Case recommendation with height constraint

[alexo]

EDIT: Antec 300, unless something changes.
See post #p545115

Hello,

Currently, I have an old-ish machine sitting in a compartment that is a part of my desk.
The compartment's height is approximately 46.5cm and the Antec SLK3000B case fits snugly after I removed the rubber feet (I can slide it in and out easily but the is no top/bottom clearance to speak of).

It's time for me to get another machine and I am looking for a good case, but since I don't want to replace the furniture, I'd like to get one that will fit in the compartment, preferably without sacrificing too much of the noise/heat characteristics.

So far, I found the following 3 cases reviewed on this site:

* Coolermaster Sileo 500:
Height: 43cm, decent marks. $130 (NCIX, out of stock)

*Coolermaster Silencio 550:
Height: 45.2cm; so-so marks (wasn't it supposed to be an upgrade of the Sileo 500?); controls on top (not really a problem since I can slide it out a couple of cm); may need to take the feet off if they're over 1cm in height (will block bottom vent).

* Fractal Design Define R3:
Height: 44cm; good marks; controls on top (not really a problem since I can slide it out a couple of cm); may need to take the feet off; top and/or bottom vents may not have enough clearance for effective ventilation (see feet removal). $110 (newegg.ca) - 115 (NCIX)

The NZXT H2 will not fit (not to mention the Antec P183).

I am not a heavy gamer, I do like the system to be quiet as it is in the bedroom, it will be on 24/7 (even when I'm at work and the AC is off - ambient temp can get >30C).

Comments? Ideas? Suggestions?

Thanks,
Alex.

[cordis]

Is it in something like a pillar? I have something like that, but I'm more constrained by width that height. Is your space wide enough for most cases? If you're looking for more suggestions, all 3 dimension limits would be useful.

[HFat]

If you like NZXT I saw that one of their cases was small: 406mm (D) x 180mm (W) x 422.5mm (H). I doesn't look tall so the 42cm might include an optional handle. I don't know if it's any good but it has a top vent and my guess is that it's small enough to allow airflow there in a 46cm compartment. Something that's slightly taller wouldn't allow decent airflow above the case.

[alexo]

Is it in something like a pillar? I have something like that, but I'm more constrained by width that height. Is your space wide enough for most cases? If you're looking for more suggestions, all 3 dimension limits would be useful.

Not exactly a pillar, it's wider (at work, don't have the exact measurements) and it's open at the back so depth is not a factor either. Height seems to be the only constraint.

Edit: 43cm wide, enough for 2 cases. Current machine stands flush to the right wall (motherboard-side).

If you like NZXT I saw that one of their cases was small: 406mm (D) x 180mm (W) x 422.5mm (H). I doesn't look tall so the 42cm might include an optional handle. I don't know if it's any good but it has a top vent and my guess is that it's small enough to allow airflow there in a 46cm compartment. Something that's slightly taller wouldn't allow decent airflow above the case.

I have no opinion on the NZXT except that the H2 got a good review here.

[ces]

You have a lot of room and a lot of options.

The only constraining factors should be the size of the videocard, if any, that intend to use and the number and size of the hard drives you intend to use. You can find quite a number of smaller cases that can handle more than you will likely need.

Take a look at micro ATX cases and mini ITX cases. I would start with the Lian Li line of cases.

[cordis]

Yeah, you do really have a lot of options here. You may want to just optimize for airflow, with the height constraint you wouldn't want a lot of bottom to top flow, but it sounds like things are fairly wide open front to back. Most cases with front input fans aren't really optimized for silence, so you may need to get some quiet fans and swap those in. But on the bright side, those cases are usually fairly cheap. For instance, there's the antec 300 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product), I think it may just barely meet your height requirement, has two front intake fan mounts, the psu doesn't have a bottom vent so no worries there, and it's fairly cheap. You'll need to put some quiet fans in the front intakes, but once you do that, it should be fairly quiet, assuming that the rest of your components are relatively quiet.

[awolfe63]

Look at the Lian Li PC-V354.

