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And it's REALLY QUIET! Worked hard to make this rig a quiet one. My old rig sounds like a leaf blower by comparison. The rubber hard drive mounts in the Antec case REALLY help. I can't hear the drive running at all now.

Noise is a big issue since the rig sits at table top level to my immediate left, right next to my file server, and both are wedged into a corner. There's a LOT of reflected sound from the rear exhaust fans that bounces off the wall behind them. I deaded some of that by putting up cork board on the wall behind them.

Difference of night and day. I can barely hear the new rig at all - most of the noise is from the server which is fairly quiet but not as quiet as the new rig. At least I can carry on a conversation with someone outside the room now.



- AMD XP2400+ Retail (Retail HSF which is VERY quiet BTW) - Not planning to overclock.
- Epox 8rDA+ mobo (no whining chipset fan!)
- 512Mb (2 sticks of PC2400 DDR) - going to replace it with 2 sticks of 512Mb PC2700 and run the ram clock at 166Mhz eventually
- 160 Gb Maxtor HDD (nice quiet drive)
- Geforce4 T4800SE
- Antec True430 PSU (VERY quiet PSU!)
- Sony DRU500AX DVD-RW
- Lite-on 52X CD-RW
- Bronze Antec SLK3700AMB case (darn nice case)
- Front-X front panel audio/gameport panel
- Kingwin aluminum ATA133 removable drive tray with cooling fan (makes it easy to connect a client's HDD when I need to Ghost it).

Nice to finally have a case with front USB ports too.

we would expect nothing less from you, FP!

looks good. i "need" to upgrade or get a new pc soon (emphasis on the "need"...haha) and am STRONGLY debating going with a Dell versus building my own. i know it's a PCA sin, but there are some sweet deals to be had and i would still have my other pc's to tinker with. i want my primary pc to be "hands off" and stable, if you know what i mean.

I like Dell a lot, and if it wasn't for the fact that I also use this for a gaming rig I would probably buy a Dell as well.

I recommend Dells to my clients all the time. Nice quality builds.

You can also get some fabulous deals on their refurbs.

nice rig.

Your drive bezels really go incredibly well with the case! :laugh If it works it works... I just got a new Antec case and it doesn't have rubber drive mounts... Know anywhere to get those? Mine isn't a leaf blower, but the hard drive is the loudest thing in every case.

the dell i've been looking at is the dimension 8300 desktop line...looks like it would be a good gaming rig:

2.8GHz (or 3.0) P4
800MHz FSB dual channel DDR
radeon 9800 (non-pro version...it's only $110 more as an upgrade option over a radeon 9000)
5.1 integrated sound
16x dvd

mid-$800 range after rebates/coupons. i added up the cost of the individual components if i would just build an equal or better one and it's pretty darn close. dells are VERY quiet as well...hard to tell they are even on. only drawback with the dell is upgrading down the road...but that isn't really an issue for me in this case. the warranty is tough to beat too!

Your drive bezels really go incredibly well with the case!

Couldn't give a rat's behind.

My computers are NOT for looks, they are for work and play. I've never understood this obsession with dressing up a computer.

It's a tool. I really don't care what color the tool is, or whether it's flecked with rust so long as it does the job.

The price was right on the case. $99 with an Antec True430 PSU. The case also has a door to cover the drive bays. That door lasted about 2 minutes before I yanked it off.

If your case isn't designed for the rubber grommets, it won't work unless you make the mounting holes larger. The rubber mounts consist of rubber grommets and special screws with big flat heads.

I love the door on mine... gives it nice clean look even though i have black drives to match the case My computer is in the family room where everyone sees it thats why i like all of my stuff to match... mines is 75% toy and 25% tool and since its the first thing most see when they walk through the door i want it to look good. Plus i've sold 4 systems just by having them see how cool mine was I'm looking for a new case i'm tempted to get that one. I really like the looks of it and u can get 60cfm 120mm fans that are practically silent so air flow would be good as well

The 120mm rear exhaust fan that comes with this case is unbelievably quiet.

Looks like a nice case. All cases should have rubber hd mounts and at least a 120mm mount in the front. But finally and more and more makers are thinking towards quiet.

The front of that case looks like a lanboy. No filter comes with it either but I believe you can get them direct from antec for a few bucks. Though you can easily make your own with an a/c filter.

Actually it does have a front filter, and an additional mount for a 120mm fan in front (it comes stock with a 120mm in the back).

Lot's of very nice features. The entire HDD chassis is removable (and it up to 6 drives!). The Floppy chassic is a seperate removable unit also that holds 2 floppies.

Nothing blocks any part of the mobo, which is a rarity with a lot of cases.

The side panel has removable captured thumb screws but I took them out since it also has two locking "anvil case" type latches on the side as well. Thing's built solid like a vault.

Photos here: http://store.yahoo.com/directron/slk3700amb.html

Lots of really nice engineering in this thing. Damn nice case for the money.

My case is similar... just twice as big:

http://www.ocsystem.com/ansxchiefda0.html

It is big and heavy (40 to 50 pounds empty i think). Aside from that, it also has inredible air flow (my cpu temps dropped 10°C when I got it), and you can fit anything you want in it.... be it a computer, two computers, a midget, or even a computer and a midget. Space isn't an issue for me, so might as well get something that i will not have issues fitting things into, right? The 92mm fan above the PSU will be a great spot for a radiator if I ever go to watercooling (in 10 years when there are 100GHz computers ) I am very happy with this case.