help me to choose a silent case

[elr1]

Hi

i decided to replace my current non-gaming pc with a newer computer.

the new computer will be used for : programming , web browsing , file server
since i already have a gaming dedicated computer this one isn't going to have
high end gpu and i am not planing todo any overcloking.

since this computer will be running 24/7 and will be in the same room the i sleep it
need to be very quiet.

i plan to have in this computer the following hardware:
three mechanical hard drives (1TB wd green that i already own +
two 3TB WD red that will be in raid configuration + 1 ssd for the OS)
a not very expensive amd cpu with 4 cores
in case that the gpu that contained in the cpu / motherboard will not
be fast enough to play 1080p videos than i will install some fanless gpu
and of course i want to have a fanless psu.

now the only thing that i need to choose is a case, and its an hard choise

my current computer use coolermaster elite 335 which i made to be total silent
by disconnecting all fans , the only fans that this pc have is the psu (some seasonic
gold model) and an artic cpu cooler which doing a great job)

i have few requirements from the new case :

1)silent as much as possible
2)support at least 5 hard disks (three mechanical + ssd + future hdd)
3)have dust filters

i made a list of possible cases , please help me to choose something


fractal design define R4 / R5 :
----------------------------------
both are at the same price , they seems ot fit my needs however i afraid of the bitumen
material , i am not sure if it is toxic or not (remember my pc going to run 24/7 in my room)
and i read that some poeple smell this material for alot of time since buying this case.

corsair 330R:
----------------
doesn't seems to support alot of hard drives

corsair 550d:
---------------
this case have dust filters and seems to support alot of hard drives , i read that the airflow
in this case is not very good and the hardware get hot, also i am not sure about the build quality , in my country this case have the same price as the fractal R5

thermaltake new soprano:
------------------------------
build quality doesn't seems to be good as the 550d / fractal r5

antec solo ii:
---------------
this case dont support alot of hard drives , and i read that some poeple have problems
with the power / reset buttons , it also dont have dust filters for all ventilation holes

antec p100 / p280 :
-----------------------
both cases come with too much fans , i think that so many fans will make alot of noise
and if i dont going to use all fans i will have dust in my computer from the upper fans

nanoxia ds1 / ds2:
---------------------
pretty hard to find in my country , expensive as the fractal R5 and also contain bitumen
also it seems to be harder to build (comparing to 550d/fractal)

NZXT h230:
--------------
it got glossy front panel and i belive it will get pretty dirty after some time, also it doesn't
seems to have high build quality as the fractal / 550d

silverstone cases :
---------------------
i dont like the upside down motherboard location

lian li:
--------
i can get here the following lian li models:

Lian Li PC-60FNW
LanCool PC-K9WX
Lian Li PC-6B
Lian Li PC-A04B

i am not sure if they are considered to be quiet cases but the lancool seems to have
most of my requirements ,however this cases seems to be old (non of them have ssd
mounts) and they are expensive as the fractal R5

another consideration that i have is shipping, i can get corsair / thermaltake / lian li/ nzxt
from shops near my home ,hoever for nanoxia / fractal i have to order from online shop.

please help me to decide which case would be the best for today , i am also open to suggestions for cases that i didn't include in my list

Thanks in advance !

[CA_Steve]

Welcome to SPCR.

Any current gen CPU, AMD or Intel, can play 1080p videos. If you want them to deal with 1080p MKVs, then the lowest end may struggle.

The whole bitumen smell thing with the Fractal series is old news. I had the new plastic smell with the R4 when I first unboxed it and it faded in a day. If they are the same price, the R5 is the better case.

The three HDDs will be your noise source. You might consider suspending them rather than using the std cage mounts to remove any remaining transferred vibration. There are a couple of threads in the forums where this has been done with the R4.

[quest_for_silence]

1)silent as much as possible

Pick the quietest parts you can afford (disks, fans, heatsinks), and not the best performing ones.

2)support at least 5 hard disks (three mechanical + ssd + future hdd)

Pick the heaviest steel case with 5,25 bays top to bottom you can afford, regardless of any soundproofing, and suspend any disk.
Disk enclosures (very rare nowadays) may help against airborne noise.

3)have dust filters

Buy a DEMCiflex custom set.

[xan_user]

since drives will be the hardest part to silence (impossible even if suspended IMO), put 4 hdd's in a SAN or NAS box, and run a long cable to the nearest closet/basement/garage.

[elr1]

Thanks everyone for their replies

regarding the dust filters:

i prefer to buy a case that come with dust filters built in (since i am not living in the USA ordering special
filters can take time) , so cases like the fractal R5 / corsair 550d / lian li are preferable because their dust
filters seems to be easy to clean and work with (unlike most cooler master cases that come with a mesh which
is very hard to clean)

regarding hard drive suspension:

is hard drive suspension safe when moving the case ? , can it be done with any elastic band or
i need a specialized bands for it ?

don't the rubber screw isolation that come with most cases (such as the fractal) would stop the vibration ?
(remember that i am going to use 5400rpm drives)


regarding the bitumen :

i read this message :

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=65898 and this is what made me reconsider
buying a case with this material , does this material is more like rubber or more like road asphalt ?


if you had to choose, which case would be the best to get at the moment ?

[cerbie]

1080P in software will be no problem, for the foreseeable future (including new codecs), with anything above a Pentium. Common codecs that may be CPU-intensive have decoding done in hardware, though, so use very little CPU, most of the time. If your budget isn't too tight, an i5-4460 through i5-4590, and a nice H97 motherboard, would be good well-rounded choices.

The HDDs should be your main concern. Everything else can be fairly easily handled, somehow (and if at first you don't succeed, you can change fans, fan mounts, heatsinks, etc.).

IMO, the Define R5, with a semi-passive PSU, and a nice big CPU HSF, is the way to go.

HDD Suspension: for two reasons, I moved from elastic to mounting on foam. One is that elastic stretches and gets stiff, even non-rubber types. So, it's not permanent. Second, yeah, you can bump the PC and HDD gets a chance to wobble all around. Sorbothane, in sheets, is easy to work with. Use a bread or steak knife to slice it, and super glue to layer it. Put standoffs where the drive screws normally go, just cut slits to push them into in the foam. The drive will stay put, be isolated, and you make it with plenty of room for air to flow around it.

That said, with Reds, you might get away with the included drive mounting, so see how that works out, first. The drive mounts the case has reduces the vibration transferred, but may not necessarily eliminate it. Many drives will also have noise other than that vibration-born noise, which is barely attenuated by any materials that can fit in a case, as it nears and exceeds 1kHz.

[elr1]

thanks for your reply cerbie.

if i am not going to suspend the hard drives (at least not until i notice hdd noise)
which case would be the better choise : fractal R5 or corsair 550d (both cost the same)

or should i consider anything better ?

i am more attracted to the define R5 since it is a newer case, its looks amazing and seems
to fit my needs however i am not sure about the bitumen material , is it toxic ? , do any of you
that own define R5/4 had any problem with it ? (in my country the summer can get pretty hot
and i read some post at some other site that the bitumen in the R2 case fallen after sometime)

also i wanted to ask,beside the antec solo ii there is any other case that come with
a suspension system ?

[quest_for_silence]

also i wanted to ask,beside the antec solo ii there is any other case that come with
a suspension system ?

You can use a NoiseMagic NoVibes and the likes in any 5,25 bay.