fungi** » Sat Feb 20, 2010 6:16 am

The Sonata III is a fairly nice case, but it's got low airflow and is a pretty big pain in the butt to work in. I would lean towards a Mini P180 with relaxed fans since those components you chose don't generate that much heat indeed.
As for PSU, the Antec green PSUs have small front fans so I'd actually go with something with a 120mm fan, like the TruePower series (550 should be plenty). I've heard the TP fan is so weak it can get air pulled backwards by strong case fans, but with the dual chamber design of the P180 series that should be a non-issue.

Olaf van der Spek · Post by **Olaf van der Spek** » Mon Feb 22, 2010 7:01 am

550? I only really need 380 W. 550 W TP is pretty expensive.

Fungi · Post by **Fungi** » Mon Feb 22, 2010 7:59 am

That's true, and I just read that "silent" isn't a requirement so it should be fine. Many people here would only settle for a PSU with a 120mm fan though :p

Olaf van der Spek · Post by **Olaf van der Spek** » Mon Feb 22, 2010 11:15 am

I had the Nexus Value 430 in mind, but it's a bit expensive in the shop I'm using.

maalitehdas · Post by **maalitehdas** » Mon Feb 22, 2010 11:37 am

I have a Seasonic S12II 430W. It was very quiet already with a stock fan, now i've changed the fan to a Scythe flex after a couple of years of use and it doesn't seem to have any sound any more

(yes, the fan is spinning). I have a low power system, so scythe's half airflow (compared to original fan) is enough in my build. Seasonic's have had a good word around here for a long time, recommended.

Flanker · Post by **Flanker** » Mon Feb 22, 2010 2:27 pm

considered cx400? as long as you are not torture testing it or something its noise should be bearable

Olaf van der Spek · Post by **Olaf van der Spek** » Tue Feb 23, 2010 5:59 am

Flanker wrote:its noise should be bearable

That doesn't sound good.

Olaf van der Spek · Post by **Olaf van der Spek** » Tue Feb 23, 2010 6:01 am

maalitehdas wrote:I have a Seasonic S12II 430W.

Seasonic is a bit expensive.

bozar · Post by **bozar** » Tue Feb 23, 2010 6:24 am

Off course a Aopen case would do fine but it would take lots of modding before it's quiet enough. That's the best part of Solo, cut out the fan grill in the back and swap fan for a Nexus or Scythe and you are done.
With a Aopen case you'll have to dampen the sides, make major modifications to provide an adequate HDD-mounting and cable management for enough airflow.

Olaf van der Spek · Post by **Olaf van der Spek** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 3:07 am

I went with a Mini P180 White and an EarthWatts 380D Green. Let's see how that turns out.

bozar · Post by **bozar** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 7:53 am

It will be fine, if you want even lower acoustics you'll only have to swap the fan in back of the case and the PSU.

Olaf van der Spek · Post by **Olaf van der Spek** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 8:38 am

Even when you set those fans to slow / medium? There's also a fan in the top.

Fungi · Post by **Fungi** » Sat Feb 27, 2010 5:03 am

The Antec TriCool fans are just tolerable on low, blah on medium, and ridiculous on high. And even on low they provide terrible airflow.
Highly recommended to use anything else like Scythe or whatever you can get there.
The top fan is a 140mm fan and you can't change that easily.

Check out SPCR's review of the mini P180 for recordings of the case and several fan configurations.

Olaf van der Spek · Post by **Olaf van der Spek** » Wed Mar 03, 2010 12:46 pm

Fungi wrote:The Antec TriCool fans are just tolerable on low, blah on The top fan is a 140mm fan and you can't change that easily.

It's actually 20 cm.