Hi folks,

I'm in the midst of doing a new build that will be mostly dedicated to photo editing, and occasionally some gaming. The ATX case I will use will need to meet some specific physical dimensions to fit into a dedicated cubby in my desk. Specifically, the width of the case needs to be 8.5" (215mm), the height of the case needs to be 18.5" (469mm). My old system is built within an Antec Lifestyle Solo which I don't want to re-use as the front facing USB ports are not USB 3.0.

The highlights of the hardware I'm getting are as follows:

• i5-4670K
• Asus Z87-A
• 16GB 1866mHz RAM
• Samsung 840 EVO 250GB SSD
• Undecided mechanical HD

You'll notice no graphics card listed as initially I'm going to just use the on-board graphics. I'll be adding a graphics card later once some PC games come out I'm actually interested in. Having said that, I will only be using a single GPU in this build, no SLI.

I've done quiet builds in the past before, and have done a lot of case research over the last few days. If it weren't for the physical dimension restrictions, I'd be all over the Fractal Design R4. However, I find that the majority of the silent cases that are considered to be good are simply too big, either too wide or too tall.

After looking at the offerings from Antec, Fractal Design, Corsair, Cooler Master, BitFenix, NZXT, and Zalman. My short list at this point consists of:

• Antec Solo II
• Zalman Z3

I'm not too wild about the Solo II, I'd prefer the I/O ports to be up top. The Z3's layout is ok, but I'm not wild about the aesthetics. Historically speaking, the Fractal Design R3 would have been the perfect case, but it has been superseded by the larger R4. My only other choice seems to be to consider basic non-quiet cases and hope that my internal components will be sufficiently quiet.

Are there any other cases I missed that might fit my scenario? I think not, but I'm open to suggestions.

P.S. Changing my desk to get one with a larger case cubby is a non-starter since otherwise my desk is extremely space efficient. It's like a bookcase with a desk built in that's really tall so it is really space efficient in my apartment.

Welcome to SPCR.

You could go mATX and get the Fractal Define Mini or Silverstone TJ-08E or the like.

I hope your cubbyhole isn't closed off in back!

Unfortunately, since I've already bought an ATX mobo, going mATX isn't really an option. I admit it's something I should have thought about beforehand, oops. Hence my predicament of trying to balance reasonable cooling, silence, and compact size of an ATX case.

The cubby hole is indeed open at the back, so I can still get reasonable airflow.

Hi

Why the aesthetic is driving your choices, if you out it in the cubby, down your table?

As said by Steve, why planning atx if you don't have 4 HDDs and 2 GPU.
Even mini ITX could be a solution for smaller.

Isn't returning the mobo an option?

I would return the motherboard if possible, even exchange if they dont accept refunds, you can get a micro atx asus motherboard or mini itx with almost the same features (aside form more pcie slots).

If you cant, i would try to sell it on ebay or something else for a small loss.

If you cant or don't wish to do the above, but you still want a compact case and still use the full ATX motherboard, even though alluminium is not the best for dampeing noise, its the smallest ATX case LIAN LI PC-A05FNB Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, because of its design the PSU will end up at the front, so the case is usually less tall than most atx cases, chose proper fans and hdds and you should still end up with a very quiet setup. Ill leave you a couple of pics of builds on the case,

The Nanoxia Deep Silence 2 or Coolermaster Silencio 550 are inexpensive alternatives for quiet cases that fit your cubby.
"... the Solo II outperforms the Cooler Master Silencio 550 and NZXT H2 in convincing fashion." If you add an intake fan it will lower the GPU temps even more.

Thanks for all your input, folks.

I thought long and hard about possibly getting a mATX motherboard and thus, increasing the compact case options available to me. In the end, I decided I'll stick with the ATX board I got. Aside from not having to take a loss on restocking or reselling it, I'll retain a little bit more flexibility for the future with it (if I ever decide to use additional GPUs, etc).

Case wise, it looks like I'll get the Solo II. I knew I would likely have to make a compromise, and in this case, I'll have to "settle" for front facing I/O ports that aren't near the top of the case. Pretty much a "first world" problem, right? The Nanoxia Deep Silence 2 was a very intriguing option, and I think if it were more available in Canada I'd give it more thought. The only downside to the DS2 would have been that while it would have fit the cubby, it would have done so _just barely_ height wise. I think I would have had 2-3mm of extra space (assuming the posted measurements include the feet). The Solo II will give me about 30-40mm (2-2.5") extra space.

In case anyone is interested, it looks like my full build will look as follows (http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/2wf2m). Posting details below so that you don't have to open link:

• CPU: Intel i5-4670K (Haswell)
• CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212
• Motherboard: Asus Z87-A
• RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series C9 1866mhz
• Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB SSD
• PSU: Seasonic G-series 450W (Gold certified) (cross referencing shows this to be Haswell ready)
• Case: Antel Solo II

I thought about going with a Scythe Mugen 4, but I think the CM 212 should be sufficient. Similarly, going to check noise levels with the included Antec Solo II fans before considering replacing them with any alternatives. Any additional comments welcome.

Cheers.

Looks nice. The 212+ fan is probably the weak link for noise.

I think you have chosen very good components, i would spend the extra $20 for the mugen4, it will have a very good quiet fan on idle and can be ramp up depending on the conditions, it was editor choice on SPCR.

Lol, you guys changed my mind -- I'll order the Mugen 4. Will do the rest of my ordering tonight. I just hope that the slightly larger footprint of the Mugen 4 won't be an issue.

It should be fine, even though mine is Solo II + Mugen 3, its the same size so you will get an idea on how it will be on yours,



One last comment, while i never had an issue with Seasonic PSU, i even used a G550 and G360, there has some been some people that have reported some whining and coil, so as an alternative you could go with Corsair RM450, that they are marketing as it wont have any of those issue, but reading reviews as all PSU there are some that do, so there is guarantee with either.

Thanks for posting that picture, Abula, it is helpful. It's a little tough to tell from the picture, but does the fan in the picture block access to the RAM slots or does it provide enough room below it that you can still have RAM modules there?

I'll just roll the dice with the Seasonic for now, as you mentioned, there's no guarantee either way.

If you go with std height RAM (with heatspreaders that wrap around the sides) or low profile RAM, there is clearance. Probably an issue with the Ripjaws. I went with Ares and there's clearance.

Ii would go standard height ram or low profile, memory dont need cooling as in the past, todays its more about marketing, either way i leave you the pic so you get the idea,

Thanks for the additional input, CA_Steve and Abula. I guess it looks like despite my best efforts with analyzing the components I was choosing I may end up running into clearance issue with the CPU Cooler and RAM I've selected. At this point, I'll wait for everything to come in, will do a test fit, and will go from there. Worst case scenario is that I'll return/resell the Ripjaws and get something else. I'll be in a much better position to identify exactly what will fit since I'll be able to measure clearance and make sure I buy modules with an appropriate height.

It looks like all of the parts are now in transit and I expect them to arrive over the course of this week. I don't know that I'll dare to post any pictures of the build seeing how obsessive all you folks are about cable mgmt, etc

Quick update, in case anyone is following and/or stumbles on this in the future.

As was pointed out in the thread, I did have clearance issues with the RipjawsX (I might have been able to make it work but it wouldn't been too close for comfort). I replaced the memory with the Ares line, and have plenty of room beneath the Mugen 4 fan. While I haven't buttoned everything up just yet (still waiting on an intake fan to come in, and a couple of cables) I've started doing software installations, etc. Even with the case still opened, the machine is very quiet. I still have to do a load test as well, but things are looking pretty good.

Enjoy your build