[kuzzia]

I would advice you not to buy the Sileo 500. The design is outdated with a top-mounted PSU and no cable wiring behind the motherboard. Building a system in the modern NZXT H2 is noticeably easier because of the mentioned reasons. Also, the HD mounting doesn't reduce vibrations.

[alexo]

Take a look at micro ATX cases and mini ITX cases. I would start with the Lian Li line of cases.

Won't those limit my choice of motherboards?

Look at the Lian Li PC-V354.

Hmmm... Looks like the reviewer wasn't enthusiastic about it.

For instance, there's the antec 300, I think it may just barely meet your height requirement, has two front intake fan mounts, the psu doesn't have a bottom vent so no worries there, and it's fairly cheap.

The Antec 300 is (marginally) taller than the enclosure, which rules it out. EDIT: No, it isn't. My mistake!
Plus it seems to have a top vent.

I would advice you not to buy the Sileo 500. The design is outdated with a top-mounted PSU and no cable wiring behind the motherboard. Building a system in the modern NZXT H2 is noticeably easier because of the mentioned reasons. Also, the HD mounting doesn't reduce vibrations.

The modern NZXT H2 also does not fit.

Thank you for the suggestions,
Alex.

[cordis]

Huh, I think 46.5cm converts to 18.3 inches, and newegg lists the antec 300 height as 18 inches. Is there a different measurement somewhere else that leads you to believe it won't fit? As far as the top vent goes, you can block it, and probably block the side fan too. My real point is, a cheap case with some fans in front might be a good way to go. Of course, without knowing what components are ultimately going in the case, it's hard to know exactly which cases would be appropriate. If all your components are pretty quiet and low power, then you don't need a particularly "quiet" case. Do you have any components lined up for the case?

[alexo]

Huh, I think 46.5cm converts to 18.3 inches, and newegg lists the antec 300 height as 18 inches.

You are correct. I was mistaken.

As far as the top vent goes, you can block it, and probably block the side fan too. My real point is, a cheap case with some fans in front might be a good way to go. Of course, without knowing what components are ultimately going in the case, it's hard to know exactly which cases would be appropriate. If all your components are pretty quiet and low power, then you don't need a particularly "quiet" case. Do you have any components lined up for the case?

This is going to be a new machine, so I am pretty flexible on the components.
Obviously there are quality and price considerations but I'd say the case size is the only "hard" constraint.

Problem is, the last machine I assembled was some 6 years ago so I'm pretty much out of the loop.
My sources of information are AnandTech and this site.

And yes, I am open to suggestions but I will "challenge" them with more questions to be sure I understand the recommendations.

Thanks,
Alex.

[alexo]

Re: Antec 300

This thread makes the R3 look better. Same here. And here.
NCIX sells the 300 for CAD$70 vs. CAD$115 for the R3. Not a big difference in absolute figures but still...

Yes, I've been known to suffer from terminal indecision

[ces]

Alex

You need to say the size and number of hard drives you intend to use and what, if any video card you intend to use.... otherwise you are going to continue getting advice all across the board.

Also, do you have any issues with using a microATX or an ITX motherboard? Do you care?

[cordis]

Well yeah, the Fractal R3 is a much better case for a normal situation where you have decent ventilation on all sides. The problem that you mentioned, though, was that the Fractal R3 has the PSU vent on the bottom, and if you take the case feet off it's going to be a problem. Most cases that are good for silence are going to be set up like that. So you'll want a case with some vents in the front, and some fans there to move some air front to back, and probably one where the input vent for the psu is pulling air from inside the case. Many cheap cases have these features.

Going with a case that isn't necessarily silent does mean that you'll have to make some other choices. First problem will be drives. So ces has a point, if you're going to go with an SSD boot drive and a high capacity data drive, then it shouldn't be a problem. With cheap cases, you can usually pull out a hard drive rack, put in some suspension, and you're good. Or, find a case with an extra 5.25" bay, and use something like this http://www.svc.com/nx-doubletwin.html to give you some drive vibration buffering. With some replacement quiet fans to keep the airflow down, you should have a fairly quiet system with fairly minimal modding.

