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Need advice for new mid-range system with an emphasis on small, cool, quiet

A

antef

Senior member
Hello,

I'm looking to put together a new mid-range system but with more of an emphasis on small, cool, and quiet than in the past. It seems over the years that upgrade cycles have lengthened - right now I'm using an ~3 year old system consisting of Q6600, 4 GB RAM, 8800 GTS 512, PC P&C Silencer 610W. In the past I've always built ATX, and over the years they inevitably run hotter and fans get louder. I'm not interested in SLI/CrossFire, I don't need any add-on cards other than video, I only want one HDD+SSD, and I don't plan to include an optical drive in the new system. So considering all that I'd like to build a smaller microATX system.

I don't want to spend too much on a case because after the initial build I usually don't touch it much, just want something simple looking, no window, and relatively quiet - to aid in that I'd like something that only uses 120 mm fans. I would like to maybe supply my own fans for the case to get high quality quiet ones. Rubber grommets for the HDD are super important as they drastically cut down on noise, but I'm okay with buying these separate if I can wedge them into the case, or suspending the drive with cord, etc. I don't particularly want to use an aftermarket CPU cooler if it's not necessary.

The new system will be used for software development, large compiles (i.e. Android source on Ubuntu), casual gaming (mostly FPS, 1920x1200), maybe some 3D rendering (not a significant amount but would like it to be plenty capable at it). I'm looking to spend around $1000 give or take couple hundred. I do want an SSD and will use my existing 500 GB HDD with it. I'm okay with using my current PSU unless I should opt for something lower energy and cooler. I don't plan on overclocking and would like to build within a month or so.

Here are some current considerations:

Cooler Master Elite 341

Intel Core i5-2500K

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870 1GB

Intel 510 Series

I'm unsure on motherboard at this point. It needs to be microATX, include at least 6 channel audio, and preferably have 4 memory slots. I'm not too particular about chipset since I don't plan on overclocking or using Sandy Bridge graphics. And as I said earlier I'm fine with using my current PSU but am open to a new one if it'd be more appropriate.

Many thanks in advance for any advice you can provide.
 
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Cheap cases do not make for quiet cases. Even if you put quiet fans in, you've still got poorly fitting thin steel panels rattling against each other. Given your needs, I'd actually suggest a mini-ITX system. A case like the Lian Li PC-Q08B can fit a long GPU and two drives while being very small and quiet.

The stock Intel cooler is relatively quiet at idle, but can really scream when you add some load. The Freezer 13 is relatively small, cheap, and a lot quieter.

Oh yeah, since you don't plan to OC or use the onboard graphics, you might as well get the i5 2500 instead of the 2500K.

As for mobo, there are plenty of good mini-ITX H67 boards around. I like the ASRock H67M-ITX.
 
mfenn, thanks for your comments. You're right that it can be tricky to keep a cheap case quiet. I considered mini-ITX before but eventually ruled it out because I thought it might be small to the point of being very difficult to put together and hard to find good parts for like motherboards and power supplies. The PC-Q08 can take a standard PSU so that's not a problem. However, the case has no rear exhaust fan which is a little concerning - does the top fan adequately take its place? It's also very expensive so I'd have to be sure its quality and noise characteristics are worth it. The Elite 341 isn't too big and that's why I thought microATX might be good enough, but I am definitely open to mini-ITX.

I will consider the Freezer 13. I picked the 2500K CPU because it's only $10 more and opens up the OC option more for the future if I want to at some point (depending on which chipset I get though). Are there other good mini-ITX options out there that fit standard video cards and PSUs and are any cheaper?
 
The Cooler Master Elite 341 is a nice budget case with great ventilation, but it isn't exactly that great for a quiet system. Also, AFAIK it is discontinued, so if that's what you REALLY want, grab one NOW.

