Hey people! Im new to the forums, hope to learn alot and contribute my fair bit aswell. Just wanted to say you guys take silence to another level!
Anyway, on with the question. I just wanted to know from your experience, the best case that has low noise levels straight out of the box? I understand that obviously the components of my PC also play a factor, but also understand that the fans on some cases are just unbearable!
I currently own an Antec 900..with all the Tri-cool fans still in place (I know! Shock horror!) and they are quite loud even on the lowest settings. I was thinking to just have them replaced, but fear that because this thing has literally loads of open holes it wouldn't make much difference?
Thanks for any help!
Best Silent Case Out Of The Box?
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Devonavar
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Ralf Hutter
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I thought so! Was having a hard time searching for prices online! (im in the UK)rpsgc wrote:Silly RalfThe P150 isn't sold anymore.
Yes, Solo.
I heard the Solo is a tad bit small? Would space be a issue for my 9800GX2? Does look like a really nice case though..neat features. Are there any other contenders that you would recommend?
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bonestonne
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you could very easily just swap fans, the 200mm fan would be harder to swap, but you could simply remove that one without too much trouble.
it depends on your heatsink though.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_1054.jpg
^thats how my rig looks like on the business end, large tower coolers on everything that could overheat that i could manage to get a heatsink on. the only thing that isn't covered by a new cooler is the southbridge, which is obstructed by the Accelero S1...the only way i could change that would be maybe another HR-05, but I'd have to pick up the SLI version, and hope i could squeeze it in (i don't think it would fit though).
just thinking of the 900 (and not what you have inside) i'd say maybe go with a Slipstream 1200RPM for exhaust, while removing the upper fan and blocking off the vent entirely. i'd also block off the side vent, as well as the PCI vent. what this does is forces airflow to go from the front, to the back. no deadspots, no hotspots, and minimalistic fan setup.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_1056.jpg
^that's the inner front view of my case. mesh grill, no fans. with the newer, shorter optical drive, it's nearly flush with the end of the 5.25" drive bay. this gives a little room for a dead spot between the PSU and the optical drive up at the top, but with the amount of airflow, i'm not worried about it.
i have 4 total fans in the case, one in the power supply, one 92mm fan on my accelero, and then 2x 120mm fans, one exhaust (plugged into the CPU PWM header) and once CPU fan (hardwired to 7v via a molex adapter). there's bucketloads of airflow going into the front of the case (thankfully filtered) and it's doing it's job at keeping my PSU and CPU cool.
If you've got a 120mm fan inside your PSU, i hope you've got the fan blowing up, not down, to reduce heat going towards the fan, which reduces lifespan. If your PSU is cooled with an 80mm fan, orientation doesn't matter.
I don't think it could be justified buying a whole new case unless the cost of fans to replace goes beyond what the newer quieter case would be.
it depends on your heatsink though.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_1054.jpg
^thats how my rig looks like on the business end, large tower coolers on everything that could overheat that i could manage to get a heatsink on. the only thing that isn't covered by a new cooler is the southbridge, which is obstructed by the Accelero S1...the only way i could change that would be maybe another HR-05, but I'd have to pick up the SLI version, and hope i could squeeze it in (i don't think it would fit though).
just thinking of the 900 (and not what you have inside) i'd say maybe go with a Slipstream 1200RPM for exhaust, while removing the upper fan and blocking off the vent entirely. i'd also block off the side vent, as well as the PCI vent. what this does is forces airflow to go from the front, to the back. no deadspots, no hotspots, and minimalistic fan setup.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... G_1056.jpg
^that's the inner front view of my case. mesh grill, no fans. with the newer, shorter optical drive, it's nearly flush with the end of the 5.25" drive bay. this gives a little room for a dead spot between the PSU and the optical drive up at the top, but with the amount of airflow, i'm not worried about it.
i have 4 total fans in the case, one in the power supply, one 92mm fan on my accelero, and then 2x 120mm fans, one exhaust (plugged into the CPU PWM header) and once CPU fan (hardwired to 7v via a molex adapter). there's bucketloads of airflow going into the front of the case (thankfully filtered) and it's doing it's job at keeping my PSU and CPU cool.
If you've got a 120mm fan inside your PSU, i hope you've got the fan blowing up, not down, to reduce heat going towards the fan, which reduces lifespan. If your PSU is cooled with an 80mm fan, orientation doesn't matter.
I don't think it could be justified buying a whole new case unless the cost of fans to replace goes beyond what the newer quieter case would be.
I understand what your saying, but tbh I think this case is flawed when it comes to silencing.bonestonne wrote: I don't think it could be justified buying a whole new case unless the cost of fans to replace goes beyond what the newer quieter case would be.
Is it really worth the time and effort to shut out the side vent, cover the top vent, cover the back grill, replace all other remaining 120mm fans, and as the material of it is rather thin; which im sure it would require some form of soundpads/mats to stop vibration.