On the other hand, if you're going for a file server with 4 or more 3.5" drives, it becomes a little trickier. In that case, it might be better to go with something like the Fractal R3 case, where you have some hard drive vibration buffering built in. But then, you'll need to flip your PSU over to pull air from inside the case. That's usually a little trickier than hard drive suspension, the screws mounts for PSUs aren't completely symmetric, so you may wind up only able to put one or two screws in. That may be fine, or the Fractal may have extra screw holes for a flipped psu, so you may be ok, or you may want to drill some extra holes to give you a good psu mount.

Knowing that you're not a big gamer, I'm also assuming that you will go with something fairly simple, maybe a sandy bridge with on board graphics (or a low power fanless gpu) and a good quiet cpu cooler with some quiet fans. As long as you have a decent amount of air moving front to back, you should be ok with some medium to low power components.

So it depends on what kind of mods you want to do. If you're cool with screwing around with the psu, go with the Fractal R3. If you were going to suspend drives, or have a limited number of hard drives you need to support, a cheaper case would probably be the way to go. And you could even go even cheaper, consider this cheap-ass Apex Vortex case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product. It has 120mm fan mounts in front and back, PSU with an internal vent mounting, 3 5.25" bays and a bunch of 3.5 in bays you could pull out and put some suspension in. Oh, and it's 16" tall (40.64cm), so it should fit just fine. Or, if you don't want to do many mods, pick up the Fractal R3 and be done with it.

[SebRad]

Hi, I think the Antec Solo / P150 will fit your space.
No side / top vents to worry about.
Unbeatable HDD suspension built in!
Is limited in how long a video card you can fit and some will say that don't want too much hardward as the airflow isn't very high and the PSU is in the traditional possition above the CPU.
This person has 2500 Sandybridge in his so there are possibilities...

With a modest system and quiet HDD it's very easy to build a very quiet PC in one of these.

Regards, Seb

[alexo]

Hi, I think the Antec Solo / P150 will fit your space.

Thanks for the suggestion!

I googled for the Solo and it seems to be too high (19.2" = 48.7cm).
The P150 looks intriguing except for the included PSU and the fact that it no longer seems to be available in Canada (checked NCIX and newegg.ca).

[alexo]

You need to say the size and number of hard drives you intend to use and what, if any video card you intend to use.... otherwise you are going to continue getting advice all across the board.

Hmmm... Not sure yet.

CPU: i5-2500 or i7-2600 (possibly the K version), depends on other tradeoffs.
Storage: most likely 2HDs or SSD + HD and a DVD writer
Video: I was thinking about something between a Radeon HD5770 and a 6850.
PSU: the SeaSonic 560 sounds nice.

I'd like to be reasonably future-proof.
My current setup (Athlon64 3500+ and ATI X800) does not cut it anymore.

I am open to suggestions but please do try to explain/justify your recommendations, otherwise you'll end up confusing me even more.

Also, do you have any issues with using a microATX or an ITX motherboard? Do you care?

Not familiar with them. Care to recommend a good reference that explains the benefits and drawbacks and gives recommendations?

[alexo]

I went to an NCIX store today to look at the cases on display.
They had a sale on Antec 300 cases, $40+tax until the 20th.

They didn't have an open box but I decided to get one anyway.
Now I have 2 weeks to return it (unopened) if I don't like it.

Question #1: Are there good reasons to get another case instead?

Question #2: Keeping in mind that I am not an experienced modder by any stretch of the imagination, what should I do to optimize the case if I keep it?
Can I move the top fan to the front? Should I add other fans? What about drive mounting? What's the best way to block the top vent? Assume I'm a newbie.

Thank you!

[cordis]

Well, as long as it fits your space, seems like you got a deal, I'd keep it. Moving the top fan seems like a good idea, it looks like there's a front fan mount, so it shouldn't be too hard. Maybe get a quieter fan if it's too loud. To block the top vent, cardboard should be fine. No need to get to crazy there.