Advice on quiet i7 Case

magher

Looking to build a i7 920 setup so gonna be spending most money on cpu, mobo so I'm looking for a cheap quiet case. At the minute I've been using a old amd 64 and its like playing games in the engine room of the titanic.:mad:

Also I what to set it up a media server to PS3. Is there any mobo out there which can do this without turning on the entire PC and booting windows? What I mean is can you buy a mobo which only starts up a basic linux server and is very low on power/noise.

cheap and quiet....
I would get the antec 300, replace the rear fan with an xilence 120mm and the top fan with a fractal designs 140mm fan. The xilence fans will be sweet as front intake fans also if you are installing them. Alot of people recommend noctua fans but they are actually quite load at rated rpm and push very very little air at 1000rpm (quiet) or below.

slowlydownwards

magher wrote: »

Also I what to set it up a media server to PS3. Is there any mobo out there which can do this without turning on the entire PC and booting windows? What I mean is can you buy a mobo which only starts up a basic linux server and is very low on power/noise.

http://cgi.ebay.ie/ACER-Aspire-R3600-REVO-Atom-330-320G-2G-Mini-Desktop_W0QQitemZ280449116335QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Computing_Laptops_EH?hash=item414c11e8af

Deano12345

magher wrote: »

Looking to build a i7 920 setup so gonna be spending most money on cpu, mobo so I'm looking for a cheap quiet case. At the minute I've been using a old amd 64 and its like playing games in the engine room of the titanic.:mad:

Also I what to set it up a media server to PS3. Is there any mobo out there which can do this without turning on the entire PC and booting windows? What I mean is can you buy a mobo which only starts up a basic linux server and is very low on power/noise.

Antec P183 has great sound deadening as stock.Its expensive though.

You could also buy sheets of sound deadening material

(Komplett sell some Nexus stuff)

Avoid putting fans in the side panels when you can,usually this is the worst place for vibrations

darealtulip

slowlydownwards wrote: »

http://cgi.ebay.ie/ACER-Aspire-R3600-REVO-Atom-330-320G-2G-Mini-Desktop_W0QQitemZ280449116335QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Computing_Laptops_EH?hash=item414c11e8af

I bought that and put windows 7 on it, works fine, WiFi is slow though so I connected it with a cable.

Use it as a media pc aswell and stream from main pc.

leninbenjamin

Deano12345 wrote: »

Antec P183 has great sound deadening as stock.Its expensive though.

It's not a great choice for an i7 though. It's sound proofing acts as an insulator for heat as well, and also restricts space inside meaning getting a good cooling setup for a heat generating monster like the 920 can be difficult.

uberpixie

leninbenjamin wrote: »

It's not a great choice for an i7 though. It's sound proofing acts as an insulator for heat as well, and also restricts space inside meaning getting a good cooling setup for a heat generating monster like the 920 can be difficult.

Ah no, the air flow in the antec P180/182/183 series is very very good. Very good balance between silencing and airflow.

I am running a B3 Q6600 in a antec p180 without any heat issues at all...
CPU is @ 34 degrees average for all cores and thats with all my case fans down at minimum. Underload I hit between 45 to 50 depending on weather and heat of the house.

The sound proofing for the side panels is built into the panels themselves: two layers of aluminum with a layer of plastic between.

There is no extra dampening material inside the case itself.

Top that off with the PSU kept in a separate chamber to the rest of the pc and you have a very cool running and quiet pc.

The one thing I would say would be to replace all the stock Antec fans for any dacent silent fans. The stock fans are not great. Put some good silent fans in and you have a very quiet pc. not a great looking case, but looks are not what the case is about.

leninbenjamin

uberpixie wrote: »

The one thing I would say would be to replace all the stock Antec fans for any dacent silent fans. The stock fans are not great. Put some good silent fans in and you have a very quiet pc. not a great looking case, but looks are not what the case is about.

