I'm thinking of getting a new casing.. a very very silent one.. should be utilizing large silent fans i suppose? What choices do I have that's obtainable from forums/Lowyat Plaza...

Gimme all the choices, state price of possible...I'll see what's most cost-worthy for myself..

actuallyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy....... a silent casing depends more on the contents of its internals rather than the design itself...

i suggest u find a case that has 120mm fans for intake and exhaust. as for choices....

personally, i like the aerocool baydream.... a BTX style case...RM300 in ALL IT

Antec P180, will be a good silent casing...

This post has been edited by KidsCode: Feb 20 2006, 03:24 PM

Silent case aye... well:

1) Alu's gonna rattle unless u try real hard to dampen it so get something with thick steel panels.

2) Sound travel straight so something WITHOUT a gaping open intake...mesh front or mesh sidepanels or blowhole.

3) 12cm fan holes ideally without fan grills but ya can always cut them out anyway.

Else...if ya willing to pay the premium...so far the only real designed for silence case would be the P180 like the other dood said but of course, it's not without its limitation.

1) been reading spcr forums, read a lot about dampening.. also considering ordering some dampening stuff from usa.... thanks for reminder.
2) is a GREAT suggestion which I never realize... any suggestion of such casings? one that isn't crazily expensive.
3) fan grills do noise?

the P180 is crazily expensive.

Most of time depend on the grill of the case itself....and also the fan speed....higher the fan speed higher the noise level....

besides if the case has ventilation holes either front or back, it often causes sound for fan with high speed. so if want better noise level might have to cut off the holes.

like i said.... aerocool baydream i just love that case...heheheh

as for sound dampening... u could get the akasa paxmate from elhh or rlhh.

either that or u can go to car accesory shops and ask them for it...they can sell to u... no need until USA all....but the cheapo ones are kinda thick... expensive ones are expensive... best to check with the audio installers on ur best option and budget

Antec P180 or Aerocool Baydream should do the job....
there is the Zalman heatpipe casing also...can rnb the name...
total silent cuz no fan all heatpipe...

i like the P180 a lot, but its so expensive....

aerocool baydream sounds like a good deal, will need to check if i like it.... any other choices for now?

2) For example...
Antec P180: the intake draws air from the side.

Lian Li V1100: Draws air from the bottom of the front door. And a duct to redirect the exhaust downwards so the sound doesn't reflect off the wall and back to ur ears.

Lotsa other casings does that as well.

3) First of all..stamped grilled no matter wat impedes airflow so naturally, you'll need a faster fan for the same effect. Secondly..take a metal ruler....and blow at the edges, it makes a sound right? So when you have air flowing through those grills...you get sound. The wire type grills are ok.


The Baydream is too wide open as a silent case....gaping mesh grills on the front and side. So naturally, even if you use all passive cooling, you'll still hear hard disk whine and other electronic sound. Naturally, you would want to contain all the noise within the casing especially those that you cannot eliminate.

Btw, paxmate doesn't work...tried it on my old lian li. It does reduce high pitch noise a lil but if one is using high pitch fans like screaming 40mm's or Tornado's...it sorta defeats the purpose at the first place.

Off topic:
This is not a silent case but I was just checking enlight's website and saw this. Saw this server case a while ago at the shop. Relatively cheap but solid and damn cool leh

http://twe.enlightcorp.com/Product/ShowPic.../SR-5032_sb.jpg

Edit again, I found a review for the interior shots of this case.
http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?art=2365

To mADman: Maybe you should look for this instead.

This post has been edited by sniper on the roof: Feb 20 2006, 09:40 PM

Wait for the P150 then. It might be more expensive, but it does include the excellent NeoHE 430 PSU. Take note of Asus MB issues though.

P180 would be a good choice. Hard to handle though since it can be a potentially complicated setup.

If you're looking for sound dampening, you'd ideally want something that's heavy and thick. Akasa Paxmate is actually a little too thin and light for the job.

