Viewing page 6 of 6 pages.
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RETIRED RECOMMENDED CASES
|
| Make / Model |
Airflow
|
Noise
|
Overall / Comments
|
| Lian
Li PC-101 |
6
|
6
|
6 / Unusual,
handsome, all-aluminum mid-tower case with too many features to detail here.
For aluminum enthusiasts, we were still able to build a quiet system in
the PC-101 without much effort. It is the first aluminum case we've ever
been able to say that about. As with most aluminum cases, pricey.
Reviewed. Aug 2006. |
| Silverstone
Temjin TJ06 |
7
|
6
|
7 / Well
constructed large steel mid-tower with inverted motherboard position that
locates CPU at bottom in a duct with 120mm fans front and back in push-pull
mode. HDD cage position and airflow in upper area a bit suspect, and the
intake vent on the handsome swing-open aluminum bezel might be a touch restrictive,
but overall, it's a very nice case with a lot of potential. Choose your
own PSU separately. Reviewed.
Jan 2005. |
| Evercase
ECE4252 |
7
|
6
|
7 / Modest
mid-tower features solid construction, excellent open vents front and back,
the best airflow bezel design we've seen yet with good noise reduction path,
and drive mounts ready for serious grommets. Can accommodate 4 CD and 4
HDD. Side vent over CPU should be blocked for improved noise. Needs little
or no modding for use in a silent system. Often supplied without PSU. Examined
as part of ARM Stealth System review. March 11/03 |
| Coolcases
/ Chenbro PC-610 Custom Case |
7
|
6
|
7 / A modded,
upgraded version of the Chenbro PC- 610 case customized by Coolcases.com.
Very solid mid-tower features nicely open airflow front & back vents for
120mm fans, a bezel that balances noise / airflow, some great mods by Coolcases,
inlcuding front cutout fan grill and filer, fan controller, etc. Right side
not removable. Lots of options. Reviewed.
May 2004. |
| Yeong
Yang "Mars" YY-5603 mid-tower case |
7
|
6
|
7 / Solid
mid-tower, with double-vented side panels and extra depth, very open 120mm
grills front and back for great airflow. Side-mount HDD cage reduces front
intake ventilation a bit; cage must be removed to suspend drives in bottom
front. Nice top front position of controls and in/out panel. Styling open
to debate. Reviewed.
Aug 2004. |
| Coolermaster
Centurion 5 |
6
|
5
|
5 / Black
steel mid-tower case with striking blue anodized aluminum front accents
and wide open bezel provides good airflow. Supplied with very noisy 80mm
case fan and somewhat noisy PSU. 3.5" drive bay extends all the way
to floor, which can make HDD suspension difficult. Like most case, probably
needs a bit of modding for best results. Reviewed.
Jan 2005. |
| SilverStone
SST-LC01 HTPC Case |
5
|
5
|
5 / A fairly large aluminum
horizonal case with decent airflow, ATX PSU capability, and room for HDD
suspension. Only adequate by mid-tower standards but quite good for a FTPC
case if total system heat is kept modest. Reviewed.
Aug 2004 |
| SilverStone
SST-LC11 HTPC Case |
5
|
5
|
5 / Slim, sleek, pretty and
small, with an odd twist borne out of cooling need: The motherboard goes
in upside down. Pretty quiet, too, especially if you take care, but it takes
only Micro-ATX boards. Fans can be better, as can airflow, but there's good
potential for modders. Reviewed.
May 7/05 |
SilverStone
SST-LC04 HTPC Case
|
5
|
5
|
5 / Handsome low profile aluminum
horizonal case with decent airflow and very quiet 240W proprietary PSU takes
full ATX board but is limited to 2 horizontal AGP/PCI devices. Tight for
soft a mounting HDD. No evidence of aluminum hum. Very nice with the right
combination of components. Reviewed.
Aug 2004 |
| Scythe's
e-Otonashi fanless EPIA-M cooling case |
N.A.
|
9
|
7 / A compact case for VIA
EPIA-M Mini-ITX boards that offers a fanless PSU and fanless CPU cooling
system as an integral part of its design; it works well. The only noise
source is the notebook hard drive, which can be as low as ~16 dBA@1m. Reviewed.
May 2004. |
| Arctic
Cooling Silentium T2 |
8
|
4
|
5 / Innovative
case offers the first heatsinked and suspended HDD mount integrated into
a case, totally non-standard airflow, a custom-made dual fan Seasonic PSU
at front bottom, and a ducted plastic base that directs airflow. All this
behind a mild, unpretentious exterior. Excellent airflow marred by resonances
from plastics and high minimum speed in PSU fans. Difficult to mod or swap
PSU or PSU fans. Reviewed. May
8/05 |
| Zalman
TNN300 |
n/a
|
8 / 6
|
8.5 / Smaller
micro-ATX version of the TNN500. Very well engineered heatpipe systems transfer
heat from components to the chassis, and an advanced fanless power supply
is integrated within. Cooling with well-selected components is very good.
The only serious drawback is the lack of good mechanical damping against
HDD vibration and noise; the 8 rating applies only if the HDD can be mechanically
decoupled from the case. Price is still high but better than the 500. Reviewed.
