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Quiet, minimalist mid-ATX: Fractal R4 vs. Corsair 550D vs. Antec P280 vs. ??

C

creyc

Junior Member
I'm looking for a new quiet, minimalistic, high quality case for a daily workhorse PC build. I've read many reviews on all these cases, and they each seem like great cases, but I need to make a decision.

The PC specs will be roughly; ATX mobo, ivy bridge i7 air cooled CPU with mild OC, 32GB ram, single mid range gfx card, single SSD boot drive, three 2TB sata drives, no optical drive.

Ive always had my eyes on a Silverstone Fortress FT02 case for the unique rotated mobo and massive cooling system, but I worry it won't be as quiet like some of the others on my list. It's also huge. Currently the Fractal R4 seems like a safe bet, and arguably looks more refined than the Corsair, though the Corsair bests it in performance.

In order of priority, first is a tie of quietness and aesthetic design, then cooling performance, build quality, followed by small footprint, and finally price. What would be your pick for a quiet, minimalist, mid ATX case below $300?
 
Go for what Scoobyboo has, a Fractal Design Define Mini. You will need a micro ATX motherboard, but they are just as capable as ATX motherboards in their price points since you don't seem to need the extra expansion slots. That micro ATX case can fit all the drives you listed, with room for more, while being quiet (compared to other cases) and smaller than the normal ATX towers.

Note that when building for "quiet" it is always better to start with quiet components than to try making noisy components quiet.
 
Zap said:
Note that when building for "quiet" it is always better to start with quiet components than to try making noisy components quiet.
Click to expand...


Amen to that, Zap. Always wondered why when people want a quiet computer, they end up using components that will never be quiet in use, like reference higher-end gpu's with the squirrel cage fans, poor choices in cpu cooling fans and case fans, etc.

Something I've been toying with is using higher wattage Gold/Platinum power supplies than typically recommended in small computers for silence, even under full load. The cooling fan profiles in power supplies are fixed and not user adjustable, for the most part, and moving to a higher wattage output ps with Gold/Plat. cert. should, in theory, produce a quieter running ps at full load.
 
To be honest I hadn't really considered the mATX route, but that Define Mini is quite a cool little case, I may go that route I just need to convince myself I won't ever need the future expansion. I know you're typically limited in number of expansion slots and memory slots, but what real world effect does this have? Can you still run SLI video cards? Are there card length restrictions on these mobos? Etc..

I completely agree with using quiet components from the start, and that's how I built my HTPC as well. However, I consider the case just another one of those components, and so I'm doing my best to start with a good foundation to promote a quiet build. It just so happens the aesthetics of many 'quiet' cases are more pleasing to me than a lot of the garish gamer-oriented case designs, as well.
 
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I have a Fractal R3, Noctua D14 cooler, and Seasonic X660 PSU. All case and CPU fans have been replaced with 120mm Nexus fans @ 7 volts (7v mod). With a 2500K@ 4.5 and an Asus DCII 670, my system is very nearly silent at idle and at load. (When I say silent, I mean silent... Unless I sit and listen without moving around, I can't be sure the machine is on.) Core temps max out in the mid-70s under Intel Burn Test.

So it is possible to get a cool and quiet machine with Fractal. There are some build quality issues with the R3. Horrid grommets on cable management holes, for instance, and some of the plastic components do not feel robust. But R4 should be slightly better than R3 too due to refinements.

Though I'm happy with my R3, I too have lusted after the Silverstone FT02 and sometimes toy with the idea of switching to one. It got a gold editor's choice award from SPCR, so I doubt it's noisy at all. The only thing to watch out for is that it's compatible with your GPU cooler's design.
 
birthdaymonkey said:
The only thing to watch out for is that it's compatible with your GPU cooler's design.
Click to expand...

The Fractal or Silverstone? My EVGA RMA GTX 560 Ti FPB is on it's way back to me I see in your sig that you have 670. So I am guessing you are referring to the Silverstone.
 
I wouldn't recommend SLI on a mATX board if you want silent/cool, but it's possible. Personally I don't see SLI as an upgrade route, compared to selling the old card and buying a new generation card.
 
