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Does it get any better than Antec 900?

DesiPower

DesiPower

Lifer
What do you look for in a case? Silence is very important to me and I have always used Antec. 900 looks awesome, its 4 fans with 3 speed settings on each, moving as much air as you want or be silent. I will be building a new system in a few months, and planning to use this one. What else is out there for this price range, I know there are a lot but what I am looking for is good material and build quality, silent and under $100. Looks is the last on my list.
 
The Antec 900 is about the last case I would think of if I think of silence.

A case with awesome airflow almost cannot be a silent case. The reason is the fact that no matter how low RPM, more fans = more noise. Also, fans with open grills = more noise, and the Antec 900 has all kinds of open grills.

I think it comes down to what someone personally thinks is "silent." Ask any of the fanatics enthusiasts at Silent PC Review about the Antec 900 and they'll probably laugh at you. However, to many people anything that doesn't sound like a leaf blower is "silent."

BTW "quiet" =/= "silent."

Anyways, rant aside... if you really want the system to be quiet you will have to sacrifice airflow. Look specifically for quiet cases like the Fractal Design R3, NZXT Hush, Antec Solo, Lian Li PC-B25S.
 
yeah I meant low noise, not silent, not even quiet. I think compared to other cases with 3 or 4 fans, this will have lowest noise. I currently have a case with 3 120mm fans, 2 stock on the case and one on the cpu cooler. all run at around 800 rpm and the noise is so minimal, antec's 3 speed fans are pretty low noise. My biggest concern is that most of the case makers wont give you speed control, and those running at high rpm are REALLY noisy.
 
i built my brother a computer in an antec 300. i was surprised how quiet it was.

it's really not bad. the tricools on low are pretty unintrusive, and the component selection helped matters along.

(radeon 5850 is relatively quiet even with stock cooling at idle, Phenom II x4 965 with a heatpipe tower cooler, no OCing)

as long as you keep all fans under 1000 rpm, and ideally under 800 rpm, you shouldn't hear it much at all.
 
Zap said:
The Antec 900 is about the last case I would think of if I think of silence.

A case with awesome airflow almost cannot be a silent case. The reason is the fact that no matter how low RPM, more fans = more noise. Also, fans with open grills = more noise, and the Antec 900 has all kinds of open grills.

I think it comes down to what someone personally thinks is "silent." Ask any of the fanatics enthusiasts at Silent PC Review about the Antec 900 and they'll probably laugh at you. However, to many people anything that doesn't sound like a leaf blower is "silent."

BTW "quiet" =/= "silent."

Anyways, rant aside... if you really want the system to be quiet you will have to sacrifice airflow. Look specifically for quiet cases like the Fractal Design R3, NZXT Hush, Antec Solo, Lian Li PC-B25S.
Click to expand...

i have to disagree a bit... good airflow is important in a "silent" computer. you want the airflow path as unrestrictive as possible so that you DON'T have to ramp up the RPM on the fans to get the static pressure up enough to actually move air.

to that end you want unrestricted airflow paths, good cabling, etc.

fan quality aside, it's fan RPM and air turbulence that make noise.
 
Surprisingly, my HAF 932 is almost dead silent. Normally, the only thing I hear is a gentle "whoosh" from my video card...until it gets warm, then it gets a bit louder.
IMO, a major part of a quiet case is quiet components to begin with.
 
For a quiet case you might want to consider Fractal Define R3. I for one am quite impressed with how well the noise dampening works in this case.
 
Arg Clin said:
For a quiet case you might want to consider Fractal Define R3. I for one am quite impressed with how well the noise dampening works in this case.
Click to expand...

damping




if the OP really wants a silent computer he'll replace those antec tricools with slipstreams.
 
ElFenix said:
damping




if the OP really wants a silent computer he'll replace those antec tricools with slipstreams.
Click to expand...

I have one of those 800rpm ones attached to my Scythe Ninja, works great but I dislike the constant velocity. I like tricools coz I can ramp up the speed if a CPU intensive task is heating up the machine, specially in Summer. I drill holes on the case and stick the switch outside the case for easy access!
 
