Quiet case with reasonable airflow

[Bengaboy]

The majority of my time on the PC is for productivity (currently studying towards a degree), therefore would like the case to be reasonably quiet with as good airflow I can get. I do game relatively often, so wouldn't like the temps to be too high.

I do like the Meshify C however, I have read it is quite loud. I have £100 from the wife for Christmas towards a case, so if something fits within that budget, that would be great!

 

[EsaT]

Average gaming computer doesn't really need any super high airflow.
Though if you overvolt everything and crank up clocks, that can fast cause major increase in heat output.
There's simply huge possible variation in cooling needs, depending on parts you have and how they're used.

Nicely versatile Define R5 would be that £100
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/fractal-design-define-r5-midi-tower-case-titanium-ca-034-fd.html
Less fashion crud than in R6 actually makes some of PC's assembly work lot easier.
While not in OcUK's stock R5 is definitely available.

Define C would be no external bays-fashion design with less versatility and more fashion crud to obstruct ease of PC assembly.
("PSU shroud" has zero technical justification in modern PC)


Also for £100+ BeQuiet has some quite nice designs with less "cubic" outlook. (Silent Base 600/800)
Such shame that instead of proper mass damping of side panels, those use light thin cosmetic fraud foams...
BeQuiet even makes excellent combination (2mm bitumen+8mm foam) damping mat.
So there would be some work for realizing silencing potential of case, by first removing those fraud foams and installing for example some bitumen car acoustic mat in place of them.
(and unlike in Define R5 and R6 you can't access their bottom dust filter from front and you need to turn case around)

 

[Bengaboy]

Snip

Thanks for your input mate - I will look at the define R5, looks very impressive. Not arsed really about a tempered glass side - although would've maybe have been nice to deck it out in the future. But for a silent ish case, I guess a tempered glass side won't work.

I am currently rocking an Antec 300 from 10 years ago. Solid case and still using the included fans, but one of them died, so I am just using the top fan at the moment and is rather loud.

Edit - from doing a bit of research, I am gearing towards the R6 rather than the R5.

 

[EsaT]

But for a silent ish case, I guess a tempered glass side won't work.

Actually relatively thick glass or some plastic is acoustically lot better than thin sheet metal.
It resists resonances/vibrations lot better and is also acoustically more opaque for sound waves.

Mass damping achieves same and it can make even light aluminium sound more like ~2cm plywood.
(giving combination of good acoustics and lot lighter weight than steel case)

But no amount of damping material helps, if case has open holes in front, side and top, because sound waves can escape directly.
And that's the case with your Antec 300:
If any component makes the slightest noise, you'll hear it directly and unmuffled.

 

[Bengaboy]

Actually relatively thick glass or some plastic is acoustically lot better than thin sheet metal.
It resists resonances/vibrations lot better and is also acoustically more opaque for sound waves.

Mass damping achieves same and it can make even light aluminium sound more like ~2cm plywood.
(giving combination of good acoustics and lot lighter weight than steel case)

But no amount of damping material helps, if case has open holes in front, side and top, because sound waves can escape directly.
And that's the case with your Antec 300:
If any component makes the slightest noise, you'll hear it directly and unmuffled.

Wow, you seem very savvy in this area! I am gearing towards the R6 after reading some reviews. The r5 may give slightly better acoustics, but the R6 seems a better case overall. It is an extra £25 but if it lasts another 10 years then I cannot complain!

Before I inform wifey, in your opinion is there a massive reason why I should still go for the R5 over the R6?

 

[EsaT]

Under the fashion hype changes of R6 are mostly more back steps than advance.

PSU shroud has zero useful purpose with modern high efficiency PSUs.
While decreasing amount of open continuous space and especially putting PSU into hard to work cramped place.
(like working with lots of "not so good old time" cases used to be)

Also R5's HDD cages can be removed.
With only two 2.5" SSDs and M.2 drives you could have front similarly open, along with bottom to add fans.
While R6's PSU shroud would hinder airflow of bottom fans...

R5 also has important for ease of maintenance front access to bottom dust filter.

Only real advantage R6 has is availability of I/O panel with USB-C in it.
But with number of Define cases sold Fractal Design would likely do USB-C equipped I/O panel as accessory also for R4/5 if people just asked.

 

[Unseul]

My meshify is noisy when gaming with the fans ramped up, but when browsing and light tasks, near silent.

Replaced the standard fans with a pair of phantwks 140mps from ocuk, only 16 quid or so. Very quiet at low revs but powerful enough to overcome the filter and actually supply cool air through the case.

 

[Vidar]

I've got a Be Quiet! 900 pro, its an excellent case for keeping things quiet and cool

 

[Bengaboy]

I've got a Be Quiet! 900 pro, its an excellent case for keeping things quiet and cool

Looks good, but that is way out of budget for me!

 

[Vidar]

Try the 801 midi be quiet case, its under £150 and just as good if you can stretch it.

 

[cahonis]

Wow, you seem very savvy in this area! I am gearing towards the R6 after reading some reviews. The r5 may give slightly better acoustics, but the R6 seems a better case overall. It is an extra £25 but if it lasts another 10 years then I cannot complain!

Before I inform wifey, in your opinion is there a massive reason why I should still go for the R5 over the R6?

I've just ported my setup into an R6 from my old Corsair 800D. It's very quiet. I have an OC'd i7 with a huge dual fan Noctua cooler and 140mm case fans that come with it and I am very happy with the results.

 

[Bengaboy]

If anyone is interested in my PC case choice - I decided to go for a Fractal Design Define C Tempered Glass.

It will still give me reasonable airflow whilst giving me a silent case. It was a hard choice between the Meshify and the Define, but I think I will be happy!