I'm starting to build a custom PC for the first time in 2 years and I wanna get it right. 1) My first order of the day is ordering me the case, Coolermaster ATCS 840 and a window to go with it. Now from what I've read from the various reviews of the case due to the cases enormity theres a bit of a dead zone of air at the back due to it being pulled up and out the roof before the air gets that far back, so I'm going to add the 2 optional fans to the hard drive bay. Also I hate black fans, they remind me of servers and grubby corporate PC's I used to spend my time in, so I want to replace the back fan too. Apparently the case is "whisper quiet" to quote the bit tech review and looking at coolermasters site they rate the fans at 17db and 19db. So I was going to order 3 of http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Akas...me-and-bright-white-rotor-blade-w-4-white-LED for the case, but in my eyes 7 quid just seems too cheap for a fan that quiet! Are they a good choice or should I being going for different ones? Also I'm not into the Nocuta fans either as chocolate *ahem* brown and white doesnt do it for me either! 2) Will a Titan Fenrir fit on the P6T deluxe as the review pictures make it look really beefy and I'm worried it will hit the mosfets, ram, NB etc. And the glory of e-commerce is trial and error buying is much harder as you have to post all the things back, so if someone could put my mind at rest as to if it will fit. http://images.bit-tech.net/content_images/2009/05/titan-fenrir-ttcnk85tz-cou-cooler/case-s.jpg 3) Will a Asus Xonar DX fit? It would have to go in the very top PCI-E 1 port and it seems like it should clear the fancy NB cooler, but as with the Fenrir I wanna be sure before I commit my hard earned! http://images.bit-tech.net/content_images/2008/12/asus-p6t-deluxe/5-3.jpg 4) Finally will I need extra long SATA cables for my CD drives? The case looks so vast and the P6T has its SATA ports on the bottom so I'm a little concerned about the cables reaching, as you guys at bit tech have seen it, can you advise me if I need them? After those little niggles are sorted I'll get cracking Cheers guys!
1) the fans look fine, although 17-19dB isnt amazingly quiet and you can get better CFM from 120mm fans at that noise level. The should do the job i would say but you can get better if you wanna sacrifcie looks. the noctura NF-S12-1200 shift 48CFM at 17dB although cost £15. 2) yeah the TITAN will fit the P6T deluxe although it may slightly block the first RAM slot IF you have high profile RAM. 3) cant see a problem with the soundcard as its pretty flat and small so wont get in the way of anything. 4) i think they will stretch but you defo wont be able to route them anywhere and from the looks of it its close if you want proper cable tidying you could opt for some extended ones.
I'd say 17dB is pretty damn quiet for a fan, probably almost inaudible. You'd seriously struggle to find anything quieter than that, and your GPU fan will more than likely be the loudest thing in your case.
I'd take that dB reading with a pinch of salt, to be honest. Akasa are good at quiet fans - I'm running some of the Amber fans at the minute - but they're certainly not the 18dB they claim.
Hmm I was wondering if the fan's were slightly over-estimated on there quietness reading, but still looks good. Thanks guys, tonight I'll start to order the first few pieces....oooo its exciting!
I have a fairly plain Akasa fan that is probably only 20dB, whereas the Noctua P12 I also have is probably about 18dB in comparison, so Akasa is certainly good value for money. If you want a new fan for a heatsink, get a Noctua P12, not the S-series fans, as they don't generate enough pressure to really push through a heatsink. But yeah, Noctua all the way. If you really hate the colour that much, go for Enermax fans. They're just about as good, and come in three versions: the red ones are standard speed, the white ones are PWM controlled, and the blue ones are temperature sensor controlled.
I'd go for some Yate Loon D12SL-12's, they are better in black imo but you can get a version with a black surround with orange fins. If you run them at 7v they are practically silent and fairly cheap too.
Nice fans those enermax ones, over double the CFM at the same noise level for only a couple of quid more a pop! Getting stuff like this is just sorting out the cherries on the icing, making sure every bit is as good as it can be The fans aren't going to be used for heatsinks, eventually I aim to water cool it but I'll be using one of those everything you need kits off WCUK that come with fans. Almost definitely getting 3 of the red enermax ones unless something better crops up, and knowing these forums its quite likely to happen!
For the SATA cables going up to the CD drive I assume 1m would be long enough so I can still get proper routing and neatness etc?
+1; A meter is going to be at least, or maybe more than, half your height. Since cases - even yours - traditionally only come up to the knee that will be more than enough, even if you fold it around in the malarkey known as 'cable management'.
Well I spose I'll be folding it over a few times then I was sitting there with a ruler looking at 60cm and it as as the cable has to go from the bottom to the top of the case, and then be routed too I was a bit unsure. But hey, too little I can't sort, too long I can hide so its the right side to fall
I would recommend going for long Sata cables too, I bought 50cm cables for my Cooler Master Stacker (also pretty big) and they are too short to route behind the mobo tray
