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Which "QUIET CASE" For A Recording PC?


Player99

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I got my new pc the other day. It is an i7 3770; Assus mobo; 16 gigs 1833khz ram; 1 gig fanless graphics card; 240gig SSD dtive; 2 TB sata 3 drive; and some other tidbits.

 

The problem is the case. The store recommended the Antec Sonata IV. I could not see it until after the build, and I don't think it is very special for the price. I am going to return it and need some recommendations please.

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I'm not really sure what the best "quiet" case is at the moment. I'd suggest asking over on the recording forums - while the traffic is lower and you may have to wait a day or two, chances are better you'll get replies from people who are just as concerned about radiated noise levels as you are.

 

FWIW, I'm a fan of tool-free designs, and I like big (120mm) fans moving relatively slowly vs small fans at higher RPM.

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Quiet PSU and a fanless CPU cooler is what you need. What do you have in there at the minute?

 

On my rebuilt PC, I have a Scythe Ninja and a Nexus 430 watt power supply (http://www.quietpc.com/nx-value-430). Case is a Fractal Designs Define (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-019-FD&groupid=2362&catid=1556&subcat=).

 

I run two case fans at varying voltages. If I'm maxing the processor then I stick the fans at 12v and it's still very quiet indeed. Down to 9v or 7v, it's even better.

 

If you go for cases with more sound absorption qualities then you will need case fans to ensure airflow around the case.

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Quiet PSU and a fanless CPU cooler is what you need. What do you have in there at the minute?

 

 

The case comes with a 620volt psu, and what ever fan comes with the i7 3770.

 

I was going to go with a 400 watt fanless psu but I got tricked out of it by the salesman.

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The case comes with a 620volt psu, and what ever fan comes with the i7 3770.


I was going to go with a 400 watt fanless psu but I got tricked out of it by the salesman.

 

 

No need to go fanless. The noise modern 'quiet' PSU's produce is pretty minimal. In my system, I can honestly say the hard drive is noisier than the entire system.

 

I'd dump the stock cooler and get a fanless one. Also if you used the stock thermal paste, get something better. Using better quality thermal paste to transfer the heat to the heatsink can make a huge difference. I recently redid my laptop and the temperature of the CPU dropped by nearly 15 C.

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Thanks Phil. Do you know if the insulated cases are any better than the regular metal?

 

 

I've personally never bothered with it, but I have a couple of friends who have done the limp mass + foam treatments to their case interiors, and it helps - especially if you're having issues with case panel resonances / sympathetic vibrations.

 

On my current PC, I have a Thermaltake Tsunami Dream case, which is several years old now. It's tool-less, and pretty nice. Best features are the shock / rubber iso mounts for the HDDs, the large size, good air flow, and large case fans. My mobo uses heat pipes for a lot of the cooling, and I always try to get good quiet CPU fans, even if it means a few extra bucks. Ditto that for the power supply - and I always try to get an over-rated PSU. Big fans, slow turns... and I also rubber-isolate the fans with gaskets. I like fanless graphics cards whenever possible - it's a DAW, not a game system, so high end graphics aren't that crucial. Anything you can do to cut down on sympathetic vibrations, HDD noise, and case / GPU / CPU fan noise, the quieter the system will be.

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