Silent mATX case available in my country

[gPerboni]

First of all, sorry for my broken English.

I am looking for a quiet case for a mATX MB.

I'm not experienced on building, this will only be my second PC. The previous one was built on a Corsair Obsidian 550D, but it is too big of a case for my new desk.

The problem is: Here in Brazil we don't have all brands and models available, so I depend on Amazon options and they are note all eligeble for international shipping.

Right now I'm inclined for the Nanoxia Deep Silence 4, what do you think about this one?

Could you suggest me more brands and similar models (in size) to the Deep Silence 4?

Thanks!

NOTE: I'm not a heavy gamer, I might play Minecraft ocasionally, but I'm a audio engineer and silence is my priority.

[CA_Steve]

Welcome to SPCR.

Case suitability really depends on the components you plan to stick inside. Could you list them, please?

Is the case going to sit on the top of the desk or?

[gPerboni]

Welcome to SPCR.

Case suitability really depends on the components you plan to stick inside. Could you list them, please?

Is the case going to sit on the top of the desk or?

It will sit on a desk, right beside the monitor, but I'm not married to that idea and I'm considering put it on the (tiled) floor.

The components:
- I7 6700
- MB Gigabyte Z170M D3H (maybe Z170MX)
- Graphics card (still undecided because of the noise issue)

I'm not planning on installing more fans on the case. I'll use it for a while and monitor it's performance, noise and temperature, then I'll decide upon a new CPU and case fans.

[CA_Steve]

There have been several Digital Audio Workstation build threads in the forums over the last couple of years - you might find them insightful.

Here's some guidelines:

- If the PC is going to be in a live mic environment, the goal would be to have zero fans spinning while recording...or at least running slow enough/quiet enough you can't detect them. This leads to:
- PSU: Gold or better efficiency with either passive or semi-passive design (where fan is stopped until higher load).
- CPU cooler: recording doesn't use much CPU horsepower, so the cooler fan can run at low rpm and be silent outside the case. The i7-6700 will want a tower cooler with at least 120mm fan for quiet cooling while under heavier loads.
- motherboard: Absolutely need great fan control. Unfortunately, Gigabyte is the worst of the big 4 mobo makers. If this is a Linux or Hackintosh build, you need great BIOS based fan control. Asrock, MSI, and Asus have this. Asrock is the best if you have PWM case and CPU fans. If it's a Windows build, you could go with s/w based fan control and here Asus is best.
- graphics card: Why do you need a discrete GPU? does your DAW s/w use the gpu for accelerating some functions? If you do need one, the goal will be to get one with passive fans at low loads.
- storage: SSD for OS/Apps/working data, quiet slow HDD for large data storage. So, no rotating drives while working.
- case: Finally, the reason you came here Cases follow two paths; tightly closed and open (and everything compromised inbetween). A tightly closed case can reduce the sound eminated from the inside components, especially seek noise from hard drives. The usual downside is restricted airflow leading to higher case temps which in turn may increase component fan speeds and their associated noise. An "open" case has venting/mesh on all sides. Airflow is completely unrestricted with the philosophy being quiet components = quiet PC. A downside is hard drive seek noise.
- The DS4 is in the former category. The good news is with moderate load components it is fairly quiet. The bad news is the airflow is fairly constricted and you have to turn the two 120mm fans' speed up a bit to keep temperatures down while under a heavier load. It could be great for recording, but maybe not so great for noise while editing (really depends on the gfx card TDP adder.)

[gPerboni]

All right! You gave me a lot to think about. For now, here are some answers and more questions:

- If the PC is going to be in a live mic environment, the goal would be to have zero fans spinning while recording...or at least running slow enough/quiet enough you can't detect them.

It's not my working machine, as my DAW is based on the OS X. This PC will be a "have-a-nice-time-at-home-but-still-being-able-to-work-if-needed-PC" So I'm not planning on recording on this machine (although it might happen). It will be used mainly for these tasks:
- General usage (Internet browsing, text and spreadsheet editing, etc...)
- Minecraft (Yes... destroying and replacing blocks it's relaxing somehow)
- Audio editing and mixing

I know that low noise environment is not a must for these tasks, but I'm visually impaired and noise is something that easily break my concentration, also I'm very grumpy (:

So, that's the goal of this machine.

