Question What is the quietest case you've ever used? with a tempered glass panel if possible!

[mossi]

Looking for potential candidates to upgrade my case to and I love quiet cases. I'm not about the airflow, I don't really believe in it as my case hardly has any as all the fans are down to the quietest setting yet everything is nice and cool! I'm all about the acoustics but I'd like to go RGB potentially and have a case with a tempered glass panel as well. Any suggestions?

 

[Aeacus]

Any PC case with TG side panel will do. And here, it doesn't come down to PC case itself, but the hardware/fans you put into it. E.g: if i were to take a "quiet" case like Corsair 400Q and put a Noctua NF-F12 industrialPPC-3000 PWM fan into it which outputs 43.5 dB(A), then you can be certain that the PC won't be quiet at all, despite the claims it being quiet.

But if you want best noise normalized thermals, then take a look of GamersNexus PC case roundup of 2022;

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL5uttjPWZE

 

[Phaaze88]

Someone call me crazy, but 'quietest' is not decided by the case.
Fans are the most audible device in any case - custom fan curves are a thing.
Motherboard VRM switching frequency - enabling/disabling motherboard power saving features, like VRM Spread Spectrum and Cool 'n Quiet.
Psu/gpu coil whine - power limit the gpu, use fps limits. Replace gpu/psu if that doesn't work.

 

[LinuxDevice]

I agree with @Phaaze88, cases are not the only participant in noise. You can get a very quiet case and improve noise with any given set of components, but I've found that AIO cooler for CPU will quiet things down as well. Mix a good case with AIO and some of the other fans can slow down, plus distributing fans over a larger radiator means less fan noise for a given level of cooling (smaller higher RPM fans make much more noise for a given air flow).

 

[mossi]

I agree in principle with all of the above although the loudest thing for me has been HDD hum and I have 2 old 1TB HDDs which I don't really need anymore and I'll replace them with a 1TB SATA SSD just for the storage.
So I did consider that perhaps the case doesn't really matter because the Fractal Design R4 which I have which has noise isolation foam inside it etc couldn't block out completely fan noise and it could zero about the hum of the HDD that vibrated all throughout the case.
So I may look for a tempered glass side for the R4 instead.. and get some RGB fans maybe with a controller.. will be cheaper defo.

 

[Phaaze88]

the loudest thing for me has been HDD hum...

Another crazy idea: try changing the orientation of the drive.
One side is going to be louder than the other, so point that towards the side of the case - the cable management side.
If they already sit horizontally in the PC, you might have to get a little creative on how to hold them in place vertically if the case doesn't support it. Zip ties, velcro ties...

 

[norcalsc]

fractal cases are very much sound insulated

 

[mossi]

Another crazy idea: try changing the orientation of the drive.
One side is going to be louder than the other, so point that towards the side of the case - the cable management side.
If they already sit horizontally in the PC, you might have to get a little creative on how to hold them in place vertically if the case doesn't support it. Zip ties, velcro ties...

I actually use foam, I've bought a reject piece of foam from a shop that does foam cushions etc and use that for the HDDs. I've been lazy admittedly with my main PC and still have them on the actual brackets. I use a 2TB HDD on my media PC that sits encased in foam (temperature is fine) and held in place with heavy duty rubber bands and I don't hear that at all. I'll probably migrated my HDDs there because I don't really care if I lose data on the media PC but if you haven't used foam it's absolutely amazing in terms of almost entirely eradicating vibrations!

 

[LinuxDevice]

I agree in principle with all of the above although the loudest thing for me has been HDD hum and I have 2 old 1TB HDDs which I don't really need anymore and I'll replace them with a 1TB SATA SSD just for the storage.
So I did consider that perhaps the case doesn't really matter because the Fractal Design R4 which I have which has noise isolation foam inside it etc couldn't block out completely fan noise and it could zero about the hum of the HDD that vibrated all throughout the case.
So I may look for a tempered glass side for the R4 instead.. and get some RGB fans maybe with a controller.. will be cheaper defo.

Old style mechanical drives can actually get a rubberized mount to quiet them. If they are not "hard coupled" to the chassis, then such noise goes down. I've not found most mechanical drives too annoying, but the helium filled models (which are IMHO better) do make more noise. The SSD itself is obviously a perfect solution for that

 

[Aeacus]

Fractal Design Meshify 2: This case is known for its excellent noise dampening properties and has a tempered glass panel on the side. It also has support for RGB lighting and has plenty of airflow to keep your components cool.

Same goes to the Be Quiet! Silent Base lineup as well, which i'd prefer using over Fractal,
link: https://www.bequiet.com/en/case/silent-base/772

But since choosing a PC case is personal choice, it's down to OP which PC case to go with.

 

[sonofjesse]

Mesh 2 is great. I sold it (no reason), to get the Be quite 601 (love the sound dampening ) .

Good luck!

