Top 5 silent cases?

[Stratohero]

Of all the cases SPCR reviewed in the last 2 years..

[xan_user]

Of all the cases SPCR reviewed in the last 2 years..

for what useage?
for what budget?
for what size/form factor?
for whose aesthetic tastes?

[Stratohero]

Of all the cases SPCR reviewed in the last 2 years..

for what useage?
for what budget?
for what size/form factor?
for whose aesthetic tastes?

For up to $1200 PC, gaming, not bigger than mid-tower, functionality before aesthetics (which means there is little compromise in cooling/silence ratio).

[Quinnbeast]

It's worth starting with this list of detailed SPCR reviews for a couple of ideas - http://www.silentpcreview.com/article75-page5.html

Even within a limited category of small/mid ATX cases, you're got plenty of options. The Solo II offers a real silence-out-of-the-box approach, but perhaps at the cost of a warmer system depending on your component choice. At the other end of the scale the FT05 can be an effective SLI box, but won't ever be as quiet.

For many people, the Fractal Define range offers a practical middle-ground option that can be easily pushed towards improved cooling or a super-quiet rig (or a bit of both with good use of a fan controller), but isn't completely dedicated for either. Have a dig through the reviews to see which features might appeal to you.

[Stratohero]

I've been looking at other graphs, and Silverstone FT05 always seems to be at the top, both for noise isolation and cooling.
Shame it's so expensive.

[Quinnbeast]

It's certainly not the absolute quietest, and from what I've read, it can be a bit tricky to work with. If I was at all considering a standard HDD in the mix for the build, I'd probably look elsewhere.

[Gunbuster]

I've been looking at other graphs, and Silverstone FT05 always seems to be at the top, both for noise isolation and cooling.
Shame it's so expensive.

If you don't mind how it looks the RV05 is very similar and almost half the price (£74 Vs £119).

[quest_for_silence]

Of all the cases SPCR reviewed in the last 2 years..

There ain't no such thing as a silent case.

[Quinnbeast]

Technically, they are all silent. Does yours make a noise or something?

[quest_for_silence]

Technically, they are all silent. Does yours make a noise or something?

My old acrylic one sometime cracks, late in the night.

Somehow more seriously, what make "silent" a case (in an end user perspective or according to his expectations) are mostly marketing gimnicks and common sense: just for instance, unless you have two or more air cooled graphic cards (not a smart move for a silence lover), the FT05 is not the quietest option (as a matter of fact the SPCR Quiet ATX Gamer used a much less expensive Fractal R5 for an apparently much quieter outcome than the FT05 review), while, if you go for liquid cooling (the best choice for a multi-GPUs setup, noise wise), again the FT05 is not the best choice (liquid cooling deserves differently organized enclosures for placing radiators, tubing, pumps, reservoir).

Moreover absolute figures don't mean that much: as our gentle host, MikeC, often says, 1-2°C is nothing, 1-2dB is nothing. So, as a matter of fact, more humble enclosures (for instance NZXT Source 530, Silverstone KL05) may give a comparable noise outcome at a fraction of the FT05 price.

Banally it's how you actually use it that makes an enclosure well suited to run with the least amount of noise, that's why there ain't no such thing as a silent case, that's why is a bit pointless looking for the most silent cases.

[Irrelevant]

Banally it's how you actually use it that makes an enclosure well suited to run with the least amount of noise, that's why there ain't no such thing as a silent case, that's why is a bit pointless looking for the most silent cases.

Unquestionably, usage patterns and component choice do make a big difference, and there is no "#1 Most Quiet Case Ever," but there are only a few cases that could ever earn the label "#1 Most Quiet Case For This Particular System." If acoustics are the sole criteria under consideration, you could probably whittle the list down to fewer than ten.

I'd agree, however, that such a list would be nearly useless much of the time. Hardly anyone selects a case solely on its acoustics, and you'd still need a basic understanding of computer acoustics to purchase an appropriate case. There are a lot of threads here started by people wondering why their computer is so noisy when they've got an SPCR-approved cases totally unsuitable for their components. (In fact, I think I myself am guilty of that. )