[PLUG] quiet efficient computer cases

Keith Lofstrom keithl at kl-ic.com
Fri May 29 23:14:26 UTC 2009


Since our new box is being used for speech recognition, a quiet
case is desirable.  Last weekend, Fry's had Antec Sonata minitower
cases for $80.  These contain the same Antec EarthWatt 500W supply
that we were planning to buy for $90, so the buying decision was
easy.  The case is indeed soundproofed - damping rubber on the side
surfaces, vibration-dampened drive slots, 120mm low speed fan, etc.
The main downside is that the 120mm fan has a speed switch on a
cable, and not a mobo connector, so it won't dial itself way down
when the system is idle.  But that is what the power switch is for.

We swapped the supplied (and noisy) CPU fan that came with the
low-power AMD processor for a much quieter Coolermaster CK8-8JD2BOL,
and are using one of the greenpower WD hard drives.  We are using
onboard video, so there is no fan with that.

The result is indeed very quiet, according to my non-tinnitus wife.
Quieter than an idle laptop.

The cases are normally $140, but I expect there will be markdowns
in the future.  Especially on these bulky items in a down economy.   

Keith

-- 
Keith Lofstrom          keithl at keithl.com         Voice (503)-520-1993
KLIC --- Keith Lofstrom Integrated Circuits --- "Your Ideas in Silicon"
Design Contracting in Bipolar and CMOS - Analog, Digital, and Scan ICs



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