 

[mossi]

fractal cases are very much sound insulated

Thanks!
I have an R4 and it's pretty good in that regard but I want one with a tempered glass window now.

 

[mossi]

Mesh 2 is great. I sold it (no reason), to get the Be quite 601 (love the sound dampening ) .

Good luck!

Was the noise dampening better with the Be Quiet 601?

 

[mossi]

Old style mechanical drives can actually get a rubberized mount to quiet them. If they are not "hard coupled" to the chassis, then such noise goes down. I've not found most mechanical drives too annoying, but the helium filled models (which are IMHO better) do make more noise. The SSD itself is obviously a perfect solution for that

Well you see what's I thought too but unless there is no contact between different parts of metal vibrations still travel. I've seen rubberised mounts where only the outer part was covered in rubber and there was still a screw attached to the drive which weren't doing anything for noise dampening.
There were some others with no screw which worked better. I did find foam casings to be the best solution and believe me I've tried everything!
I went through a period where I was obsessed to find a solution and I tried everything even suspending it in rubber bands, which was pretty good but they deteriorate rapidly with heat.
Foam in the UK at least is by law fire retardant worst case scenario so I didn't have any worries keeping it in a PC case then again the temps never went up more than 40C or there abouts. And that with almost passive cooling!

 

[Aeacus]

Well you see what's I thought too but unless there is no contact between different parts of metal vibrations still travel. I've seen rubberised mounts where only the outer part was covered in rubber and there was still a screw attached to the drive which weren't doing anything for noise dampening.

Best fix: ditch the HDDs and go with SSDs (e.g 2.5" SATA).

I've done so with my builds. No noise, no vibration (not that it was an issue) and less heat from drives as well (that wasn't an issue for me either).

Pros: far faster read/write speeds, smaller from factor size (3.5" vs 2.5"), did i say less noise?, and better reliability/durability. Only small con, is that SSD is a bit more expensive than HDD. But SSD prices have come down, a lot. Heck, now, even M.2 NVMe drives are at affordable levels (hence why i switched my OS drives from 2.5" SATA SSDs to M.2 NVMe SSDs).

HDDs i have, are only kept as offline backup storage.

 

[mossi]

Best fix: ditch the HDDs and go with SSDs (e.g 2.5" SATA).

I've done so with my builds. No noise, no vibration (not that it was an issue) and less heat from drives as well (that wasn't an issue for me either).

Pros: far faster read/write speeds, smaller from factor size (3.5" vs 2.5"), did i say less noise?, and better reliability/durability. Only small con, is that SSD is a bit more expensive than HDD. But SSD prices have come down, a lot. Heck, now, even M.2 NVMe drives are at affordable levels (hence why i switched my OS drives from 2.5" SATA SSDs to M.2 NVMe SSDs).

HDDs i have, are only kept as offline backup storage.

yeah that's the idea
I'm emptying out old stuff from my 2 spinpoints and when I do that I'll get a 1TB SSD for storage and I'll keep em for offline storage.
I thought about using them for my media PC but that's got a 2TB HDD already in a foam case that takes up most of the inside of the bitfenix case it's in so I'll just keep em in a box just in case.

 

[MJS WARLORD]

Oh boy you said ... not bothered about air flow and not many fans ....... well with all due respect i dont think you can be using any demanding games or i think you would have fried your rig.

As some have pointed out to you its not just the case that generates noise.

This is my 7 year old rig .... no foam padding to deaden the sound .... their is none ... and no water cooling.

The tower COOLERMASTER HAF-X FULL TOWER GAMING CASE
The cpu is Intel® Core™i7 Six Core Processor i7-6800K (3.4GHz) 15MB Cache.
The motherboard is ASUS® ROG STRIX X99: ATX, USB 3.1, SATA 6 GB/s.
The ram is 16GB HyperX FURY DDR4 2133MHz (4 x 4GB) ....
The graphics card is 8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1080 - DVI, HDMI, 3x DP - GTX VR Ready!
The main drive is 480GB HyperX SAVAGE 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (up to 560MB/sR | 530MB/sW)
The second drive is 960GB HyperX SAVAGE 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (up to 560MB/sR | 530MB/sW)
The dvd/blue ray is 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM.
The power supply is CORSAIR 650W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET.
The cpu cooler is Noctua NH-D15S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler, this is huge!

If the pc did not have a couple of led strips down the front you would not even know it was turned on shhhhhhh !

 

[GarrettL]

Well, the HAF was quite, I had one as well. Great case and it's HUGE. It is a quite case but....

<For me the NZXT 510h
3800x
2070S

Cool and quiet. I know people will refuse to believe.

 

[Phaaze88]

<For me the NZXT 510h
3800x
2070S

Cool and quiet. I know people will refuse to believe.

I believe. That hardware isn't pushing the limits of what the case can handle, unlike what some others have installed in their H500s.
You also don't have front fans in yours, another plus, for less obvious reasons.

