I agree Olle, with most of your points. Dust is almost always going to be a problem, with any system. The only system type that can exclude (most) dust, has to have a massive filter. And in order to overcome the restriction of the filter, it would have to run its fans faster. If those fans are muffl...

I found the video review by Gamers Nexus quite substantial, and helpful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHGAJYcgBHI&t=214s

So, putting the video card on the bottom of the case is pretty awful for GPU temperatures. It is too close to the side, which reduces air flow into the fans.

Hey - the optional Flex VRC-25 kit looks awesome!

Very interesting! I thought the original already clear of most RAM? The nickel plated copper base sounds great.

That won't be easy to find a replacement for - let alone know whether it is quieter, or not. Are there restrictions on the air flow - and if there is a grill on the exhaust air, could it be opened up? Does the fan vary it's RPM with temperature?

Hello Stu & welcome to SPCR,

Yes, that is a blower type fan. It pulls air in through those three slots on the side, and blows it out through the opening on the edge of the case. Can you post a picture of the system, so we can see how the fan is used?

Welcome to SPCR,

I would put the quietest fans as the exhausts, since they are (probably) on more of the time. If they are pretty close to the same noise, then I would put the PWM fans in the intake positions, so they can run very slowly when they are needed.

To keep dust down with positive pressure, you have to have a filter - and to have an effective filter that is still quiet (because filters constrict air flow) you need a massive filter.

My personal opinion is that slightly negative pressure cases are going to be cooler with fewer fans, and/or lower RPM fans. Slightly positive pressure cases take more fans and / or higher RPM fans to move less air, and therefore, they are noisier and / or higher temperature.

Is the Cosmos II set up for a 200mm fan?

Welcome to SPCR,

Do you have a dimension above the CPU / motherboard in the 304? The Ninja 4 may have the best "passive" cooling, so the case fan(s) would have a good chance of moving enough air; and you could run without a fan on the CPU cooler.

I have had good experiences with APC.

Welcome to SPCR, The first thing to try, because it is the least expensive, and that is to make a suspension in your current case. If the hard drive has a high level of vibration, I would suggest replacing it. If it relatively mild vibration, then a new case could be the solution. Can you record it,...

Here's the link to the case: http://phanteks.com/Enthoo-Evolv-Shift-X.html

Interesting case - it is a vertically oriented mini-ITX. The grills look to have very small hex openings - they might be fine, but they might be restrictive.

On the heat pipes - all of them are hollow and they contain a state-changing material (alcohol?) that evaporates and recondenses, to shift heat.

In theory, sure - air flow over the video card is what you want. But air has to flow in a direction - the video card is blowing down, and the front fan is blowing toward the back. The only way the air can get out from under the card - is up and around the video card. So, the front fan would likely t...

All else being equal, the smaller case will have more constricted air flow inside the case. Especially around the video card, which are typically oriented exactly the opposite of what makes good cooling. The Cool Master 550: https://images.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.clubic.com%2F04978874-...

Greetings, It is hard to say precisely. Air flow through the case is the key factor. A larger case has more air to buffer temps by dispersing heat within the case, and is more likely to have better air flow inside the case. On the other hand, a smaller case could have quicker air changes. If the sma...

Welcome to SPCR! That is a tight case, and I think the PSU choice will affect the air flow inside the case. The orientation of the video card is also a major factor of how cool and quiet the system will be. The specs say the QBX is just over 7" wide, so that does seem to limit the height of the vide...

Welcome to SPCR,

I have seen anything about the Be Quiet 900 case before, so only going by the pictures, it looks similar to several other cases. It could very well have low restriction air flow, or it might be held back by the fine mesh grill they used.

Does it have panel dampening like the R5?

I think that moving air through the case - lowering the temperature in the case - makes the heatsink fans much quieter. If the case has inadequate air flow, then no amount of fan speed can make the GPU cooler. The GPU produces more heat than the CPU, and its heatsink is usually much smaller than the...

A fan out the top would be a good thing. Pulling warmer air from close to the video card, though is not ideal. So maybe a rear exhaust fan and an exhaust fan above the CPU. If that is not enough, try a second top exhaust.

Air flow through the case is better than churning air inside the case.

I think the vents are essentially identical:

From page 3 of 7 from the SPCR review of the ITX version: Hidden on the sides are the front panel's main intake vents, which are about 5 mm wide. [Editor's Note: As with so many vents in cases these days, this vent looks far to[sic] small to feed the big fan anywhere near the airflow it deserves.]

Hello & welcome to SPCR, At first look, the air intake flow would seem to be restricted. https://images.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.shopify.com%2Fs%2Ffiles%2F1%2F0232%2F4705%2Fproducts%2FEvolv-ATX-1.jpg%3Fv%3D1462223245&f=1 https://images.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.bestofmicro...

So, here's the thought experiment: with 1 fan being quieter than 2, if the CPU heatsink and case can handle it, then this would be quieter. Or, with separate devices, you could have more heatsink surface area - you might be able to go passive.

It comes down to the case and the rest of the system.

Welcome to SPCR,

The place to start, if you have not already seen it, is here, I think:

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=69450

I mean the wall power outlet plugs. It is possible that ALL the outlets have some sort of wiring error. The building may have a faulty ground, or reversed hot and neutral, etc.

If it was "dirty" power, then a UPS should have helped. Another thing left to test is whether the plug(s) you are using are wired correctly. You may have a faulty ground?