SPCR

I am building a new machine after 6 years. My current machine uses an Antec SOLO case and I am very happy with its performance and quietness. For my new machine I want a case that is about the same size as the SOLO (mid-tower) with equal or better acoustics/thermals and hard drive suspension. I'd rather get a different case than the SOLO just for variety.

EDIT:
The case should support a GTX570 video card and both an SSD and HDD drive. I'd also need room for a good, quiet HSF. My current build has a Thermalright Ultra-120 for comparison.

Any recommendations?

Just for variety, you can get "Solo" in a different color:
(1) Antec P150
(2) Antec Sonata Designer
(3) Antec Sonata Plus
All these cases are identical to Solo except for the color and the fact that they come with some Antec PSU.

There is nothing quite like Solo out there, but two cases which come close are:
(1) Fractal Design Define R3
(2) Cooler Master Project Silent M (announced recently)

Take a look at the Lian Li A05
viewtopic.php?p=536222#p536222

If you plan to use a video card, you should buy the optional top with the extra fan grill.

ces wrote:Take a look at the Lian Li A05

It's quite the opposite of the Solo: lighter, shorter, deeper, not damped, neither have disk suspension...

quest_for_silence wrote:

ces wrote:Take a look at the Lian Li A05

It's quite the opposite of the Solo: lighter, shorter, deeper, not damped, neither have disk suspension...

There is no case that comes with a solo like disk suspension. The Lian Li does come stock with rather nice rubber cushioned hard drive mounts. Not too many cases have that.

"lighter, shorter, deeper" yeah sure. But it is about the same capacity.

Not damped. You mean that it doesn't have a layer of plastic on the side panels? Yeah. But they both have holes that open up to the outside... and those are about the same.

ces wrote:and those are about the same.

so much the better for you...

...eventually, the A05 and the Solo are both unique designs on their own, but they aren't directly comparable (and the A05 doesn't have better/equal thermal/acoustics, nor disk suspension as the OP requested).

if you only have that one hard drive, then look into the "NoiseMagic NoVibes III" (old spcr link, theyre still being made)
with that, you just have to find a decent midtower. just gotta find a balance of looks, performance, features and price... and how much it will actually take/cost to make it quiet.

Solo is still the best case when quietness is concerned.

The new Nexus Prominent 9 has lots of space for suspension and is dampened but there is no door in the front and the top is ventilated. I think this case would be superior if dampened right.

sam2 wrote:Just for variety, you can get "Solo" in a different color:
(1) Antec P150
(2) Antec Sonata Designer
(3) Antec Sonata Plus
All these cases are identical to Solo except for the color and the fact that they come with some Antec PSU.

There is nothing quite like Solo out there, but two cases which come close are:
(1) Fractal Design Define R3
(2) Cooler Master Project Silent M (announced recently)

I wouldn't mind getting an all-white or all-silver version. I was planning on getting a Corsair 650W PSU. Are any of the Antec PSUs that come with these models comparable in terms of performance and quietness?

Hector wrote:I was planning on getting a Corsair 650W PSU.

Just a side note: I'm not aware of any 650W Corsair PSU which is really quiet.

How about spraypainting a Solo?

if motherboard size isnt an issue, there's still the white mini p180 too...

/shameless mini p180 plug

fumino wrote:there's still the white mini p180 too

Good for cooling, but then definitely not quiet as the Solo.

yeah, its definitely not perfect. i was thinking more about the gtx570 op is working with though.

in fairness if he was willing to go matx then a tj08 would also have to be recommended. not to mention the nsk3480... though personally i'd want to drop the use of an optical drive if i was using one of those two.

also, other than the sonata designer 500, and the arctic white define r3, im just having trouble finding a quiet case that comes in a silver or white, while not being gigantic or costing hundreds of dollars.

of course if the op want to drop the cash on one, the silverstone ft02 comes in silver, and should keep that 570 chilly.

fumino wrote:im just having trouble finding a quiet case that comes in a silver or white

Well, there's the Lian Li PC-A05NA (the NB is the black one) which is compact, fits ATX boards, and can fit most of the more powerful graphic cards (but it isn't really quiet right out of the box: it can be made so swapping the fans, applying some dampening material, and maybe adding optional fanned top panel).

Even some other Lian-Li enclosures are available in silver.

lol. cant believe i forgot about lian li.

Not to hijack the thread, and I think this would actually benefit OP, but does the Solo/P150 not fit the GTX 570? Or is it an airflow issue?

I have the P150, love it - but the system is definitely showing its age and I want to do a full revamp in the next coming months.

Currently:

q6600
Ninja Scythe w/ 120mm fan
120 nexus in the back
8800gt w/ passive arctic freeze cooling and 120mm fan
2 gb ram
2 HDD - samsung spin point, which is slowly dying and backup 1.5 tb
optical

You can see that this thing barely runs fallout as it is =P

Hoping to go

i7 - 2600 k (Don't know what to do w/ cooling yet...)
GTX 570 (avoiding SLI cheaper cards due to power consumption/noise) - Deciding on how to cool since stock cooling is described as fairly audible
6 gb ram (3 x 2)
1 SSD boot drive
Same 1.5 TB backup
and maybe the same optical

Can the P150 handle this setup and keep things cool and quiet?

OT

nikkai wrote:i7 - 2600 k (Don't know what to do w/ cooling yet...)
6 gb ram (3 x 2)

1155 is only dual channel. get 4GB unless you know you want more, then go with 8GB
/OT

fumino wrote:OT

nikkai wrote:i7 - 2600 k (Don't know what to do w/ cooling yet...)
6 gb ram (3 x 2)

1155 is only dual channel. get 4GB unless you know you want more, then go with 8GB
/OT

Thanks for the feedback. My current plan is to build a system just like nikkai's setup but with 8GB dual channel. I assumed that setup and a GTX570 (Twin Frozr probably) would fit in the Antec Solo if I decide to go that way.
I checked out the Lian Li PC-A05NA. My concern is the aluminum material and lack of sound damping material on the sides make it seem like it would be noticeably noisier than the Solo. Is that the case? Also, with the video card above the intake and exhaust fans, does the video card overheat or have to rev the fans more? I saw a few comments about this on Newegg.

I like the idea of an all silver or all white glossy case for a change. Any other suggestions?

quest_for_silence wrote:

Hector wrote:I was planning on getting a Corsair 650W PSU.

Just a side note: I'm not aware of any 650W Corsair PSU which is really quiet.

Yeah, I think everyone's been raving about the Seasonic X-series, the Corsair AX750 and AX850, and that new Kingwin Lazer Gold and Platinum series.