Best silent desktop style case

[syversen]

I'm building my own HTPC/STB/PVR and I'm trying to identify an affordably priced, nice looking, black, quiet case and power supply that would be suitable for sitting underneath my TV.

It would need to support a Mobo with 2 PCI slots. PS would need to be 200W MINIMUM, 300W preferred. (That's a discussion for another forum I imagine...)

Seems that with sites like this it would be easy to find but I have had terrible luck so far. Every review is for a mid-sized (I don't know why there is so much interest in quiet mid-sized cases, but I guess you all do! )

Suggestions, experiences, and links would be awesome. I am pretty confident I'm not the only one out there looking for this!

- Jason

[HokieESM]

No, you're not.

Also, I've seen several really nice cases that had only low-profile slots... which definitely limits what you can put in it.

Also, several of the cases are ridiculously expensive.

Two possibilities: The Lian-Li PC9300 (does take a SFX PSU, though).... and the Coolermaster ATC-620 (the cheaper one, but it takes 60mm fans... grrr). Any experiences?

[Td_nw]

I have been down your road. When I decided to build a new HTPC/PVR machine I looked at the few cases that would look like part of my stereo equipment, etc... I did not have much luck unless price was not an object, and it limited what items I wanted to put inside.

Here is what I setled with, and I only us the the term settle in the nicest sense. D8000 I almost went with the Antec Sonata but did not becasue of the PSU. Coolcases can send you a 350 FSP PSU w/120mm fan with the D8000. This PSU is nice and very quiet. I really like this case. It has room for air flow which means I can make it very quiet so when it is running I do not have to hear it.

My 2 cents if you are not "totally" set on the low profile cases.

[DaveSimmons]

The Cooler Master takes regular power supplies and has 4 full-height slots. It's about the size of a receiver and looks good on a rack with black audio gear.

I'd discuss temps, but I still have to actually put mine together. It's for video playback & FLAC audio only, so just a Celeron 1.0A and closeout intel i815 mATX motherboard instead of a P4 setup.

[Justin_R]

I posted this same info in another thread, but it seems like it's useful here, too. Check out the Maxtop CSX-001, available in the US from newegg for US$49 shipped. You can read some enthusiastic reviews at Big Bruin and Ohl's Place.

The best thing about this case from a silencing perspective is that the PSU it comes with has an 80mm fan, and it has a spot to front mount an 80mm fan as well. It accepts micro-ATX motherboards, and has the requisite number of full-height expansion slots. One thing to watch out for, though, is that the optical drive seems like it might interfere with a hefty CPU cooler; I'd make sure your mobo doesn't have the CPU placed too far from the back panel.

Of course, there's lots not to like, too. The PSU is only 200W (which really shouldn't matter), the rear exhausts are only 60mm (but the PSU fan is mounted so that it doubles as an exhaust), and I don't think the two-tone color scheme looks particularly attractive (although you can always spray paint it). But with options like the DIGN or CoolerMaster cases starting at about US$120 (for the ATC-620 w/o PSU), I think the Maxtop is an excellent value.

Alternately, you might look into rackmount cases. I think the Skyhawk IPC-4032 4U case would look okay with stereo components, but it is kind of big a bulky.

[LushMD]

I am also in the process of building an HTPC style media PC. I recently purchased the CoolerMaster ATC-600 ($109+S&H here if you do not mind the grey colored top and side panels or $129+S&H here for the all black version, which was my choice). In any case, I too was concerned about using noisy 60mm fans. I ordered some 60mm Mitsubishi fans from Dorothy (refer to her thread in the Deals section) and was quite disappointed (these fans had an awful bearing noise). Actually, I found that the stock case fans (YS Tech) are fairly quiet if undervolted/rheobus controlled. Also, these cases are constructed such that it is possible (with some judicious cutting) to mount 80mm fans on the sides (although not on the rear exhaust). As I have yet to actually install any other components into this case, I cannot comment on the overall silence of such a setup. However, another appealing aspect of this case is that it accepts standard ATX power supplies (i.e. 300W 120mm Fortron for ~$30 shipped). Well, just my thoughts. Sorry for the length of my post. Take care.

[KenAF]

LushMD,

I thought you were going to wait for the ATX version? Digital Connection is now taking orders on the ATX model (ATC-613B), with shipping next week, I believe. It includes a 350w psu.

[LushMD]

Hey Ken. Yeah, that was the original plan. However, I opted for the mATX for the following reasons: price (saved ~$120), I thought that the stock PSU (2U unit, I believe) might be noisy (and probably harder to replace than an ATX PSU), and I think that, once modified, the mATX case (ATC-600) should allow for better airflow. Also, I decided that as this PC is intended as a media box, I don't need all of the expansion slots/features of a full ATX motherboard (I figure that I will use 2 PCI slots, one for a firewire card and one for a TV Tuner card, and perhaps the AGP slot for a cheapy Radeon w/TV-out...if only someone would release a mATX mobo with a decent TV-out function...). Worst comes to worst, if the mATX setup doesn't meet my needs, I can convert it into a file/print server and hold out for the Antec Fusion (should it ever be released). Take care.

