I'm holding out for thr 500d obsidion to be released in the UK, but even then I'm waiting for some side by side reviews between the 500d and p280 to come out so i can get the best one, i;ve got a feeling that the front intake for the 500d is going to be really poor also if yuo do install top or side fans you have to open dual vents in each rather than single vents which is annoying.

but i really want to see user reviews first.

In the meantime im modding my case as cheap as possible for sound dampening.

I've suspended two of my drives on bunjees which helped a bit (but primary hard drive is ssd, so hd noise was never really that bad.)

i also suspended the top fan down by maybe 5mm using bunjes to reduce the vibration, that helped massively.

Now here's the clincher, i want to reuse any bits of material around the home for the side panel damping. I've ordered some double sided tape, and im going to stick on some 8mm thick yoga mat to the side, these are really cheap yoga maps, feels spongy.

Will it be adequate? some of the descriptions of sound damping material sold to case modders make them sound like it's developed by nasay or something.

There's a lot of cheap/spare stuff out there that's not PC-specific that still does a fairly good job. The pro-stuff typically excel at making more of a difference per volume, or combines vibration dampening mass loading with high pitch dampening acoustic foam. The more space you have to stuff material in, the more chance I'd say that spare foams and the like can be good enough. Just take care that the material is fastened well, for instance because some materials might not react well to heat or make electrostatic discharges if coming in contact with computer components.

I don't think that the Obsidian 550D will have intake problems in the front, but waiting for a review is always a good idea. Especially since what was shown at CES is likely not a finished production item. Generally though as far as quiet computing goes I'd be more slightly inclined to bet on the P280 for what I've seen so far.

now you've got me worried with the static comment.

how likely is it that there will be static from the plastic foam?

Also i was thinking of taping up the case door with 1 roll of duct tape instead. i have some of these lying around that are useless to tape anything in a meaningful way so i want to use itall up for sound insulation.


the yoga mats are too light, the duct tape would give it weight

What makes you say that?

I was thinking that the floor intake and a hydrocool push pull configuration on the rear of the 500d would provide ample cooling with the top and side air vents closed off. The pe80 has open air vents at the top of the case.

update: just cut up the yoga mat, the top and button of the case doors close in as show below



So I just cut the squares and slotted them in. to be honest I don't think the improvement is noticable at all, at the moment the boiler is making noise and there's traffic noise coming in. So I can't tell if the damping has made a difference. I'm inclined to think not but I'll be able to tell in the evening when there is pindrop silence whether the damping has worked.

Being very light they won't do anything against vibrations, but could still soften high pitched noises like drive motor or coil squealing. Any local hardware/builders store might have some thin bitumen tiles for cheap and such would be much better than duct tape at adding mass. Others use rolls of "roofers tape" for the same reason although personall I've never been able to find that for cheap, and some stuff made for long lasting outdoors use can be a bit foul on the chemical side.

Electrostatic is only a problem if the material gets very close to circuitry. Fasten any material well and check that the method of fastening does not start to give way after a couple of days because of the warm environment inside a case.

For what little I've seen so far the P280 wins on the pretty good drive mounting using one of the only good rubber/silicone style of buffers in the world of case manufacturing. The pre-applied thin sheet of plastic on the sides is probably doing at least a little good and leaves space for improvement with some foamy material. From pictures at least the plastic looks like it's sturdy enough to fasten additional material on top of it. The P280 is also a bit less expensive, although one might haver to block off the top vent with something less fancy than Corsairs magnetic covers. That they use some aluminium albeit probably just for the door doesn't come up as a bonus to me except for the looks. Any chance Al gets to resonate vibrations it takes.
Little things.

SEE: Foam And Sound Absorbing Materials
viewtopic.php?p=539399#p539399

I think you're right mkk, experienece very little dampening, although the noise is slightly less intrusive with the absense of the high pitch sound.

I just ordered the p280, mainly for the USB 3 and the sideways hard drives which makes the case much more neater. But I'm gonna to still mod the antec 300 for fun, take out some of the fan grills for better airflow and noise dampening and stuff.

I'm going to put some thick diy materials to add some weight, mabe some thin sheets of wood, or better some metal if I can get hold of some cheaply, and then add the soft material for the high pitch sounds as well.