sound dampened cases with fan vents?

squarehead94

squarehead94

squarehead94

Associate
Joined
25 Nov 2011
Posts
1,355
Location
Cumbria, United Kingdom
Im going to get my dad a shinobi sound dampened case for christmas, but they do a windowed version with a fan on the side- doesnt this defeat the object of sound dampening if sounds being released? thanks!
 
What about the Cooler Master Silencio 550?

Sound dampened cases are overrated in my opinion. I have one (fractal r4) and honestly I didn't notice much difference. It might just be that my pc was pretty quiet already.. but the best way of getting a quiet pc is choosing the right components and fans. Don't expect to it to cancel out all the noise if you have a loud graphics card+cpu cooler. Another thing to take note of is that with all cases the rear fan is going to make the same noise regardless of what sound dampening material it has, and your pc can only be as quiet as its loudest part!
 
was looking at that, as you said, its about components, to be honest, his new gpu is quieter than his old 5770 strangely, and Im going to get him a decent cpu cooler I reckon, So may save the £20 on sound dampening for a budget cpu cooler. 2500k stock clock but for better temps a cooler would be nice. and some new fans too, Shinobi I believe is cheaper than silencio. Will the silencio fit a 7970? I thought shinobi had better cooling than silencio...
 
Fractal define R3 it's still a good case for the money yes the R4 is out but it's not much different or better than the R3.
 
i can second C64's comment. Fractal Design R3 made a noticeable difference to the noise levels of my rig
 
And a third to C64's comment.

I have an old R2 that I easily modified to use 140mm fan in front & bottom (3x TY-140). Added magnetic mounting filters front & bottom with caster base (gives bottom fans easier airflow so makes them quieter). Removed the metal from bottom and back vents (better airflow and much quieter). Gigabyte HD 5770 passive GPU and Phanteks cooler w/2xTY-143 fans (they never go over 1100rpm of are not needed). All fans are controlled with PWM signal from CPU fan socket on mobo. When rendering with 3x sessions going CPU 100% solid line on graph @ 48-51c fans max is 1050rpm and can be heard.. just. Normal use fans never come off idle and I have that at 660rpm to keep HDDs and mobo chips cool. Look at my sig for rest of system spec. If you do happen to go this route feel free to message me if you would like more info.2

Edit: The only thing I hear and it drives me nuts... Corsair TX650v2 fan!! Not loud, but...
 
Last edited:
Yea R3 fits within budget and all the side and top openings have sound dampening covers as well as the side panels etc.
 
Some cases are quieter than others. Sticking foam to the inside rarely makes a difference though. Don't bother with the noise dampened thing, instead go over to spcr and read a few of their reviews.
 
The fractal cases don't just stick on some foam; they have some sort of resin fixed to the side panels that add a ton of weight...reducing noise through it and also reducing vibration.
 
The panels in Fractal Design Define R series cases do more to reduce vibration which reduces noise. Fan noise can only be baffled and the front design of Define R2/3/4 baffles the intake air to help reduce fan noise out front.

The rubber grommet HDD mounts dampen HDD vibration vent well (as long as screws are just snug enough so HDD can't be moved up/down). When gaming if you need additional airflow you can open the front door & grill doors.

Fractal Design is not only one with this kind of design. Seems to be the fad now.
 
Last edited:
squarehead94 said:
May go for the R3, dad liked the bitfenix shinobi, but will show him the R3 and decide later on.
thanks guys
Click to expand...

The R3 has been superseded by R4 now. R4 is a lot more money than Shinobi. And Shinobi isn't a bad case. A lot depends on how long you plan to keep the case. Myself I use the same case for many many years. My last case lasted me 10 years. ;) And I expect my R2 to be with me for a long time too. That's how I justified it costing almost so much more than others I could have used.
 
The r3 uses Bitumen I think, only downside is probably the fans may have to 5v them but then which cases do come with good stock fans apart from silverstones.
But in this budget the R3 is definitely the one to go for if quietness is a priority or extend the budget and get an R4 but the slight changes don't seem that dramatic over the R3.
 
Last edited:
Think you might be right. Full panel covered looks impressive but my understanding is that a 100mm square in middle is all that's need to kill resonate vibration of panel. Automobile panels use patches in this way.
 
You might want to make sure you can still get an R3. Fractal Design is not making them anymore. Guess you missed post #15 ;)
 
I have a Silencio 550, it's not very quiet and the cooling is awful. The stock fans move almost no air too, which is the only reason it was quiet in the beginning. Stick a 7970 in there with stock cooling you will near burn the house down. :D

The R3/R4's are very well built (Fractal <3) and quiet. Even my Arc Midi is pretty quiet with my fans turned down.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom