Date: Thursday, January 8, 2004 Author: Rbreb13 Provided By: None Page: 4 of 5
Test 3:
This test will consist of exactly the same setup as Test 1, except I will run the fan from a standard 4 pin molex connector. The noise level did increase a little bit. Something I expected since I'm running the fan at full power now. It's still quiet but I can hear it with no problem now. Compared to the original system with the Chieftec it's still very quiet though.
Ambient Temperature: 23°c
Idle
Load
Temperatures overall improved a little bit compared to using the "Fan Only" power connector. The biggest improvement in temperature was a decrease of 4°c for the CPU at idle. Other decreases were in the 1°-2°c range. Temperatures at load were similar to Test 2 and the amount of noise is also similar.
Test 4:
Yeah you guessed it already. Both fans will be connected to a standard molex power outlet. The noise has increased some but not to the level of the original setup. It is tolerable and really not bad at all. The use of 120mm fans in this case was a great idea. The low rpm to high cfm ratio is a real plus in the adequate cooling versus noise arena. In case you haven't noticed I really love this case design.
Ambient Temperature: 23°c
Idle
Load
These results pretty much speak for themselves. More airflow results in lower temperatures and increased noise. The case temperature shows a 4°-6°c drop in temperature at idle. CPU temperature at idle was a 3°-6°c drop. CPU temperatures were about the same at load as they were in the previous tests. There was a small difference but it was negligible and could be attributed to the testing. Another thing I noticed is that when running 2 fans at either setting cool down time from full load is significantly reduced.
Authors Note: At this point I had concluded my testing. But after contacting Antec they sent me some more of the fan pins. This allowed me to test some other configurations. Thanks to Tiffany at Antec for all her help and the very fast responses to my emails. One suggestion would be to make these fan pins available for sale or to include more than four extras in the package. The lack of available extras doesn't allow much latitude for experimentation or a full tear down cleaning.
Test 5:
For this test I removed the Antec supplied 120mm exhaust fan and replaced it with a Vantec 120mm Stealth fan. The test will be with both fans hooked to the "Fan Only" molex connectors. With the Vantec Stealth fans installed the system seems quieter than with the Antec fan. Perhaps the Antec supplied fan is of a slightly higher cfm/dBA than I had originally guessed or the Vantec Stealth is just quieter with its dual ball bearing construction. Since I couldn't find any specifications on the Antec fan this is just guesswork on my part.Temperatures went up a bit compared to Test 2 by a couple degrees with a slight reduction in noise.
