Quiet Gaming Cases, Part 2: Corsair, Fractal, And Gigabyte

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6 more cases to review? That is great! I been eying an effective noise damping case for awhile to replace my old Antec Three Hundred (been disappointed with the noise dampening kit that i added).
 
I'd like to apologize for a previous post. I posted on the day 1 article that I hoped that in the following days something other than large ATX cases would be covered. I must have read the article too quickly in my excitement for more case reviews. I misunderstood this series of articles to be about silent gaming cases. I read day 2 a bit more careful after seeing that all the cases in it were full ATX and realized that this is a series for the best silent overclocked workstation case. It's hard to see what else it could be given that all the cases had to accommodate a $1k processor and all but require a $300-$400 ATX motherboards. I found two acceptable and one unacceptable micro-ATX option but they were all inferior to the ATX versions. I just built a gaming machine and from what I have read, I am WAY out of the norm for putting an i7 instead of i5 processor in my box as the i5 runs games almost as well as an i7 for much less money. It's almost always better to put more money into the GPU for pure gaming performance.

The requirement for a USB 3.0 port on the front of the case is so odd that I almost don't believe I read that correctly. Did I? I've always been a bit dubious of USB on the front of a case for several reasons but I didn't car that much as I don't think they cause problems unless used. However, to ONLY review silent cases with this feature seems like a needless way to eliminate potentially good cases for no good reason. Why not eliminate cases without front panel card readers or audio jacks? Only cases with top mounted PSUs and transverse internal drive bays. While certainly a feature cared about by a lot of people other than me, it seems needlessly outside the scope of the article.
 
i just built my first pc ever using the define r4 arctic white. it isn't as macintosh-y in person as i had envisioned it or seen in photos. but, i still love the case. one thing i had trouble with, though--out of everything else involved in first time pc building--was installing the mobo standoffs and then fitting the mobo in the i/o shield. screws were also the toughest part. anyway, i am nitpicking. but, i still wish i could have gotten that one standoff in there. as is, the case only has 8 of the 9 standoffs installed since the one standoff kept standing off and not screwed flush to the tray. i even used pliers but i just ended up stripping it. so, i did without it since the mobo would not fit in the i/o shield otherwise. do you guys think it is ok that my mobo is only supported by 8 standoffs of the 9 total? i know this isn't google or a pc forum but thought i'd ask anyway. thanks in advance.
 
I found two acceptable and one unacceptable micro-ATX option but they were all inferior to the ATX versions.
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Which would those be ? I found that generally mATX cases are superior in the same price range, but there arent that many options that support all modern standards, seeing how people love their huge fat useless ATX coffins. In regards to this very article, Define Mini is almost exactly the same as Define Normal, and, since it only has 1 fan outlet on top, you could argue Define Mini is even quieter and cooler as a result.
 
[citation][nom]grokem[/nom]I'd like to apologize for a previous post. I posted on the day 1 article that I hoped that in the following days something other than large ATX cases would be covered.[/citation] But anything smaller wouldn't hold the test platform.[citation][nom]grokem[/nom]I must have read the article too quickly in my excitement for more case reviews. I misunderstood this series of articles to be about silent gaming cases.[/citation]Not silent, just quieted. Jumping back to Q1, that would be quieted cases that hold the test platform.[citation][nom]grokem[/nom]I read day 2 a bit more careful after seeing that all the cases in it were full ATX and realized that this is a series for the best silent overclocked workstation case.[/citation]See response above.[citation][nom]grokem[/nom]It's hard to see what else it could be given that all the cases had to accommodate a $1k processor and all but require a $300-$400 ATX motherboards.[/citation]The processor was picked as a source of heat. The graphics card and CPU cooler were picked as sources of noise. If the tester had three GTX 580's, you might have gotten an SLI article with even more heat and noise.[citation][nom]grokem[/nom]I found two acceptable and one unacceptable micro-ATX option but they were all inferior to the ATX versions.[/citation]Doesn't that make the test platform appear more sensible?[citation][nom]grokem[/nom]I just built a gaming machine and from what I have read, I am WAY out of the norm for putting an i7 instead of i5 processor in my box as the i5 runs games almost as well as an i7 for much less money.[/citation] That's true, but there aren't any i5's that can produce this much heat without burning out quickly. The test processor was intended to be a little over-the-top concerning heat.[citation][nom]grokem[/nom]It's almost always better to put more money into the GPU for pure gaming performance.[/citation]Yes, and SLI would have been picked if the tester had matched cards. That is, in spite of the fact that most users don't have SLI. Again, all in the effort to create large thermal and noise maximums.[citation][nom]grokem[/nom]The requirement for a USB 3.0 port on the front of the case is so odd that I almost don't believe I read that correctly. Did I? I've always been a bit dubious of USB on the front of a case for several reasons but I didn't car that much as I don't think they cause problems unless used. However, to ONLY review silent cases with this feature seems like a needless way to eliminate potentially good cases for no good reason.[/citation]No good reason? USB 3.0 has been the current standard for 2 years, would you prefer to eliminate headset jacks as well?[citation][nom]grokem[/nom]Why not eliminate cases without front panel card readers[/citation]They're not standard.[citation][nom]grokem[/nom]or audio jacks?[/citation]No need, all qualifying cases have them.[citation][nom]grokem[/nom]Only cases with top mounted PSUs and transverse internal drive bays.[/citation]Those aren't standards.[citation][nom]grokem[/nom]While certainly a feature cared about by a lot of people other than me, it seems needlessly outside the scope of the article.[/citation]Exactly.
 
