Need a recommendation for a silent case

[Lepard]

I'll be on the market for a new case in about a month or so but i've never really paid much attention to cases. I always thought that cases were cases and that's it. However, with the recent additions to cases since the last time i was in the market, im at a loss.

My budget would theoretically be from $60 - $120 (give or take a few more). Im looking for a silent case, with maybe 2 120mm fans for coolling but something that also looks nice with "bling" (flashing lights, no sound). Is there anything out now that fits this criteria, or should I wait?

 

[masterwerk]

Check out the Antec Solo. It may not be as bling'n as you prefer, but it can get SUPER quiet with the right components, fairly cheap (right around your range, and is an absolute pleasure to build in. Best case i've ever owned.

also, If you're into silince, silentpcreview.com.

 

[Shadowknight]

You should still go and look around silentpcreview, but here's something I wrote that will help you get started in making a quiet computer: http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=21152

 

[natethegreat]

It a little over your budget and doesn't come with a psu, but this is the most blingin silent case I could think of...

Gigabyte 3D Aurora

 

[Zepper]

Blingy cases are almost never designed for anything but bling. Some of the Aerocool cases may be exceptions. The Kingwin 523 has a bit of bling and the same basic design as the Coolermaster Centurion/Mystique series.

.bh.

 

[Bobthelost]

Originally posted by: Zepper
Blingy cases are almost never designed for anything but bling. Some of the Aerocool cases may be exceptions. The Kingwin 523 has a bit of bling and the same basic design as the Coolermaster Centurion/Mystique series.

.bh.

QFT

The P150 is about as quiet as stock cases get (edit: But no real bling there). Then again the case is much less important than the bits you put in it.

 

[dakotagts]

what about this case?

I have this case going in another thread. I like what people have had to say about it, and they say the PSU that comes with is not too bad.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications...tails.asp?EdpNo=1215770&Tab=0&NoMapp=0

 

[Bobthelost]

Originally posted by: dakotagts
what about this case?

I have this case going in another thread. I like what people have had to say about it, and they say the PSU that comes with is not too bad.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications...tails.asp?EdpNo=1215770&Tab=0&NoMapp=0

You mean with an Ultra X2 550W? The consensus on those is, well there isn't one. JonnyGURU's gotten his hands on one and liked it, but i and many others aren't fans for various reasons.

It's a windowed Antec Dragon knock off (I think that's the orriginal's name), a very good case design, but not designed for low noise and while the airflow is good, the split layout of the P180 or the Lian Li 1XXX range are better.

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

Do check out the reviews at SPCR but do bear in mind that SPCR has sold out to Antec.

The P-150 is a nice case but comes with a suspect pos PSU and the rubbers used to suspend the HDDS have a tendency to break, dropping your storage. It has a 120 at the rear and 2x92mm fans at the front. Very nice case aside from the power unit and breaking rubbers. I hate it when rubbers break.

The P180 sells now for the $100 it might be worth. It's front door will warp & hinges will break. The side panels will seperated(they are layered). It weights 31 pounds empty.

SPCR did a half hearted positive review of the Lian Li PC-101. You might consider reading several reviews on the silence seeking Lian Li cases. Thier build quality can only be dreamed of by a rebrander like Antec.

Yes!! SPCR is owned by Antec, much the same as DFI-Street is owned by OCZ PSUs


...Galvanized

 

[Zepper]

I was going to say that the Aluminus is nice for a counterfeit Chieftec Dragon, but the above beat me to it. Take a look at the A.C. Silentium 2 at SVC.com. Not bad considering it includes a Seasonic PSU. It will be nearly silent as long as the fans make it thru the shipping in good shape. You may have to RMA any noisy ones - those A.C. open frame fans are pretty fragile. They should be separately packaged for shipping. It may fill the bill as long as you don't plan too extravagant of a system.

.bh.

re. Jonny Guru... Ultra. "Jonny" works for TigerDirect/Ultra. Wonder why he doesn't disclaim when he comments on them here??? Hmmm....

.bh.

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

Originally posted by: Zepper
I was going to say that the Aluminus is nice for a counterfeit Chieftec Dragon, but the above beat me to it. Take a look at the A.C. Silentium 2 at SVC.com. Not bad considering it includes a Seasonic PSU. It will be nearly silent as long as the fans make it thru the shipping in good shape. You may have to RMA any noisy ones - those A.C. open frame fans are pretty fragile. They should be separately packaged for shipping. It may fill the bill as long as you don't plan too extravagant of a system.