PS Are you opting for the ATX case?

[HokieESM]

Here's a little info I picked up from a friend:

He has a CoolerMaster ATC-620--the steel sided (read: cheaper, $90 at Directron), ATX PSU, desktop case that takes a Micro-ATX board. He chose the VIA C3M266 motherboard--an interesting board btw.... a Socket 370 designed for the Via C3, but it will take a Celeron or P3 (he opted for a Celeron Tualatin 1.4). It runs DDR (of all things) and has USB 2.0 and onboard 5.1 sound (which is nice--no need for a soundcard). Unfortunately, no AGP slot.

He runs a Fortron FSP300 (the one with the single 120mm fan) with NO exhaust fans and two Vantec Stealth 60mm intake fans. The heatsink is a Artic Super Silent Pro low-profile (from SVC).

The overall system is fairly quiet. Definitely can't hear it over the background noise in his apartment. I've heard/seen quieter systems.... but most of those were modded--and his is made from stock components.

It DOES look like you could cut up the CoolerMaster case and put in 80mm fans.... BUT, it would be a shame to chop up the case (its quite attractive). Not to mention, where you have to cut is on the finished side of the case--it would be difficult not to screw it up.

If anyone has any other ideas, definitely post them!!!!

[LushMD]

HokieESM: The advantage of the ATC-600 case over other products in the CoolerMaster desktop series is that the stock case allows mounting of 60mm fans on the sides. It is important to note that these fans are not mounted directly onto the sides of the case, but rather onto rail-type supports that are separated from the actual sides by perhaps 1/8". Thus, the modifications that I did to allow mounting of 80mm fans on the sides involved cutting the rails (which are not visible from outside anyway), not the sides of the case (which I agree are rather attractive ). I realize that this may create some noise from turbulence due to problems re static air flow (as I have not cut the vents on the side panels to match the rail-mounted fans). However, I don't think that this should be much of a problem at low CFM (i.e. quiet). Take care.

PS Furthermore, I prefer the stock YS Tech 60mm fans to the Vantec Stealth (just my opinion though).

[LushMD]

By the way, does anyone know if the CoolerMaster ATC-630 accepts a standard ATX PSU? I thought that I read on CoolerMaster's site that it comes with a propietary PSU, but PCMods' site suggests that it can take a Fortron PSU. If so, it's an attractive case that is more compact than anything else in the CoolerMaster line. If anyone has experience with this case, please post your impressions. Many thanks. Take care.

[LushMD]

Hi All, sorry for posting so much, but I think that I may have answered my own question re the ATC-630: it uses a propietary PSU (200W stock) and only accomodates half-height PCI/AGP cards (see picture here; thus making it a somewhat less attractive option, at least to me). Take care.

[syversen]

Has anyone played with the MSI Hermes? It got a pretty solid review from Tom's Hardware (http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20030505/index.html ) but it only fits one full PCI slot and one on a riser. Anyone know how to quantify exactly how much room that means you have? Can you fit two Hauuppauge PVR250's in there? Seems that this sort of thing is found the hard way usually (ie, experimentally!)

That Maxtop CSX-001 sounds very cool, that is tenatively my case of choice at this point. (I like the idea of only spending $50 on a case, instead of $130!)

Justin, mind if I ask which motherboard you are using with that? I'm trying to find a motherboard with >= 2 PCI slots, integrated 5.1 sound, Ethernet, video, and tv-out that will FIT in whatever cool case I find.

Anyone else know of some low(er) profile cases under $100 including needed fans? It doesn't have to be a pizza box, but towers won't cut the mustard. (It's got to fit in that shelf under the TV where the VCR used to be!) [/url]

[Justin_R]

Has anyone played with the MSI Hermes?

I haven't seen that one, but I do have a couple of similarly styled MSI Book PCs. The ones I have are the Socket 370 version (MS-6215). Mine are nice little systems, but very noisy in the stock configuration. I actually have a spare one that I'm about to throw some other spare components in (C3 866, 256MB PC133, Barracuda IV, Hauppauge WinTV-D) to make something like an HTPC.

Justin, mind if I ask which motherboard you are using with that? I'm trying to find a motherboard with >= 2 PCI slots, integrated 5.1 sound, Ethernet, video, and tv-out that will FIT in whatever cool case I find.

Sorry if I misled you, but I don't actually own one of those Maxtops; I've just been eyeing them for a few weeks. One motherboard that I thought might work in it was the Aopen MK79G-N or MK79G-1394. They're micro-ATX NForce2 boards with lots of nice features. One thing I don't know is if they go down to 1.1V like many of Aopen's other products.

