Good airflow or "soundproof" case ?

jadas · Post by **jadas** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 4:27 am

I am building a new PC with the following components ;

- ATX motherboard
- Enermax Pro82 525W
- AMD Phenom II 810 & Thermalright HR-01 Plus
- WD Caviar Green
- HD4650 (passive cooling)

What would be more silent , a case with good airflow like Thermatake M5
with some Nexus Real Silent fans, considering the PSU and CPU fans would have to work slower or a noise reduction oriented case like
CM Sileo 500?

PS : I can't buy expensive cases like Solo or P1xx. Also I haven't chosen CPU heatsink yet, that will depend on motherboard/case combo.

Thanks in advance,
Jadas

pcy · Post by **pcy** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 10:16 am

Hi,

I'm struggling to see any noise (reduction) oriented features in the CM Sileo 500.

Follow my sig if you want to see a case design that actully does reduce noise.

But to answer your question directly, the best route to low noise if to use as many/large fans as possible in a low air resitance case so that the air inside the case (the coolant fluid) is kept to within about 5C of room temperature with as little fan noise need to drive the airflow as possible.

Peter

echn111 · Post by **echn111** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 11:18 am

pcy wrote:Hi,

I'm struggling to see any noise (reduction) oriented features in the CM Sileo 500.

Follow my sig if you want to see a case design that actully does reduce noise.

But to answer your question directly, the best route to low noise if to use as many/large fans as possible in a low air resitance case so that the air inside the case (the coolant fluid) is kept to within about 5C of room temperature with as little fan noise need to drive the airflow as possible.

Peter

Interesting case design to have the fans deep inside the case. This would keep noise down, but I don't know how efficient it would be at pulling fresh air from outside and general airflow. Would be interested in comparisons with other cases. A proper 3rd party review would probably be useful...

One observation about your web site that I hope you interpret in a constructive manner: I visited it, looked at the obvious place for info, specifically the products section, and could not find anything useful nor any useful links. A few tiny pictues of the outside of the case and a single link to a "shop" is all I found. And then decided to close the website.

But, for reasons unknown, I made one final attempt at finding meaningful product info and came across the "documents" section and then the "quick guide" where I found the "real" product info. I suggest you put some of those diagrams as links in the products section...

pcy · Post by **pcy** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 12:24 pm

Hi,

The airflow is in no way impeded by putting the fans in the middle. In fact it's the only place in a case where you can get three fans running in parallel.

I take your comments on the website - it's due for a major re-vamp when the two new cases (a replacement for the 4U, and a 5U version) are released.

Martin Walker of Sound on Sound in effect reviewd the case in an article in the Feb 2007 issue:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb07/a ... n_0207.htm
last 1/3rd of the article...

I've been putting off letting Mike C have one for review ever since while I sort out production and get to the point where we can build more than we can sell.

Also, I don't want to generate any interest in teh case in N. America as the cost of transport from teh UK is prohibitive - at least not until I have tehm being built in a factory in China...

peter

mbf · Post by **mbf** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 12:36 pm

VERY interesting case! If it were about 5 cm shorter I'd buy it in a heart beat. I love how the door apparently opens to the right. Would be perfect for me having my case sitting on my desktop to the right.

pcy · Post by **pcy** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 1:21 pm

Hi,

Putting the fans in the middle is (IMO) the right thing acoustically, but it does increase the length...

I do plan an shorter version with 2 x 140mm fans close to the front, and that would be well over 5 cm shorter.

The front door opens along either of the long edges - the top (in RackMount/Desktop orientation), or left (in Tower Mode), by default. The latest design allows you swap the door hinge round to the bottom/left edge. No version open along tyhe short edge though...

Peter

jadas · Post by **jadas** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 11:21 pm

But because placing fans in the middle is almost impossible in a prebuilt case, do you have any other suggestion ?

Have anyone tried to built a silent PC with a lot of case fans ?

mbf · Post by **mbf** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 8:23 am

pcy wrote:Hi,

Putting the fans in the middle is (IMO) the right thing acoustically, but it does increase the length...

I do plan an shorter version with 2 x 140mm fans close to the front, and that would be well over 5 cm shorter.

The front door opens along either of the long edges - the top (in RackMount/Desktop orientation), or left (in Tower Mode), by default. The latest design allows you swap the door hinge round to the bottom/left edge. No version open along tyhe short edge though...

