Case recommendation - will I be happy with CM690 II?

Ophelia · Post by **Ophelia** » Sun Jul 04, 2010 10:50 pm

I am building a new pc and I'm looking for case recommends.

Right now, I have a unique setup. I have a custom built desk with a fan in a cabinet, my current computer lives in there. Said current computer has... well, all kinds of various problems - due to various component failures, it's a veritable Frankenstein at this point... and it's all loud. I suspect I will not be able to use the cabinet+fan setup (the cabinet is size limited, and likely too small to hold a case capable of current high end video cards), and I'm not sure I even want to. The fan integral to the cabinet is the loudest thing in the room, and I haven't had a lot of luck finding another 120 mm AC fan quiet enough to make me happy.

So I'm looking to take my case out of my desk. Obviously I'm looking for quiet first, looks 2nd

I don't need (and would actually prefer not to have) light up stuff, windows, etc. Plain, black, unobtrusive would be ideal. The build I am looking at is:
Cheapo SATA DVD Burner (ASUS Black 24X DVD+R) (Rarely used, so I'm not terribly concerned about noise here)
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB
Scythe SCMG-2100 Sleeve CPU Cooler
EVERCOOL HD-F117 - hard drive cooler - just one, for my system hard drive. I may throw in 2 more for my backup data drives (is this actually necessary?)
2X GIGABYTE GV-R583UD-1GD Radeon HD 5830
Core i7-930
CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-750HX 750W
GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA

For a case, I'm looking at the Cooler Master CM 690 II Case but I'm a bit nervous about noise. Sounds like the supplied fans will be fine, but I'm not sure how much of the ps/video card/cpu fans I'll hear.

My husband just recently built:

Intel Core i5-750
ASUS LGA1156 Intel P55 DDR3
SAPPHIRE 100281SR Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT)
CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready
2X Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5

In a Cooler Master Cosmos ATX Full Tower Case

It sounds pretty dang quiet to me. Can i get the same level of quietness with my build in the CM 690 II? If not, which case would you recommend? I'd like to stay in the $80-100 range, and in a mid tower, but I'd be willing to switch if absolutely necessary.

Tenoq · Post by **Tenoq** » Sun Jul 04, 2010 11:02 pm

The only problem with the CM 690 and its successor is the massive amount of holes it has! There are holes on every single panel - fan mounts back, bottom, front, both sides and top... as well as mesh all up the front and across the top. End result is sound comes out everywhere!

My previous setup was a CM690 with a 120.3 rad installed in the top - great in theory, but any noise created inside the case leaked out easily, and in my case the problem was the pump noise (and a small amount of HDD noise). So just bear in mind any noise you create in a CM 690 will not be damped at all by the case itself.

That said if you find your husband's build with a 5870 quiet I don't think you're going to have too much of an issue.

Ophelia · Post by **Ophelia** » Mon Jul 05, 2010 8:32 am

Well, that's what I'm questioning. The Cosmos (that my husband has) is enclosed. No holes in the sides or front (besides for fans). And if the 690 II is going to be significantly louder, I think I need to look elsewhere.

speedkar9 · Post by **speedkar9** » Mon Jul 05, 2010 8:45 am

How about Antec 300 with some sound dampening to make it heavier and block the side and top vents?

Or move up to an Antec P183?

I recently did a build with a CM690II and the panels feel really thin and porous, not quite a case for quiet computing to me.

Post by **MikeC** » Mon Jul 05, 2010 2:25 pm

There's nothing to be gained with doubling up on the 5830 video cards except more heat and noise. Just move up to the next level -- a single 5850 will be better in every way.

As for case -- we have a recommended section of proven quiet and quiet-conducive components on the main site. Check it out.

Tenoq · Post by **Tenoq** » Mon Jul 05, 2010 4:54 pm

Ophelia wrote:Well, that's what I'm questioning. The Cosmos (that my husband has) is enclosed. No holes in the sides or front (besides for fans). And if the 690 II is going to be significantly louder, I think I need to look elsewhere.

It will be. Configuring the CM690 II in a quiet fashion would require considerable planning to exploit the excessive mesh for cooling while minimising the noisy components. I'd say a good way to plan was to treat it like open-air, because it very similar.