Antec P280 or wait for Corsair 550D?

[T0bias]

Hi,

I'm building a system with a 3930k and one of the new nvidia cards when they arrive, but I'm in doubt about what case to choose. I'd like it to be somewhat quiet and not sound like a hair dryer when I power it up But the cooling should be good too (will probably oc the cpu a little bit, but nothing extreme) as I am using my computer a lot for intensive tasks and gaming and I may add another graphics card later.

I decided for the Antec P280 case, but I got in doubt after seeing the 550D - do you think I should wait for this case? I have nothing else to wait for really so maybe it's a bad idea to wait for potentially 1 month for a case? (I contacted Corsair and they said it should be available in Europe during the middle of march which is a quite long wait)

The Corsair might be a better case, but whats your opinion? I hope someone can help me decide

 

[lehtv]

If you're looking to potentially run a dual graphics card setup, don't bother with quiet cases. Instead get something designed with efficient cooling in mind; in particular, get a case with a side fan for ventilating between the graphics cards, or look for something more unique like Silverstone Raven.

I don't see any point waiting for 550D, there are so many good cases to choose from and 550D isn't going to be anything revolutionary.

 

[T0bias]

Isn't the P280 quite good at cooling too?
The thing is that I don't know for sure if I will go with two graphics cards, but you don't think it would be ok with the P280 with some extra fans installed, in case I did go with two ? I know the P280 doesn't have a side fan slot, but it does have room for 4 extra fans than the 3 supplied with it.

 

[lehtv]

Three 120mm fans is quite standard, and having the extra slots obviously means that if you want to populate them you need to pay more. Might as well buy a more expensive case in the first place, no? It also doesn't make a whole lot of sense to buy a silent case and then use it for high air flow, because that somewhat defeats the purpose of it being a silent case. If you want high air flow, buy a case built for that purpose.

However if you're only thinking of dual graphics cards as a possibility, it's unlikely you'll ever go that route... And you shouldn't need to if you game at 1080p. A single graphics card is enough for 1080p for the vast majority of people, and can be cooled well enough in a silent case like P280.

Another thing to consider: A high airflow case will be noisier on its own, but it will prevent the graphics card fan from spinning as fast as in a silent case (especially if you use a custom fan profile in Afterburner). However, a silent case will be better af muffling the noise from the graphics card fan, even if it will spin faster. Overall I'd say a silent case is better for a single graphics card, and definitely inferior for dual graphics cards.

Decisions, decisions

 

[T0bias]

I follow your point that it doeesn't make sense to buy a silent case if I just want to use it for high air flow, but that's not going to be the case for quite a while (maybe the whole time with this system as you say), and then I'd like the system to be a little more silent, assuming the temps will be fine with P280 and a single graphics card.

My point is just that I'd like the option of changing the setup a bit for more airflow just in case I need that, for example if I decided to put that second graphics card in (may even be for gpu rendering stuff, however I'm not doing any of that now, but at some point I think I will, but can't say if it's going to be in 1 or 5 years ) - or if the temps with a single graphics card are a little on the high side. I think a case that's a little flexible would be nice for me, I'd just like to avoid a case that generally runs a little too hot, and where sli is an absolute no-go

Regarding the graphics card fan it would probably only spin really fast, in any of the cases, when it's on full load when gaming for example? And when gaming I'm probably not going to be annoyed so much about it, unless it's REALLY loud

 

[lehtv]

True, it's a good idea to have a case that's flexible as it can last you a long time. If you want a silent case with the possibility of a side fan, Corsair 550D might be just what you're looking for though it is expensive. Fractal Design R3 which I own myself also has a 140mm slot on the side, and it's a lot cheaper than 550D but probably not as well built as that or P280.

Regarding the graphics card fan it would probably only spin really fast, in any of the cases, when it's on full load when gaming for example? And when gaming I'm probably not going to be annoyed so much about it, unless it's REALLY loud

I'd recommend buying a graphics card with good cooling (= non reference design) so that you can quiet it down with a custom fan profile in MSI Afterburner without idle temperatures becoming a problem. My GTX 560 Ti has a dual fan cooler, and it sits inside the R3 (4 fans at low RPM). I can just about hear the fan at its stock 40% idle speed but it's very quiet. Nevertheless I have a modified BIOS on it which allows even lower RPM, and at 37% it becomes completely silent. So if you want the GPU to be totally silent on idle you may also have to use a custom BIOS. At load, I don't notice the noise at all with my headphones on (the case does a good job at noise dampening).