Aluminium cases are bound to hum/whine/rattle somewhat, yes, even the expensive Lian Lis will. My PC-60 did until I installed some dampening material. So a steel case is a better choice. Since P180 is too expensive, one of those HEC steel Compucases with 120mm fans might be good.

HEC casing setup is also a good silent casing and a good air flow casing... the fan come together also have high CFM with low dBa...

Speaking of which.. Maybe a HEC 69U6 or something. Think there's one with 12cm intake also. Classical.

http://www.hec-group.com.tw/product/produc...asp?cate_idno=7

Dun have to use the channel air guide though... get a sidepanel window for it.

This post has been edited by sniper on the roof: Feb 20 2006, 09:53 PM

I thought silent can be achieved without the use of fans as fans are the main culprit

No, get a HEC, but you definitely have to swap the fans. I recently got a HEC 6A19 for my gf which I modded into a MooPC

The stock Globe 120mm fans that came with the case were ludicrously loud. Serious vacumn cleaner stuff there, I ended up setting them both permanently at 5V before I gave it to her.

really ??? to me the fans sounds fine... maybe i cut off the intake and outtake...

the HEC 1 will be 69 or 6A series...

how much is aerocool baydream ? which shop selling it ?

I remember clearly as it was not too long ago. Too loud to be considered for even a quiet system, and I was testing them in free air, so there was no turbulence noise from grills or anything. Perhaps yours came with different spec fans. I can't recall the model number except I remember they were rated for about 80CFM. I think S12025M or something like that.

From my own experience, a great choice for a 120mm case fan is the CM UV/LED Silent series. I've had a couple and they were all great. Almost totally noiseless from half a foot away and decent 40CFM airflow. MacDaNife tells me his alu version is far better, but mine wasn't so good with a distinct motor whine at all speeds. However, the 80mm alu I have is fantastic.

I seem to have veered this off-topic from cases to fans, so back to topic... If HEC's plastic bezel doesn't suit your taste, you could always wait for one of the newer Lian Li's wide side intake holes ala P180/P150, but IMO they look quite weird. You could go for the Sonata II, but it's abit more cramped and IMO the P150 is much better.

Lian Li has a bunch of "silent" cases with sound dampening, but they're not great since intake is severely hindered. The new 767 looks like it could be a quiet case with some DIY work though.

RM300 in ALL IT when i checked before CNY.

@sniper
the enlight looks weird man....and the amount of drive bays etc etc....alot of it just doesnt tickle my fancy

still very few choices right now, most of which is rather expensive.. :<

okie was a lower spec fan S1202512L about 67 CFm...

Sonata 2 was same internal as HEC 6A series, abit more expensive and front bezel looks diff...

how do i put it, you gain some, you lose some, you want silent, you will lose good air flow, or vice versa...

This post has been edited by KidsCode: Feb 21 2006, 02:59 AM

how would you guys rate the gigabyte casing? looks cool with 2 120mm exhaust fan behind

if u free, mod some sponge in the casing, but beware of the heat issue too

This post has been edited by tongyam: Feb 22 2006, 07:09 PM

For me, to achieve a silent while not too bad on cooling case on the crappy centurion 1 airflow design, this is what I did.

Fans.

- 120MM intake, 120MM exhaust fans. Panaflo at 7V. I oiled all the bearings of my fans.
- 80MM chimmney (exhaust fan lar) on the top at 5V
- 120MM fan, sucking air from the bottom of the case. I cut a hole at the bottom. 7V.
- Removed all grilles, except for the back and top exhaust. Nobody stupid enough to put their fingers through, but precaution anyway.

Sponges.

- One relatively thick layer behind motherboard tray.
- One layer on the right side of my case, excluding the window.

Grommets.

- Grommets for all the fans, to reduce the vibration. I ran outta gromets for my top exhaust, so I used those rubber type double-sided tape and just screwe through.

So far, so nice. Doesn't make more than a hum thanks to the 7 and 5V fan mods.

pizzaboy: photos please.

