Antec 900 - how loud?

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lost eden

Gawd
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Dec 13, 2006
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I'm thinking of the Antec 900 for my new build this year, & would like to know how loud it is? I'm not going to be running any particularily hot hardware, probably an AM2 4200+ with a Zalman Aero Flower & a passive 7600GT, so I'm hoping that I'd be able to leave all the fans on the lowest of the three settings. Assuming that I add another identical 120mm Antec fan to the door (to blow onto the graphics card/s when I upgrade) how loud will the thing be? The mohterboard I'm looking at has passive bridge/MOSFET cooling as well btw.

My current workstaion has 2x 120mm Antec fans running at 5v, an 80m in the PSU & a 60mm on the 5900XT & the only thing I can really hear is the 60mm (mainly because the entire window is mesh & doesn't block any sound!), & I would like the machine that replaces it to be similar in terms of noise!
 
lost eden said:
I'm thinking of the Antec 900 for my new build this year, & would like to know how loud it is? I'm not going to be running any particularily hot hardware, probably an AM2 4200+ with a Zalman Aero Flower & a passive 7600GT, so I'm hoping that I'd be able to leave all the fans on the lowest of the three settings. Assuming that I add another identical 120mm Antec fan to the door (to blow onto the graphics card/s when I upgrade) how loud will the thing be? The mohterboard I'm looking at has passive bridge/MOSFET cooling as well btw.

My current workstaion has 2x 120mm Antec fans running at 5v, an 80m in the PSU & a 60mm on the 5900XT & the only thing I can really hear is the 60mm (mainly because the entire window is mesh & doesn't block any sound!), & I would like the machine that replaces it to be similar in terms of noise!
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I just bought a 900 from BB for about 70 bucks after a giftcard. First off, its not an easy case to work in. Secondly, no hiding cables behind the motherboard, unless you dremel holes in the mobo tray and the cables are a smaller gauge.

However, this thing is a silent heat killer. I have all the included Antec fans on the low settings, and a fan controller on my 120mm side panel fan, my Zalman vf700, and my 120mm fan on the Big Typhoon, all of those at ~7volts and the noise blends in with ambient.

Look at these temps:

mbmzr8.jpg


I am a full 4 degrees cooler on my cpu at idle and load and on my 6800gt.

I haven't even seen over 40C on this processor since I switched cases.

If you reall want quiet, you could disable some of the 120's run a passive cpu heatsink and turn the 200mm fan on top to medium setting and still get good temps.

Pro's -

Very good cooling
Very quiet, even with a lot of fans
Looks good, but that is subjective.

Con's

Cable management is rough
Possibly a dust trap ( I clean my case out every few weeks though)
Only three front bays?
 
Yeah I've heard it's not the easiest case to work with, but if you've seen how small my current workstation is, then you'll appreciate I'm not afraid of a challenge! I'm also not a huge fan of hiding every possible cable - as long as they're neat & don't block airflow then I don't mind. I'm planning on spraying the inside metal gloss black (2 coats of grey primer, 2 of black enamel & then a final 2 of gloss varnish) & with black cables it should look pretty neat.

Glad to see more reports of awesome temperatures - unlike my past machines i'm actually planning on upgrading this machine, with a faster CPU, a second 7600GT (same passive model) & although I'll be starting out with just 2 hard drives in a mirror, I'll eventually have a further 4 drives in a RAID5 - so whilst I don't need all it's cooling atm, It will certainly come in handy a while down the road!
 
I just got the 900 today and I love it got it from CompUSA for 105 before the rebate and it came with a free spot fan. It's and awesome case I'm going to mimic the guy above wire management is almost impossible. I did what I could but the only benefit to wire management is cooler temps(and it feeds OCD in people that have it) but I'm 10C cooler on my CPU and 6C on my MB at idle. Its a good looking case and really quite. I've got all the fans on high and its still much quieter then my old case with its 6 80mm fans. One of my fans is squeaking and I can't figure out which one. I think it may be the video card. My only other complaint is that there is on system speaker.
 
Can't say I'm really bothered about the lack of PC Speaker mounting point (which I didn't know about, thanks for mentioning it) because my only machines that have them mounted are headless ones.
 