[CHHAS]

I'm planning on going with the Coolermaster 620, an Aopen MKG77N Nforce 2 board with Silenttek and a Seasonic 300W PSU. Hope it turns out as quiet as I want it to

[PretzelB]

Wow, from a desktop case to the D8000!! That's quite a jump! I am also considering going with a HTPC and wish I would be comfortable with a tower case.

I'd like to hear more about rack cases. Seems like they might do the job with better cooling and silence potential. If you paint them black they might not look so bad either.

Here is what I setled with, and I only us the the term settle in the nicest sense. D8000 I almost went with the Antec Sonata but did not becasue of the PSU. Coolcases can send you a 350 FSP PSU w/120mm fan with the D8000. This PSU is nice and very quiet. I really like this case. It has room for air flow which means I can make it very quiet so when it is running I do not have to hear it.

My 2 cents if you are not "totally" set on the low profile cases.

[quietOne]

I actually have a Dign case but I'm thinking about my next project. Since I want 120 mm fans, the D8000 is right up there on the list of possibilities.

I am also thinking of an external USB 2.0 DVD-ROM:
http://www.addonics.com/products/extern ... et_dvd.asp

This way the case can be hidden. All that needs to be out in the open is the DVD and maybe a USB hub.

I thought it was a paradigm changing idea for me any way, opinions?

[modman]

I'm building my own HTPC/STB/PVR and I'm trying to identify an affordably priced, nice looking, black, quiet case and power supply that would be suitable for sitting underneath my TV.

It would need to support a Mobo with 2 PCI slots. PS would need to be 200W MINIMUM, 300W preferred. (That's a discussion for another forum I imagine...)

Suggestions, experiences, and links would be awesome. I am pretty confident I'm not the only one out there looking for this!

I recently built an HTPC with the same intentions. This is what I used:

CoolerMaster ATC-610-GX1
Intel D845GERG2L motherboard
Intel P4-2.53 (533MHz)
Kingston HyperX DDR2700 512MB
Enermax EG365P-VE(FCA)
Swinftech MCX4000 heatsink w/ 92MM Panaflo M1A
WD1200JB (120MB HD)
Samsung SM-348B DVD/CDR Combo
Plextor Premium (52x CDR; very quiet and tons of tweaks.
ATI Radeon 9600 Pro
Logitech Cordless MX DUO Keyb/Mous

The case has a 60MM rear fan that is loud at 12V; grommets alleviated the problem. The fan is over the rear panel so clearance doesn't allow a 80MM fan, and is too close to the AGP slot to allow using a 60 to 80 adapter; there is vent space next to it to allow--somewhat tight--modding a 80MM fan. There's space but nowhere to attach front fans but I am thinking on L-shape bending drive brackets from _hump usa_ to fit 2 80MM L1As.

I tried cooling the CPU with a 92MM Vantec Stealth, later a 80MM L1A but hi temps--specially w/ the Stealth--proved this futile due to the low airflow in the case without front fans. I am now using a 92MM M1A which is quiet, but it does produce air turbulence noise at 12V. A 30min cpuburn test stabilized at 53C with a room temp of around 73-74F; This was in an open TV/VCR stand w/ 3-4 inches of side clearance for the side vents.

The PSU has a speed control knob, and the 92MM fan on top (in this case) helps air flow. I would love to try a 120MM Fortron, but I am swapping this box with my dad and taking his 2.8C setup. He doesn't care for 5.1 just yet, so he will use the built-in audio. Note the front panel 1394a port will need a 1394 card with an internal port; e.g. the Koutech KW-582v2 is WHQL certified on W2K.

The case will need some kind of air duct to quiet down further, the PSU could probably use M1As with a L1A fitted on the front, the front of the case could get padded to cover around the drive openings.

The setup looks great with plenty of HD space for a jukebox/movie box.

You can take a look at a similar setup here.

Hope this helps.

[whitter]

I'm soooo chuffed with my new destop case (for under the telly).
First up, i must admit that my telly is rather big, meaning there's quite a lot of room to the wall (well, corner of the room anyway)

case dimentions: hight 176mm width 482mm depth 560mm
See what i mean about depth? you've got to have the room.

But if you do: its the S411 4U server case at only £75 + VAT from www.xcase.co.uk (a bizarre price: server cases usually cost £150+)

Links to pics/drawings are here and here

What's so good you ask? Well, it looks cool (the side handles can be removed by the way), it has plenty of room, vibration isolated drive cages, dual front usb, a 120mm front fan and two 80mm rear fans (panflo mod straight away i suspect), truely excellent build quality... rant rant.

so, if you have the room and you like the look, i'd well recommend it. And Xcase were very good + fast too. Note: they add a 3% charge if you want to use a credit card, but nothing for switch/delta/cheques etc.