Hi,

I'm planning a new Mini-ITX home server computer build. It should be quite compact and have space for about 4 hard drives. I'm looking for something like the Lian Li PC-Q18. However, I wonder if there is any alternative that have some kind of suspensions or noise dampening mountings for the hard drives? I'd like to minimize the noise that propagates from the HDs to the computer case, since that often is one of the biggest noise sources bases on my past experiences. So do you know is there is any computer case that has a solution for that?

Also, finally I wonder if it's a good idea to have a computer case with ventilation holes (e.g. as the Lian Li PC-Q18)? I understand that it means the ventilation will be better since hot air can travel out of the case. But doesn't it also mean that noise coming from inside the case will travel through the ventilation holes?

Take a look at these options
viewtopic.php?p=539359#p539359

Thanks! So as I understand it, some kind of suspension mounting is the best option to dampen noise from hard drives. But that means the 3.5" hard drives will have to be mounted in 5.25" slots with suspensions, right? So is there any suitable small case with about four 5.25" slots available for mounting hard drives in that way?

Also, what about the second question in my original post regarding the pros/cons of having a case with ventilation holes? Does anyone have any opinion on that?

You figured right. To rule out any vibration you'd need something like the coolermaster HAF with enough 5,25 mount places. If you would scale down your HDDs to 2.5" drives, you could get away with 3.5" slots and suspension.

Regarding the ventilation holes: No holes, no fresh air. No fresh air, less cooling potential. To much holes or in the wrong place will transport more noise, but with hdds suspended, a silent psu and a low noise cpu cooler, there's not much noise generated inside the case and the holes probably don't matter. Silent cooling isn't about blocking and trapping all noise inside the case, it's about not generating any noise in the first place. If you pick the right hardware, the case is just a piece of the hole puzzle.

The basic reason to use intake fans is to steer the stream of cool air to those spots inside the case, that need cooling. The outblowing fans are needed to keep the air circulationg through the case. Typically intake fans would be driven a couple of 100 rpm lower than the outblowing ones. So old school silencing favored cases with big ventilation on the intake side and a 120 fan as outtake. You used to place your hdd somewhere in the intake flow and watched for the desired air stream inside your case.