.bh.

re. Johnny Guru... Ultra. "Johnny" works for TigerDirect/Ultra. Wonder why he doesn't disclaim when he comments on them here??? Hmmm....

.bh.

I have no idea about the latter but the former is a VG rec. indeed. The newer cases will come with a 400W unit. Here is what Per had to offer over at badcaps http://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1206
If this case+PSU tickles your fancy, register at badcaps and talk to the sweet Swede. He is a good guy and smart tech

This case can not be modded or the PSU switched to an ATX type PSU easily but it is a good set-up if it meets your needs.


...Galvanized

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: GalvanizedYankee
Do check out the reviews at SPCR but do bear in mind that SPCR has sold out to Antec.

The P-150 is a nice case but comes with a suspect pos PSU and the rubbers used to suspend the HDDS have a tendency to break, dropping your storage. It has a 120 at the rear and 2x92mm fans at the front. Very nice case aside from the power unit and breaking rubbers. I hate it when rubbers break.

The P180 sells now for the $100 it might be worth. It's front door will warp & hinges will break. The side panels will seperated(they are layered).

So they even use bad glue, too.

 

[Bobthelost]

I'm not a fan of the AC design, a single HD is not enough for me. Otherwise it'd be a good choice for a HTPC type machine. The PSU was a 350W Peak PSU if memory serves, hadn't heard about the refresh so i can't comment on it, but the old one ruled out any sort of high end system.

 

[Shadowknight]

Originally posted by: GalvanizedYankee
Do check out the reviews at SPCR but do bear in mind that SPCR has sold out to Antec.

As opposed to having an extreme bias against Antec that requires you to bash them constantly in every thread? :roll:

The P180 sells now for the $100 it might be worth. It's front door will warp & hinges will break. The side panels will seperated(they are layered). It weights 31 pounds empty.

Problems that were fixed, as well as the Neo PSUs that come with the P150. As you've been told over. And over. And over again.

SPCR did a half hearted positive review of the Lian Li PC-101. You might consider reading several reviews on the silence seeking Lian Li cases. Thier build quality can only be dreamed of by a rebrander like Antec.

Aluminum sucks ass compared to steel when dealing with vibration. Sorry, but the P180 was designed with Mike Chin for extreme silence and the Lian-lis aren't engineered for anything near that level of quietness. Other than a small amount of profits from the few SPCR P180s at endpcnoise, when most of the cases sold are the non-SPCR version from other places on the web, WHERE do you get the idea that they're in Antec's pocket? They're not getting cash from them. Antec is the only company that has actively shown any interest in designing cases to cater to a particular crowd - silencers. Other companies tend to stick to either normal ATX cases or go for the side-window and pretty lights bling crowd.
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article632-page7.html
Notice this quote:

The Lian Li PC-101 is a decent starting place for a quiet computer. It may well be the quietest aluminum case we've encountered thus far.

It is very rare for them to review a product from ANY manufacturer; Thermalright, Antec, Scythe, Silentmaxx, Silverstone, Yeong Yang,etc. where they sound overwhelmingly positive or negative; a lot of the times they sound almost wishy washy because they list all of the negatives and positives, and have trouble saying "this is worth buyin" or "avoid like the clap"

More quotes

In truth, these flaws are easily addressed, and are common to a great many other cases. However, Lian Li's high pricing may work against it. For US$200 this case should be closer to perfection, not just workable. In a $100 case, a few acoustic drawbacks are acceptable; after all, silencing is difficult to achieve without careful optimizations and lots of experience.

Most of the flaws they found were from lack of soft mounting fans, which other than the Sonata series I'm not aware of ANY case including fan isolators... including the P150/P180. The drives are hard mounted, as they mention is common to MOST cases anyway; no specific bashing of LL here. Oh, and the filter blocks airflow to the hard drive. The only real complaint involves the high price and the lack of cooling around the hard drive section.

The best part of the PC-101 are the details. Little things like thumbscrews for everything, a clever drive mounting system, stealthed drive bays, and a spring-loaded door latch. The thick aluminum panels and a sexy appearance don't hurt either. Bottom line is, if you're looking for a case with noise as your first requirement, one of Antec's steel cases is a better place to start. On the other hand, if you want to know whether it's possible to build a quiet system in a PC-101, the answer is a positive yes. For all our complaining, we were still able to build a quiet system in the PC-101 without much effort. This is the first aluminum case we've ever been able to say that about.