That's cheating

uberpixie

leninbenjamin wrote: »

That's cheating

So is:

1) overclocking

2) watercooling

3) voltmods

4) changing the default cooler for a CPU/GFX card!

:pac:

Solitaire

If the P183 was an option the HAF922 would be positively affordable!

Not the HAF932 mind, that's got the older, noisier Big-Ass-Fans :P

Anti

And its fairly fugly too. If you have the money for a high end case go with a lian li or the corsair 800D. They are already whisper silent with the stock fans and the cooling is great. Plus they look bad-ass.

leninbenjamin

Solitaire wrote: »

If the P183 was an option the HAF922 would be positively affordable!

Not the HAF932 mind, that's got the older, noisier Big-Ass-Fans :P

pfft... not this again

Actually, I've figured it out about the 932. It's not the case fans, it's not the build quality, it's the extra height of it. Basically, the noise echo's around the side casing and comes through the big top opening amplified, bit like the way a cup can amplify little speakers.

For the first 6 months of it's life I had mine sitting under a very heavy table where there was only about an inch clearance at the top. Otherwise it was exposed at all sides, but it was in a common room and would hardly bother any of us using it even though the side fan was directed right at the middle of the room. The noise just went up and disappated out in all directions off the table weakening the maximum observed db levels.

However, I've since had to move it to a different location where it doesn't fit under the desk, and the difference in noise levels is unreal. It's still the same distance from me, it's still clear on all sides but the noise just funnels up straight at me. Still not unbearable mind, but I do notice it a lot more than on other machines. Beginning to rethink my love of my HAF932 a wee bit...

ScumLord

Any thing with an open side is a no no. There are a few cases that come with a chicken wire side panel.

Rezident

+1 for Antec. I have the p182 and it's been great for a couple of years now. Great cooling and decent sound dampening too.

Deano12345

leninbenjamin wrote: »

pfft... not this again

Actually, I've figured it out about the 932. It's not the case fans, it's not the build quality, it's the extra height of it. Basically, the noise echo's around the side casing and comes through the big top opening amplified, bit like the way a cup can amplify little speakers.

For the first 6 months of it's life I had mine sitting under a very heavy table where there was only about an inch clearance at the top. Otherwise it was exposed at all sides, but it was in a common room and would hardly bother any of us using it even though the side fan was directed right at the middle of the room. The noise just went up and disappated out in all directions off the table weakening the maximum observed db levels.

However, I've since had to move it to a different location where it doesn't fit under the desk, and the difference in noise levels is unreal. It's still the same distance from me, it's still clear on all sides but the noise just funnels up straight at me. Still not unbearable mind, but I do notice it a lot more than on other machines. Beginning to rethink my love of my HAF932 a wee bit...

I agree with open side panel,my 2 Nexus real silents hit VTEC after about 1200RPM.They sound awesome

But loud

Solitaire

Y'all missed my point... I was implying that you've all gone off-topic :P The OP wants a cheaper case than a HAF922, much less one of Antec's studio jobbies! :eek:

Deano12345

Solitaire wrote: »

Y'all missed my point... I was implying that you've all gone off-topic :P The OP wants a cheaper case than a HAF922, much less one of Antec's studio jobbies! :eek:

I didnt make a point at all :P

On-Topic : What about the Lian Li PC-60.I know its not cheaper than the HAF,but it does come with lots of anti vibration mounts and other neat stuff

magher

magher wrote: »

I'm looking for a cheap quiet case.

So everyone reckons 150+euro cases are cheap? Damn, im poorer than i thought

Deano12345

david7536 wrote: »

So everyone reckons 150+euro cases are cheap? Damn, im poorer than i thought

Cheap and quiet don't usually go together :P

Alternative,buy a case and take all the fans out of it

Solitaire

Cheap and quiet is an Antec 300 with the fans on minimum speed and some very quiet 120mm fans tacked on the front :P Well, you could stick a couple of Arctic fans on a CM330 for less but we are talking a 130W CPU here!

heliguyheliguy

Zalman GS100-SE €113