looking for a quiet case

[Ethex]

I have the NeoPower and it is pretty quite. It has one 120 mm fan and the speed depends in the temp. It also has two Fan leads to control up to four other fans the same way. So far the PSU is barely audible though I guess the real test will be the summer heat wave.

 

[amol]

i've heard that antecs aren't that quiet . . .

 

[drpootums]

a friend of mine has a Xaser case that i cant even hear when it's on. It's very heavy, and i guess that makes a difference too.

As for a silent 6800, Gigabyte makes a silent (no fan) GT and nu. They arent too expensive, and work pretty well from what i've heard.

 

[amol]

Originally posted by: drpootums
a friend of mine has a Xaser case that i cant even hear when it's on. It's very heavy, and i guess that makes a difference too.

As for a silent 6800, Gigabyte makes a silent (no fan) GT and nu. They arent too expensive, and work pretty well from what i've heard.

AGP or PCI-E?

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: Amol

Originally posted by: drpootums
a friend of mine has a Xaser case that i cant even hear when it's on. It's very heavy, and i guess that makes a difference too.

As for a silent 6800, Gigabyte makes a silent (no fan) GT and nu. They arent too expensive, and work pretty well from what i've heard.

AGP or PCI-E?

You must mean this. I guess that means you can passively cool at 6800.

Having seen that I'd get whatever 6800 you want and pick up a Zalmans dual heat pipe VGA heatsink.

 

[amol]

i want a PCI-E though

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: Amol
i want a PCI-E though

Like I said get whatever card you want and add the Zalman heatsink.

 

[amol]

The ZD80M-HP? I've heard that they don't on 6800GTs.

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: Amol
The ZD80M-HP? I've heard that they don't on 6800GTs.

This one. I've seen it on a 6800GT, so its possible. Maybe no official support?

 

[Icepick]

Originally posted by: Amol

Originally posted by: drpootums
a friend of mine has a Xaser case that i cant even hear when it's on. It's very heavy, and i guess that makes a difference too.

As for a silent 6800, Gigabyte makes a silent (no fan) GT and nu. They arent too expensive, and work pretty well from what i've heard.

AGP or PCI-E?

Gigabyte makes a silent 6800. Gigabyte's 6800 GT has a similar heatsink solution as the 6800 but they added a fan to it. This fan is loud! I owned Gigabyte's GT for three weeks. I later RMA'd it and got a BFG instead. The Gigabyte 6800 GT was way louder than the BFG.

 

[c1001]

I have the Thermaltake Tsunami SWA case and run it with the Antec Neopower. The Neopower is very quiet, rock solid and has a PCI Express connector. It also comes with an adapter for AGP mobos.

I am happy with the Tsunami case. The case cools well, and the side 92mm fan helps greatly. The original Thermaltake case fans were too loud for me but blew a lot of air. The side 92mm fan was especially noisy. I went on a silent kick and started switching out the original fans with quieter ThermalTake and Coolermaster variants. I finally replaced everything with 14db SilenX fans and replaced the stock 6800GT fan with an AV5 silencer. Everything whispers now, and I am very happy.

FYI, my case temp went from 26 to 29 when I installed the SilenX fans. With the AV5 my case temp dropped back down to 26.

 

[clarkkent333]

Definately check out Silentpc.com and their reviews. Some of the most thurough and detailed on the net. I'd have to say that for the quietest pc these rules would *almost* always apply:

Steel > Aluminum - Steel vibrates less than aluminum therefore generating less noise

120mm > 92mm - The theory here is that, at a low voltage (which is required for silent operation), the larger the physical fan blade the more air it will push.

92mm > 80mm - same theory holds

As for PSU's, these theories mostly hold but I've heard some PSU's with 80mm fans that were might silent.

If your going with a 6800GT then your going to need an Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer to fit your model. I'd wait to purchase one though because I heard that they were going to reintroduce the fan speed selector which really makes all the difference.

Go with Seagate or Samsung for hard drives

The most important thing is to read all the reviews you can and canvass as many forum posters to find out what they think because a good amount of manufacturers lie about their specs so you really can't trust them. See Vantec and Thermaltake for reference.

Good Luck.

 

[Kaalm]

I read a few of the posts and have to disaagree with some of the more negative opinons on the Thermaltake Tsunami case. I just built a new rig (after getting some great advice here) and used the Tsunami case (without the side window). I found the case very well made, easy to put together and very quiet. I'm using the stock intake and outtake fans (120mm) that came with the case and don't hear a whisper from them.

In addition I went with the Antec neopower 480 PSU. Also extremely quiet and the ability to add the power cables needed was a big plus for me.

My cpu temp hovers in the low to mid 40's celcius unless under a heavy load (like a long Doom 3 binge) then it can go mid to hi 50's.

btw I also have a 92mm fan on my heatsink - used a panaflo - and don't hear it either. With a plastic side window you may get more noise but with the solid door I hear nada except for the occassional hard drive spin. Hope this helps.

 

[nealh]

anyone know if you can buy the window panel or solid black panel as an accessory for the Tsunami?

does anyone know if the 90mm fan ca nbe repalced with 92mm fan on window panel on the Tsunami?

 

[amol]

Originally posted by: Kaalm
I read a few of the posts and have to disaagree with some of the more negative opinons on the Thermaltake Tsunami case. I just built a new rig (after getting some great advice here) and used the Tsunami case (without the side window). I found the case very well made, easy to put together and very quiet. I'm using the stock intake and outtake fans (120mm) that came with the case and don't hear a whisper from them.

In addition I went with the Antec neopower 480 PSU. Also extremely quiet and the ability to add the power cables needed was a big plus for me.

My cpu temp hovers in the low to mid 40's celcius unless under a heavy load (like a long Doom 3 binge) then it can go mid to hi 50's.

btw I also have a 92mm fan on my heatsink - used a panaflo - and don't hear it either. With a plastic side window you may get more noise but with the solid door I hear nada except for the occassional hard drive spin. Hope this helps.

would having a window on the tsunami case change anything?