What PC case/chassis?

[rejecht]

What case do you use or recommend?
(Emphasis on good air flow, but silence is also a key point.)

My current mainboard and case is micro ATX.

This one seems the nicest so far, not too expensive..
http://www.antec.com/ec/productDetails.php?ProdID=09182
PSU at the bottom with room for HDD on the other side of fan.

Lower side view:
(back) [PSU | <- Fan | HDD] (front)

Cables can be dragged under the mainboard.
Designed for installation of extra fans if you don't need many HDDs.

Right now, the basic temperature for the mainboard sensor shows around 54 C and should be around 40 (and the Intel Core2 Duo is at around 48-50 C). Maybe I could install a cooling fan somewhere, somehow, but the micro ATX case is already a bit small and crowded.

[Apollo]

Hey,


This is my case.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Antec-90 ... an-w-o-PSU


1 big fan on top. 1 at the back. 2 at the front for HDD.
All are big fans, sizes are on the link page. Only thing is, after awhile they get noicey and get alot of dust collected. Easy to clean, and the front fans moves out forward to easy install HDD.

But if your going for less sound and better performance, go for watercooling. Cost money tho. If you want the CPU cooler, buy a new clip on fan with better rpm and less sound. The 1s which come with duel or quad cores are ok but you can get better. To many fans will be to much noice, im lucky i can set 3 differant speeds on all mine on the case.

Anyway goodluck.

[}TCP{Kerm]

I got the same as you Apollo
Well I got no complaints about this one,
It does collects a lot of dust, but I think the case is pretty quiet because if my pc makes a lot of noise it always comes from my cpu or gpu fan, so if you dont want much noise, you should keep an eye on the cpu fan

But the one you choose is also pretty good.
If you have some more money, try to look at some LianLi's which cost more but are known because of their good airflow, nice temperatures and low-noise fans.

[rejecht]

1 big fan on top. 1 at the back. 2 at the front for HDD.

Thanks for sharing your insights. Looks cool, even with all the light pollution ..and it was cheaper than the one I looked at, with mostly the same design decisions (PSU low, fan at top, and possibility to add fans for HDDs).

By the way, I've seen no dust filter for the top fan for these models, obviously because it's an exhaust fan, but has there been much dust collecting there?

I think water cooling still is a bit extreme for someone like me, who hasn't aimed at getting a killer gaming PC. Those types of installments look crazy.


In the meantine, though, I've looked into other options, and I think I'll try one of the PCI slot exhaust fans first, since I have a few slots available, and these fans aren't that expensive. In theory, they'll create a vacum by pulling the hot air out before it gets a chance to have a dramatic effect. But getting a new case (and PSU) is still on my list.

[rejecht]

(...) so if you dont want much noise, you should keep an eye on the cpu fan. (...) try to look at some LianLi's which cost more but are known because of their good airflow, nice temperatures and low-noise fans.

The heatsink mounted fan solution for the Intel Core2 Duo hasn't been noisy at all, but I run it at silent, because I haven't observed any change at higher rates over time, except in noise levels that is.

Lian Li (Liandri xP) were a tad more expensive, but maybe they have features that will benefit me in the long run. I'll look into the ones offered by Norwegian distributors. Thanks!

[}TCP{Coco]

Hi rejecht!

As you might know, Carhith (my girlfriend) recently got herself a new PC. She finally bought the Coolermaster CM 690 case. As far as I can say, it's a very nice and silent case with a good cooling concept. The PSU is also mounted at the buttom of the case, directing the warm air from the graphics card (which is blown towards the buttom) outside. At the front buttom side, there's a fan cooling the harddrives (which are mounted in a rack that can be taken out as a whole) and transporting the warm air towards the PSU. At the rear top of the case, there's a fan transporting the warm air from the CPU outside. Additionally, there are places for 3 more optinal fans.

What I like about this case is that everything can be installed without using screws. Also, the harddrives are mounted in a special way that prevents vibrations to be transported to the case and vice versa. The rack they're placed in offers holes with rubber in them. There are special screws coming with the case that go through the holes in the rubber (they don't have a thread there) and end in the normal HD screw holes (ok, so there are some screws ). Thus the HD is softly lying inside the case, not producing any extra noise. The whole front side can easily be taken off (without screws again), so you can reach inside for the HD, optical drives, etc.

Coco.

[rejecht]

I had a look now.

The CM 690:
I liked the design decision with the HDD bay, where the fan is placed in front of the HDD rather than after it like in the P182. Seems like they're also going for the hot-swap bay design servers have, though internally, and non-hot-swap.

It seems most cases have dampeners for the HDD, not that I've noticed much noise from mine yet, probably because I don't have a 1 TB drive.

[}TCP{Ramses]

I have 3 hardrives, two of them from old discarded pc's .... the psu/cpu/gpu fans still drown out any hdd noise on my pc

[Carhith]

Hi rejecht!

As you might know, Carhith (my girlfriend) recently got herself a new PC. She finally bought the Coolermaster CM 690 case. As far as I can say, it's a very nice and silent case with a good cooling concept.

I'm very happy with that case!
It's well thought out, silent and looks so cool with the blue LEDs:





Sorry for the bad quality of the pics I took them in a rush...

Carhith

[}TCP{Cee]

Isnt her case the 590 ?

[}TCP{Coco]

Hi!

That's what she wanted to buy originally, but before placing the order, she re-decided to take the 690. However, she didn't edit her post, so it's not really precise there. As far as I know, she also bought different RAMs (which were in the official compatibility list of her mainboard).

Coco.

[}TCP{Cee]

Hmm..But the pics she took seem to be of the 590. The 690 has a Coolermaster sign and the USB and other pluggage on the top of the case :p

[rejecht]

Although the suggested cases were good alternatives technically, I settled on my original choice, the P182, since it shared the characteristics of having sound dampening for HDDs and also the PSU, cable management under the mainboard. I added a Nexus 120 mm fan for the VGA card, so I have to sacrifice the upper HDD compartment.

My current PreCious (PC) basically has all the functions I need; a TV (through a USB adapter), a jukebox, a DVD player, a "playstation", etc, which leads me to the blue LEDs on the fans that do look cool, but turning off the lights when watching tv/movies will probably have them getting in the way for me (light pollution (how do you brits discern between "light" (as in coca-cola light) pollution and light pollution anyway? *digression*)). I'm already suffering due to a PC speaker by Creative which has an insanely bright blue LED nuking my retina, which I really should have put some black tape over by now. yarr

I rest my case. err

lol Mr./Ms. Cee just keeps going and going.

Anyway. Thanks! I'll see if I can post some thoughts on the obstacles I'm sure to encounter when moving the parts to the new case eventually (there's always something).

[Carhith]

Hmm..But the pics she took seem to be of the 590. The 690 has a Coolermaster sign and the USB and other pluggage on the top of the case :p

Cee is right, it's the 590!
As usual I only read "Cooler master" in Coco's text and ignored the number.

I tinkered with the idea of buying the 690 but it was more expensive...

Carhith

[}TCP{Ramses]

Hehe love that couch icon ... reminds me of watching Dr Who when I was 6