IMO a much quieter micro ATX case (especially since you will be using a HDD) is the Antec NSK3480. It has two HDD mounts that use Antec's awesome super soft grommets (softer than any other brand) that keeps HDDs quiet. The case also can handle big graphics cards. I had a GTX 285 in mine. The only problem is that it cannot handle a long PSU, so your old 610W is out. It needs a PSU no deeper than about 5.5". Something like the Antec NEO ECO series would work fine. The case comes with an EarthWatts EA380/EA380D but that may be borderline for your proposed setup and it only comes with a single 6-pin PCIe power plug.
 
antef said:
mfenn, thanks for your comments. You're right that it can be tricky to keep a cheap case quiet. I considered mini-ITX before but eventually ruled it out because I thought it might be small to the point of being very difficult to put together and hard to find good parts for like motherboards and power supplies. The PC-Q08 can take a standard PSU so that's not a problem. However, the case has no rear exhaust fan which is a little concerning - does the top fan adequately take its place? It's also very expensive so I'd have to be sure its quality and noise characteristics are worth it. The Elite 341 isn't too big and that's why I thought microATX might be good enough, but I am definitely open to mini-ITX.

I will consider the Freezer 13. I picked the 2500K CPU because it's only $10 more and opens up the OC option more for the future if I want to at some point (depending on which chipset I get though). Are there other good mini-ITX options out there that fit standard video cards and PSUs and are any cheaper?
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The top fan on the Q08 is fine, the case is small enough such that it performs the same function as the rear exhaust on normal cases. Putting a mini-ITX system together isn't too much harder than a normal system, you just have to think a bit about the order you install things in. It also helps to test all the components outside the case first.

Looking at the dimensions again, the Freezer 13 might be a tight fit against the PSU. A top-down cooler like the Scythe SCSK-1100 would probably be better.
 
Zap: The Elite 341 is still listed on Cooler Master's website so I assumed it was still a current product. The NSK3480 seems like a nice case but is definitely pricey considering I might not use the included PSU. I am willing to spend more than the 341 for better quality but maybe not over twice as much more.

mfenn: I'm considering the Lian Li similarly to the Antec - a possibility but am more open to options well under $100. The other appeal of microATX is having at least one expansion slot in addition to video in case I want to add something in the future. Unfortunately it seems a lot of them have 3 slots in addition to video (1 PCI and a couple PCIe x1) which is overkill. I'm definitely in favor of "legacy free" boards.
 
Antef,
Are you needing to carry this case around or is it more or less going to stay in one location? Do you have a shape preference? There are a number of good mATX and mITX cases around and they come in cube-like and tower forms. Sounds like you are looking for a H67 type mobo or possibly a Z68. Also how long of a video card are you looking to get? This can have a big impact on case choice.
 
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antef said:
Zap: The Elite 341 is still listed on Cooler Master's website so I assumed it was still a current product. The NSK3480 seems like a nice case but is definitely pricey considering I might not use the included PSU. I am willing to spend more than the 341 for better quality but maybe not over twice as much more.
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You may be right about the 341. I said that because it became out of stock EVERYWHERE. However, just today I noticed that Newegg has it in stock again, so maybe there was just a temporary shortage.

I recommended the NSK3480 because you wanted small, cool and quiet. It is a tiny bit smaller than the 341, almost as cool and capable of being the quietest stock mATX case next to the P180 Mini, but that case is not anywhere near small. "Mini" is a misnomer; they should have just called it P180 Not-So-Huge. In any case, the NSK3480 uses thick SECC steel, indirect front air path and the softest HDD grommets on the market.
 
antef said:
Zap: The Elite 341 is still listed on Cooler Master's website so I assumed it was still a current product. The NSK3480 seems like a nice case but is definitely pricey considering I might not use the included PSU. I am willing to spend more than the 341 for better quality but maybe not over twice as much more.

mfenn: I'm considering the Lian Li similarly to the Antec - a possibility but am more open to options well under $100. The other appeal of microATX is having at least one expansion slot in addition to video in case I want to add something in the future. Unfortunately it seems a lot of them have 3 slots in addition to video (1 PCI and a couple PCIe x1) which is overkill. I'm definitely in favor of "legacy free" boards.
Click to expand...

I think that Zap and I were going off your desire for a quiet machine. You've got to spend a little money to get a case with the solid design and construction necessary to be quiet.

As for the number of expansion slots on a mobo, the overall size of a MicroATX board is fixed by the ATX specification. It would be silly for manufacturers to just leave that space empty, so they don't.
 
Sorry for not specifying a price range for the case initially. I'm not ruling out ~$100 cases, but I do want to see what's available in the $50-$100 range. If the NSK3480 is as quiet as it gets I'll definitely keep it in mind. I think case options will ultimately end up deciding whether I go mini-ITX or microATX.

