SPCR

Been following this forum for a while now. The current PC is noisy and 5 years old. After being inspired by an 11-watt idle silent build in a magazine article I decided to renew my setup.

mATX or miniITX will be my board, but I do want some option to install a decent videocard later.

Been looking at cases, trying to get something smaller then what I have now.

Aeorocool DS : larger choice of boards, pretty closed system, noisy rearfan it seems, PSU limitation a problem?, biggest the my current choices
Fractal Node 304 : a little more open, restricted to miniitx only, PSU length limited?
Corsair 250D : small chassis too, miniitx only, limited height cooler?, seems to be designed for watercooling

Setup is present in a quiet room, so needs to be pretty quiet, sits on a desk, is on 24/7 on usually. Gaming would be an optional item for later. So any advice, experience with above cases are welcome.

Then I can start going further from that point in choosing the board,cpu (an i5 has my preference) and cpu aircooler

Welcome to SPCR.

I have no experience with the 3 cases you are consdiering, but i love the looks of the Aerocool DS, price wise seems pretty decent, i would probably chose this if you want micro atx, but at the same time, you got the NODE 304 that was reviewed by SCPR Fractal Design Node 304 Mini-ITX Case, and got the editors choice, you can see more impressions and info in the SPCR thread Fractal Design Node 304 Mini-ITX Case.

Director9 wrote:Aeorocool DS : larger choice of boards, pretty closed system, noisy rearfan it seems, PSU limitation a problem?, biggest the my current choices

The cases has an unusual 200mm front fan that is not quiet and not easily replaceable.

Director9 wrote:Fractal Node 304 : a little more open, restricted to miniitx only, PSU length limited?

SPCR editor choice, very quiet ITX case. There is enough room (160mm) for a PSU that can power any choice of components you can put in the case. Modular PSU highly recommended.

Director9 wrote:Corsair 250D : small chassis too, miniitx only, limited height cooler?, seems to be designed for watercooling

Highly optimized for a closed loop watercooling setup. Comes with powerful but somewhat louder fans.

If you want a micro ATX case the SilverStone Temjin TJ08-E got an Editor's choice award. The very similar Silverstone PS07 comes with more standard 120mm fans, which are easier to replace if you want to optimize the noise level more later on.
The Bitfenix Colossus Micro-ATX might be worth looking into, but it has not been reviewd by SPCR.

boost wrote: The cases has an unusual 200mm front fan that is not quiet and not easily replaceable.

Looks replacable enough, with 120/140mm one, the central position worries me a bit, only the tophalf of the 200mm fan covers the motherboard volume, the other half goes across/to the hdd cage, a smaller fan would have the same position.
Yes, price, color choice (the wife likes colors), enough breathing air for a decent gpu

boost wrote: SPCR editor choice, very quiet ITX case. There is enough room (160mm) for a PSU that can power any choice of components you can put in the case. Modular PSU highly recommended.

Found that one when I started browsing the forum , I started out with the DS, but then this myriad of information about silence and smallness was available

boost wrote: Highly optimized for a closed loop watercooling setup. Comes with powerful but somewhat louder fans.

A high cpu cooler might not fit, unless I start modding the top mesh


So, I might narrow it down to the 304(small&quiet) or the DS(freedom of boards&color, needs work on getting it more quiet)

And then start conceiving similar systems on both, and ask for advice on that

Thanks for the info all.