Which (small) silent case?

[[H]omer]

I'm starting a new system from scratch, and I'm looking for a
silent/quiet, full-factor, ATX case.

I'd like it to be as small as possible, only needing to accommodate 2 ext
5.25 and 3 int 2.5 + floppy, but not HTPC or MicroATX.

Other than that, my only other requirements are that it has (or can
accommodate) ports at the front for:

.. USB2
.. Firewire 800
.. Audio DIN (headphone)

The mobo is a Gigibyte GA-8ANXP-D.

Any suggestions?

TIA,

-
[H]omer

 

[John McGaw]

I'm starting a new system from scratch, and I'm looking for a
silent/quiet, full-factor, ATX case.

I'd like it to be as small as possible, only needing to accommodate 2 ext
5.25 and 3 int 2.5 + floppy, but not HTPC or MicroATX.

Other than that, my only other requirements are that it has (or can
accommodate) ports at the front for:

. USB2
. Firewire 800
. Audio DIN (headphone)

The mobo is a Gigibyte GA-8ANXP-D.

Any suggestions?

TIA,

-
[H]omer

The Antec Sonata has a pretty good reputation in the quiet quality case
field. I haven't used one personally but am considering it for my next
build. The only thing I can find to dislike about it is that it is not
aluminum but the 1mm steel they used is probabaly better for silencing.

http://arstechnica.com/reviews/003/cases/sonata/sonata-1.html

 

[wooducoodu]

the evercase 4252 is one of the best cases for making a cool and quiet
system.

http://www.evercase.com/newsite/2product/index4252.htm

www.silentpcreview.com

 

[Dave C.]

the evercase 4252 is one of the best cases for making a cool and quiet
system.

http://www.evercase.com/newsite/2product/index4252.htm

www.silentpcreview.com

I have that case. It is a generic cheapie and not exactly small. While I
don't think it's any noisier than any other case, I don't see how the case
itself is any quieter than any other case you could name. If it's quiet you
seek, make sure that each fan (cpu, power supply, case) is less than 30db.
That should do it as ambient noise is often louder than that. -Dave

 

[wooducoodu]

you can only get so small and still be a full atx case and there's a
difference between cheap and inexpensive. the 4252 is an inexpensive case
but its a good solid build with excellent airflow and the hard drive cage
allows for mounting with vibration dampening grommets.

 

[Dave C.]

you can only get so small and still be a full atx case and there's a
difference between cheap and inexpensive. the 4252 is an inexpensive case
but its a good solid build with excellent airflow and the hard drive cage
allows for mounting with vibration dampening grommets.

Yeah, I wondered about that. I mean, I read the OP asking for small, silent
and full ATX. Isn't that like asking what's the smallest truck that can
haul 3 tons and do it quietly? Smaller cases need more airflow, but
more airflow means more noise. And anything that will fit a full ATX board
is (relatively speaking) HUGE.

If I was going for small and quiet, I'd go with an Antec Aria with a
micro-ATX board with an 8X AGP slot and built in (sound and lan). If your
sound and lan is built in, it's not likely you'd need more than 3 PCI slots
anyway. But then if you need full atx size, you're back to big cases that
are easy to cool or slimline cases requiring gobs of airflow to prevent heat
build-up in the cramped quarters. -Dave

 

[Matt]

Smaller cases need more airflow,

How did you come up with that?

 

[Mac Cool]

Matt:

How did you come up with that?

Interesting idea, on the surface it makes sense. The components output the
same heat in a small case as they do in a large case; a small room warms
up quicker than a large room, so it seems logical.

 

[David Maynard]

Matt:




Interesting idea, on the surface it makes sense. The components output the
same heat in a small case as they do in a large case; a small room warms
up quicker than a large room, so it seems logical.

Except you're comparing how fast a stagnant room warms up vs airflow: a
classic apples and oranges situation.

Airflow carries heat away with the amount of airflow dictated by the amount
of heat that needs to be transported

 

[Ed_]

I'm starting a new system from scratch, and I'm looking for a
silent/quiet, full-factor, ATX case.

I'd like it to be as small as possible, only needing to accommodate 2 ext
5.25 and 3 int 2.5 + floppy, but not HTPC or MicroATX.

Other than that, my only other requirements are that it has (or can
accommodate) ports at the front for:

. USB2
. Firewire 800
. Audio DIN (headphone)

The mobo is a Gigibyte GA-8ANXP-D.

Any suggestions?

TIA,

May I suggest that you look at Antec's SuperLanboy. It's smaller than the
Sonata, much lighter in weight, almost as silent and keeps this system at 39/28
idle and 45/30 load.

