Zalman MS1000 thoughts ?

[keveed]

Hi,

I bought one of these cases last month and all the review on the net pretty much say the same thing. "bottom up air flow", "silent design", etc.

I have the HS1 model which is now discontinued. All the reviews are on the HS2 model... The difference between HS2 is that it has place for 2 x 92mm fans, and the included fan blows directly on the GPU. The HS1 only has a 92mm fan at the bottom, blowing air in the direction of the power supply which is alot less useful imho.

The unit comes with a rear fan and a top fan over the cpu, theres an optional top fan and an optional bottom fan.

The thing is the 92mm fan on the HDD rack when set to "high" is noisy, so I'm not sure if I should replace it with a more silent one so i could have it set to high.

The only other positive intake fan would be on the bottom of the case. Should this fan have a super high CFM to compensate for the negative airflow by the 3 others (2 top and 1 rear)?

I was wondering if any fan experts could suggest a good setup for airflow on the HS1 ?

Thanks

 

[stratosrally]

You could try a 92mm NoiseBlocker fan that should be quieter than the stock one(s):

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/13697/fan-899/Noiseblocker_NB-BlackSilentPro_PE-1_92mm_x_25mm_Ultra_Quiet_Fan_-_1300_RPM_-_14_dBA.html?tl=c15s59b160

Or a Noctua:

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/7208/fan-424/Noctua_NF-B9_92mm_Fan_31_CFM.html?tl=g36c15s59

Or SilenX (more CFM):

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/7544/fan-443/SilenX_92mm_x_25mm_14dBA_42CFM_Ixtrema_Pro_Thermistor_Fan_IXP-64-14T.html?tl=g36c15s59

Or even a Zalman adjustable RPM model:

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/13855/fan-904/Zalman_ZM-SF2_92mm_x_25mm_Chassis_Fan_w_Sharks_Fin_Blade_and_ELQ_Bearing.html?tl=g36c15s59

On the product page from Zalman they state:

"Five fans can be mounted on MS1000 HS1 and 3 fans are standard. Up to 6 fans can be mounted on MS1000-HS2 including the Hot-Swap Module and 3 fans are standard."

You could buy a Zalman HDR-1 (ZM HDR-1) to give yourself the HS2 setup - I saw it as low as $45 with a fan.

If you aren't as concerned with matching the front panel as perfectly, many 5.25" bay cooling devices could be installed in place of your bay covers.

Check out FrozenCPU and Performance PC's selection of parts - perhaps this 120mm fan bracket would fit in the front of your system:

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=130_151_257&products_id=26271