Please advise me a good cooling but reasonable quiet (game) PC case

[samstermax]

Hello all,

I have been putting together a new game PC but for I just can not decide on what case to get and I hope you guys can advise me.
In my new build I will be running a z8z motherboard, a 4770k, a Noctua NH-D14 cpu cooler, 1 SSD, 1 HDD, a Seasonic G-650 PSU and a GTX 680.

I am looking for a case that does perform very well in terms of cooling but also do this at a reasonable noise level.
It seems in all reviews I seen so far that silent operation goes in expense of cooling performance. Is there something like the best of both worlds?

Im looking for something preferable without a windows and to mch lights.
USB on front would be nice and also a fan controller would be nice. Im looking for somehing with a very good design and moders things like decent cable management ans stuff.

What do you guys recommend? Is there something out there that cools good and does not sound like an airplane?

Thanksin advance

 

[Essence_of_War]

There are a number of Corsair cases on sale now that have good airflow, and reasonable noise levels. The 500R/400R have white LEDs in the fans, but they can be turned off with a front panel button. The 500Rs also have fan controllers for the stock fans, although I don't notice a huge difference in noise level when using them on mine.

White 500R - $65 shipped, AR
Black 500R - $70 shipped, AR
Black 400R - $60 shipped, AR
Black 330R - $50 shipped, AR

The 330R plus maybe an additional front mounted 140mm fan (depending on your cooling needs) seems like it would be a good choice for a very reasonable price.

 

[JDG1980]

I am looking for a case that does perform very well in terms of cooling but also do this at a reasonable noise level.
It seems in all reviews I seen so far that silent operation goes in expense of cooling performance. Is there something like the best of both worlds?

Im looking for something preferable without a windows and to mch lights.
USB on front would be nice and also a fan controller would be nice. Im looking for somehing with a very good design and moders things like decent cable management ans stuff.

I think the Silverstone FT02 will do most of what you want. It has a nice professional appearance, can be purchased in a non-window version, cools extremely well, and keeps noise levels under control. The only real drawback is the price: about $240.

The NZXT Phantom 630 did very well in Anandtech's tests for both noise and thermals, but it is probably a bit gaudier than what you're looking for, with its angled build design and side window.

 

[samstermax]

Thanks for the replies.

To be hounest I have not been digging into this cases as I thought the 500r was a case that was noisy and the FT02 seemed a little outdated with the FT04 already out. I can live with the design of all mentioned cases, the The NZXT Phantom 630 included and the price of the FT02 wont hold me back as Im willing to spend for a decent case that fits my needs.

Which of these 3 cases is the best?


Perhaps its good to give a little more background infomation on my topic.
In my curret build I am using an Lian Li P80. Its a decent case but even when the fan controller is at 50% its makes this anoying noise. It did this from the beginning.
Because my pc is located in the living room I want to avoid this in my new build and make sure it is more quiet (it doesnt have to be dead silent).
So far I have been focusing on cases like the Fractal R4 and Nanoxia,... all more designed for silence then cooling. This new build is going to be my new game pc and I plan on little overclocking I really want components to be kept cool.

 

[lehtv]

Fractal R4 is my recommendation. Budget-wise it more than suits the rest of your components, and it's very nice to work with, looks great, makes little sound and still cools well enough. Black Pearl is only $75 on newegg at the moment

 

[samstermax]

Fractal R4 is my recommendation. Budget-wise it more than suits the rest of your components, and it's very nice to work with, looks great, makes little sound and still cools well enough. Black Pearl is only $75 on newegg at the moment

Will a fractal design r4 with stock fans cool well enough? also when I upgrade my system to a second GTX 680 to run in SLI?

 

[JDG1980]

Thanks for the replies.

To be hounest I have not been digging into this cases as I thought the 500r was a case that was noisy and the FT02 seemed a little outdated with the FT04 already out. I can live with the design of all mentioned cases, the The NZXT Phantom 630 included and the price of the FT02 wont hold me back as Im willing to spend for a decent case that fits my needs.

Which of these 3 cases is the best?

Many reviewers prefer the FT02 to the FT04; the FT02 has more room, is a bit easier to assemble, and cooling performance is equal or slightly better. Also, some annoying fit-and-finish issues (e.g. snagging on the front door) have been reported with the FT04. That said, the FT04 is still a good case, and one advantage it has over the FT02 is that the two analog fan controller knobs let you choose the exact balance between noise and performance that you want.

For the Silverstone cases, it's best to choose either blower-type coolers (as found on the 780/Titan), or coolers with the fins running parallel to the long side of the card. If the heatsink fins run top-to-bottom on the video card, the direct airflow design won't work quite so well.

Assuming you don't mind a big case, and cost isn't your primary concern, I'd go with the FT02. This is especially true if you want to do SLI, as you indicated in another of your posts.

 

[lehtv]

Will a fractal design r4 with stock fans cool well enough? also when I upgrade my system to a second GTX 680 to run in SLI?

They will cool any single GPU setup well enough, but for 680 SLI I'd recommend an additional intake and exhaust. The integrated fan controller supports 3 fans, you can connect the fourth one with a splitter.

I don't think 680 SLI makes sense, rather sell that 680 and buy two current gen cards if you think you need the firepower. 2GB VRAM is a bit little for all that performance

 

[Cerb]

Will a fractal design r4 with stock fans cool well enough? also when I upgrade my system to a second GTX 680 to run in SLI?

A GTX 680 SLI rig, stock, can push 400W, maybe more. Those Watts need to be removed from the case. You'll be into that SLI setup for another $400 or more, by the time you have a quiet loop running, assuming you don't kill any parts along the way. Just don't.

 

[samstermax]

Thanks for all the replies!

I think I forget about the Fractal Design R4 as cooling performance is more important then "dead silence".

Will the FT02 be the best I can get in terms of both cooling and noise if its between Silverstone FT02 ,NZXT Phantom 630 and the Corsair 500r?

 

[dkm777]

Just food for thought from my experience (Fractal R3 vs Corsair 300R). It all depends on the noise your components make. Get a beefy CPU cooler with low RPM fans and you get little noise. Replace SLI cards with one more powerful card with high end aftermarket cooling and you get little noise. Don't use mechanical hard drives... See a pattern? If you want "quiet" you just have to toss the noisemakers aside. In my case, the R3 setup is definitely noisier, because it is insulated and heat gets trapped unless I use high-RPM fans everywhere. An overclocked HD7970 Vapor-X could easily exceed 70 deg. C. in there. In contrast the 300R has grating everywhere, the hot air doesn't get trapped, I can get away with quiet, low revving fans and the said 7970 only reaches 65 degrees which means even less noise. Before this, let's say, enlightening experience I was all for sound deadening and as little openings as possible, but now I'm not so sure.

 

[dmoney1980]

I agree with dkm777. I had a fractal define mini (the R4's little brother) and it was fine for a mildly OC'd 2500k and a 7970, but the front door and its padding killed the fresh air intake. I used to think that the fractal cases were be all end all, but I only recommend them for single GPU / mild OC setups.

I did a test where I swapped the stock fans with some Scythe GT's, opened the side of the case, and then compared the front air intake with the door open and closed by putting my hand behind the front fans (I took out the front drive cages and had my SSD+HDD in the optical bays) and I swear that the airflow was cut by at least half when the door was closed. This defeats the purpose of having high airflow fans in front, so you basically sacrifice performance / overclockability with these cases.

The fractals are nice cases, but not for power users that have high end components and expect to OC.