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Looking for Quiet, Clean looking case

S

Stiganator

Platinum Member
I'm looking for a new case,

going to house:

Q6600 - no OC, Sunbeam Core Cooler
8GB DDR2
P35-DS3L
8800GT
2-4 SATA drives
no opticals (have a USB DVD since I rarely use disks for anything besides installs)

I did a little web calculator and it was showing 275W consumption, so it doesn't seem like anything real crazy.


I've been looking at the Cosmos cases, but they are spendy at almost 200. The Lancool K7 looks pretty nice, but I'm afraid it will be loud. I had a P180 that I was happy with that had similar components in it, so that might help you gauge what I think is sufficiently quiet. If you can offer personal experience that would be great or suggestions that might fit the bill.

I really like the top mounted power buttons and USB.

Are there any sites that let you search case/other hardware reviews by rating (either number or editor choice?) I've been reading about 10 different sites and none of them let you list all cases with 9.0 or higher or all PSUs with editors choice. Seems like something that would be really useful. That's how I pick out most games. Hop on IGN, search for all games with >8 and see what I don't have.
 
Problem with cases is the fact that most everything about them is in the eye of the beholder. While a case may rate well with a review many others will find allot of thigs they hate about it. As far as which one will be best for you, you need to deside that on your own. In the end how quiet the system is is determined more buy your components and what cooling you have then the case itself. There are many cases like the P182 and Cosmos cases that have built in sound dampening features to them. This goes allog way to keeping the system quiet. But if your fans, CPU cooler, GPU cooler and PSU are load your still going to have allot of noise.

PSUs on the otherhand can be rated. Problem there is you can't look at the review of a 500W unit and exspect the same kind of performance form its 800W brother. Sometimes there are issues in a PSU lineup where some are not as good as others. Not to mention that you need to search for a PSU based on your power needs. Now we can tell you good brands to look at. In your case you'll need a good quality 450W or better PSU. A couple of good brands that come to mind for that range are Antec's EarthWatts line and any of Corsairs PSUs.

yes it would be nice to have easier ways to research these items but its difficult to do. Here are your best option.

For the case i suggest going to a retailer that carries a good range of PC cases. Get your hands on the case. First hand exsperience with a case is your best way of knowing what case you should go with. It won't help with gauging noise level form the case but like i said thats determined more by part selection then the case itself. Remeber everything about a case is opinionated so you can't take some editors word that its the right case for you.

As for the PSU get some recomendations. The start googling reviews for those units ans well as checking prices. The site belowe is your best resource for quality PSU reviews. If they give it a bad rating you can be sure its a POS unit.
http://www.jonnyguru.com/index.php

Research is never easy. Often times you can't even trust some sites rating of products because its all in how they review the product. If they are not doing a proper and in dpth review of the product then the rating of the product will not be consitant with the actual qualtiy of it. Like looking at a Newegg review of a PSU. The owner has great things to say about a PSU and there basis is that its still running strong after a month. But they have not stressed the unit in any way and measured all of its peramiters based off the ATX spec that PSU are suppose to follow. But that takes allot of exspecive equipment and time to do. Point is you need to understand what your looking for.
 
How much does PSU on the top or bottom play towards total noise? No difference or maybe 2-3 dB difference?
That might make a difference between the Cosmos(bottom) or the Lancool K7 (top).
Thinking of one of these PSUs for the case.

PCPC 610W 49A $69
PCPC 750 60A $99
Corsair 650 52A $89
Corsair750 60A $109
 
Originally posted by: Stiganator
How much does PSU on the top or bottom play towards total noise? No difference or maybe 2-3 dB difference?
That might make a difference between the Cosmos(bottom) or the Lancool K7 (top).
Thinking of one of these PSUs for the case.

PCPC 610W 49A $69
PCPC 750 60A $99
Corsair 650 52A $89
Corsair750 60A $109
Click to expand...

Makes 0 difference if you get a near silent PSU to begin with.
 
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