[citation][nom]LauRoman[/nom]At first i thought the Gigabyte is a BTX but it's just upside-down. Any reason for that?[/citation]It's just an old design that was popular around the same time as BTX. Back when this was popular, the chipsets of upside-down motherboards would often overheat due to the heat pipe also being upside-down. Chipsets have gotten cooler, chipset heatpipes have had wicking material added to make them work better in alternative configurations, but the cases never regained popularity.
 
Ive been working on a silent PC for a long time and i can honestly say that "Prebuild" Cases are normally bad at it.

Ive been using a thermaltake Kandalf LCS with custom Fans and even made a custom side fan that is inaudible from 30 CM away, some pads to absorb noise... etc.

Unfortuantelly its always better and cheaper if you do it yourself.
 


USB 3.0 is one of a very few tangible, day-to-day-relevant differences between cases today and cases yesterday. Like you, I personally don't consider (the lack of) USB 3.0 support on the front panel a deal breaker, but that's why I didn't buy a new case when I built my new rig in October; the circa-2002 case collecting dust in my basement sufficed just fine.

If I were intent to buy a new case, I wouldn't buy one without USB 3.0. It might not be a big deal right now, but a computer case can be used for years and years and years. It'd be a real shame to spend money on a case that doesn't support what will doubtlessly become the new standard in USB connectivity going forward. For what it's worth, I'm grateful that Tom's has its readers' long-term interest in mind.

More to the point though, and to echo the preface to the article, Tom's has to limit the pool of potential subjects for case roundups, or else the review process would take a year. USB 3.0 might seem like an arbitrary criterion, but it serves an important practical purpose both in the immediate term (for the reviewer) and in the long term (for the reader).

All of that said, I wish there were more cases with top-mounted PSU designs. That's not a knock on the review; it's just a comment on the prevailing trend among case manufacturers. The bottom-mounted-PSU design makes a lot of sense in the abstract, but for people like me with thick carpet and many pets, the prospect of placing even a filtered PSU intake on the floor doesn't thrill me. Then again, I'm willing to concede that my needs aren't necessarily the needs of Tom's main readership.
 
I bought the Corsair 600t and modded it out with alternatively: the original panel doors with added noise reducing foam (on both side panels), and, in the second configuration the grill side panel rigged with 4 X 120 mm fans. I also modded out all of the fans (excepting the original 2 X 100 mm fans at the front and top) for Cougar fans. I know that you are not doing anything but factory builds, but I believe that the Corsair with the solid foam added side panels and Cougar fans will surpass any of your cases in noise. BTW the configuration is ASRock P67 Extreme 6, SB 2500K, 2 X GTX 470s (one modded with the Zalman 3000 cooler the other a non standard Galaxy GC card) , The Antec H20 90 CPU cooler with push pull Cougar 120 fans. Even though (excepting the closed loop Antec CPU cooler) my cooling is air it runs as quiet as others who have dedicated watter coolers.
 
[citation][nom]au_equus[/nom]FD's R4 has been at $80 for the past week. Just picked one up last night http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811352020[/citation]
How are you liking it? I have an R3 and a Node 304 and they are both excellent cases. Fractal makes 5 star cases
 
Excellent review. Now I'm wondering whether to sell my CM Haf XM and grab FD R4. I like how my XM moves air and keep my hardware cool all the time even with max settings but I think more quieter case is warranted for my next build.
 
