Silent(Relatively) case for my QX 9650 build

[tekjunkie]

First for the parts

QX9650 -(L739A732)
TRUE 120 with SFLEX 1600 RPM
8800 GTX SLI
TT toughpower 1000W modular
2 150 GB Raptors in RAID 0+ Seagate 750GB
P5N-T Deluxe for now, Striker II Extreme(on order from NCIX)
Crosair xms2 4GB,OCZ 1600 DDR3 Platinum 2GB
2 DVD drives(1 BDR+ 1 DVDRW)(on it's way from newegg)
Have to decide between XHD3000 or the planar 26''(Cant remember the model)
Logitech Z5500

Now, for the problem.

I have been looking around a long time for a silent case that has good airflow. It seems like such a thing does not exist. The case does not have to be dead silent(with the high end components), but relatively silent. To give you an idea, I have a P180B and find the tri cools a bit loud on medium and OK on low and had them replaced with Noctua S-12s.


I was hell bent on the cosmos, only to find out the problem with the air flow. Then saw the armor+, but too open for my liking.

My budget is around $350, maybe $400, for air cooled case and I MIGHT go WC later.


Sorry about my rambling, but am really frustrated trying to find the right case.
Please help.

[tekjunkie]

OOPS!! forgot to mention that I am not worried about the looks, it has to be a full tower and preferably steel so that the case doesn't resonate. Also, a removable MOBO tray and cable management would be a plus.

[dingdong555]

Well..

Have you checked out the Silverstone TJ07, awesome CASE!! can mount internally Water cooling etc...

Everything you want BUT I am not too sure on the silence, my case is coming in a few weeks so i could probably tell you then but i'm sure other people will know =)

[fallwind]

Have you looked at the regular TT Armor case with the 25cm side fan? It's not as flashy as the Armor+ and the big fan is silent and really helps cool the MB. Lots of room for water cooling if you need it. You can mount a 2x120mm rad up front and still have 5 drive bays free for your other stuff plus the 3 HD bays by the PSU.

[filthysanchez]

Stacker or the Lian Li equivalent(PC-A16/A17 or wait for the A77)

A V series is a good choice too.

[[XC] NetburstXE]

Have you looked at the regular TT Armor case with the 25cm side fan? It's not as flashy as the Armor+ and the big fan is silent and really helps cool the MB. Lots of room for water cooling if you need it. You can mount a 2x120mm rad up front and still have 5 drive bays free for your other stuff plus the 3 HD bays by the PSU.

I'd also for the armor. With the side fan it has great cooling and it isn't too loud. It is definitely a huge case and has plenty of room for internal watercooling. Also, it is only like $150!

[tekjunkie]

Well..

Have you checked out the Silverstone TJ07, awesome CASE!! can mount internally Water cooling etc...

Everything you want BUT I am not too sure on the silence, my case is coming in a few weeks so i could probably tell you then but i'm sure other people will know =)


I did consider it, but many people(including a lot of 'em here @ XS) say that it's not that suitable for air cooling. A nice case though. Thanks for your suggestion and I hope you enjoy ur TJ-07

[tekjunkie]

Stacker or the Lian Li equivalent(PC-A16/A17 or wait for the A77)

A V series is a good choice too.

I amost pushed the button on A-71. Looks to be a nice case. The only thing that stopped me from doing it is, it's an aluminum case. Maybe in hindsight it's a good thing that I didn't buy it coz I saw the PC-V2110 and it looks good(Aluminum again, but o well).


I am also curious about the inverted layout of the Lian Li's. Does it cause any problems if the motherboard has passive heat pipe(like the striker II extreme) cooling and put in one of them??. Convetional wisdom says, as the heat cannot rise up from the SB/MCP, it will overheat. Am I wrong??

[tekjunkie]

Have you looked at the regular TT Armor case with the 25cm side fan? It's not as flashy as the Armor+ and the big fan is silent and really helps cool the MB. Lots of room for water cooling if you need it. You can mount a 2x120mm rad up front and still have 5 drive bays free for your other stuff plus the 3 HD bays by the PSU.

I'd also for the armor. With the side fan it has great cooling and it isn't too loud. It is definitely a huge case and has plenty of room for internal watercooling. Also, it is only like $150!


Thanks you guys, but I am looking for as closed a case as possible with good air flow(with no side plastic windows or anything like that). Thanks anyway for your suggestions.

[filthysanchez]

The striker II extreme should work fine in an inverted setup, it's current enough to have a wick in the heatpipes.

[ragzarok]

Hello,
I highly recommend the Cosmos. My reason for doing so is pretty simple: the airflow thing can be easily fixed with little modding. Mine is now loaded with 9x120mm, 3x80mm and 2x60mm fans; and it is yet just humming along with a quiet swoosh. The loudest noise is the seek noise from the raptor, but that is because the raptor is mounted on the top of the case between the top bars. Of course, when all the fans are turned on during a gaming session, it does get audibly loud in a quiet room. But even then, still tolerable, and still only lowers the temps by 4 - 5 degrees, meaning the airflow is pretty much optimized.

[tekjunkie]

Hello,
I highly recommend the Cosmos. My reason for doing so is pretty simple: the airflow thing can be easily fixed with little modding. Mine is now loaded with 9x120mm, 3x80mm and 2x60mm fans; and it is yet just humming along with a quiet swoosh. The loudest noise is the seek noise from the raptor, but that is because the raptor is mounted on the top of the case between the top bars. Of course, when all the fans are turned on during a gaming session, it does get audibly loud in a quiet room. But even then, still tolerable, and still only lowers the temps by 4 - 5 degrees, meaning the airflow is pretty much optimized.

Wow, thats an extreme setup you got there. Pictures would be nice. I appreciate all the help guys. Keep it comming.

[ragzarok]

Ok hold on.
I will brave the laziness jsut for you.

Mods not done.

Mostly chopping off parts of the case, painting, and a little bit of time on the cnc.

I guess the important part is the temps (@idle)
E8400@4.1@48
8800GT@730Mhz@38
HDDRaptor@38
HDD WD500x5 (In HDD Cage)@42

With all fans@max
E8400@4.1@45
8800GT@730Mhz@36
HDDRaptor@35
HDD WD500x5 (In HDD Cage)@41

Notes: the 80mm's are all modded @ 7v. The 2 fans for the RAM were noisy, so I put them @ 5v. Created that bracket on top to screw that thing in and lift it off of the video card ( these things leave absolutely no room for videocards and might short the VC) Created a little deflector on the HDD cage to divert some intake air to the HDDs.

[img=http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/1416/mods2kq5.th.jpg] (http://img156.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mods2kq5.jpg)
[img=http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/5880/mods3hp8.th.jpg] (http://img187.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mods3hp8.jpg)
[img=http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/7038/mods2ml9.th.jpg] (http://img187.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mods2ml9.jpg)
[img=http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/8563/modsal3.th.jpg] (http://img186.imageshack.us/my.php?image=modsal3.jpg)
[img=http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/6168/modstopsf6.th.jpg] (http://img338.imageshack.us/my.php?image=modstopsf6.jpg)

[tekjunkie]

Wow nice job on the mod:up: . I don't think I can think of modding anything ,coz

1. I live in an apartment
2. I am too bad @ doing anything like this.

Lol, #2 is also the reason that's stopping me from going WC. I really am afraid that I am gonna screw some thing up, like I screwed up my P5WDH while taking the back plate off.

So, I don't know. I guess I will wait for the new V series to come out and them make a decision.


Thanks for taking time off to take pictures. I really appreciate your help on this.