Skott said:
Antef,
Are you needing to carry this case around or is it more or less going to stay in one location? Do you have a shape preference? There are a number of good mATX and mITX cases around and they come in cube-like and tower forms. Sounds like you are looking for a H67 type mobo or possibly a Z68. Also how long of a video card are you looking to get? This can have a big impact on case choice.
Click to expand...

This PC will be staying put in one spot. No particular shape preference. I'm not sure which chipset I should go for - while I don't plan to OC now, the K processors are only $10 more so maybe having the OC option will be appreciated 2-3 years down the road, and I don't do much video transcoding but maybe eventually I'll want to and then the Sandy Bridge GPU would be handy. So it seems a Z series is a nice to have but not a necessity. Right now I'm shooting for a video card similar to what I put in the OP, a Radeon HD 6870 1GB.
 
antef said:
Sorry for not specifying a price range for the case initially. I'm not ruling out ~$100 cases, but I do want to see what's available in the $50-$100 range. If the NSK3480 is as quiet as it gets I'll definitely keep it in mind. I think case options will ultimately end up deciding whether I go mini-ITX or microATX.
Click to expand...

Somewhat counter-intuitively, there are a lot more options for solid, inexpensive cases in the ATX mid-tower market. A smaller ATX tower is really not that much bigger than a microATX one. The Antec One Hundred for example is about 4" taller than the Elite 341 and 3" deeper.

antef said:
This PC will be staying put in one spot. No particular shape preference. I'm not sure which chipset I should go for - while I don't plan to OC now, the K processors are only $10 more so maybe having the OC option will be appreciated 2-3 years down the road, and I don't do much video transcoding but maybe eventually I'll want to and then the Sandy Bridge GPU would be handy. So it seems a Z series is a nice to have but not a necessity. Right now I'm shooting for a video card similar to what I put in the OP, a Radeon HD 6870 1GB.
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If you don't plan to OC, I would get a ~$100 H67. If you do plan to OC, I would get a Z68. There's really not much of a premium for Z68 over P67 at all. You're talking $115 for an ASRock Z68 Pro3-m versus $110 for the cheapest uATX P67 board that I could find.
 
Well, Zap, you may have been right about the Elite 341. I didn't build in the summer and now it's out of stock everywhere again. Dammit! And CM's site only lists it if you don't specify a country - if you specify USA it goes away. I'm not sure if that's how it was back in the summer too. Hard to say if stock will return again like last time, probably not.

My problem with most mATX cases is that they unnecessarily extend the hard drive cage all the way to the floor of the case, making it difficult to put large video cards in. With only one HDD and one SSD I really don't need all those 3.5" bays. Think a large video card would fit in the Rosewill R101-P-BK?
 
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It's easier to have good airflow and low noise in a larger case.

Antec P280 - $140 + $20 at Newegg, cheaper elsewhere
SilentPCReview - http://www.silentpcreview.com/Antec_P280
Check out the cable management and room for video cards - http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1229-page6.html

Fractal Design R3 - $100 - $110 at Newegg
SPCR - http://www.silentpcreview.com/fractal-r3 (with link to R2 review on page 1 for noise / thermals)

For microATX there is the new Fractal Define Mini for $100 at Newegg but it's only 2 inches shorter. SPCR testing shows it works well:
SPCR - http://www.silentpcreview.com/fractal-define-mini
If your PCI slot is in position 1 then the middle drive bay is removable for longer video cards (see page 3)

If you want cool and quiet and mATX that's probably going to be a better choice than a $30 - 50 case.
 
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Thanks Dave. Yeah, I was just hoping to get something smaller. That's part of the point of going to mATX, ya know? The Define Mini just ain't that small, same length as my current Thermaltake ATX case. The Fractal Design Core 1000 is nice but unfortunately all the buttons and ports are on the right side and I am putting this case on an under-desk shelf against a wall on the right. Really wish manufacturers wouldn't make limiting design decisions like that.

The Elite 341 was the perfect size and has the important features of 120 mm rear fan and space for long video cards. It might not be the absolute quietest due to quality, unfortunately I don't believe you are getting very great quality with the more expensive brands like Silverstone or Lian Li either. I think they're often a rip-off.

