Antec 3700 BQE

Rob Babcock · « **on:** 4 Feb 2004, 04:22 am »

I just ordered an Antec 3700 BQE tonite. My HP case is fairly quiet, but after I added a 2nd harddrive the noise is considerably more. The idea is to just swap out cases, no upgrading of parts (I wanna make this cheap- I'm planning to build a new PC and just use this one as a burner).

I chose this case for it's quietness- my goal is to make my current PC as silent as possible. Aside from the obvious (eg. quieter fans, line the case w/Dynamat, etc), does anyone have any tips for making the computer quieter? The processor is a 2.7 Gig, so I'd probably better stick w/a CPU fan.

Keep in mind I don't want to sink much $ into this machine, just any cheap tweaks to make it quiter.

bubba966 · « **Reply #1 on:** 4 Feb 2004, 05:21 am »

Check here to see if they've got anything you might want

http://www.directron.com/silence.html

In the noise isolation section on that page they've got various grommets & washers for isolating case fans, HD's, PSU's, etc. That's all stuff that's not too spendy, yet should help in quieting things down a bit more.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #2 on:** 4 Feb 2004, 07:03 am »

That's actually the place I ordered it from. The case already comes with rubber mounting grommets in the drive bay. My current PC (a 2.7 Gig Celeron) doesn't even has a case fan, so I probably won't put one in the Antec (if I do it'll be one 12 cm Papst fan- about the quietest 120 mm fan there is).

I won't have the Dynomat to start with due to not wanting to blow my budget. Of course the best time to add it is before you have it built, but I don't mind a little extra work.

bubba966 · « **Reply #3 on:** 4 Feb 2004, 07:17 am »

So you've already got HD & DVDR grommets with the case.

But that leaves the PS & case fans. The fan & PSU silica washers aren't too spendy, as long as you're ordering something else so that shipping isn't a killer.

How noisy is your CPU fan?

My case fans & PSU are really quiet (as are the HD's). But my CPU fan is still the stock fan that came with the CPU (was a retail boxed CPU), and that thing is noisier than everything else in the entire case combined.

So at some point I need to replace that with something quieter. Probably use a heatsink that'll handle an 80mm fan, throw a 80mm Papst on it, then get one of these suckers to top it off with http://www.directron.com/badong.html

Just gotta figure out how to do it with dual AMD MP processors...

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #4 on:** 4 Feb 2004, 10:00 am »

I don't have a spec, but my CPU fan is fairly quiet, as is my PS fan. The whole PC is pretty damn quiet, or was til I added a second HD. The new case should be better, and I've got a few 'quiet' parts already to throw at it.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #5 on:** 11 Feb 2004, 08:42 am »

Update: I just ordered a Zalman CPU heatsink & fan combo. SPL= <20 dB/a, and that's pretty quiet. My current PC, a Celeron 2.7 Gig, doesn't even have a case fan. I might add one to the Antec later- it ships with one 120 mm fan & can accept an extra 120 mm on the front as an intake. SilenX makes some 12cm fans that are mega-quiet: 11 dBa!

That's pretty damn quiet for a fan that large. It give you about 40 CFM if I recall.

The real frelling bummer- my Antec 3700 BQE showed up today, but UPS musta gave it a good what, 'cause the pegs that hold the front face on are broken, so the front won't stay on!

Directron or Antec are gonna send me a new front, but that'll mean an extra week or more getting my machine installed in the new case.

On the bright side, that will give the Zalman cooler time to show up, and maybe I can get some Quiet Kote or Dynamat ordered before my case is ready. Might as well do all that stuff before I put it together.

I'm anxious to see how quiet I can get my computer.

Thump553 · « **Reply #6 on:** 11 Feb 2004, 07:37 pm »

What kind of noise is the second hard drive making? Is it that unpleasant whining noise? If so, I'm not sure if replacing the case will make any difference-you may do a lot better by replacing the hard drive. Seagates/Western Digital have been pretty quiet for me, Maxtor is sometimes hit or miss.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #7 on:** 11 Feb 2004, 08:58 pm »

The second hard driveis a Seagate, a 7200.7, which is reputedly the quietest HD on the marked. The problem is that the first drive mounts vertically down very low in the case where noise is much better sheilded. The second mounts horizontally up near the middle where the case is thinner, and it sits right near the side vent holes.

It's still not what you'd call "loud" or anything, just not as whisper quiet as before. But I don't have rubber mounts in there either.

randytsuch · « **Reply #8 on:** 12 Feb 2004, 07:08 am »

Hi Bob,
I have not been around much lately because I am buying parts/building a new PC for myself.

I picked the same case, and bought the Zalmon 7000A heatsink/fan for my P4. Supposed to do a very good job cooling with almost no noise. Will see.

BTW, since in this case the HD's mount on rubber gommets, it should help keep the HD noise down.

This case is much better than the cheap case I am using now.

Randy

bubba966 · « **Reply #9 on:** 12 Feb 2004, 07:30 am »

Rob, I wonder if something is wrong with your HD. I helped a friend of mine build a 'puter with 4 Seagate Barracuda's in it. And you couldn't hear them at all even though they weren't mounted with any grommets or other type of vibration isolation.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #10 on:** 13 Feb 2004, 03:33 am »

The drive sure seems to be funtioning 100%. I have to reiterate, it's not really "loud" in any conventional sense, but in my little HP case it's mounted right by the air vent holes. Even the quietest HDs run at about 27-35 dBa in "performance seek mode." That's not leaf-blower loud, but not whisper quiet. I'm extremely sensitive to and annoyed by noise. My PC is still easily the quietest in the house despite having no special "quiet parts."