Maybe u can try this guide : Silentmaster Guide

The HDD box in that "guide" is expensive...it's ok if there's only 1 HDD but if have more....then it'll cost a bomb. Plus on the other hand, suspending the HDD works just as well while being cheaper.

Also..Akasa Paxmate does not work. I've used it ....it doesn't work..the SPCR guys also says the same.

Guide to silencing your rig:

1. Go to SPCR.
2. Read as much as you can there, they have tons of great articles.
3. Move to the forum and read the user articles/reviews/guides there.
4. Do it to your own rig.
5. Ask for comments/feedback on the forum and revise.
6. Repeat as necassary.



This post has been edited by evilnickwong: Feb 22 2006, 11:57 PM

why nobody tried passive cooling ?
btw, i'm running caseless now and the loudest thing is my HDD........

This post has been edited by AllnGap: Feb 23 2006, 10:51 AM

i think this zalman case is the passively cooling case ur talking about???
all using heatpipe adn 20++kg

HERE

this case cute 1 la..i wonder how much it price..must be rm1k ++

that case is fully alu and cooper leh....
sure more then RM1k....

but dunno how it perform here because temp so hot in this country.if in aircond maybe ok la but in normal room?

normal room also....we got a thing called fan...hehe
i think is ok lar....of course air-con room is better lar...

at my bedroom got "thing called fan" also hot2 1 la..but at night cool like..like..like dunno la.ice maybe

hehe....ur room is safara desert ah......
we better stick to the topic...if mod sure belasah....


so...where is the thread starter...wat do u think about the zalman...
super silent case...

I think the Zalman is too heavy, would cost me a forture to have it shipped to Sarawak. I also think it's not good for my hard disks. It isn't for me for sure.

Passive cooling is nice, but I also have to think about 'safety'. I don't want anything to die cuz of heat. I know processor won't. But I need to worry about the rest.

I like the P180 a lot, but jeez, the price..... seriously difficult to work out a suitable case for me, can't browse reviews like before also since Streamyx is bloody slow right now.

Seriously though, they making a lot selling these metal parts at such high price.. You can buy an airconditioner for RM700 now, that's using a lot more material than a casing. Plus the thing actually cools. Yah, bloody expensive.

hey...how bout lian-li pc-60 plus?

I have a PC60 Plus, and while it's quiet now, it did take abit of effort to get it here.

Just to run through, most of it had to start with quiet components and coolers/fans. Afterwhich, some touch up with sound dampening, HDD suspension and removing as much airflow impedence as possible.

As it is, the only things I hear are my PSU fan and my HDD. But be warned, without sound dampening, the side panels tend to rattle whenever your HDD/DVD drives spin up.

But honestly, for a silent case, the P180 is only RM100 more than the PC60-Plus and would be the better choice.

This post has been edited by evilnickwong: Feb 24 2006, 12:22 AM

the zalman is more like a concept mah....
safety??? wat safety r u talking about????
They are just making this kind of case to suit the exhaustist..
and air conditioning u have pay every month leh....where else the case is 1 time thing

Those HDD things look like hell for the HDD man. Mati lor so hot inside the case. I'd rather haf safe data than put the HDD in that oven. Besides I dono y so many ppl complain bout HDD noise. Mine is a WD Caviar n I dont hear the thing except at boot up time. Is the Caviar inherently quiet?

he created this thread to buy new casing la.zalman case where got sell here?
@ threadstarted,
i suggest u buy casing which 2 x 120mm fan (front and rear) then u change to silent fan la.my opinion only.

Casing Dosen't really matters .