With that said, however, I have to lower my expectations now, either in terms of features or price. The Temjin TJ08B-E seems to have everything I want, perfect size, should be able to fit a large video card, 120 mm rear fan, and can use my current ATX PSU (I think). It's a hundred bucks, but maybe that's the way to go.

Note that my PSU is not modular and is full-size, but I won't be putting an optical drive into the system, so hopefully I'll be okay on space.
 
That's why I always tell people to not bother planning their builds many months in advance. One week should be sufficient to do quick research (ask questions here) and purchase parts. After many months, some items are no longer available and others come on the market. Plus, prices may change one way or another (HDD prices went UP).

Friend of mine wanted to build a LAN rig like mine in a Lian Li PC-T7R. He looked a couple months after he told me he wanted one, and nobody had them anymore.

Fractal Design Core 1000 $35+shipping might work for you at this point. It is even a hair cheaper than the CM Elite 341 and is somewhat similar. It comes with a 120mm intake fan, spot for 120mm side fan and spot for 92mm exhaust fan. Now the 341 used a 120mm exhaust, but IMO the intake is more important. The Core 1000 HDD bays extend to the bottom, but they hold two HDDs sideways, so they should clear a long graphics card and provide the fan with unobstructed airflow. They also hold 2.5" SSDs, so you can put in one HDD and one SSD with plenty of GPU clearance.
 
Thanks for your continued advice in this thread. Unfortunately as I mentioned earlier the Core 1000's layout is a little awkward for where I will be placing the computer...it's on an under desk shelf where I won't be able to access the right side. Why do you say the front intake fan is more important? I'm also looking at the Cooler Master Elite 343 which also has a 120 mm front fan and space for an 80 or 90 mm rear fan.
 
get a really efficient PSU so it doesn't work as hard. get a cpu cooler with a 120mm fan or larger so that it wont be as loud (like mfenn said, stock would be quiet at idle but loud at load...and it still wouldnt be as quiet as a good 3rd party cooler at idle).
 
The Core 1000 front fan is filtered, so you want to run it with positive air flow for effective filtering, thus the intake fans need to be doing the bulk of the work.
 
Rosewill has the Ranger-M which is MicroATX and can handle a long GPU. The downside is that it only has an 80mm rear fan, but you can get a very quiet fan like the Noctua NF-R8-1800 to replace the stock one.
 
Thanks, there are others like this too such as the Rosewill FBM-01. Nice looking little case and space for big video cards. It seems EVERY case either chooses 120mm rear fan or support for long video cards (no lower HDD bays) but not both. I'm not sure why these two features are mutually exclusive. So I could go for a Rosewill for a lot less money or the more expensive Silverstone. I would definitely buy a quiet fan for the Rosewill...question is how detrimental is the lower CFM of the 80mm fan? I won't be OCing but I hate to leave cooling potential on the table.
 
Just out of curiosity did you check ebay? If they make it still someone undoubtedly got one somewhere. Also, Office Depot is selling them supposedly.

http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/987612/Cooler-Master-Elite-341-Chassis/?cm_mmc=Mercent-_-Google-_-Computer_Parts_and_Upgrades-_-987612-{copy:IQ_PE}&mr:trackingCode=B57A0179-71F3-DF11-887D-0019B9C043EB&mr:referralID=NA

Edit: hmmm linky not working correctly for some reason. Oh, well just go to OD and do it the long way.
 
Skott said:
Just out of curiosity did you check ebay? If they make it still someone undoubtedly got one somewhere. Also, Office Depot is selling them supposedly.

http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/987612/Cooler-Master-Elite-341-Chassis/?cm_mmc=Mercent-_-Google-_-Computer_Parts_and_Upgrades-_-987612-{copy:IQ_PE}&mr:trackingCode=B57A0179-71F3-DF11-887D-0019B9C043EB&mr:referralID=NA

Edit: hmmm linky not working correctly for some reason. Oh, well just go to OD and do it the long way.
Click to expand...

I saw that as well, but it says "special order" in really small font.
 
antef said:
I would definitely buy a quiet fan for the Rosewill...question is how detrimental is the lower CFM of the 80mm fan? I won't be OCing but I hate to leave cooling potential on the table.
Click to expand...

A little, but I doubt it will be significant. A 120mm front and 80mm rear also sets up a positive pressure differential which will help keep dust and such out of the case.
 
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