The Define R4 does have a removable lower cage. They do this so that you can in fact move the lower cage back slightly and fit a 240 rad in the front. This is the setup I have (CPU cooling only) and it is beautifully quiet. My PC is mostly used for work where I need a fast CPU, so I just put up with the noise from my gfx card when gaming as that's when you'll have the speakers ramped up anyway!

My 2500K is OC'd to 4.5GHz and will sit at 60C on full load, that is with all fans at 5V and my water pump at 40%. I do however have a nice and cool 4870 in there.
 
The Define R4 does have a removable lower cage. They do this so that you can in fact move the lower cage back slightly and fit a 240 rad in the front. This is the setup I have (CPU cooling only) and it is beautifully quiet. My PC is mostly used for work where I need a fast CPU, so I just put up with the noise from my gfx card when gaming as that's when you'll have the speakers ramped up anyway!

My 2500K is OC'd to 4.5GHz and will sit at 60C on full load, that is with all fans at 5V and my water pump at 40%. I do however have a nice and cool 4870 in there.
 
[citation][nom]lovett1991[/nom]The Define R4 does have a removable lower cage. They do this so that you can in fact move the lower cage back slightly and fit a 240 rad in the front.[/citation]The radiator mounting option was already mentioned in the article prior to publication, but the removable lower cage comment was not added due to poor re-editing by the author himself (rather than the fact checker). That artifact was addressed in a post-publication edit, but thanks for reminding everyone who saw the early edition :)
 
[citation][nom]Cats_Paw[/nom]Ive been working on a silent PC for a long time and i can honestly say that "Prebuild" Cases are normally bad at it.Ive been using a thermaltake Kandalf LCS with custom Fans and even made a custom side fan that is inaudible from 30 CM away, some pads to absorb noise... etc.Unfortuantelly its always better and cheaper if you do it yourself.[/citation]
am i missing something? you say prebuilt cases are bad then go on to say you use a prebuilt case. also its news to me that people make their own cases. what do you do wield a metal box together?
 
First let me say I DO appreciate the reviews and I read each one with interest. I appreciate how much work goes into reviewing each case. I'm also extremely interested in quiet cases so I was extremely excited to see a multi-article series about them specifically for gaming. I guess I naively read day one thinking the target was quiet gaming cases. Given the headline it would seem reasonable that an overclocked i7 or i5 with a fast video card and a micro-ATX motherboard would be the ideal test setup given that this was the recommended $2k rig back in the Q4 System Builder Marathon. It is my fault for not reading the testing setup outline.

Also, to clarify the front port USB comment. My problem wasn't requiring that the port be USB 3.0 but requiring a port at all. It seems outside of the scope of testing quiet gaming cases. These sorts of features come down to personal preference like a dozen other features a case might include. In the end you weigh them all and make a choice. These reviews are great for giving you all the information about a case so you can make that choice. Given that they are already reviewing nine cases!; I'm certainly not suggesting that they should have reviewed more. I do think possibly some manufactures would have chosen a different case to represent the best case in their lineup without the USB and ATX/eATX requirement.
 
[citation][nom]grokem[/nom]Given the headline it would seem reasonable that an overclocked i7 or i5 with a fast video card and a micro-ATX motherboard would be the ideal test setup given that this was the recommended $2k rig back in the Q4 System Builder Marathon.[/citation] Sorry, Q4 $2k build used a full ATX motherboard with CrossFire graphics. A CPU that produces more heat was chosen for the case article because a higher level of heat produces a higher delta between cases (more heat makes it easier to define how much better or worse a case is at removing it). The old GTX 580 was picked specifically for noise, and it would have been used in SLI if two matching GTX 580's had been available to the author.

The test formula is really quite simple, start with the form factor most-preferred by gamers (FULL ATX), add a bunch of heat and noise, then test.
 
[citation][nom]vanwazltoff[/nom]How are you liking it? I have an R3 and a Node 304 and they are both excellent cases. Fractal makes 5 star cases[/citation]
For a $80 that feels like $150 case? Great. Not only the appearance and the build of the case, but the little things, such as the rubber dampners in the HDD cages, the option to rotate or remove the upper HDD cage, the fan control wiring, 140mm fans... etc, make the R4 far superior to all the other sub-$100 cases I've dealt with. The build is for someone else, but the temptation to swap out my antec 900-2 is strong. 😉
The node 304 looks solid. FD will definitely be on the top of my list of my next build.
 
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