Peter

Well, keep me posted on the progress. I'm very interested in that case considering your current design.

jadas · Post by **jadas** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:53 am

Can you please stop hijacking the thread ?
If you want to discuss please use PMs.

_MarcoM_ · Post by **_MarcoM_** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 12:41 pm

jadas wrote: What would be more silent , a case with good airflow like Thermatake M5
with some Nexus Real Silent fans, considering the PSU and CPU fans would have to work slower or a noise reduction oriented case like
CM Sileo 500?

PS : I can't buy expensive cases like Solo or P1xx. Also I haven't chosen CPU heatsink yet, that will depend on motherboard/case combo.

I think Sileo is better choice for silence, Thermaltake M5 has more path to noise escape.
Your hardware config with Sileo will be well served by two Nexus fan, cooling this puppy will not be a problem

mbf · Post by **mbf** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 12:58 pm

jadas wrote:Can you please stop hijacking the thread ?
If you want to discuss please use PMs.

Sorry, I'll keep out of your thread.

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 1:38 pm

Hi,

You need to have enough, low restriction air flow through a case to keep it cool. So having a largely blocked off case won't work. On the other hand, you can have a completely open case, since the noise comes out too easily.

Are you sure that you can't swing for an Antec Solo? They are on sale right now at NewEgg for $70 plus $10 shipping.

It is too bad that Evercase 4252 are no longer available...

jadas · Post by **jadas** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 3:03 pm

_MarcoM_ wrote: I think Sileo is better choice for silence, Thermaltake M5 has more path to noise escape.
Your hardware config with Sileo will be well served by two Nexus fan, cooling this puppy will not be a problem

Is the reduced number of paths for noise to escape enough to overcome the additional noise of increased fans' rotations ? I could close some holes.

NeilBlanchard wrote:Hi,

You need to have enough, low restriction air flow through a case to keep it cool. So having a largely blocked off case won't work. On the other hand, you can have a completely open case, since the noise comes out too easily.

Are you sure that you can't swing for an Antec Solo? They are on sale right now at NewEgg for $70 plus $10 shipping.

It is too bad that Evercase 4252 are no longer available...

Unfortunately, Antec Solo costs 140$ in my country.

Are two or three undervolted Nexus fans and a passive CPU heatsink silent enough in Thermaltake M5?
.
.

Olle P · Post by **Olle P** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 4:51 am

NeilBlanchard wrote:You need to have enough, low restriction air flow through a case to keep it cool.

Not quite correct. The air flow doesn't have to be low restriction, it only has to be (large) "enough".
With more restriction the generation of flow will be noisier, but the amount of flow is the same.

I use efficient dust filters that do cause some restriction, and that's a trade off I'm happy to take!

Cheers
Olle

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 7:41 am

Hi Ollie,

But if it is not low restriction air flow, then you need to crank up the fan(s) to get the air flow -- and then it will be noisy.

Olle P · Post by **Olle P** » Tue Aug 18, 2009 5:55 am

NeilBlanchard wrote:But if it is not low restriction air flow, then you need to crank up the fan(s) to get the air flow -- and then it will be noisy.

Correct, but noise wasn't mentioned as a factor in your post.

There's also the option to use sound traps and other means to dampen the noise produced by the fans.

My main point, however, is that flow restrictions are not to be avoided at all costs, but be employed where/when they serve a higher cause (like filtering dust or cooling a hot component).

Cheers
Olle

lemoncola · Post by **lemoncola** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 12:35 am

Get the Lian Li B10 case. Its pretty good

ntavlas · Post by **ntavlas** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 3:34 am

Where exactly do you live Jadas? Shipping from a country close to you shouldn`t be that expensive. This way you can have more choices.

I think it`s worth having some restriction at the front if that`s going to block some noise. Besides, the fan(s) at the front do not need to run so fast. You could remove a few pci slot covers and use the openings as an additional intake vent. You could also remove the disk cage and soft mounting the hdd at the bottom, further from the front.

jadas · Post by **jadas** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 11:48 am

Actually, I have bought Xigmatek Midgard, which sells almost for the same price as sileo 500.
I will post results when I get all pieces.

Good airflow or "soundproof" case ?

Good airflow or "soundproof" case ?

Re: Good airflow or "soundproof" case ?

Re: Good airflow or "soundproof" case ?