kewl. I'm guessing WAF will prevent SPCR's lab from upgrading to 0dB(A) reference level. :) "Honey, I need to excavate for a cellar". Having spent a couple days at PAX Seattle and subject to 90+ dB game sound effects most of the time, I think there's no need for any such thing. Our chamber's 10 dBA...

In an obvious PR move, Fractal Design tested the acoustics of their Define R5 case in the anechoic chamber at Orfield Laboratories, widely described as the quietest place on earth. A comprehensive report is posted at their website: http://www.fractal-design.com/home/justsilence The gist of their rep...

FYI -- There were a few changes in the review:

1. filters do attach magnetically. The strips are on one side, and work only if pressed to the case on that side
2. Fractal Node 202 is the closest competitor (by size, shape & intent) from another brand; it's been added to the comparison table.

Since all of the heat from the GFX card will be exhausted out the back of the case, rather than be circulated inside (and ventilation paths within the case look pretty congested...), it might help with temperatures of other components, and reduce noise generated from the CPU cooler. That said, I do...

Most of spcr's dpl measurements specify distance, and 1 m is the standard for most. Keep in mind that distance changes both measured and perceived sound amplitude. 14 dba at 1m is extremely quiet, but the same noise will sound quieter, about 11~12 dba from 2m distance. To answer your first question,...

loimlo wrote:Frankly, I think mATX is better suited for high performance HTPC usage.
It's smaller, cheaper to build a mATX HTPC case without sacrificing flexibility of discrete display card.

Just my 2 cents.

Sure, but it's not like this case can't run mATX, and it's still not big for a mATX case.

MikeC wrote:Silverstone is the single biggest HTPC case maker, and most of theirs are generally solid. Fractal's is decent too.

uhm.... ignore that. The Node 605 didn't fare well at all against Silverstone -- http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1340-page6.html

Freeco wrote:I still have a few months to check out other candidates

There really aren't many worthy of attention. Silverstone is the single biggest HTPC case maker, and most of theirs are generally solid. Fractal's is decent too. Can't think of many more these days.

There's a 1-2cm gap on each side to allow enough airflow towards the intakes. That really isn't enough, imo. Personally, I like to leave at least 1" on either side if the sides are vented actively (ie- fan equipped), otherwise, not only is cooling affected, but turbulence noise increases too. Maybe...

There may be a considerable gap behind the front bezel, but the intake ports are only at the top and bottom of the bezel itself. They should be as close and in the direct path of the fans as possible, so I think they sacrificed airflow for aesthetics. :roll: It's not much of a sacrifice. The actual...

275W peak power draw

Refreshed the clearance items, lots of new items added -- at really low prices. We need to make room, too many cases filling up our lab!

In case you missed it....

Update June 29, 2015 - A slew of additions to the recommended lists, including cases used in our silent build guides, and some text changes. All changes marked by darker/different colors.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/Case_Basi ... mendations

Tony of Silverstone took issue with our description of the S10 as original. He begs to differ, saying the "gap" idea for improved airflow/cooling was used in a Silverstone case nearly a decade ago. On a brief scan of the links, he has a valid point, though for some reason, we've never reviewed any o...

FWIW, the stock fans on the R5 case are about as quiet as any we've ever come across. They really push the case value up quite a notch.

What do you think of testing cases more closely in regards to hard drive dampening, either with more hard drives or with only the PSU & HDD running (no case fans running)? I think it's important to explore that because, in a semi-passive PC with no fans running at idle, the hard drive would be loud...

I dunno if I would call the R4 HDD damping particularly bad. Most are not very good. R5 did seem better, but if you're planning to use lots of HDDs with the system in close proximity, be prepared to mod. That's just par for the course. Personally, because I rarely use stock HDD mounting, it hardly m...

See Errata & Manufacturer's Feedback on the last page.

They already have their tentacles deep into all of us.

I don't know all the details, you'd probably know more just from scouring the product pages. Larry tells me it's been available to Amazon Prime members since last November or so -- probably beta testers. (poor saps. :lol: ) Apparently the audio intelligence is very high, able to "hear" with its 7 mi...

Hi SPCR forum members, The Amazon Echo promo email that reached my inbox this morning had me on the phone with the Echo team in half an hour seeking a review sample. Two disappointments: 1) They're not making free samples available to tech reviewers, and 2) the Echo is only available in the US. Appa...

Hi SPCR forum members, The Amazon Echo promo email that reached my inbox this morning had me on the phone with the Echo team in half an hour seeking a review sample. Two disappointments: 1) They're not making free samples available to tech reviewers, and 2) the Echo is only available in the US. Appa...

You could just mount the control panel slightly inset. Might need no modding at all (ie extra screw holes in the right place), esp if you use double sided tape (or similar) to fix it in place.

Yikes relax, no need to be so rude/snarky... No worries, I'll work it all out, don't need your thoughts/help. Cheers. Really? Rude/snarky? This was not intended, all I said was I've addressed this... tho I admit I was feeling some annoyance at the multiple identical msgs in PM, email & posts from y...

It's not clear what you're asking. I've really said all I want to say on the subject -- it simply isn't worth the effort, time or money to try and improve efficiency at 20W. It just won't save enough energy. 2-3W maybe? Just turn off one of your lights a half hour earlier before bed and that will sa...

You probably missed my question in previous post - was I correct in assuming the 3-pin non-PWM fans are now fully controllable with modern motherboards? yes Thanks for the semantic heads-up - I must say I was always slightly uncomfortable using "dampening" in this context (something felt wrong) but...

Regarding the case dampening - was your remark in the Antec P100 referring to these bitumen-based sheets glued to side panels or to sound proofing in general? As I said, back in the day, I used these and was quite pleased with the result. In your experience, are the (top-of-the-line) cases in gener...

My biggest gripe with Define S is the omission of an embedded fan controller - the stock case fans are not PWMs, so how are we supposed to adjust the fan speed? ................................... If they made a version of this case with a simple fan controller embedded in the control panel as in T...

Personally, I prefer this to the R5. My only use for a case this size these days is as a gaming ring, so 3 fans in front at min speed + only SSDs would be the way to go. Or only exhaust fans at min, no fans in front. If needed, a single big hdd on rubber on the bottom panel rigged up DIY style would...

suchageek wrote:On my phone, so will edit this later. Only problem with lapping is I would have to delid it first as it is a Haswell-E.

That's a last-ditch move -- lap the cooler first!