Help choosing a case

[clarnibass]

Hi

I'm going to buy parts and build my new computer. First and most important, this computer will be used for audio. I will record live acoustic instruments with microphones and also create electronic music with virtual instruments.
Not sure it's important for this, but I'm not going to play any games on this computer and I'm not going to overclock.

Obviously, I will need the computer to be as quiet as possible since I'll be recording in the same room, but I don't want to spend so much money on water cooling or antyhing like that. The recordings won't be professional, but I rather have as little noise as possible. The microphones I'll use are build in a way they capture a lot of what is in front of them and very little from what is behind them, so I'll put the computer behind them of course.

I'll have an Athlon 64 3200+ 939 processor, a fairly cheap Nvidia graphics card, probably MSI neo platinum board, and M-Audio Delta-44 sound card.

Here are my options (notice prices here are different than in the USA, and ordering from the US will eventually be more expensive).
Power supply: HEC, Enermax or Thermaltake
HEC 400W - $70
HEC 475W - $85
Enermax 420W - $105
Thermaltake 420W - $80
Thermaltake 480W - $110

Case: Thought about Compucase, but Antec is an option too. Any case under $150 (or just slightly above that) is an option. I know some cases has rubber to prevent noise form the hard drives, and some has acoustic stuff around (from the inside).

Any other advice for making it quiet without spending tons of money on water coolong or Zalman quiet power supplies will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Blain]

The 400W Zalman is very quiet.

 

[NetDevil]

For the case I`d go with the Silentium T2 if the power supply will be enough. If it won`t be enough go with Antec SLK3000B. If you choose antec go with the SEASONIC Super Silencer 460W PSU. The psu`s there aren`t very silent.

 

[BillyBobJoel71]

antec 430 truepower is inaudible with lonoise technology, what i have

 

[The Pentium Guy]

Heh! Yo dude, if you want something REAL quiet (and I mean *QUIET*, it's rubber insulated too!)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811112079

With less acessories:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811112070

So if you're not running a system with a high end graphics card (=more heat), then the caes above might be right for you. It is uberly silent, I'm tellin ya. If you don't have that kind of money an Antec SONATA will be pretty quiet, and with a nice power supply.

If you're looking for quietness, don't get a ThermalTake powersupply like you mentioned.
SeaSonic PSUs are incredibly quiet as well.

www.silentPCReview.com

-TPG

 

[Chode Messiah]

that's my case in silver. It's very high quality and it is the best case I've ever used

 

[Zap]

#1 thing to do when making a quiet computer is choosing components that don't need awesome cooling. I see you've started down that road with a .09 A64. Make sure whatever board you get supports Cool'n'Quiet and does not use chipset fans. Cheaper video cards tend to not run as hot as expensive ones. This leads to...

#2 thing to do when making a quiet computer is choosing components that are quiet to begin with. Hard drive... I've made systems so quiet that the hard drives were the noisiest part. Samsung or Seagate drives are top choices. Power supply... the freaks (and I say that in a voice filled with awe and fear of their fanaticism) at silentpcreview.com seem to like the Seasonic power supplies. Fanless power supplies are an option, but IMO those are too expensive and are asking to burn out. Your case choices are good, just make sure whatever you choose uses 120mm fans and have HDD grommets, which leads to...

#3 thing to do when making a quiet computer is to make the already quiet parts MORE quiet. If the video card or motherboard chipset isn't passively cooled, aftermarket heatsinks are available that do a good job. Replace the CPU HSF with a passive unit from Thermaltake (that sonic tower thingy) or Scythe (Zen 2000-or-something). Make sure the heatsink faces the rear case fan (regardless of what Scythe says) and then duct that bad boy. speaking of case fans, cut out all the grills because those impede airflow and create turbulent noises. Use known quiet fans for the case, such as Yate Loon or Nexus brands. If fans are still too noisy, use some speed controller. I've done most of these things, but have pondered more extreme measures such as...

#4 thing to do when making a quiet computer is to become a fanatic. Enclose and/or suspend the hard drive. Build a wooden box AROUND your case and make sure airflow does NOT travel in a direct line from any fan to any opening in the wooden box. Line box with various sound dampening materials.