Meghan54 said:
Something I've been toying with is using higher wattage Gold/Platinum power supplies than typically recommended in small computers for silence, even under full load. The cooling fan profiles in power supplies are fixed and not user adjustable, for the most part, and moving to a higher wattage output ps with Gold/Plat. cert. should, in theory, produce a quieter running ps at full load.
Click to expand...

Something to think about is how often will you be running at full load, and while at full load will there be sound playing?

While I consider myself to be a fairly hardcore gamer, the majority of the time spent at my computer is NOT gaming, but doing other common tasks such as trolling forums, laughing at stupid Youtube videos and social notworking. While doing those tasks, my computer is essentially idle as far as power draw is concerned.

While I am gaming, I am either wearing headphones or have the speakers on.

Thus, at least for myself, I have no problem with the power supply fan (or all the system fans for that matter) ramping up with load, since the ONLY times they will be in that state is if I have sound playing that will drown out the system noise.

Note that this doesn't mean a super NOISY system either. Just one that isn't considered silent/quiet while under load. Way BITD I was overclocking Pentium II and Athlon/Athlon XP chips using those little 60x25mm 7000RPM fans at full speeds. Yeah, those would be audible even during gaming. I do not miss those days.

creyc said:
To be honest I hadn't really considered the mATX route... what real world effect does this have? Can you still run SLI video cards? Are there card length restrictions on these mobos? Etc..
Click to expand...

Just like in an ATX rig, you can run SLI if you purchase a motherboard that can support it. Just like in an ATX rig, the graphics card length limitations has to do with the case you are using. Just like in an ATX rig, how cool your components run has to do with the design of the case, as well as your balance of quiet versus cooling in choice of fan speed.

The only differences are:
1) Fewer "windtunnel garish gaming oriented cases" available for micro ATX.
2) When running SLI, cards are sandwiched together similar to older ATX SLI motherboards. Newer ATX boards are designed better with an extra slot between the cards for some extra breathing room
3) Of course, maximum of 4 expansion slots instead of 7. Look inside your current rig. Count how many slots you are actually using. When counting "slots" you need to take into account cards that take up more than one, such as the typical dual slot gaming graphics cards. So, how many slots are you using? Most people with gaming rigs will answer 2, or 3 at the most.

biostud said:
I wouldn't recommend SLI on a mATX board if you want silent/cool, but it's possible.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't recommend SLI even in an ATX system if you want quiet and cool, because even if the motherboard spaces the cards apart, the fact remains that the top card will run hotter and thus louder.
 
I agree, Zap, I was simply musing random thoughts about those that try to game and have a uber quiet system at the same time.

And, yes, I, too, remember the days of tiny, jet engine-loud fans trying to cool as well as the larger, slower turning fans of today. And I agree, they were horrible for sound.
 
MoInSTL said:
The Fractal or Silverstone? My EVGA RMA GTX 560 Ti FPB is on it's way back to me I see in your sig that you have 670. So I am guessing you are referring to the Silverstone.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the Fractal should be fine with any GPU. I think in the R4 they've even changed the drive bays to accommodate very long cards.

With the FT02, however, because of the rotated motherboard mount, you have to be sure that your GPU cooler is OK with being vertical instead of horizontal. Apparently some models (particularly non-reference designs) have heatpipes that cease to function properly when the card is positioned in that way.
 
Thanks for the tips on micro ATX systems, I do feel more comfortable going this route for this build, although that sexy FT02 still... :sneaky:

As far as graphics cards, I currently use a single Quadro 4000, which should fit fine in either case. But a buddy of mine in the same field runs dual Quadro 5000s in SLI, but to be honest I don't know how much that benefits him. It's nice to have the option still.

As for sound concerns, unfortunately in my workflow the system is under peak load while I'm opening, saving, or just manipulating a large model, so there is no real ambient sound to block out the fans. In fact my current machine doesn't have any speakers connected at all.

It sounds like the R4 is the case to get, but are there any others you would prefer, at any price point, that fit the quiet, clean, mid-small requirements?
 
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