A Quiet Micro ATX Case From Scratch

[Jammin]

Building your own case from scratch is a pretty daunting task the first time around (I'd be a little more confident doing it again now), particularly when you don't have access to a workshop and all the equipment that entails.

 

So below you'll find pictures of what I went through to build this case. I was set on the Micro ATX form factor as I didn't want it to get too big, though compactness wasn't the ultimate goal. Being as quiet as possible was the priority (while not getting too hot).

 

The hardware itself isn't as fancy as many of the builds that you'll see in the forum, so there is no water cooling and the specs are pretty modest (still need a better GPU).

The original case build was done in May/June 2011, so I've used this for a couple of years now.

 

The current specs are:

 

Intel Core i5 2500K @ 4.3GHz

8GB Mushkin Silverline DDR3 1333

ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z

AMD HD 6670 1GB GDDR5 (Accelero S1)

Corsair AX850

Samsung 1TB HDD

E-MU 0404 USB Sound Interface

Thermalright TY-140 Intake (bottom), Exhaust (top) and CPU (Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme Rev.C)

 

This was the original rough design mockup in Sketchup (with a fan controller that was later removed in favour of motherboard fan control):

 

 

Below are the stages of building the case (there are more detailed photos, but I'm just picking them out to give a flavour):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this is what it currently looks like with hardware:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Andi]

foam everywhere :D

 

i think you should treat the woodparts to make them look darker!

 

cool build

[Jammin]

Yeah, I do like foam. :)

I made sure to use proper acoustic foam that won't catch fire (you never know).

 

Most of the exposed "wood" parts are just layered veneer, so I don't know how easy it would be to treat them.

A darker varnish might work, but it would require sanding back what is already there and I'm not sure I fancy the effort.  :lol:

[Brissinger6]

That case is just amazing, very nice idea's !

[TicTac]

That case is awesome love it nice job :p

[MalcolmSex]

Is that a passive gpu cooler?

[Nicktrance]

Awesome build, can you measure the sound pressure level using a smartphone app (unless you have a sound meter)? I bet it's completely inaudible :).

[Jono123499]

I'd actually pay a fair amount for a custom case like this

[DiPontesPT]

Very good looking case ! How much do you want for one ? ;)

[Jammin]

Is that a passive gpu cooler?

 

Yeah. The 6670 isn't a hot GPU (no power connectors) so you can get away with passive cooling pretty easily. It gets some incidental airflow from the CPU cooler above it and there is a lot of space for that as it is a low profile card. I'd like a better GPU, which would need to be actively cooled and likely make things a bit louder.

 

 

Awesome build, can you measure the sound pressure level using a smartphone app (unless you have a sound meter)? I bet it's completely inaudible :).

 

You can hear it when it is doing something intensive like rendering video, as I have the fans set to spin up.

I tried a smartphone app (iPhone 3gs) and unstressed (watching a twitch stream and have a few light weight programs open at the moment) I was getting readings around 36-37dB right up beside the case (35dB ambient in the room). 39-40dB held right next to the intake at the front of the case.

[BigH3017]

I want. Very nice build!

[Farncir]

That wood and carbon wrap theme, looks absolutely amazing!

[Jammin]

That looks absolutely amazing! How are the temps in that case?

The fans spin up pretty quickly under heavy load (you can definitely hear it then).

I haven't done much in depth temperature testing, I think the CPU got to around 65-67C depending on core while I was running prime for my OC testing.

The only temp readings I took for the GPU were when I first built it to make sure it wouldn't get too hot with passive cooling. I think that was about 45C, so I was happy.

It is idling along at 37C at the moment. I could record some temperatures over a long gaming session if anyone would be interested in that.

[TALHA]

cool build

[Nit3Rid3R]

Oh this is awesome, love to see people building their own cases. 

[Liam-McShane]

WOW, i really admire people that build their own cases. You've put a hell of a lot of case manufacturers to shame, well done :)

[DJ46]

Cool, but nothing special *tries to hide a nerdgasm*

[IAcKI]

WOW! Looks amazingly clean; I bet it's inaudible! 

[The Syndicate]

This build is amazing!

I would buy a case like that.

[crocski]

Very clean build. 

[scottiegfftv]

amazing build! by far one of my favorite I have seen so far

[Jammin]

Thanks for all the nice comments guys, you are all awesome.  :)

[newbie]

Was really impressed when I scrolled through the pictures! Nice job with the case!

I know it's not necessarily a powerhouse you want but the graphics card you have is odd for a choice.

Anyway good build ;)

[Jammin]

Yeah, the GPU wasn't really a choice, it's an AMD sample, so came with an AMD branded cooler like the one here (top), I just haven't had the budget to replace it with something I want.

 

That's probably why it seems odd.

[Wiskad]

Cool build, with the drives hanging it will make it quiet for sure, but when they get to some higher rpm's, won't it make them vibrate too much comparing to being stable in a bracket? And is that bad for hard drives anyway?