Antec Solution SLK3700-BQE ATX Mid-Tower Case

My old case has gotten too small & too loud. I have 3 hard drives, a DVD+RW, plus a number of add-in cards including a hot-running GeForce4 TI4200. In order to cool off those components (plus the AthlonXP cpu) I needed a number of fans. And the computer was still warmer than I'd like it to be. And it was louder than I wanted.

I started to look at quiet computers. Antec, long a favorite case manufacturer of mine, makes two cases that they deem "quiet" - the Sonata and the SLK3700BQE. The SLK3700BQE (henceforth referred to as "BQE" to save your lazy reviewer from having to type a lot) had three pluses over the Sonata:
1) Its about $30 cheaper;
2) The front 120mm fan is mounted on the front of the case rather than in the middle of the case;
3) Its slightly bigger (18.3" high vs. 16.75")

The BQE does not have many special sound-dampening effects (such as sound-absorbing panels), but relies on quieter equipment to reduce the noise one hears. The equipment is a special 350W power supply, a low speed 120mm fan, and a very well fan grill.

The power supply in a reworked version of the Antec SmartPower SL350. The two fans on the SL350 have been reduced to just the exhaust fan in the BQE's model. Less fans = less fan noise. The single exhaust fan spins at 2800rpm and does a good job keeping the power supply's temps down as well as the noise. There are no SATA connectors, just eight 4-pin connectors and a floppy connector. The leads are long enough to reach the very bottom of the case. I'd like to see a larger power supply though. 350 watts is marginal especially given that there's space for 4 optical drives & 4 hard drives. Don't get me wrong, Antec makes a quality power supply, its just that there's not a lot of headroom for those with plenty of drives. With with 3 hard drives, two fans, a DVD+RW & CD-ROM drive going the voltages on the SL350 were within the +- 10% specs, although the -12V rail was nearing the limit.

The low speed 120mm is very quiet as well (24.86 dBA according to Antec's website) and moves a fair bit of air (39 cfm per Antec). Its mounted to the case via some silicon mounting tabs that eliminate the vibration noise found with plastic mounting brackets or even with screws. While a front 120mm mounting point is available, there is no included fan. You'll have to find one of your own. Don't look for the mate for the Antec low-speed in the rear. It doesn't appear on the website.

The fan grills (both rear & front) are honeycomb-shaped and do an excellent job allowing the airflow to get through while not creating turbulence noise.

The four 5.25" and the two external 3.5" drive bays as well as the power & reset buttons are covered by a door that hinges on the left side. As a matter of personal taste, I like the door. It hides my non-black drives, cuts down a bit on the noise of the CD-ROM drive, and keeps my 20-month old from powering off daddy's computer while daddy is in the middle of doing his taxes (or going for a high score).

There are another four internal 3.5" bays. The internal bays are rotated 90 degrees and use slide-in mounting caddies to hold the drives. The caddies attach to the bottom of the drive and have rubber grommets to reduce vibration from the spinning drives. The sideways orientation does help keep cables out of the main compartment, helping with airflow. One downside: I have an Abit motherboard with Abit's "Serillel" adapter that allows one to use a parallel ATA hard drive in a SATA port. Its important to me because I run a RAID-1 off the SATA ports (the primary drive is dupilcated on the secondary drive). The Serillel adapter sticks out too far and will not allow the hard drive to be placed in any of the four rotated bays. Its a minor problem that will effect only a few people.

The 5.25" bays also mount with drive rails. One attaches the drive rails to the drive, removes the front bezel (an important tip left out of the manual) and slides the drive in until it clicks. It makes moving drives around very easy. There are no special rubber dampening devices on the rails, though.

There is a front-mounted USB 2.0 connector that attaches to the usb header on nearly all newer motherboards. They are individual pins (rather than a block), which can be a bit of a pain to hook up. Get that motherboard manual out! The front USB 2.0 ports are not covered by the door, by the way.

Also in the front is a removable air filter. The filter helps to keep dust from being drawn into the computer from the front 120mm fan mount (whether there is a fan there or not, its the main intake area). The filter can be removed, cleaned, & replaced without taking off the front bezel. Nice!

The motherboard area is quite roomy. I have a standard ATX size board and there's a half-inch clearance between the top of the board & the power supply, and three-quarters clearance on the bottom. The motherboard tray doesn't slide out, but getting a board in isn't too difficult.

All the needed parts (rails, screws, standoffs, etc) are supplied by Antec. The BQE also includes a 4-language manual that is of limited help to the first-time builder.

Overall, the BQE is an excellent case. Inexpensive, roomy, with good airflow, and low noise, its a case-builder's dream.