Good budget quiet case?

[saitrix]

Hi,

I am building a PC for a friend and he is after a quiet PC. It is going to be a sandy bridge i3 build without a gfx card so won't be much heat in the case. I am not wanting to spend as much as a fractal design r3 is so is there any good alternatives at a lower price? Any in the coolmaster range any good? Any suggestions will be helpful, the only thing that would be nice is that the case isn't garish.

[psyopper]

Pick a good cooler, mount it well, be smart with the fan selection and you should be able to pick whatever case you want. Or use the stock cooler and buy a decent Antec or Fractal case for more money.

Either way it will cost about the same in the long run.

[ces]

It is going to be a sandy bridge i3 build without a gfx card

Do you care if it is an ITX or Micro-ATX motherboard?

[saitrix]

Not really to be honest, as long as the costs arnt vastly different. What idea have you got?

[ces]

APEX TX-381-C Black Steel Micro-ATX Tower Computer Case (microcenter sells it as the Powerspec 381) it has a handle on it and can hold a 10.5” video card
W 7.20; H 16.00; D 16.00; (mATX) with handle
W 7.20; H 14.25; D 16.00; (mATX) No handle

H61 Motherboard MSI H61M-P23 - $57.99
http://www.microcenter.com/single_produ ... id=0359807

Powerspec 381 - 24.99
http://www.microcenter.com/single_produ ... id=0330536

Intel Core i3 2100 LGA 1155 3.1GHz Boxed $99.99
http://www.microcenter.com/single_produ ... id=0359809

Core i5 2400 LGA 1155 Boxed Processor $149.99
http://www.microcenter.com/single_produ ... id=0354590
(a lot more power for a few more bucks and probably not much if any higher wattage - it only uses 4 watts at idle, even if the i3 uses 2 watts it isn't much different)

Scythe Mugen-2 CPU Cooler $35-40 (most bang per buck)
http://www.silentpcreview.com/scythe-mugen2

Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus $30 (almost as good as the Mugen)

PSU - there are no good ones under $120, but if you hurry you can get a Nexus Value at a $29.99 End of life price (it is as good as any PSU)
http://www.cputopia.com/psu-replacement ... e-430.html

[matchu]

I am not wanting to spend as much as a fractal design r3 is so is there any good alternatives at a lower price?

What is your budget, if I may ask, exactly? And what currency?

[saitrix]

Well it was £400 overall for the pc.

ces, Yeah I have the same psu in my pc. :p

[quest_for_silence]

if you hurry you can get a Nexus Value at a $29.99 End of life price (it is as good as any PSU)
http://www.cputopia.com/psu-replacement ... e-430.html

It wouldn't seem a Nexus Value.

[ces]

PSU - there are no good ones under $120, but if you hurry you can get a Nexus Value at a $29.99 End of life price (it is as good as any PSU)
http://www.cputopia.com/psu-replacement ... e-430.html

OOPS, it isn't a Nexus Value.

[fumino]

well i went wandering around scan, and this is what ive come up with. obviously this is just an example of what can be had.

• case/psu: antec nsk3480
  psu fan: noctua nf-r8
  motherboard: msi h67ma-e45
  ram: 2x2GB corsair xms3
  cpu: intel i3-2100
  heatsink: scythe mugen-2

strap the slipstream from the mugen on to the case as the exhaust, swap the psu fan for the noctua.

idk what you were planning on for storage/boot drive.

[quest_for_silence]

• case/psu: antec nsk3480
  psu fan: noctua nf-r8
  motherboard: msi h67ma-e45
  ram: 2x2GB corsair xms3
  cpu: intel i3-2100
  heatsink: scythe mugen-2

strap the slipstream from the mugen on to the case as the exhaust, swap the psu fan for the noctua.

Apart the last note on fans, +1.

Please take note that the NSK3480 in order to run quiet, it basically shouldn't be paired with high speed (high vibrations) hard disk drives (but YMMV, depending on the enclosure placement).