DesiPower said:
I have one of those 800rpm ones attached to my Scythe Ninja, works great but I dislike the constant velocity. I like tricools coz I can ramp up the speed if a CPU intensive task is heating up the machine, specially in Summer. I drill holes on the case and stick the switch outside the case for easy access!
Click to expand...

pwm and/or speedfan, nubcake! 😀
 
Why don't you get one of those toggle switches for the fans? In My Experience, fans like the Slipstream 140 or 120 can still emit noise even at very low rpms, but i myself and a silence enthusiast and I like an extremely quiet PC.
 
Fayd said:
i have to disagree a bit... good airflow is important in a "silent" computer. you want the airflow path as unrestrictive as possible so that you DON'T have to ramp up the RPM on the fans to get the static pressure up enough to actually move air.
Click to expand...

I disagree with your disagreement. 😛

I'm not saying you need bad airflow to be quiet, but all the cases that are nice and quiet (I'm talking SPCR-type quiet) do NOT have a direct air path for the intake fans. This automatically cuts airflow versus open grills like those found on gamer cases like the Antec 900. Examples of such cases are the Antec Solo, Antec P180/P190/etc., Fractal Design R3... None of those have open grills in front.

BoomerD said:
IMO, a major part of a quiet case is quiet components to begin with.
Click to expand...

This is true. It really helps to choose components that don't need much cooling, thus they can get by on less airflow. For instance, a CPU with a 65W TDP is much preferable to a CPU with 140W TDP for a "quiet" computer.
 
The SPCR "Serenity" design (http://www.pugetsystems.com/nav/serenity/SPCR/customize.php) uses the P180 instead.

For gaming with $200+ card like a gtx 560 or 6950 I don't think you're going to get silent with air cooling, my sense is that you need to emphasize airflow more so that the card (or cards if SLI/xfire) fan does not spin up as much.

For that my next system will probably use a Silverstone Raven RV02 or Fortress FT02. Both are way over $100 though.
 
mmmm... i honestly dont think i can even fit all my radiators alone in an antec 900. lol..

What do i look in a case?
Well depends on the purpose im going after.
For my main system, its floor room. And no im not kidding.
I need the most sqr foot of floor room possible in a case or im not going to be able to fit just my cooling gear alone in it.

For a HTPC? i go after aesthetics, front LCD touch screen, and then cooling.
I always go last on cooling, because i always assume 95% of the time im gonna hack it, to add custom cooling.

For Office? Meh... depends on how much space im allowed to use up.
I would love to put a footre.. err another MM in my office. 😛


Also u can make ANY CASE silent.
Its called going almost pure passive.
Passive PSU, Passive heat sinks, with SSD's to kill all your vibration causing instruments.

Yeah it will cost a lot, but it will be dead door knob silent.
 
I just got an Antec 300 for $30 and I couldn't be happier. They say the 900 is nicer, but I prefer the elegant look of the 300. Sure, I notice my hard drive seeks because of the lack of dampening, but that is my only complaint. I don't mind the noise anyways. If I really wanted to I would suspend my hard drives with elastics. I might do it down the line.

In terms of cooling, my temps dropped at least 10C across the board.

I'm partial to the Antec brand when it comes to cases. I've found that they are well designed and of a very high quality.

The case isn't dead silent, but I don't see how it could be with 3 120mm fans, a 140mm fan, my 120mm CPU fan, and my 92mm GPU fans for my SLI setup. It's silent to the point that it's barely audible. I could not have expected more considering all the heat my system pumps out.
 
DesiPower said:
What do you look for in a case? Silence is very important to me and I have always used Antec. 900 looks awesome, its 4 fans with 3 speed settings on each, moving as much air as you want or be silent. I will be building a new system in a few months, and planning to use this one. What else is out there for this price range, I know there are a lot but what I am looking for is good material and build quality, silent and under $100. Looks is the last on my list.
Click to expand...
Another very similar case to consider is the Lancool K62. (I have its less-flashy brother, the K58...but if you like LEDs and windows the K62 is your friend.)

