Recommendations for a compact atx case with a 280mm rad

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Joined
6 Dec 2007
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Cambridge
Hi all

Any recommendations for a quiet/silent case that will take a 280mm AIO and that isn't too large? I'm not fussy about having 5.25mm bays and my storage is limited to 3x SSDs.

So far I've got the following on my list:
  • Corsair Carbide 400Q (looks good, had good experience with my 550D, only issue is having the radiator as an intake);
  • Phanteks 400S (isn't too large, but hard to get any info on how quiet it is, not a big fan of LED lighting, and the radiator would have to be front mounted);
  • Fractal Design Define S (best options for radiator position, but looks a bit too big for my needs);
  • Silverstone Kubali KL07 (had mixed experiences with them in the past and it looks tall for what it is).
Any feedback on these/anything else I've missed? I've ruled out the Define C as it's too much a struggle to fit a long graphics card and a front mounted radiator.

Thanks!
 
Soldato
Joined
1 Nov 2011
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Portsmouth
I had the exact same dilemma last year and decided on the Jansbo W2.
Fits everything you require, with the added bonus of fitting neatly inside my IKEA Bests media unit.
 
Man of Honour
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A bit counter intuitive, but open cases can be much quieter than ''quiet" cases, as the airflow is more effective and the fans can therefore run at a slower speed.
Just look up at the reviews of the meshify. :)
 
Soldato
Joined
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can ask @orbitalwalsh i think he's owned the PB600 before and can give you a rundown on the case

Since my daughter has decided that for the 5th time in a row she'd like to be awake at this time in the morning, quite happily help.

Stunning case, accepts 360 front (which means no 5.3" drive bays) or at top (if you want to use lower drive bay then ports out be at the rear ) .
As is silent as you'd expect and the top lid is handy to keep dust away from the case, please cat over lords that like to sit on cases without them clawing at vent wholes , whist the addition to sit the lid at two heights if top fans are in use is a neat feature . Still allows are to vent out at a good rate unlike Phanteks evolv but keeps sound down and dust non existent when not in use .
3 HDD drives are nice which in turn can house 2.5" drives as well as two on the back. Nice feature since most cases now only support two HDD .
They or positioned far enough back to allow most cards to fit in without removal - had gigabyte 282mm length cards in their nice and snug, there is also from between them and the from on the case to house a 30mm thick rad or 25mm fans. If your mounting a 240 then it goes on the inside, if your mounting a 280 and wish to keep the Drive bays, it mounts to the outside, fans to the inside with Ports positioned up top using the space of the drive drive bay up
No shroud allows nice looking or expensive PSU units to be shown - but one downfall is the glass is very dark, need some good lighting to get the internals viewable ! Highly recommend Phanteks Halo fan RGB covers. Just bolt to the front / rear of fans and look damn good on bequiet Pure Wing fans... Which the case houses Two linked to a fan controller which can handle 3. I ran them at max (even with extra 140 added to front ) and can't really hear the things when web browsing :)
Also downside is cost, when OCUK does a sale in these, sits nicely at £84 which is personally a more attractive price point, be it's bequiet, their German, and people will and do by a lot buy the quality , branding and silence .

Quoted a lot of these for VR builds with Aorus cards that have internal HDMI headers, which can be plugged into a 5.3" VR panel at the front

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