I clipped this from another email I sent someone else....
These mods make my Quicksilver case about 1/2 as loud.
I also measured temperature data and temps are stable with these changes (a couple of degrees Centigrade higher at load).
(1) CPU cooling fan. I changed the CPU cooling fan. This is the most time consuming step as the little plug had to be changed out. I got a bare wire fan. I chose a Papst 60 mm fan, which has a built in thermistor (like the Mineba brand it replaces). The model number of the Papst Variofan is 612NGMI; it's rated to 10-21 CFM and 29 decibels at peak. It's quieter than the generic fan it replaced however, and has a lower, less annoying pitch. I had initially tried the Papst 612NML (14 CFM--almost silent at 19 dBA), which is a less expensive fixed speed fan, but cooling efficiency was affected by this fan. The quieter, lower flow fan had a 5-6 Centrigrade increase in temperature under load, which was (arbitrarily) unacceptable. Subjectively, the Papst 612NGMI change wasn't particularly effective, although it is an improvement. BTW, as one of your articles pointed out, the fan shroud screws can contact the heat sink--I have a little shiny worn spot on my heat sink from one of mine. I replaced the cheap screws with some nice flush mount ones which came with one of my fans (ordered all fans from Directron).
(2) Case cooling fan. I changed the 120 mm cooling fan out. This looks intimidating to do, but is quite easy. Just 2 screws actually hold the fan and shroud in the case. I used a Molex connector on my fan, although there is a dedicated 2 pin connector to the original fan that one could use if short on internal power. The stock fan is a thermally controlled Delta Sensflow WFC12112B; I couldn't find specs on this fan, but others from the family are in the 70-80 CFM range, with noise levels 35-38 dBA. I again chose a Papst Variofan 4312 MV, which has a separate thermistor sensor lead which can be placed at will within several inches of the fan. This fan is spec'ed at 40-82 CFM and 22 to 39 dBA. THIS WAS THE SINGLE MOST EFFECTIVE CHANGE! The quality of this fans noise, and the overall levels were a marked improvement over the stock equipment. I initially found that there was an annoying harmonic that this fan generated at its usual speed, but insuring that all the mounting screws had the same torque solved that pretty easily.
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