At the moment, there are five functioning PCs in my house (

)- the drives are all different brands: Maxtor, Seagate, WD & Samsung. The Seagates are the quietest, but I'd hate to have to prove it's quieter than the Samsung. The Max is a tad noisier, while the WDs truly are like lawnmowers in comparison.

bubba966 · « **Reply #11 on:** 13 Feb 2004, 04:07 am »

So you think there's nothing wrong with the bearings in your drive?

And while I know that hte Seagate of today is not the same Seagate of yesteryear, I still personally wouldn't look to them first.

I'm happy with the IBM drives I've had over the last few years. Awesome performance, and are only a couple dB louder than the quietest Seagates.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #12 on:** 13 Feb 2004, 04:25 am »

My experiences with Seagate have been good, and they've got an excellent rep nowadays. I also consider Maxtors to be great drives, and not really loud by any means. I don't like the WD drives, tho- too damn noisy.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #13 on:** 14 Feb 2004, 05:06 am »

Alright, my brother & I each bought one of the Antec cases- mine came with its face broken, but my brother just installed his Zalman Silent CPU fan/heatsink combo. It definately is a lot quieter than the Intel one the 3 Gig Pentium shipped with. The thing still isn't as quiet as one might like- actually quiet a bit louder than my Celeron HP Pavilion. Of course, mine is a wimpy 2.7 Gig Celeron (it doesn't even have or need a case fan!

).

Next thing will probably be to get a quiet fan (120 mm- the included one isn't all that quiet) and possibly a quieter power supply.

I'm starting to appreciate how nice the HP case is- much heavier & sturdier than the Antec. And it's quiet with no "quiet parts." I may mod it out with some silent parts before I move it into the Antec case.

bubba966 · « **Reply #14 on:** 14 Feb 2004, 05:17 am »

That Antec case is Aluminum, isn't it? Seems like the Aluminum cases aren't built w/thick enough Aluminum. And they're noisier because they're vibrating more, and aren't stopping as much sound as a steel case does.

My step-bro got some fancy Aluminum case. Sure, was lighter than my steel case (quite a bit lighter infact!). But the side panels flexed too much, and it was noisier. He gave me shit about my case being so damn heavy. But I'd rather have heavy & quiet than light & noisy.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #15 on:** 14 Feb 2004, 06:10 am »

The aluminum ones also cool better, though, which sometimes cuts fan noise. I think the best thing will be some Dynamat or Brown Bread lining the case. My bro is too much of a cheapskate for the Dynamat, I think, and he isn't as bothered by noise as I am. Still, he has 2 PCs sitting next to each other, so the noise is cumulative.

Anyway, I'm thinking the Antec case is also steel (it's too cheap to be aluminum- only $45). Again, it's significantly quieter than his other PC, a 2.8 Gig P4 in a Chenbro Blue XSpider case.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #16 on:** 14 Feb 2004, 06:11 am »

BTW, how much quieter (subjectively) was your case (PC or Xbox) after you lined it w/Dmat?

bubba966 · « **Reply #17 on:** 14 Feb 2004, 06:18 am »

Quote from: Rob Babcock

The aluminum ones also cool better, though, which sometimes cuts fan noise.

Are supposed to cool better. Technically, sure the aluminum transfers heat faster than steel, and should help somewhat with cooling. But I don't think it makes much difference at all.

When I added a buttload of Dynamat Xtreme to my 'puter case (virtually everyplace it could be applied. back/front/top/bottom/sides/etc.) I thought it was going to raise the CPU & MoBo temps due to the Dynamat actually keeping the heat in the case as Dynamat is a good heat blocker.

But it didn't even raise the temps a single degree.

I think that aluminum cases are only good for reducing weight. Otherwise they're too flimsy & noisy.

bubba966 · « **Reply #18 on:** 14 Feb 2004, 06:25 am »

Quote from: Rob Babcock

BTW, how much quieter (subjectively) was your case (PC or Xbox) after you lined it w/Dmat?

Well, the 'boxes made a huge difference. The first few I did were the original production models that had much noisier drives in them. Were easily loud enough to be heard from a 10' distance. After just pulling the flimsy EMI/RFI shield off the lid & replacing it with Dynamat Xtreme it was quiet enough that you had to try to listen for it from a foot or two away to hear it. Would almost have to do it during silent spots in games (loading, etc.) to hear it running.

The 'puter helped a decent amount as well. Didn't seem to be as huge of an improvement as the 'box. But definitely worth doing.

Rob, just hit eBay & get one of the Dynamat Xtreme Bulk Pack's (36 square feet, item# 10455 or 20455) that go for $90 or so. Do your 'puters, 'boxes, DVDP's, etc. Then go do your car with the leftover.

randytsuch · « **Reply #19 on:** 17 Feb 2004, 08:23 pm »

Quote from: Rob Babcock

The aluminum ones also cool better, though, which sometimes cuts fan noise. I think the best thing will be some Dynamat or Brown Bread lining the case. My bro is too much of a cheapskate for the Dynamat, I think, and he isn't as bothered by noise as I am. Still, he has 2 PCs sitting next to each other, so the noise is cumulative.

Anyway, I'm thinking the Antec case is also steel (it's too cheap to be aluminum- only $45). Again, it's significantly quieter than his other PC, a 2.8 Gig P4 in a Chenbro Blue XSpider case.

$45? Including the 350W PS? Either I paid too much, or you got a really good deal

.

Somewhere, maybe at ABXzone, I saw a post where a guy had good luck putting Dynamat around the "loud" components. This included the PS. Said it helped a lot.

My new PC is pretty quiet now, and will be even better when I finally get my Zalmon heatsink. Not sure if I will need to do anything else at that point.

Randy