sonata cooling for OC

sonata cooling for OC- even with sidepanel holes covered?

Does the sonata case by antec provide sufficient air flow to cool a case good enough for OC'ng. I don't want a loud case, not obsessed with "silent" some fan upgrade in sonata would be possible in my case (no pun intended). If not sonata, then how about SLK3700AMB (2x 120mm, 1 intake, 1 out)
or last resort, sx40bII -http://www.antec-inc.com/pro_details_enclosure.php?ProdID=81046

Have barton 2500+ and 2 hdd - 7200rpm, and 2 optical drives, and will buy 8rda+ and slk-800 or sk-7 (not up for debate in this thread, please) and a semi quiet fan for the HS.

Some people have replied to similar threads but some seem to thtink that this case has one input fan and one output. Not so. Please reply only if you have GOOD WISDOM on the subject, thanks. I've been researching nonstop.- psu, cases, bla bla It's 5:30 am in CA now, and I need sleep. Thanks for your input.

EDIT: what about if the ANTEC holes on the side panels are taped shut (to force air through the front and consequently through the included filter. Does it still cool good then?

it has definately provided my setup with sufficient air flow. my 1800+ is at 2.50ghz and 1.85v and my radeon 9500 is softmodded to a 9700 and overclocked to 370/310. along with all of the other usual stuff, i'd say my system puts out a fair amount of heat, and the single 120mm fan in the back at 5v has been sufficient to keep everything stable at my overclocked speeds.

regarding the case fan setup, it does come with one exhaust fan in the back. the intake isn't really a true intake; it sits behind (toward the motherboard) the hard drive cage instead of at the very front of the case. i suppose it still acts as an intake, though.

edit: i always think of stuff after i hit the post buttom.... anyways, i also modded the stock psu by replacing the fan with a panaflo L1A. it quieted the psu down tremendously while still keeping everything stable and reasonably cool. if you leave it stock, you'll get even more exhaust out of your case so you should have better luck overclocking than me.

what are your case temps/ambient temps?

i don't really know my case temps, but my ambient is 16c, chipset is 25c, and cpu is 28c at the moment. this is under absolutely no load after sitting on all day while i've been at work. i haven't noticed any change in cpu or chipset temperatures between having the side on and off, so i guess that means they are getting plenty of fresh air. my wiring is extremely clean, so that probably helps me get away with pretty low airflow.

what about if the ANTEC holes on the side panels are taped shut (to force air through the front and consequently through the included filter. Does it still cool good then?

ciz28 said:

i don't really know my case temps, but my ambient is 16c, chipset is 25c, and cpu is 28c at the moment. this is under absolutely no load after sitting on all day while i've been at work. i haven't noticed any change in cpu or chipset temperatures between having the side on and off, so i guess that means they are getting plenty of fresh air. my wiring is extremely clean, so that probably helps me get away with pretty low airflow.

Click to expand...

Ambient is 16C?!?! Where the heck do you live? Alaska? Must be nice to have such great temps.

schismspeak said:

Ambient is 16C?!?! Where the heck do you live? Alaska? Must be nice to have such great temps.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I thought those proc temps looked low, now I think I see why

But still wondering if anyone has sidepanel holes covered, yet experiencing a decent case temp while OC'ng.

That case should cool fine, people just get caught up in having alot of fans they dont really need, my friend has 2 80mm fans in his case, cooling 2HD's, 2 optical drives, with a amd xp 1600+ palimono (they run hot) and video, it is sufficiently cooled. Get the sonata it is a nice case, 1 120mm fan should do just fine. You dont really need to tape up the holes, I dont think it would make much difference. Experiment if you like though.
The most important cooling for your pc is the cpu heatsink.

EDIT: Ok I did not see it had only 1 120mm output, but that really dont make much difference,I think it would be better not to tape up the side holes, but like I said experiment, it is different for everyone.

schismspeak said:

Ambient is 16C?!?! Where the heck do you live? Alaska? Must be nice to have such great temps.

Click to expand...

nah... just michigan. actually, it's quite warm during the day (30c+) but i have a window airconditioner in my bedroom keeping things nice and chilly