To me, I would happily spend money (not crazy amounts) on a fairly decent case that already ticks the boxes. I mean, it just doesn't seem worth it really.
What case are you using bonestonne? How does the noise match up?
I thought as much, dont really fancy modding it either! Is it just me..or could the P182 look a bit better..rpsgc wrote: Eh... A 9800GX2 (10,5" long) doesn't fit in a Solo unless you mod it. You'd have to cut a little bit of the HDD cage.
The other obvious choice would be the P182.
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bonestonne
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Cooler Master Elite 330...i got it for $42 just before Circuit City bit the bullet, i opted for the one without the PSU.
from my perspective, just a couple feet away from the right, it's very quiet. The PSU doesn't ramp up noticeably, although i had some things wired in a stupid way, and it was getting toasty, but that's all fixed now.
the exhaust fan is what i hear most of the time, it's going around 1200RPM, for some reason it doesn't undervolt or anything, but it's also the stock Cooler Master fan that came with the case. On the CPU, i've got a nice NMB fan that i received with my Scythe Ninja which i bought secondhand for a nicey-nice $15. at 7v, it's just a fan on the heatsink, makes no noise, causes no vibrations. at the bottom on the Accelero is a 92mm medium speed Delta fan, which is undervolted to 7v just like the CPU fan is. This is the same Delta fan that HP put into many of it's mATX desktop computers 3-4 years ago, when socket 478 was the "in thing."
generally there's something going on in my house, music playing, people talking, so my computer is silent under my desk, although that silence turns into a very low frequency soundm, around 11:30pm or so (when the house gets really quiet), due to air resistance, because the rear fan grill hasn't been completely cut out yet (it's on the to-do list). when it comes down to it though, the central air in this house completely drones out the sound of my computer.
you can hold your hand up to 6 inches away from my front panel and still feel air getting pulled into the front panel of my case, usually the air coming out the back is just a few degrees warmer, but nothing to even bat an eyelash at.
this case (as cheap as it is) has got me hooked on stuff with large open front panels...so much air enters this case, i don't need to worry about anything inside, even with half the fans running at 7v.
all things considered, the only thing i feel like i need to worry about is my PSU, which seems to not like E6750+P45+9600GT, it's starting to get a little warm at times.
from my perspective, just a couple feet away from the right, it's very quiet. The PSU doesn't ramp up noticeably, although i had some things wired in a stupid way, and it was getting toasty, but that's all fixed now.
the exhaust fan is what i hear most of the time, it's going around 1200RPM, for some reason it doesn't undervolt or anything, but it's also the stock Cooler Master fan that came with the case. On the CPU, i've got a nice NMB fan that i received with my Scythe Ninja which i bought secondhand for a nicey-nice $15. at 7v, it's just a fan on the heatsink, makes no noise, causes no vibrations. at the bottom on the Accelero is a 92mm medium speed Delta fan, which is undervolted to 7v just like the CPU fan is. This is the same Delta fan that HP put into many of it's mATX desktop computers 3-4 years ago, when socket 478 was the "in thing."
generally there's something going on in my house, music playing, people talking, so my computer is silent under my desk, although that silence turns into a very low frequency soundm, around 11:30pm or so (when the house gets really quiet), due to air resistance, because the rear fan grill hasn't been completely cut out yet (it's on the to-do list). when it comes down to it though, the central air in this house completely drones out the sound of my computer.
you can hold your hand up to 6 inches away from my front panel and still feel air getting pulled into the front panel of my case, usually the air coming out the back is just a few degrees warmer, but nothing to even bat an eyelash at.
this case (as cheap as it is) has got me hooked on stuff with large open front panels...so much air enters this case, i don't need to worry about anything inside, even with half the fans running at 7v.
all things considered, the only thing i feel like i need to worry about is my PSU, which seems to not like E6750+P45+9600GT, it's starting to get a little warm at times.
Might be a bit of a silly question, but how do you go around undervolting a fan? Do you use some sort of software? I guess it has to be connected to a mobo header first..bonestonne wrote:Cooler Master Elite 330...i got it for $42 just before Circuit City bit the bullet, i opted for the one without the PSU.
See ive got a total of 7 fans in my PC!
2 x 120mm - for intake
1 x 120mm - for exhaust
1 x 200mm - top vent
1 x 120mm - psu
1 x 120mm - scythe slipstream on heatsink
AND..theres the gpu fan (which is by far the loudest!)
All the fans on the case are all stock too. If you was in the market for a new silent case, what would it be? Do you recommend your current CoolerMaster?
Hi,
Peter
KalC wrote:... the best case that has low noise levels straight out of the box?
You asked the question, unqualified, so I answered it. The headline price of £253 includes the PSU, the CPU Cooler, Delivery and UK VAT. It turns out that doing the job right, and using the best materials etc. is indeed not cheap. Truely - "Silence is Golden"KalC wrote:haha, not at those prices mate! unless you got a spare £250 to borrow me?pcy wrote: Since you live in the UK ther really is only one answer:
PaQ
Peter