Case silencing

lawrence281 · 5 Jan 2015 at 11:57

So I've looked around, and there are certain cases that apparently have "Silencing" I assume it can silence the fan noise but im un-sure.
My current case is from ebay which i got for around £42, and I dont know what classes as loud in terms of fan noise, but I wish my system was a bit quieter.

Or is it dependant on the case fans? are they all the same? are there any quiet fans?

thanks

kefan77 · 5 Jan 2015 at 11:59

buy a silent case in the first place?

Fractal Define R5 - ATX
Nanoxia Deep Silence 4 - mATX

as examples.

you can't do much with a crappy ebay case with no sound dampening.

also what are your specs? reference GPUs and stock fans tend to be louder than aftermarket.

lawrence281 · 5 Jan 2015 at 12:42

Yeah, I built my pc a year ago, and didnt know about silencing casing i was a newby.

i7 4770K
GTX 760
Gigabyte Z87-D3HP Intel Z87

I just want a case with big space for cable management and silencing, and perhaps potentially fit for water-cooling later on for CPU.

lawrence281 · 5 Jan 2015 at 12:45

Also I guess itll be wise to replace all the default case fans it came with better quality?
Like I removed one from the ebay case, its like china worthy quality haha

skyripper · 5 Jan 2015 at 13:22

Check out what fans you have, what your temperatures are, and then look at either replacing with different fans or using a fan controller to make the ones you have slower. Slower = quieter = less airflow. So its a balancing act.

You'll also have to bear in mind that as you make other parts of the PC quieter, then other bits will become more noticable. Ie. the Power Supply fan (not normally externally adjustable), or the gfx card fan may intrude more if you make your case quieter.

Bickaxe · 5 Jan 2015 at 14:18

I noticed a big difference with my case (Fractal R4) when i switched. Cable management is good too.

Air being pushed through mesh will make a noise especially if you have small fans. Bigger fans means less noise. I believe water cooling can create more noise than air cooling depending on your set up (someone else will confirm this, but most comparison reviews point this out).

StevieP · 5 Jan 2015 at 14:35

Bickaxe said:
I noticed a big difference with my case (Fractal R4) when i switched. Cable management is good too.

Air being pushed through mesh will make a noise especially if you have small fans. Bigger fans means less noise. I believe water cooling can create more noise than air cooling depending on your set up (someone else will confirm this, but most comparison reviews point this out).

I'm looking at the R4 at the moment and wondered how good the airflow was! With the solid front panel on there I can't imagine the airflow is that great is it??

Other than this it seems to tick all of my boxes! (USB 3.0 on the front panel, air filters all over the place and very quiet!)

Anyone know what differences the R5 bring to the table?

Bickaxe · 5 Jan 2015 at 14:41

I'll post a few screen shots tonight when i get home with specs & temps and you can decide for yourself. I like the case.

StevieP · 5 Jan 2015 at 15:01

Bickaxe said:
I'll post a few screen shots tonight when i get home with specs & temps and you can decide for yourself. I like the case.

Thanks!

Just had a quick read about the R5 and it seems to put right a few of the niggles with the R4 so I might give that one a go!

Bickaxe · 5 Jan 2015 at 19:28

Idle temps on 5v

Gigabyte GTX780 ghz ed (69c in Furmark max)
2 x 140mm BitFenix Spectre Pro in rear and top, 2 x 140mm Fractal in front (supplied with case)
4670k @ stock (must OC when I get more time)
Noctua NH-U14S (clears the Vengeance Pro RAM, just)
RM850 (overkill but I had planned to SLI)

Now I'm off to dust the inside of my case seeing as I haven't opened it for 4 months :rolleyes:

Bickaxe · 5 Jan 2015 at 19:30

StevieP said:
Thanks!

Just had a quick read about the R5 and it seems to put right a few of the niggles with the R4 so I might give that one a go!

I like what they've done with the R5, it would be a better option.

I'll probably be getting a NZXT H440 in a few months, worth a look

lawrence281 · 5 Jan 2015 at 20:59

So are there specfically any brand fans that are quieter than others you could link me?

StevieP · 5 Jan 2015 at 22:10

Bickaxe said:
Now I'm off to dust the inside of my case seeing as I haven't opened it for 4 months

Thanks for the pics! But, dust the inside!?!? I thought this beast had dust filters all over it??

Bickaxe said:
I like what they've done with the R5, it would be a better option.

I'll probably be getting a NZXT H440 in a few months, worth a look

The main reason I'm leaning towards the R5 is the fact that you don't have to remove the motherboard to fit an SSD whereas I believe you do on the R4!!

Bickaxe · 5 Jan 2015 at 22:36

lawrence281 said:
So are there specfically any brand fans that are quieter than others you could link me?

Corsair AF series are highly regarded, Corsair SP if you are using them on a water cooler (I think)

StevieP said:
Thanks for the pics! But, dust the inside!?!? I thought this beast had dust filters all over it??

Behind the front grill and under the power supply and first bottom fan slot. The stuff still gets in though on most cases (mine is a bad position under the desk raised above a carpeted floor)

StevieP said:
The main reason I'm leaning towards the R5 is the fact that you don't have to remove the motherboard to fit an SSD whereas I believe you do on the R4!!

I use the HDD bays, got an Intel 730 to go in too this weekend. You can mount them on the other side of the motherboard plate if you remove the other side of the case if you wish, mobo removal not required.

StevieP · 6 Jan 2015 at 15:06

I've gone for the Fractal R5

Be nice to see what sort of a difference it makes to the noise levels!

StevieP · 6 Jan 2015 at 22:26

Dammit.....had to cancel my order for the R5 because the bracket under my desk is barely 230mm and the R5 is reckoned to be 232mm wide!!! :mad:

Can anyone recommend a similar quality case that I should be looking at??

Legend · 6 Jan 2015 at 22:48

Has been mentioned already but the NZXT H440 is definitely worth considering.

StevieP · 7 Jan 2015 at 09:16

Legend said:
Has been mentioned already but the NZXT H440 is definitely worth considering.

Thanks for the suggestion - looks a very nice case and I was quite tempted....until I realised (and please correct me if I'm wrong) that it doesn't have a slot for a CD/DVD drive! Granted I don't use mine an awful lot but there are occasions!

Had a look at a few and the BitFenix Ghost Silent Tower appears to tick all the boxes (right width, USB 2.0 and 3.0 on the front, CD/DVD bay space etc) - has anyone got any experience of this case??

lawrence281 · 7 Jan 2015 at 10:13

StevieP said:
Thanks for the suggestion - looks a very nice case and I was quite tempted....until I realised (and please correct me if I'm wrong) that it doesn't have a slot for a CD/DVD drive! Granted I don't use mine an awful lot but there are occasions!

Had a look at a few and the BitFenix Ghost Silent Tower appears to tick all the boxes (right width, USB 2.0 and 3.0 on the front, CD/DVD bay space etc) - has anyone got any experience of this case??

I dont use my DVD-R either, but on the rare occasion,I just open my case window and hook it up, which isnt frequent. So I woudn't let that put you off the case

StevieP · 7 Jan 2015 at 11:46

I'd like to keep a CD drive in my machine to be honest!

Hmmm, how does this internal USB header work?

For example, if I bought a case like the Bitfenix Ghost Silent Tower, which has 2 x USB 3.0 ports on the front, would I need a motherboard that has 2 x USB 3.0 headers to make use of both ports or will the one header supply both ports?? (my MSI motherboard only has a single USB 3.0 connector on it!)