Antec SuperLanboy w/ Antec TRUE480BLUE PS
Asus A7N8X v2.0-DX, Nvidia nForce2 Ultra400
AMD Barton 2500 Retail
1024MB Corsair Value Select 3200DDR
PriMaster-WD800JB
PriSlave-WD1200JB
SATA Controller-Samsung SP1614C (Single-No Raid)
LiteOn Combo SOHO-5232K
Liton DVDRW SOHOW-832
Onboard Soundstorm Nvidia MCP2 APU
Nvidia GForce FX 5700LE
Leadtek Winfast TV2000 XP-Expert PVR
EPI Envision EN-985E 19" CRT Monitor
Windows XP-Pro SP2
Canon D660OU Scanner
Logitech Z2200 2.1 Speakers

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=11-129-145&DEPA=1

I built this system last December for my daughter but, after using it for a few
weeks, I decided to give her one of my Sonata's instead. Great little case that
will surprise you in how much you can easily fit in it.

Ed

-
[H]omer

 

[Matt]

Except you're comparing how fast a stagnant room warms up vs airflow: a
classic apples and oranges situation.

Airflow carries heat away with the amount of airflow dictated by the
amount of heat that needs to be transported

Thank you.

On second thought, a small case has less surface area, so the heat loss
through the walls is less, so it needs more air flow to maintain the
same temperature. But I doubt that much heat goes out through the walls
anyway, and I doubt that case size has much of an effect.

 

[Matt]

David Maynard wrote:

On third thought, a small case may have less internal diffusion of hot
air, so that the cool incoming air hits the hot spots directly. Then
the heat exchange is more efficient, and not as much airflow is needed.

 

[David Maynard]

Thank you.

On second thought, a small case has less surface area, so the heat loss
through the walls is less, so it needs more air flow to maintain the
same temperature. But I doubt that much heat goes out through the walls
anyway, and I doubt that case size has much of an effect.

Your second thoughts on the matter were correct. Heat conduction through
the case walls is minor compared to the airflow.

 

[David Maynard]

David Maynard wrote:

On third thought, a small case may have less internal diffusion of hot
air, so that the cool incoming air hits the hot spots directly. Then
the heat exchange is more efficient, and not as much airflow is needed.

It isn't really so much the 'diffusion' as it is having air paths that
bypass the heat producing areas. I.E. wasting airflow by it being 'short
circuited' from intake to exhaust (not picking up the heat).

E.g. Airflow going from the intake, skirting up the center of the case
(path of least resistance), and then out through the butt end of the PSU
isn't doing a heck of a lot to remove hot CPU heatsink air; Which is why
'bottom' PSU fans and, especially, the rear case fan mount are common
today: They pull air directly from the hot spot.

The real problem with small cases isn't that they necessarily need more
airflow but that, because they're small, efficient fan placement can be
problematic. For example, it's dern hard to stick the same rear 80mm fan on
a case that's 4 inches tall when half of it is taken up by the mobo rear
I/O panel. 3.15 inches of fan just don't go into 2 inches of panel space
worth spit.

 

[Mac Cool]

David Maynard:

Except you're comparing how fast a stagnant room warms up vs airflow:
a classic apples and oranges situation.

Not at all... We are not comparing stagnant room vs airflow, we are
comparing large ventilated case vs small ventilated case.

You have a good point about the airflow, which is why I phrased my
statement the way I did, "on the surface it makes sense". I'm not going
to come out and say that case size does not matter because I don't know
that is true.

If the smaller case has less ventilation (fewer or smaller vents), then
Dave is correct, it will need more airflow (higher cfm fan) to remove
the same amount of heat.

Airflow carries heat away with the amount of airflow dictated by the
amount of heat that needs to be transported

I'm not sure I understand this statement. Can you rephrase it?

 

[David Maynard]

David Maynard:




Not at all...

Yes, at all.

We are not comparing stagnant room vs airflow, we are
comparing large ventilated case vs small ventilated case.

'Warming a room' is talking about how much energy it takes to heat up a
particular volume but we're not talking about how long it will take to heat
a PC case to warm and fuzzy. We are, if done properly, taking the heat
out as fast as it's being put in. And the amount of energy being dissipated
determines that, the airflow needed, not the case size.

You have a good point about the airflow, which is why I phrased my
statement the way I did, "on the surface it makes sense". I'm not going
to come out and say that case size does not matter because I don't know
that is true.

If the smaller case has less ventilation (fewer or smaller vents), then
Dave is correct, it will need more airflow (higher cfm fan) to remove
the same amount of heat.

And what is the significance of the vents? That heat goes out of them so
fewer means less heat expelled? And how does the heat go out through them?
airflow

All you're saying is if there is too little airflow (through the vents)
then you need more (by adding fans), but that says nothing about needing
'more' *total* airflow.

I'm not sure I understand this statement. Can you rephrase it?

What determines how much airflow one needs is the amount of heat to be
removed, not the size of the enclosure.

 

[Mac Cool]

David Maynard:

We are, if done properly, taking the heat out as fast as it's being
put in. And the amount of energy being dissipated determines that,
the airflow needed, not the case size.

Got it, just had to think about it, thanks.

 

[David Maynard]

David Maynard:




Got it, just had to think about it, thanks.

You're welcome.

The other half of the problem, or course, is whether the airflow is efficient.