A dual GPU setup however would definitely be audible on idle, even if you have side fans and whatnot.

 

[T0bias]

I don't know if a side fan is a must, but I'm in doubt wether the P280 would also fit in as a flexible case where I can sacrifice quietness for improved performance (and not just really tiny differences). With the 4 optional fan slots (2 internal intake and 2 external intake I think) it obviously got the possibility of increased cooling, but I don't know how important it is to have a side mounted fan and/or a bottom mounted fan facing the floor, which the 550D got?

I just want to avoid buying the P280 thinking that I can go for increased cooling if I want - and then realise that it's not really possible with this case. Do you think I can get a significant performance boost by installing a couple extra fans in the case?

I also looked at the Fractal R3 which seems like a very nice case, but I favored the P280 over it because I thought it would be nice with a little more space inside.

It's not like I want a completely silent computer, just as long as it's reasonably quiet (I know this is quite vague ) - also the frequency of the noise plays a role as I think high frequency noise and whine is very annoying, I'd prefer a louder deep noise instead

 

[lehtv]

On the whole you can't go wrong with any of the cases as long as the dual-GPU solution is just a "maybe some time in the future". Read the reviews and pick whichever fits your criteria - what they already have in common is that they're well built and quiet.

 

[lsv]

I'd wait for 550D review to show up before making a decision. While I believe the 550D will be an amazing case it's always good to wait for reviews.

Have you also considered a Fractal R3 at all? The moduvents on the R3 seem like they block more sound than the thing sound dampening vents covers on the 550D.

 

[T0bias]

Yeah I did consider the R3, but I think the extra space in P280 is nice. Especially if I go for sli

It's just a long wait for something that may not be that significantly better - I'm getting more confident about going for a P280

 

[lsv]

Yeah I did consider the R3, but I think the extra space in P280 is nice. Especially if I go for sli

It's just a long wait for something that may not be that significantly better - I'm getting more confident about going for a P280

Just make sure you'll use the top exhausts because the P280 doesn't come with any way to block them off stock.

 

[gramboh]

550D or R3 I would say, more flexibility for configuring airflow vs. silence. The P280 is pretty good, and cheap ($120 vs $160-170 for 550D), but less flexibility in setup.

 

[DaveSimmons]

P280 crossfire with GPU blower fans seems OK, and you get to stay quiet at idle:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1229-page7.html

Another review - Puget Systems - SLI - "impressed with the cooling"
http://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Product-Qualification-Antec-P280-Chassis-122

So you can indeed get a P280 for crossfire / SLI.

> I'm building a system with a 3930k

For gaming you really should be thinking socket 1155 though, and spending the $500+ you save on other parts like SSDs.

 

[csemoses]

guys, the 550d has 2x120mm side fan mounts, magnetic filters for them, and removable sound dampened panels if you arent going to use them.

It should provide tons of airflow to dual GPUs.

 

[T0bias]

The Fractal just seems really small for sli? I think it would feel a little cramped with two big graphics cards in there - the main thing that would make the R3 more flexible is just the side fan and bottom fan? On the other hand the P280 got internal intake slots which I guess could help cool a sli setup too?

And it seems in reviews that the P280 cools a little better than the Fractal - I guess thats with stock fans though..

 

[DaveSimmons]

The point to me is that the P280 cooling is good enough for SLI even without using every fan mount or running them all on high.

So if you like the P280, it's safe to buy it. If you like the Fractal that's a good choice too.

 

[lsv]

The Fractal just seems really small for sli? I think it would feel a little cramped with two big graphics cards in there - the main thing that would make the R3 more flexible is just the side fan and bottom fan? On the other hand the P280 got internal intake slots which I guess could help cool a sli setup too?

And it seems in reviews that the P280 cools a little better than the Fractal - I guess thats with stock fans though..

The R3 has space for SLI, it also has a side intake and a bottom intake which will help a lot. I don't really use any stock fans in my cases though. Always Noctua's with the NCIX 2 for 1 deal.