Case for Home Hyper-V machine

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vectorm12

Junior Member
May 6, 2009
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Hi guys,

I'm currently looking to build a new testserver for home use and I'm looking for a new case.

Currently I'm using a Antec Three-hundred case but as I'm suddenly running out of dedicated space I need something quiet that can run in the living room without disturbing the missus.

I'd like to keep the system as small and silent as possible while still being able to fit everything I'm currently running inside the case.

Phenom X6 1090T (Stock)
Noctura NH-U9B
ASRock 890GM R2.0
16GB OCZ Platinum DDR3
Adaptec 2805 SAS/SATA raidcontroller
Lian-Li EX-H34B hotswap drive bay (requires 3x external 5,25" slots)
4x 1TB 7200rpm Seagate HDDs (Data)
2x OCZ Vertex 2E 120GB SSDs (OSes)

I've been looking at the Antec P180 case which seems to be a decent choice but I'm thinking a second/third/forth opinion isn't a bad thing.

Please disregard, ease of build, price but do consider understated looks if possible.
 
Fallen Kell

Fallen Kell

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
6,216
539
126
Also check out the NZXT H2 Classic Silent which performed very well over at Silent PC Review (just like the R3 did... you can't go wrong I think with either of these). I think personally I like the R3 a little better, but if you want to save $20-30, the NZXT H2 isn't bad at all).

Please note, that either of these will require you ditching your hotswap bay.... I am not sure why you would need that, especially with the H2, as it has a built-in hot swap bay on the top if you are simply trying to connect another drive and copy contents, etc.
 
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vectorm12

Junior Member
May 6, 2009
7
0
0
Looks like I've got a few more options to look into :)

The reason I would like to keep my hotswap-bay (and possibly add yet another one) is easy of access to drives as they break down. The four currently located in the hotswap-bay are part of a RAID 1+0 and are the main storage-volume for several VMs which causes them to be under considerable load more or less 24/7. This has also had a considerable impact on reliability as it turns out.(gone through 3 drives in less than 14 months)

I do remember seeing something like a big cubecase that had 6 5,25" drivebays on the rightside of the case(behind the motherboard so to speak) years ago. Anyone seen anything like that recently?
 
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dmoney1980

Platinum Member
Jan 17, 2008
2,471
38
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vectorm12 said:
Looks like I've got a few more options to look into :)

The reason I would like to keep my hotswap-bay (and possibly add yet another one) is easy of access to drives as they break down. The four currently located in the hotswap-bay are part of a RAID 1+0 and are the main storage-volume for several VMs which causes them to be under considerable load more or less 24/7. This has also had a considerable impact on reliability as it turns out.(gone through 3 drives in less than 14 months)

I do remember seeing something like a big cubecase that had 6 5,25" drivebays on the rightside of the case(behind the motherboard so to speak) years ago. Anyone seen anything like that recently?
Click to expand...

check out the Case Labs M8, though it might be a little overkill in terms of size???
Maybe even Lian Li, they have some great cases.

http://www.caselabs.net/
 
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vectorm12

Junior Member
May 6, 2009
7
0
0
Although I LOVE the Case Labs M8 that might be pushing things just a little too far considering what the build is going to be used for.

I'm a long time fan of Lian Li (Got my workstation sitting inside an old PC-2000 which I still love despite it being 7+ years old) but right now they seem to have gone into the same field as almost all other major players(Tall monolithic cases). In my case short and wide would be more ideal :)

Right now I'm leaning towards the fractal Design R3/XL but I've also read some mixed reviews of flimsy plastic parts(doesn't help that the fans I've tried from Fractal have been of less than convincing quality either)
 
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vectorm12

Junior Member
May 6, 2009
7
0
0
Yeah I've been looking for someone selling the BUC in Sweden but thus far come up empty handed. According to the test here on Anandtech it's supposed to be very quiet.

Anyway I'm thinking I should say screw it and just splurge on a Cosmos Pure, it's got everything I need besides integrated hotswap-bays but it's supposed to be quiet despite having terrible cable-management.
 
Fallen Kell

Fallen Kell

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
6,216
539
126
Local availability always plays a decent factor... I was only looking for mid towers for you as you had mentioned "small and silent". Big and silent is a lot easier to do, especially with what you were asking for.

Hands down, if I was buying a full tower case, the Corsair Obsidian 800D. It will cost you a bit, but it is a case done right. The only complaint I have is that I would like to see more 3.5" drive bays, but that is something easily fixed by converting several of the 5.25" bays (just with some added cost, which is already pretty high on this case, so it would have been nice if they included it).
 
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vectorm12

Junior Member
May 6, 2009
7
0
0
Think you might be right, the Obsidian 800D seems like the perfect choice for me after all. It's quite a bit taller than I'd prefer but all things considered I'm gonna live a better life if it's too tall and very quiet compared to small but not quiet enough :)

Thanks for you input :)
 
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vectorm12

Junior Member
May 6, 2009
7
0
0
Care to give me an idea of decent low-noise CPU coolers that can manage a Phenom II X6 1090T? The new system works really well in the new case but the stock AMD-cooler is just too poor to stay in it. Since I went for the Define XL the 120mm CPU WC solutions are gonna be hard to use.
 
Fallen Kell

Fallen Kell

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
6,216
539
126
Someone did a review of the Define XL and used a Thermalright MUX-120 which is 160mm in height. So if that fit, you at least know anything 160mm or smaller should fit. I would suggest either the Noctua NH-D14 or NH-U12P SE2. Both of them scored very well at silentpcreview in terms of cool at a certain noise level, and they both work with socket AM3/AM3+ boards.
 
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