Yeah they mention Antec, but they praise the features of the LL and say it is the BEST aluminum case they've reviewd.

Yes!! SPCR is owned by Antec, much the same as DFI-Street is owned by OCZ PSUs

Yes, and the government is behind the assassination of JFK and are working with the "Grey" aliens in covering up cattle mutilations and crop circles. If you LOOK at the recommended list: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article75-page3.html most of the cases are NOT Antec. Yes, the P150 and P180 are at the top of the list. They're the only real "new generation" of cases they've put on their recommended list because it's only updated every 4-6 months. Silverstone and Lian-li are fond of inverting the motherboard in their newer models. SPCR depends on donated samples for reviews and haven't been given any of these type to review. If you're that obssessed with the idea that they "work" for Antec, get people to send them more cases to review. Buy them yourself and send them, since you worship at the alter of Lian Li.

SPCR has reviewed a whopping TWO non-HTPC cases since the P150 review came out in October. The two in question were by Lian-Li and Silverstone.

 

[Running]

p180 is always a good choice, can change out the tri-cool fans for yate loons if you don't think they are quiet enough

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

Two Lian Li and a cheap SkyHawk here, all with fan controllers. All are whisper quiet when
ambients are < 25C.

My next case is OoS ATM. I'd order it today if it was do-able. A rebranded Global-Win,
Akasa Eclipse 62 for $146.

The problems with the P180 and P150 should never have happened...Never!

I will be sending members with Antec issues to member reps. AntecCSR or AntecTechLevel4 via PM.

If I were in need of an uber-quiet comp...I'd study every build BlueFront has posted over at SPCR.
His presentation is excellent and I doubt he stretches the truth.

I have read some of the forums over at SPCR. You guys have great fun laughing at 30dBA fans=Boring.
Most of the SPCR guys are like religious fundies but they took the fun out of fundamentalism.
Now go build post count over in Off Topic Shadowknight



...Galvanized

 

[pkme2]

LLs under $100
You can add some bling-styled lighted fans if you want the glitz. There side windows available, but save it for a better PSU.
Seasonic PSUs
Get a good case for proper cooling and a power supply for realibility. Pay now or pay a lot later. Forget the bling, or get a disco ball.

 

[QueBert]

Originally posted by: GalvanizedYankee
Two Lian Li and a cheap SkyHawk here, all with fan controllers. All are whisper quiet when
ambients are < 25C.

My next case is OoS ATM. I'd order it today if it was do-able. A rebranded Global-Win,
Akasa Eclipse 62 for $146.

The problems with the P180 and P150 should never have happened...Never!

I will be sending members with Antec issues to member reps. AntecCSR or AntecTechLevel4 via PM.

If I were in need of an uber-quiet comp...I'd study every build BlueFront has posted over at SPCR.
His presentation is excellent and I doubt he stretches the truth.

I have read some of the forums over at SPCR. You guys have great fun laughing at 30dBA fans=Boring.
Most of the SPCR guys are like religious fundies but they took the fun out of fundamentalism.
Now go build post count over in Off Topic Shadowknight



...Galvanized

you seem to dislike Antec more then a little bit, but I appericate the honesty. So many people praise their cases like they're the be all, end all. Silence is cool, but I'd rather have a case without issues, and if it has issues it BETTER be cheap. p180 = bl3h! keep the crusade against Antec up. Maybe your ranting will lead to them putting out better products. Either that or lower their prices, because with issues like warping front doors, and side panels that seperate. Let's be honest the p180 should be a budget case, I don't care how quite it is. Because it's NOT well built.

 

[QueBert]

Originally posted by: natethegreat
It a little over your budget and doesn't come with a psu, but this is the most blingin silent case I could think of...

Gigabyte 3D Aurora

Wow I really like this case! too bad I just bought a new case last week or I'd jump all over this.

 

[imported_wicka]

I just got a Cooler Master Centurion 532. It's AWESOME. Comes with 1 120mm fan (blue LED), but has another 120mm exhaust spot, and an 80mm CPU duct on the side (I guess you could put a fan there if you wanted). The front of it is all mesh and lined with foam to keep out dust. It's extremely well built; everything on it that looks like it should be metal IS metal. Also has screwless 5.25in, 3.5in, HDD bays and expansion slots.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811119094