Aug 2006. |
| Antec
P182 |
8
|
7
|
8.5 / New
version of P180 with many cable management improvements that address assembly
difficulties. A very nice case has been substantially improved. Reviewed.
Oct 2007. |
| Zalman
TNN500AF |
n/a
|
8 / 6
|
8.5 / Ambitious,
completely fanless, massive mid-tower with an exterior of aluminum extrusion
heatsink panels. Very well engineered heatpipe systems transfer heat from
components to the heatsinks, and an advanced fanless power supply is integrated
within. Cooling with well-selected components is very good. The only serious
drawback is the lack of good mechanical damping against HDD vibration and
noise; the 8 rating applies only if the HDD can be mechanically decoupled
from the case. High price is a deterrent. Reviewed
as part of an EndPCNoise system Aug 2006. |
| Antec
P180 |
8
|
7
|
8.5 / An ambitious, large
mid-tower with composite multi-layer external panels and steel chassis,
unique PSU and HDD placement on bottom in isolated ducted chamber. Very
good intake 120mm vent design for upper and lower chambers, with double
hinge door. Much use of resilent damping materials for noise & vibration
reduction. Top corner of upper chamber has two exhaust 120mm fans for very
high cooling potential. Almost any decent fanned PSU runs quieter because
the direct intake in the lower chamber keeps it running much cooler than
in other cases. Suitable for overclockers and silencers. Covered
extensively by SPCR in several reviews. Nov 2005. NOTE: A
new version was released in mid-2006, with a double aluminum panel door
and improved cooling for video cards. Aug 2006. REPLACED BY P182.
Nov 2005 |
| Antec
SLK3000B |
6
|
6
|
6 / Latest variant of 3000
series from Antec with the wide open front & back 120mm vent grills of the
3700BQE and the more conventional, removable HDD cage of the 3700AMB, with
double side vents (Intel approved for "Thermally Advantaged Chassis"
designation) and a TriCool 3-speed 120mm fan that's very quiet on low. You
get to choose your own PSU. Reviewed.
Jan 2005. DISCONTINUED |
| Antec
NSK3300 |
6
|
5
|
6 / Small micro-ATX tower case
with two thermal zones and a good, small 300W PSU. It's tight to work in,
but right out of the box, it's pretty darn quiet and has some nice features.
Reviewed. Aug
2006. REPLACED BY NSK3480 |
| Antec
Sonata |
5
|
5
|
6 / Stylish glossy black
mid-tower, nice no-fuss quiet (not silent) design. Excellent 120mm back
vent, bezel airflow restricted but good noise reduction path, side drive
mounts come with rubber grommets. Front door over external bays helps reduce
noise. Supplied with quiet single fan 380W TruePower PSU, noisier than our
reference standards. Comes with 120mm fan. Bezel will benefit from some
cutting to improve airflow. Reviewed.
REPLACED BY SONATA II. Nov 2005 |
| Chenbro
Gaming Bomb Xpider |
6
|
5
|
6 / Similar chassis to Chenbro
PC- 610 case with dramatic styling and side window. Nicely open airflow
92mm front vent & 120mm back vent, a bezel w/ very good airflow, some other
nice features. Right side not removable. Reviewed.
May 2004. DISCONTINUED |
| Antec
SLK3700BQE |
6
|
5
|
6 / New variant of 3700AMB
with improved front & back grills and side mounted HDDS like Sonata case.
Better than stock AMB in most ways but HDDs run warmer. Supplied 350W PSU
is noise-reduced. Reviewed.
May 2004. DISCONTINUED |
| Antec
SLK3700AMB |
6
|
5
|
6 / Nice looking mid-tower
features adequate airflow front & back vents for 120mm fans, a bezel that
balances noise / airflow, typical Antec door over top half of bezel, good
drive mounting features. No specific quiet features, but a solid base on
which a quiet PC could be built. Case mods such as removal of fan grills
will all help. Decently quiet supplied PSU. Reviewed.
March 11/03. DISCONTINUED |
| Fong
Kai FK330 Mid-tower |
7
|
6
|
8 / Rock-solid construction
mid-tower, with double layer steel construction for side panels w/best-ever
latch, the FK330 is truly "workstation class". Quality
of construction is tops. Open 120mm grills front and back for great airflow.
The # of drives seems small for the size of case; side mounting for 3 HDDs;
close front bottom area means cutting to suspend drives there - one of the
very few flaws. Choose your own PSU separately. Reviewed.
APPEARS TO BE DISCONTINUED. Nov 2005 |
| Antec
SX1000 series (1000, 1040, 1060, 1080...) |
7
|
4
|
6 / Large 20" tall ubiquitous
design features good airflow front & back vents, a bezel that probably lets
out noise too easily, good drive mounting features. No specific quiet features,
but a solid base on which a quiet PC could be built. Case mods such as removal
of plastic fan cages, removal of back fan grills. No sure what could be
done to eliminate direct noise exit path through front bezel. Case appears
similar or identical to models offered by Chieftec, Enermax, etc. Info gleaned
from hands on-examination of SPCR's own SX1040 case. TOO MANY
OTHER GOOD OPTIONS NOW. Nov 2005 |