 

[hotaru.hino]

To add to what @Phaaze88 said about noise, where the case is in relation to you and what's between you and the case also matters.

The "quietest" system I had was built in a Silverstone FT02... because the unit was below my desk.

 

[GarrettL]

I believe. That hardware isn't pushing the limits of what the case can handle, unlike what some others have installed in their H500s.
You also don't have front fans in yours, another plus, for less obvious reasons.

I would agree. But even when I built it three years ago the 510 was not a popular choice at all. The natural convection of the case works surprisingly well. At the time they were around $65 and I thought that was a great price for such a solid and well built case. Very sturdy and easy to build in.

I checked out the new Flow series by NZXT at Micro Center last week. I like the idea for the H5 anf H7 Flow series with the additonal cooling but I don't like front fan sitting at the bottom of the chasis pointed upward, just seems like a dust blower. I don't care for fans being too low to the floor (psu included) as that's where dust and dirt settle. And that lower fan is blocking area usually used to hide psu cables SSD's or HDD's. It's a cooler case than the 510h for sure.

Very cool looking cases by NZXT when you build within what the case can handle from a cooling perspective.

About to build another pc and actually chose a different case this time. I really like the NZXT's but I'm going with a 5800x3d and at some point upgrade to a 4070 variant gpu. I wanted a modern look but a bit more airflow. Taking a change on the MSI Gungnir 100R in white. Should breathe a bit better than the NZXT but still have a modern look AND run quitely.

Last MSI product was a motherboard used for a Phenom Tri-Core

Was in Micro center and a 5800x3d and MSI X570 Tomhawk Max was a touch over $500 out the door. Was searching and searching for a case and stumbled upon the MSI Gungnir case. Looking at PSU's and the MSI MPG A850G was a choice from many reviewers.

Interested to see how the Gungir case compares to the NZXT's.

 

[LinuxDevice]

I've seen rubberised mounts where only the outer part was covered in rubber and there was still a screw attached to the drive which weren't doing anything for noise dampening.

Yes, I agree. Rubberized mounts don't help if the screw holding it in actually goes metal-to-metal. Plus, higher temps are not good for hard drives. A chassis (or at least a drive cage) might be better off if designed to hold actual rubberized mounts without the screw going metal-to-metal (which means it would also allow room for cooling). I kind of wish there were a suitable noise insulator which was a good thermal conductor (I might as well wish to win the lottery).

 

[sonofjesse]

Was the noise dampening better with the Be Quiet 601?

Oh yea its solid panel both sides, my mesh C was Glass on side. This thing (601) has thick foam!!!! (less airflow).

Now with that being said I didn't think the mesh C was loud. (I do love to try new cases).

Thinking of selling the 601 build to go back to a smaller mid tower case, 601 is "full size" MID tower much like the MESH III (only 3 inches shorter/length than the Corsair 760T roughly which is a FULL TOWER).

So be sure you enjoy large cases with the 601.

 

[Aeacus]

only 3 inches shorter/length than the Corsair 760T roughly which is a FULL TOWER

Great PC case. It's the best i've found for my needs.

Spoiler: Pic too, because why not. (Click here to view.)

Skylake build. Specs and more pics in my sig.

 

[mossi]

Oh boy you said ... not bothered about air flow and not many fans ....... well with all due respect i dont think you can be using any demanding games or i think you would have fried your rig.

As some have pointed out to you its not just the case that generates noise.

This is my 7 year old rig .... no foam padding to deaden the sound .... their is none ... and no water cooling.

The tower COOLERMASTER HAF-X FULL TOWER GAMING CASE
The cpu is Intel® Core™i7 Six Core Processor i7-6800K (3.4GHz) 15MB Cache.
The motherboard is ASUS® ROG STRIX X99: ATX, USB 3.1, SATA 6 GB/s.
The ram is 16GB HyperX FURY DDR4 2133MHz (4 x 4GB) ....
The graphics card is 8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1080 - DVI, HDMI, 3x DP - GTX VR Ready!
The main drive is 480GB HyperX SAVAGE 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (up to 560MB/sR | 530MB/sW)
The second drive is 960GB HyperX SAVAGE 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (up to 560MB/sR | 530MB/sW)
The dvd/blue ray is 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM.
The power supply is CORSAIR 650W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET.
The cpu cooler is Noctua NH-D15S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler, this is huge!

If the pc did not have a couple of led strips down the front you would not even know it was turned on shhhhhhh !

My CPU is 65W TDP cooled by sizeable Noctua cooler even if the fan is undervolted it performs like a champ.
The GPU is MSI Gaming X 3060 12GB which is a very quiet model thankfully with a very decent cooler.
There is hardly any difference with the fans at full speed at 12V and the fans at 5V
Whatever game I'm playing is always maxed out at settings so the rig performs to the best of its ability.
I've been building PCs for 20 years and airflow becomes a problem for the people with heat generators. My rig is not really a heat generator.

What brand is your GPU?