- PSU: Gold or better efficiency with either passive or semi-passive design (where fan is stopped until higher load).

Got it! Can you recommend something? Seasonic, Corsair and Cooler Master are preferred as they are relatively easy to find over here.

- CPU cooler: recording doesn't use much CPU horsepower, so the cooler fan can run at low rpm and be silent outside the case. The i7-6700 will want a tower cooler with at least 120mm fan for quiet cooling while under heavier loads.

Sorry for my ignorance on this matter, but: Is Cooler Master X6 Elite a tower cooler? I used to have it on my old PC and it's the only CPU cooler I know. (other than the stock).

Can you recommend something that fits the LGA 1151?

- motherboard: Absolutely need great fan control. Unfortunately, Gigabyte is the worst of the big 4 mobo makers. If this is a Linux or Hackintosh build, you need great BIOS based fan control. Asrock, MSI, and Asus have this. Asrock is the best if you have PWM case and CPU fans. If it's a Windows build, you could go with s/w based fan control and here Asus is best.

Hum... is Gigabyte the worst? I guess I'm dumb enough to be targeted by buzzwords and reviews. It will be a Windows PC, no Linux or Hackintosh, so I'll be fine with something from Asus, I'm used to the AI Suite ad I enjoy it.

Do you think Z170M Plus will be a good fit?

- graphics card: Why do you need a discrete GPU? does your DAW s/w use the gpu for accelerating some functions? If you do need one, the goal will be to get one with passive fans at low loads.

Well... I don't need it per say... but I might want to run Minecraft sometimes and, more important, as a visually impaired user, I heavily rely on accessibility features that can use some of the GPU's power for a smoother experience. Windows's Magnifier is less than acceptable and can be very clunky on slower machines.

- storage: SSD for OS/Apps/working data, quiet slow HDD for large data storage. So, no rotating drives while working.

Already there! Thanks, thou.

- case: Finally, the reason you came here Cases follow two paths; tightly closed and open (and everything compromised inbetween). A tightly closed case can reduce the sound eminated from the inside components, especially seek noise from hard drives. The usual downside is restricted airflow leading to higher case temps which in turn may increase component fan speeds and their associated noise. An "open" case has venting/mesh on all sides. Airflow is completely unrestricted with the philosophy being quiet components = quiet PC. A downside is hard drive seek noise.

The only thing I can say about it is that my old Obsidian 550D was good enough for my usage. It never got too hot or noisy. I had three 120mm fans on the case plus the X6 lite on the CPU. It worked fine! No discreete GPU on this build thou.


---


My mind is on this:
Deep Silence 4
Asus Z170M Plus
SSD drive (no big storage needed)
PSU: ?
GPU: ?
CPU cooler: ?

Now, what can you tell me about it?

BTW, thank you very much for your attention and kindness. I'll search the forum for the DAW threads you mentioned.

[CA_Steve]

Is Cooler Master X6 Elite a tower cooler?

Yes. A tower cooler is upright with fan(s) on the sides as opposed to horizontal cooler that has the fan on top.

More on the CPU: Unless you are working with orchestra levels of virtual intruments and/or tons of tracks, you could drop down to an i5 without loss of performance. Save money, CPU runs cooler/quieter.

gfx card: Intel has been doubling the integrated gpu performance every couple of years. It should run Minecraft pretty easy as well as any accessibility stuff. Don't think you need a gfx card.

Deep Silence 4 - should be quiet and cool with a 65W CPU and no gfx card.

Asus Z170M Plus - What are you using for the audio chain? All digital in the PC and an external USB sound card/board? If by some chance you are using the motherboard's analog audio, the Realtek ALC887 codec in this board is ok, but a couple of generations old. If you do need the analog chain, the ASUS Z170I PRO GAMING is an alternative. mITX form factor with only 2 RAM slots, so you'll need to really figure out how much RAM you need.

SSD drive (no big storage needed) - I recommend the Samsung 850 EVO. Good speed, good toolset, reasonable prices.

PSU: Is the Corsair RM550x available to you? The fan will never turn on unless you buy a big gaming gfx card.