I recently built my new system with this case, cooling is awesome! As far as the "dust trap" is concerned, I solved that by going to Home Depot and got some air filter material for $5.

Now this thing is cool AND clean!!
 
Motley said:
I recently built my new system with this case, cooling is awesome! As far as the "dust trap" is concerned, I solved that by going to Home Depot and got some air filter material for $5.

Now this thing is cool AND clean!!
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Pics?
 
another option is dryer sheets and it won't restrict airflow as much but you'll have the clean them alot.
 
i have the antec nine hundred and i am very pleased .
temps are awasome . all my fans are on medium .
its just humming away there .
as for a bit of dust , well regular manitance will take care of that .
if you are looking for a great air cooled case , i would reccommend the nine hundred .
with small bit of modding , you can make this case look as good as any other case .
good luck on your purchase .
cheers .

TEMPS.jpg


Picture033.jpg
 
Let me see a shot of that from another angle, I spent four hours on my case and it looks okay but not that nice.Did you use larger mobo standoffs? I'll post some more pictures when I get home.
 
Can I ask your method for spraying the inside metal black? My current workstation got a coar of red on the inside that came out okay, but I'd like to do this one properly.
 
shmitty said:
Let me see a shot of that from another angle, I spent four hours on my case and it looks okay but not that nice.Did you use larger mobo standoffs? I'll post some more pictures when I get home.
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here ya go . hope this pic helps .
i cut some holes in the mobo tray . i routed alot of wires back there . it seems to work ,o.k . the mobo standoffs are the ones that came with the case .
if need be , ill take the side off , and snap a few more , if you want .
cheers .

@lost eden . its just a can of spraypaint from canidian tire . tremclad , flat black .
cheers .



Picture036.jpg
 
Doesnt that make your sound card or w/e is in your PCI slot hot?

The PSU's Heal Exhaust is breathing all over it
 
Fayt19 said:
Doesnt that make your sound card or w/e is in your PCI slot hot?

The PSU's Heal Exhaust is breathing all over it
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my psu is SUCKING air from the case , and exhuasting it out the back .
i think all psu"s does the same thing .
i stand to be corrected on that though .
my antec truepower 2 , exhaust out the back .
cheers .
 
littlejohn1959 said:
my psu is SUCKING air from the case , and exhuasting it out the back .
i think all psu"s does the same thing .
i stand to be corrected on that though .
my antec truepower 2 , exhaust out the back .
cheers .
Click to expand...

Silly guy, I looked at that it didn't look to me like there was enough room back there, I may have to take a second look and that case looks awesome!
 
littlejohn......Just curious what you have on the bottom of the case in front of the PSU?

Nice looking cases guys! :cool:
 
shmitty said:
Let me see a shot of that from another angle, I spent four hours on my case and it looks okay but not that nice.Did you use larger mobo standoffs? I'll post some more pictures when I get home.
Click to expand...

Nothing special, I'm going to try and cut some holes through the tray and route some of the cables back there. I do like the UV look so I'll stay with that. I think that the blue and black is an awesome combo.
HPIM0051.jpg

DSC00018.jpg

DSC00015.jpg
 
wickedld9 said:
littlejohn......Just curious what you have on the bottom of the case in front of the PSU?

Nice looking cases guys! :cool:
Click to expand...

I was kinda curious of this too. I just bought a nine hundred to build my new system in and your case is much like the ideas that have been swimming around in the soap I call a brain. That "cable cover" is very interesting, and if it's not too much trouble, I wouldn't mind seeing the pics of the back side of the mobo tray. Thanks.
 
wickedld9 said:
littlejohn......Just curious what you have on the bottom of the case in front of the PSU?

Nice looking cases guys! :cool:
Click to expand...

its a simple wooden cover . made out of 2 peices of wood . i carved some logos on it , for fun , then my wife painted it for me .
the most of my wires on on the back of the mobo tray .
heres a great link .
i had my case modded before i came accross this link .
if i had my time back , i would have cut a few extra holes , cause the antec true power 2 has lots of wires .
i like what this guy did to the hard drives . he REVERSED em . thus hiding the sata /power cables .
hope this helps .
cheers .
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=126395

in order for that cover to work ,, all the floppy/cd/dvd drives have to be in the bottom .
cheers

Picture002.jpg
 
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