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Sonata Vs. Shark Quick Answer ASAP

S

Sunborder

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 21, 2004
Messages
169
Hey guys, I need a quick answer on this one: I currently have my prescott system stuffed into an Antec Sonata, and while my temps are liveable (barely) I was hoping to upgrade to a Thermaltake Shark, and stuff my sempron 2200+ fileserver in the sonata.

My question is twofold: Will upgrading to a shark lower my temps?

I'm betting on the larger case for better airflow and better heat dissapation, as well as the better placement of the front 120mm fan. (the sonata front fan just moves air around, it doesn't really suck it in effectively).

My second question is this: How loud is this sucker with stock fans, etc... See my prescott stock cooler = hoover vacuum thread for details on why I don't want high decibels.

I'm mostly concerned with case fan/case vibration noise, as my other components are fairly quiet.

Thanks.
 
never seen a shark in person, but that side window is honycombed and will allow out any noise your cpu fan, case fan, hdd maybe be spewing out. Look at the Lian-Li's, they make some nice cases that are pretty reasonable with sound.

EDIT:


here is a review from hardcorehardware, they speak pretty highly of it, so is might be a good choice,

http://www.hardcoreware.net/reviews/review-269-1.htm
 
Built systems with Thermaltake cases and I wasn't terribly impressed. This was back around Xaser 2 / 3 though so they may have improved.

Windows in general tend to be louder than not, if noise is a concern you're best off getting one without.

If you want lower temps, get better fans if the ones you have in there aren't working well. Much cheaper than a new case.

I've got a soft spot in my heart for Cooler Master right now.

I'm too lazy to hunt up your other thread if you didn't link it, but I sympathize with the desire for quiet computing for whatever reasons you may have given. Stock fans work okay for cooling but they tend to be damn loud and are usually the first thing I replace. Considered an XP-90 + Panaflo or a Zalman flower yet?
 
Here is the link for the hoover thread:

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=885402

Basically, I already have a zalman 7000Cu on there. It's dropped my temps fron 81 to 73 max. Still, I am not comfortable with that. I'd like to see it in the high 60's under max load, and do it without shelling out for watercooling or turning my work area into a wind tunnel.

That really only leaves me with opting for a new case that is going to radiate heat (aluminum), and have more room inside to disperse the heat and keep ambient heat down, not to mention allow for greater airflow.
 
From what I've seen, Prescotts generally run really really hot. My new A64 3000+ is overclocked to the point of being about a 3800+ (although I don't think there's such a thing as a 3800 Winnie) and still only hits about 35C, maybe a bit over 40 under heavy use. Northwoods weren't nearly so bad either...even with foam soundproofing insulating my case the temps never got too high.

The increased airflow is the thing most likely to help, but that does tend to also increase the noise...case material isn't going to cause that much difference but it might allow for other things like 120mm fans.

Hmm. Thermal paste applied correctly? Misapplied or absent thermal paste can account for some pretty nasty temps even if your equipment is good.
 
I've started a new case mod project with a Sonata. I plan on dremeling the hell out the front panel to allow for maximum airflow without the need for a second fan.
 
My thermal paste is fine. Arctic Silver, 0.5 bb sized blob spread thinly over the die. I'm not a complete noob. =) It's not my cables either, as they are, for the most part, out of the way. I've also removed the extra HD trays to improve airflow. I only have 1 HD in there, so that isn't it either. The case is just so cramped that it can't get rid of the heat fast enough.

I think a lot of it has to do with poor airflow in the case. For anything up to a 3.0 northwood, I think it's a great case (rated up to 3.0 northwood, so a prescott is pushing it in this case anyway). Like I said, I want to put my sempron 2200+ in this case, where it won't fry, and will stay pretty quiet.

With the shark, I can always mount an airfilter over the side honeycomb. Even a passive filtered side exhaust is better than a steel wall. Also, some have said that aluminum cases tend to lower temps by a hair, as they radiate a certain amount of internal heat, while steel cases don't. I'm also betting on the better mounting of the front fan.

Icewind, for your sonata case mod, you might still want to consider mounting a 120mm fan in front of the HD area, and maybe cutting away some of the tray itself, as it really restricts the airflow.