Either way, my advice to you is to buy a front-bay fan controller so you can adjust the case fans on the fly and rubber mount any moving parts. When running desktop apps my rig is inaudible even though it's an open-mesh case sitting on top of my desk. When gaming the game audio easily drowns out any air woosh so I crank up the fans.

My temps are about 60C/35C for the GPUs, 40C for the CPU when at the desktop. Under gaming load they don't go up very much because I bring on the wind. 😀
 
deimos3428 said:
Another very similar case to consider is the Lancool K62. (I have its less-flashy brother, the K58...but if you like LEDs and windows the K62 is your friend.)

Either way, my advice to you is to buy a front-bay fan controller so you can adjust the case fans on the fly and rubber mount any moving parts. When running desktop apps my rig is inaudible even though it's an open-mesh case sitting on top of my desk. When gaming the game audio easily drowns out any air woosh so I crank up the fans.

My temps are about 60C/35C for the GPUs, 40C for the CPU when at the desktop. Under gaming load they don't go up very much because I bring on the wind. 😀
Click to expand...

So all the fans in K62 are speed controllable?
 
After using my Antec 900 for 2+ years it became rather outdated to me. The bright led's coupled with the cramped interior made me decide to upgrade to the Corsair 600T. I'm still using it for my backup PC, but I would not recommend it for anyones new build. There are so many new designs out there that are miles ahead of that design.
 
raasco said:
After using my Antec 900 for 2+ years it became rather outdated to me. The bright led's coupled with the cramped interior made me decide to upgrade to the Corsair 600T. I'm still using it for my backup PC, but I would not recommend it for anyones new build. There are so many new designs out there that are miles ahead of that design.
Click to expand...

well.. there is 1200, that think is tall as hell and has 6 fans! from the pictures it looks bigger than 600T.
 
DesiPower said:
well.. there is 1200, that think is tall as hell and has 6 fans! from the pictures it looks bigger than 600T.
Click to expand...

Yes, the Antec 1200 is a full tower case. The 600T is classified as a mid tower, but I consider it to be between the two.

You need to decide what your main needs are for a case. So far you have stated that you want it to be less than $100 and quiet. That narrows it down to about 200 options.

How about some more specs? What components do you currently have that need to go in this case? Do you have a SSD or several hard drives? Do you need high airflow for sli or crossfire GPU's? Do you need room for a long GPU? Have you decided on water or air cooling? Do you care about cable management? Is your PSU modular or do you need room for all of the extra leftover cables? Do you want a integrated fan controller? Once you ask yourself these questions I think you can narrow it down to a hand full of choices.
 
If you want a case that is quiet in any way, shape, or form, don't go for the Antec 1200. It is loud as a mother, and so heavy that cleaning the fan filters out becomes back breaking work (you have to take the side panels completely off, because it was rather poorly designed).

What someone else said earlier is absolutely true: The more fans you have, the more noise your PC is going to make, period. The Antec 1200 comes stock with six fans, and room for plenty more. There is no way to silence it that I can think of (Over the years I've had it, I've substituted in quieter fans, done elastic mods on the HDDs, and in the end I simply unplugged a lot of the fans and foamed in the cages to prevent noise leakage).

I would definitely go for something in the Antec P180/190 series if you want a case that is as quiet as possible. If I could trade this 1200 in for a P182/3, I would.
 
Arg Clin said:
For a quiet case you might want to consider Fractal Define R3. I for one am quite impressed with how well the noise dampening works in this case.
Click to expand...
holy crap the make some nice cases. I'm eying the define mini for my next build now (granted... it's a year off at best). My old antec/cheiftec case is just wasting space.. I want something significantly smaller while still having a decent PS for a real graphics card.
 
Having had an Antec 900 for 2 years I can say for certainty there are better cases out there. This case excels at airflow but is cramped and with almost no cable management. I had the hardest time squeezing my 5870 in there. I can't wait until my Corsair 650d arrives!
 
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