GPU: try the integrated gfx. you can always add a discrete card later and we are just getting into the new card release season.

CPU cooler: Scythe Kotetsu. review here.

[gPerboni]

More on the CPU: Unless you are working with orchestra levels of virtual intruments and/or tons of tracks, you could drop down to an i5 without loss of performance. Save money, CPU runs cooler/quieter.

Good call!

gfx card: Intel has been doubling the integrated gpu performance every couple of years. It should run Minecraft pretty easy as well as any accessibility stuff. Don't think you need a gfx card.

You're right. I'll check the I/O on the motherboards to see if it will fit my monitor.

Asus Z170M Plus - What are you using for the audio chain? All digital in the PC and an external USB sound card/board? If by some chance you are using the motherboard's analog audio, the Realtek ALC887 codec in this board is ok, but a couple of generations old. If you do need the analog chain, the ASUS Z170I PRO GAMING is an alternative. mITX form factor with only 2 RAM slots, so you'll need to really figure out how much RAM you need.

My audio is processed "kinda" out of the box, I have some analog gear, but the heavy duty is managed by the DSP on the interface, I'm on the UAD platform. Is the PRO GAMING superior in some aspect?

PSU: Is the Corsair RM550x available to you? The fan will never turn on unless you buy a big gaming gfx card.

Yep! I can get it for a reasonable price over here.

CPU cooler: Scythe Kotetsu. review here.

This one is not available. Can you recommend something from "mainstream" brands?

[CA_Steve]

Scythe is pretty mainstream....is it just the Kotetsu or all Scythe products aren't available? They can't be beat for performance/$. Pricier, but great performance is Noctua. Thermalright has some decent coolers, but may need replacement fan (model dependant).

My audio is processed "kinda" out of the box, I have some analog gear, but the heavy duty is managed by the DSP on the interface, I'm on the UAD platform. Is the PRO GAMING superior in some aspect?

The Pro Gaming is only superior if you use the onboard audio codec to process external analog inputs or to source analog outputs (line out to speakers, for example). If all the audio is digital in and digital out on the PC (and I hope it is!), then stay with the Z170M Plus.

[Abula]

This one is not available. Can you recommend something from "mainstream" brands?

Do you have any of the following,

Prolimatech Megahalems Rev C.
Not the best value for the money, but still a very good cooler for not going with twin tower. Add the fan of your preference.

Thermalright Macho RevB and Direct
To me of the best coolers for the money. Come with a very good fan already, TY147A and TY147B respectivly, both drop to about 300rpms as long as your motherboard allows, totally inaudible at those rpms.

Noctua NH-U14S
A very nice cooler, just more expesive than it should, as most noctua coolers, but as long as it fits, it should be pretty decent, the fan drops to 300rpms also.

Other options like Noctua NH-C14, NH-D14, NH-D15S, Thermalright Silver Arrow, etc.

[gPerboni]

This one is not available. Can you recommend something from "mainstream" brands?

Do you have any of the following,

Prolimatech Megahalems Rev C.
Not the best value for the money, but still a very good cooler for not going with twin tower. Add the fan of your preference.

Thermalright Macho RevB and Direct
To me of the best coolers for the money. Come with a very good fan already, TY147A and TY147B respectivly, both drop to about 300rpms as long as your motherboard allows, totally inaudible at those rpms.

Noctua NH-U14S
A very nice cooler, just more expesive than it should, as most noctua coolers, but as long as it fits, it should be pretty decent, the fan drops to 300rpms also.

Other options like Noctua NH-C14, NH-D14, NH-D15S, Thermalright Silver Arrow, etc.

I managed to fin the Noctua NH-D14, nothing else. This is the hardest part to find over here, in fact I'll need to "Amazon int" from abroad.

Now:
- The Noctua NH-D14 is 160mm in height.
- The Deep Silence 4 case allows CPU coolers up to 160mm.

Will this squeeze fit be a problem?

[lodestar]

No it won't. This review of the Nanonixa Deep Silence 4 included the use of a Noctua D14 and as the reviewer says "...In case you were wondering, the NH-D14 had no problem fitting inside the DS4...".

[CA_Steve]

Although it's serious overkill for an i5