I swear, I am this close to getting a reserator with nonconductive coolant, and damn aircooling!
 
No, no second fan, the whole purpose of this case project is absolute silence. Trust me, I'll make it work just fine and Mr. Dremel will be getting quit a workout, you can count on that.
 
Why on earth would you want a Tt Shark? Those cases are ugly as sin. All Tt cases are.
 
well, my freinds Tt tsunami dream tower is the quietest pc case I've heard yet, much quieter than my pos beige thing... I've only had good experiances with Tt cases, the ones i've seen have been high quality and very durable. we stood on his tsunami and it took the weight. I don't know about the shark though, the honeycombed side might let more sound out than you would want. from whats been said on reviews and on the Tt website though, it looks to be a sweet case.
 
Thermaltakes are pretty much made from the same manufactuer for Antecs, Chenbro, Chieftec's cases so the quality is probably pretty good but im sorry, the design of the Tsunami IMHO is complete ass.
 
IceWind said:
Thermaltakes are pretty much made from the same manufactuer for Antecs, Chenbro, Chieftec's cases so the quality is probably pretty good but im sorry, the design of the Tsunami IMHO is complete ass.
Click to expand...

Actually, I like it. I like the whole front door thing, which is why I'm getting it. found a good deal too, I'm paying 45 for it instead of 130. it was on display at the pc store my freind works at, and it has a small dent in the top, over the power supply, which is easily fixable.

I don't like cases without front doors, i like the smoothness doors give them, like on the tsunami, the wavemaster, and other cases.

anyways, (back on topic) to each is own. I hope you enjoy any case you decide to get, and the shark looks like a good case to me. if you do get it, give us a small review or something.
 
Why on earth would you want a Tt Shark? Those cases are ugly as sin. All Tt cases are.
Click to expand...

Because I am going to stick it in a well ventilated corner where nobody will see it.

And I agree, it is ugly as sin.
 
skudmunky said:
well, my freinds Tt tsunami dream tower is the quietest pc case I've heard yet, much quieter than my pos beige thing...
Click to expand...

I can make your POS beige thing even quieter, and I bet at least half the modders around here could do even better than me.


IceWind said:
the design of the Tsunami IMHO is complete ass.
Click to expand...

I think that goes for most of Tt's products, although some are more tasteful. They had this copper fan grill a while ago I thought was nice. (I feel so dirty for admitting that...)


Sunborder said:
And I agree, it is ugly as sin.
Click to expand...

Tt isn't exactly renowned for their cooling products, if you agree it's ugly why get it?
 
Because with the newegg sale and shipping, it was the only full tower with dual 12cm fans in my price range that didn't look like total crap construction.
 
Yeah that'd do it. Damn sucky capitalism getting in the way of things.
 
cant y0ou just change your CPU cooler, and add some fans to the sonata
Click to expand...

1. Read the linked thread: I put a zalman 7000cu on there. Short of putting a high rpm fan on a huge heatsink (already have the huge copper heatsink), not much else I can do for the CPU, and I refuse to run a vacuum cleaner as my CPU cleaner.

2. Short of dremeling additional holes in the sonata, there isn't much more I can do in the way of case fans. Dual 120mm fans (the front one badly placed due to antec's poor design), plus an 80mm in the power supply, and add in a VGA silencer from arctic cooling, which also vents air from the case. That's 3 output fans. The case just doesn't have good airflow. I have to cut it up to improve cooling, or add HIGH RPM fans, which leads me back to my stock prescott cooler situation of LOUD NOISE in my dining room/office, which iritates my wife.

So no, a new cpu cooler isn't going to do jack, and no, I can't add fans.
 
Got the system up and running in the new case. Took several hours. I will post a review on one of my sites and link it here for you guys to read later. The short version is: Pain in the ass to install everything, but my temps dropped 10C. I went from 73C to 63C under load.

Moral of the story: don't stick a prescott in a mid-tower Northwood rated case.
 
I put up a mini-review on one of my websites, complete with pics. I'll start another thread for those who may not have been reading this one.
 
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