Silent case for gaming Antec P280 vs Corsair 550 D

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Of the two option there the Antec P280 comes closest to being an ideal quiet case.
Check out the NewEgg customer comments on the Feedback tab. Some 56 people have left comments you might be interested in.

On 'better for gaming' it's probably the Corsair 550D. Which is not a silent case either but it might just be quiet enough for you.


 
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Both are excellent cases with sound dampening materials and noise reduction designed into them. The real key to reducing noise is minimizing your noise makers and getting quiet components to put into your quiet case. Noise reduction is a delicate balance between airflow/cooling power and noise; you have to sacrifice one in order to improve the other. Your biggest noise sources in your PC are FANS and ODD/HDDs to a lesser extent. You can use a program like Speedfan to control the GPU fan. It can also potentially control fans speeds for other fans plugged into some of the mobo fan headers (not all the headers). I personally use a Scythe Kaze Master Pro fan controller for all of my fans except the GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998077
A high quality fan controller for up to 6 fans; excellent range of voltage control and display options. I have 3 fans in my P183, I set them to 1000RPM and enjoy the silence. BTW the fans are Yate Loon D12SL-12. Review: http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/yate_loon_d12sl-12_120mm_case_fan_review/3
4/$20 at Petra's Tech Shop: http://www.petrastechshop.com/12yalod1cafa.html
I used the OEM case fans with my P183 until they failed after 2 years and had to replace them. You can use the fans that come with either case, but these are great replacement fans for when they eventually fail.
 
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@ Rugger;
"The real key to reducing noise is minimizing your noise makers and getting quiet components to put into your quiet case. Noise reduction is a delicate balance between airflow/cooling power and noise; you have to sacrifice one in order to improve the other. "

Well said!
 
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Nice fan controller, but damn things would be better with a user settable Temperature alarm temp, 72c is a little low for many GFx cards and my CPUs still today...

While Folding@Home my :

5850 is up to 92c
CPU is up to 86c

on a hot day with no AC here

Really nice that it can turn fan voltages from 3.7 - 12v - or off
should be enough to make most fans quiet - sub 1,350rpm to my ears is usually quiet

My old CoolerMaster CoolDrive 4 fan controller is terrible...

had to add inline resistors to get my 2,000 rpm fans quiet in combination with it
+ was buggy and crashed now and then - could not change fan speeds
- or alarm maybe would start and not be stoppable etc
its build in 40mm fan was too loud on any setting - removed that junk lol
- then had to find a new fan control wire for a case fan..

- maybe you can tell I would not buy one of those again 😉
 
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You could have both at the expense of space if some cases were built with intake/exhaust strainers/mufflers to dampen airflow and other noises that would otherwise pass straight through fans and filters.
 
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That's SMOKIN! Fans can only blow so much air and air coolers are only so efficient at removing heat...I'd consider water cooling for that setup/usage. I'm using an H80 in a push-pull at 1000rpm; two of my three fans are on it. Stock clocked i3 2120 idles 2C over ambient. The fans stall between 700 and 800rpm. For alarms I just use Speedfan; software monitoring has been good enough for me.

Cooldrive4...definitely won't be getting that fan controller. Of course with my current controller I shouldn't need another one ofr my PC for a LONG time and many builds. Paid once for good quality and I hope it lasts a long time.
 
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Interesting concept that I think would really difficult to actually design/implement. Some issues:
1. Noise escaping thru non-standard intakes/exhausts such as the intake ports on the front panel of the P183
2. Controlling vibration noise transmitted via the case
3. Noise escaping thru other non-intake/exhaust areas. Cases aren't hermetically sealed; annoying noise will find a way out.

Now that I think about it you are still sacrificing airflow/cooling to reduce the noise; strainer/muffler will reduce airflow/cooling power to reduce the noise levels.
 
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Vibrations can be reduced by decoupling such as mounting fans to neoprene intermediate mounting frame. Drive cages could also be secured to the rest of the case with vibration-dampening pads.

Noise though "non-intake/exhaust" can be reduced by adding covers with noise-blocking gaskets to those areas. For the back IO area, the rear could have duct covers and cable grommets to contain most of the noise.

As for how much airflow would be sacrificed by straining/muffling, that really depends on how much space you sacrifice. If you can sacrifice a whole cubic meter of space specifically to this, the obstruction to airflow would be very small. If you only sacrifice a liter to it (1000X less space), airflow resistance for the same degree of noise reduction would naturally be orders of magnitude higher.

The best home-owner option for quiet computing would be to build an AV closet in your living room/office/whatever, dump all your computer/networking equipment there and give that closet its own taps into the HVAC system. This way, all but the absolute loudest components can still be made quiet.
 
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Agree with the noise/vibration dampening mounts/covers, the size argument for muffler/airflow (you still sacrifice airflow but it is made less consequential), and with a great noise reducting solution of isolating the equipment in a separate space (going completely passive is another option but precludes high-end graphics cards).

For me it's cheaper and simpler to get a fan controller and run some good quality fans at low RPMs. 😉
 
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I think if I was buying a Quiet case today for a new build...

I might go for the Antec P183

Antec made the case a little bigger than my old P182 making install / changes much easier + has just enough extra room for a card like my 5850 which was a Real squeeze in my P182 with 2 x drives in the opposing removable HDD caddy thing

used to have 7 x HDDs in my case lol

These cases can also remove an extra drive cage to be able to install a monster card and still have 4 dedicated HDD fan cooled slots left over

The P183 has several extra features than the P280 :

- an extra aluminium layer in the side panels
- a seperated bottom chamber housing PSU and rack for 4 x HDD (fan cooled)
- comes with 1 more TriCool antec 120mm fan I think

The TriCool fans have a Slow / Med / High settings
Only the cool setting is quiet and they cannot be connected to a fan controller

One thing about the P280 = the PSU air intake is on the bottom of the case, so if like me your PC sits on carpet... its air intake (with filter) will be heavily restricted
The PSU can draw a limited amount of air from its bottom from inside the case also, so will not get completely blocked by carpet.

Personally is all a matter of taste, for me the P183 seems to have been built to a much higher standard than the P280

But... the P280 has 2 x top 120mm fans aligned to be compatible with water cooling radiators which is a possible bonus :)

Have not been following other brands quiet cases in recent times so much to comment on them.
 
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