1. Psu quiet type / 12cm fan
2. No intake or blowhole at side panel
3. Use a Silent HSF " TT sonic tower + 12cm fan "

I got everything silent except casing... :/ my current casing use 80mm fan, this must go

I think you can save cost first by trying to do away with the fan grills and soft mounting your fans..along with devolting them to a comfortable level.. Of course 120mm are better but 80mm can still be quiet.

i think devolting would be a very good option. i personally do it to my case...

i have LOUD fans running in my case (120mm Delta FFB and 80mm Delta FFB + 3 other LOUD fans) and i connected them to 2 12V/5V switches that i made. i always switch them to 5v when i sleep and that helps me sleep at night

if u want a constantly quiet case, then i suggest running the fans at 7v all the time... and that really isnt hard to do. i wouldnt recommend running them at a constant 5v, coz thatll just be too slow. especially if ur using quiet, low cfm fans.

any recommendations to a 12/5 switch mod guide?

i did mine using the schematics from here

http://www.fanbus.com/thelab/Schematics/ba..._schematics.htm

very simple, just need to do some soldering. u need to find an on-off-on switch

casing actually important too..how the fan grill , where the fan locate , wat siza of fan , etc etc..

any good choices lately? i still like the Antec P180 but the damn price.

Antec P180 , go for it........

hmmmmm gigabyte 3d aurora????

If u got try other brand then u will know why everyone is complaining the HDD noise .....

me personally owned 6 maxtor HDD, 2 Seagate and 3 Western digital from the the day of using computer until now ...

nth beat western digital when comes to noise silence....other are just crack men ...

especialyl maxtor hell noisy when looking for data.....

seagate is not bad also .especially those new series with fluid bearing design...

any latest designs that are quiet?

But you don't have the quitest.... Samsung's and Hitachi's.
However, I do agree WD Caviar SE16 best value for money but they do have that pesky temp reading bug on some batches.

How come tarak orang mention Lian Li S80 wan? Damn cun wei...if I got money...sure buy that....or maybe TJ07 (though the price is tak logic)

Perhaps cause aluminium cases take more work to get quiet. Even my PC-61P with sound dampening material still vibrates now and then when I'm spinning something in the DVD drive.

i think zalman have noiseless casing...check at their website...

ive seen that, super expensive and heavy

A few things to watch out for if absolutely wanna be quiet....

1) Mesh grills are a big no-no. Even with no fans at all, there's still bound to be some electronic noises and most annoyingly, the sound of HDDs escaping. Hence that rules out cases like the Armor, Stacker, Cent5, Shark etc.

2) Stamped grills are also a big no no as it impedes airflow as much as 70% hence the fans have to spun faster/noisier to achieve the same result.

3) Alu cases especially the thinner ones will resonate though most of the better cases are in alu. However, you could always weight them down with sound dampening material AND insulate all the fan mounts with rubber grommets.

im getting myself a sonata 2..... then in future SOLO / p150

how it look like?can show some picture?how much?

Why P150? It's so blardy cramped inside.

so blardy silent

dont put fan lor...

Then wouldn't it be extremely hot inside your case?

Unless you are talking about that Zalman heat pipe case where it doesn't use any fans as well.

This post has been edited by Mavik: Jun 27 2006, 11:59 AM

He's just spamming and got his post count reset as a result.

hey, i got an idea, why not put all the choices of silent cases in the first post...this would really help guide people like me who is lazy to read through all 4 pages of this thread....

yeah i will later... haha a lil lazy

Maybe u can try this one

http://www.silverstonetek.com/product-cooler.htm
http://www.silverstonetek.com/product-fan.htm
http://www.silverstonetek.com/product-case.htm

Yeah yeah... forums are great to promote awareness but this is a lil too obvious rite?

using all silent pipe also can

just wondering, how come its not common for cross fan to be ultilize under case cooling. i find these cross fan are kinda quiet and capable of supplying enough airflow into the case. the cross fan which i'm refering to is like the one in the silverstone homepage. e.g FX121 or your common air-con fan

I thought they're quite noisy wat.... mmmm....I think I'll get one to play play

Maybe it seems quiet, but if aircon fans are anything to go by, they'll definitely be very audible indeed in a quiet case.

You want a silent casing? Get one without anything inside, then it wont make noise.