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Best silent case to choose from?

Posted: Sun Nov 19, 2017 12:13 pm
by tpeter217
Hello,

I'd like to buy a new well-ventilated and quiet case.
My HW is the following:

PSU: Seasonic S12II-430
MB: Giga H81M-S2H
CPU: intel Xeon E3-1220 v3 + Thermalright Macho Rev B.
VGA: Giga 1060 Gaming
HDD: 2x1TB WD
SSD: 1x250GB 850 EVO

In the future I'd like to buy one more SSD and change the vga to a faster 1070/1080 vga card and the processor to intel i7-4770/4790 or i5-4690/4670.

Which case would be better for me, the Silent Base 600/800 or the Define R5 ?

Unfortunately I do not know any person who had both cases or tested it. Hopefully here I will get a helpful answer.

Bye, Peter

Re: Best silent case to choose from?

Posted: Sun Nov 19, 2017 4:03 pm
by CA_Steve
Welcome to SPCR.

The Silent Base 800 isn't that silent. Both the 600 and the Fractal R5 can be.

At idle, assuming your HDDs are spun down and your gfx card's fans turn off, you might be able to hear the Fractal's fans at minimum rpm, you might not hear the be Quiet's.

At load, the gfx card fans will drown out any other noise source (except HDDs). R5 tends toward better airflow vs the 600...leading to lower gfx card fan rpm.

Could be a toss up.

There's also the Fractal Define S (if you don't have an ODD)..with potential for 3rd front fan. Or, the newer Define C. Smaller footprint, but same unobstructed airflow as the S..

Re: Best silent case to choose from?

Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2017 2:01 pm
by tpeter217
CA_Steve wrote:Welcome to SPCR.

The Silent Base 800 isn't that silent. Both the 600 and the Fractal R5 can be.

At idle, assuming your HDDs are spun down and your gfx card's fans turn off, you might be able to hear the Fractal's fans at minimum rpm, you might not hear the be Quiet's.

At load, the gfx card fans will drown out any other noise source (except HDDs). R5 tends toward better airflow vs the 600...leading to lower gfx card fan rpm.

Could be a toss up.

There's also the Fractal Define S (if you don't have an ODD)..with potential for 3rd front fan. Or, the newer Define C. Smaller footprint, but same unobstructed airflow as the S..
Hello Steve!

Thanks for your answer. I have 2 DVD writer what I will put into the PC case.
In the meantime I think one more thing. Into the Define R5 I could install 3 x 140mm fans.
So I will choose the Define R5.
Many thanks for your answer.
Bye, Peter

Re: Best silent case to choose from?

Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2017 8:48 pm
by CA_Steve
Have fun.

Re: Best silent case to choose from?

Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2017 11:44 am
by tpeter217
CA_Steve wrote:Have fun.
Hello Steve!

I found a video about the R5's HDD cabinet resonating noise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2m6wsQ36EA

And this is a similar video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEjQA-prt8U

I was happy to find a good house, but I'm very disappointed. I'm down!
How often happened this?! And what cause this problem, how could be eliminate this?

Bye, Peter

Re: Best silent case to choose from?

Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2017 12:54 pm
by CA_Steve
Don't recall anyone here with an R5 build having HDD resonance issues. That said, some HDDs are much more prone to vibration than others.

Re: Best silent case to choose from?

Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2017 12:34 am
by tpeter217
CA_Steve wrote:Don't recall anyone here with an R5 build having HDD resonance issues. That said, some HDDs are much more prone to vibration than others.
Hello Steve,
Could you please tell me whats the difference between R4 and R5? Pros and negs.
Thanks!

Re: Best silent case to choose from?

Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2017 7:19 am
by CA_Steve

Re: Best silent case to choose from?

Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2017 6:38 am
by tpeter217
CA_Steve wrote:Sure.
Thanks, Steve!

What"s you opinion, is the R4 or the R5 better?
Into the new case I will put 2x2.5" SSD and 2x3.5" HDD and 2x5.25" DVD.
Maybe other product comes to mind?

Re: Best silent case to choose from?

Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2017 9:18 am
by CA_Steve
The R5.

Re: Best silent case to choose from?

Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2018 1:49 am
by Riok
CA_Steve wrote:Don't recall anyone here with an R5 build having HDD resonance issues. That said, some HDDs are much more prone to vibration than others.
I had with my old caviar drive (caviar green 650GB). The rubber grummets are useless and I had to suspend the drive to get rid of vibrations and extra noise. It's good to know that shouldn't happen with newer drives.

@tpeter217: If you ever come back here, please could you tell what are your temps at idle/load with a xeon in your system ? I am curious to know if it's possible to build a quiet rig with a high tdp processor...

Re: Best silent case to choose from?

Posted: Mon Jan 29, 2018 7:30 pm
by Placid
My Define R5 was very prone to HDD vibration when two or more installed. Really defeats the purpose of having multiple internal 3.5" bays. Every removable part would resonate: the side panel, the ModuVents, the drive cage, the front panel, the front door. That's the drawback of full modularity and thinner steel. For awhile, I would place a book over the R5 to silence the ModuVents and tap various parts of the case whenever it resonated. I finally resorted to removing the offending HDD and placing it into an external enclosure--and don't even try resting that on top of the R5 because the ModuVents will hum. The removed HDD was quite the shaker, but an Antec P183 would have dampened it like a pro.

I agree with Riok on the uselessness of the hard, thin rubber grommets included with the R5. While better than hard-mounting, they did very little to dampen HDD vibration. Instead, I used grommets and screws from the Antec P183. They're made of silicone and are thicker and softer. It reduced most of the vibrations of the remaining HDD and the case does not resonate as much anymore.