Building your own case.

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Out of curiosity, how hard is it to do?

I've got a real aversion to noise, it gets on my nerves something wicked! So I was considering building an Ultra thick pc with some silicon pads etc, to help reduce the noise.

Since I'm not bothered by cosmetics that much, would MDF (painted etc) be sufficient, or is there a better material? I'm sure Steel would be good, but 3" steel would be moderately expensive. :p

Is it a viable plan?
 
Depends what your skill is and the material. Why not buy a quality case, get some quiet fans and noise dampening foam? Much easier.
 
You can buy motherboard trays which you can screw into anything you like to mount your board... So if you can cut some wood you can make a case... though it won't look any good of course.

Plus the thickest case isn't gonna help because you still need holes for airflow.

Why not look at some dedicated sound proofed cases? There are ones with foam+rubber sides/compartments which help to reduce noise.
 
Lithium said:
though it won't look any good of course.
Click to expand...

This looks pretty awesome

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kenmare said:
Out of curiosity, how hard is it to do?

I've got a real aversion to noise, it gets on my nerves something wicked! So I was considering building an Ultra thick pc with some silicon pads etc, to help reduce the noise.

Since I'm not bothered by cosmetics that much, would MDF (painted etc) be sufficient, or is there a better material? I'm sure Steel would be good, but 3" steel would be moderately expensive. :p

Is it a viable plan?
Click to expand...

Yes it's a viable plan. MDF is fine but ply would be better.

Think about airflow, where the case is going to sit, internal layout of components and ease of access.

Model it in Sketchup then when you are ready have a go at building it.

Don't forget to do a project log and share the experience.
 
Think about it this way, to have a quiet case means to have a cool case, right? If your case is cooler the fans are quiter, because they don't have to work so hard. Now what material dissapates heat the best? Copper would be ideal, but it also very expensive. Aluminum is your best performance to cost ratio. You could do it out of wood but wood retains heat, it is also flammable. As far as difficulty of building your own case, that depends on you. You could draw your case in AutoCAD and have a waterjet cut it out. Or you could just do it more like a cabinet maker would. But essentially you would need a sheet of aluminum, a stick of aluminum angle and maybe a stick of aluminum square tubing. A tap and die kit, and some screws. Just start by making a box that is more than big enough for your components, then a frame and the rest will come to you as you go!!! Hope this helps!!!
 
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I was thinking something like this.

A hole at the bottom with a fan sucking in air (very low speed) with a fan at the top/back pushing air out. This should keep it somewhat cool, seeing as hot air rises?

The picture is rubbish, but I was thinking a couple inch walls?
 
Assuming you are happy with your current pc apart from the noise why not go for a passive watercooling system like maxiboy said.

I remember seeing a reservator a while ago, googled it and image search showed what I was thinking of. I rember it being passive but could be wrong, it's big and ugly but if you're only bothered by noise it could be a lot easier than making a new case.

Alternatively make a case for your current case, like the image you drew above. You won't have to worry about fittings and spacing as much and it could have a lid/door for access.
 
JamesTuc said:
Assuming you are happy with your current pc apart from the noise why not go for a passive watercooling system like maxiboy said.

I remember seeing a reservator a while ago, googled it and image search showed what I was thinking of. I rember it being passive but could be wrong, it's big and ugly but if you're only bothered by noise it could be a lot easier than making a new case.

Alternatively make a case for your current case, like the image you drew above. You won't have to worry about fittings and spacing as much and it could have a lid/door for access.
Click to expand...

haven't got a pc at the moment, in the process of a new one. Got an old one which I could trial out though.

The case I drew could be on a hinge system? Alternatively it could be nailed together? :D
 
What will the pc do? surf/office - CAD/render/game - sli monster
Where will it be? bedroom on desk - living room, under desk - next door room
When will it be used? office hours - night time?

There are atom based system that are passive (air) cooled with an SSD that silent 24/7.

Workstation / light gaming pc can be easily passively air cooled.
With a heatpipe case or using a single fan and large open-spaced heatsink options.

Overclocked/CAD/Render/gaming pc's can be passively water cooler
Either with an internal rad (like mine) or an external rad (like my previous build)

SLI monsters have users with headphones.

Edit - Zalman TTN 300 or Impactics C3LH-B KISSS or HFX classic are three off the peg options
 
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ReU_VOoDOo said:
Think about it this way, to have a quiet case means to have a cool case, right? If your case is cooler the fans are quiter, because they don't have to work so hard. Now what material dissapates heat the best? Copper would be ideal, but it also very expensive. Aluminum is your best performance to cost ratio. You could do it out of wood but wood retains heat, it is also flammable. As far as difficulty of building your own case, that depends on you. You could draw your case in AutoCAD and have a waterjet cut it out. Or you could just do it more like a cabinet maker would. But essentially you would need a sheet of aluminum, a stick of aluminum angle and maybe a stick of aluminum square tubing. A tap and die kit, and some screws. Just start by making a box that is more than big enough for your components, then a frame and the rest will come to you as you go!!! Hope this helps!!!
Click to expand...

Except for that case by Zalman the material your case is made of has nothing to do with dissipating heat as they are not connected to the heatsinks/components that produce the heat.

Wood is a very good material for noise deadening versus steel or aluminium.
 
Zalman LQ1000 - This case has a built in reserator and dissipates heat via fins on the side doors.

Im sure this can be made silent.

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Evoss said:
Zalman LQ1000 - This case has a built in reserator and dissipates heat via fins on the side doors.
Click to expand...

Nice but I was thinking of the Zalman TNN 300 and 500 fanless cases which used heatpipes to connect components to the case walls.

The 1st and 3rd pics are the pre-production LQ1000, the 2nd pic is what actually shipped. The pre-production only had 1 x 120mm fan at the back, the released case added a 240mm in the side. Still, nice idea.
 
shadowscotland said:
What will the pc do? surf/office - CAD/render/game - sli monster
Where will it be? bedroom on desk - living room, under desk - next door room
When will it be used? office hours - night time?

There are atom based system that are passive (air) cooled with an SSD that silent 24/7.

Workstation / light gaming pc can be easily passively air cooled.
With a heatpipe case or using a single fan and large open-spaced heatsink options.

Overclocked/CAD/Render/gaming pc's can be passively water cooler
Either with an internal rad (like mine) or an external rad (like my previous build)

SLI monsters have users with headphones.

Edit - Zalman TTN 300 or Impactics C3LH-B KISSS or HFX classic are three off the peg options
Click to expand...

It's going to be a gaming PC.


Having looked at the existing options, I was thinking of sticking with the very thick heavy wooden exterior, have the bottom open up to a very low RPM 240mm fan (the heavy wood construction should ensure no vibration at all).

The top of the case would be constructed out of metal (if possible with a fin construction inside, or at least roughed up to increase surface area). At the top would be a small opening which would be lead a considerable distance inside the case (making use of the size to help noise pollution). A 120mm fan would push air out.


The graphics card + powersupplys would have no access to the outside, the cables being routed up through the case and leading through the opening at the top where the fan is. Both CPU cooler and Graphics card, will have contact with the side of the case which will be encased in metal and will connect up to the top of the case where the 120mm fan will be shifting the air outside.


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MeddlE said:
Except for that case by Zalman the material your case is made of has nothing to do with dissipating heat as they are not connected to the heatsinks/components that produce the heat.

Wood is a very good material for noise deadening versus steel or aluminium.
Click to expand...

Agree to disagree, but I like the Zalman case you pointed out.
 
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