Silent or Nah?

[Shaqo_Wyn]

Sup LTT,

 

I've been pretty set on getting the Enthoo Pro for a while now but as build day nears I'm wondering whether it's worth getting a silent case.

Been dealing with my craptop's loud *** fan for a year and I will completely lose it if my new build is as anywhere near as audible.  

The case will be right next to me. I will be using the NH-D15.

 

So which should I get? Enthoo Pro, Define R5 (or other suggestion, I've already excluded the Silent Base 800). Budget: $100-$120

 

What I've considered:

 

Define R5: 105 EUR

Pros: great reputation, great case, great noise dampening, temperatures acceptable, good water cooling options.

Cons: have to go with non-windowed version and top moduvents need to remain closed to maximize noise dampening.

 

Enthoo Pro: 97 EUR

Pros: window, lower temperatures, great case overall, water cooling options are exactly what I need if I'm to do it in the future.

Cons: not a silent case.

 

So I guess the other thing I'm wondering about is? Will the Define R5 + NH-D15 be that much quieter than the Enthoo Pro + NH-D15 to justify not having the window and higher temps?

 

Thanks in advanced for your input.

 

Shaqo

 

[Nup]

Personally I'd for for the R5, i don't like  the look of the Enthoo as much. 

 

You could kit out the R5 with, less, well placed and high quality fans, and add something like a Grid+ to make yourself a cool build, and if you need it (summer OCing for example) slightly louder and cooler.

 

I'v been thinking i should have gone silent myself

[Shaqo_Wyn]

Personally I'd for for the R5, i don't like  the look of the Enthoo as much. 

 

You could kit out the R5 with, less, well placed and high quality fans, and add something like a Grid+ to make yourself a cool build, and if you need it (summer OCing for example) slightly louder and cooler.

 

I'v been thinking i should have gone silent myself

 

Yeah, that does sound like a good idea. I saw a build on PC partpicker with front and bottom mounted NF-A14's and it looked great! 

 

What case/air flow setup do you have right now?

[KamiKatze]

isn't there are windowed version of the R5 already?

 

Noise dampening only makes the PC as silent as the components inside allow it. However I personally am staggered by how well my Define R4 swallows the low coil whine of my strix 970.

 

my vote goes for the Define R5 because it has very elegant optics and lots of space without looking enormous.

[WereCat]

Zalman R1 (Around 40-50€, it is basicaly Define R5 but almost entirely made out of plastic, 3 fans and fan controller included, also sound dampening foam and windowed panel)

I have Define R4 and I am really happy with it and it is very silent with stock fans. I can hear only my GPU when it is at load but its not that loud.

Dont know about the Entho.

[Nup]

Yeah, that does sound like a good idea. I saw a build on PC partpicker with front and bottom mounted NF-A14's and it looked great! 

 

What case/air flow setup do you have right now?

 

yeah something like that would work well  

 

and then just one fan on your cpu cooler, acting as push and the exhaust fan of the case being being a pull fan. 

 

I have a Phantom 410 with a butt-ton of fans. It's quiet enough, but still noticeable when the fans are on low, but can get quite loud. (I added a Noctua ppc 3000 rpm as an exhaust linked to teh cpu's temp) and when it ramps up it gets bloody loud I did this because there was a bit too much hot air building up there with just one top exhaust. 

[xvantok]

ID get the enthoo pro, and then spend the extar moeny you would have spent on the define R5 investing in some high quality, silent, fans.  

[Epitome]

Would go with the r5 as I have the enthoo pro and it is massive which has lead me to consider downsizing.

[RazrLeaf]

My R5 does a fantastic job of dulling HDD noise and coil whine (happens occasionally). It takes my quiet rig and makes it silent. It also offers better cooling potential than the Enthoo Pro IMO because the front is so open and the HDD cages are very open as well.

 

I find that the windowed version doesn't sacrifice too much of the dampening. A lot of the dampening happens at the front door for me. When I'm sitting in front of the PC, it's a lot quieter than when I'm sitting at my desk chair. My PC is atop a bookshelf such that the bottom front corner is at the same height as my ear, 2 feet to my right when I'm at my desk. =/

[Shaqo_Wyn]

isn't there are windowed version of the R5 already?

 

Noise dampening only makes the PC as silent as the components inside allow it. However I personally am staggered by how well my Define R4 swallows the low coil whine of my strix 970.

 

my vote goes for the Define R5 because it has very elegant optics and lots of space without looking enormous.

 

Yeah there is but I consider it a shame to get a windowed R5, as acrylic isn't very good at blocking noise.

 

How silent is that? With a NH-D15, 970 FTW and 750W G2 I doubt I'll be on the higher end of the noise scale.

[Shaqo_Wyn]

ID get the enthoo pro, and then spend the extar moeny you would have spent on the define R5 investing in some high quality, silent, fans.  

 

Alright, doubt I can get some quality fans with 8 EUR.

[Guest]

Get a non windowed Enthoo Pro ? It should be a bit cheaper than the windowed version.

[Shaqo_Wyn]

My R5 does a fantastic job of dulling HDD noise and coil whine (happens occasionally). It takes my quiet rig and makes it silent. It also offers better cooling potential than the Enthoo Pro IMO because the front is so open and the HDD cages are very open as well.

 

I find that the windowed version doesn't sacrifice too much of the dampening. A lot of the dampening happens at the front door for me. When I'm sitting in front of the PC, it's a lot quieter than when I'm sitting at my desk chair. My PC is atop a bookshelf such that the bottom front corner is at the same height as my ear, 2 feet to my right when I'm at my desk. =/

 

The benchmarks seem to disagree with you on the cooling potential as the in case temps of the R5 are 55 degrees vs low 40s in the Enthoo Pro but I don't mind the sacrifice. 

 

Thanks for the feedback on the noise dampening. I'm concerned about the window because in my situation the window will be less than a foot from my ear.  

[Shaqo_Wyn]

yeah something like that would work well

 

and then just one fan on your cpu cooler, acting as push and the exhaust fan of the case being being a pull fan. 

 

I have a Phantom 410 with a butt-ton of fans. It's quiet enough, but still noticeable when the fans are on low, but can get quite loud. (I added a Noctua ppc 3000 rpm as an exhaust linked to teh cpu's temp) and when it ramps up it gets bloody loud I did this because there was a bit too much hot air building up there with just one top exhaust. 

 

Damn, IPPC in the rear.  Don't even want to imagine how loud that is.. 

 

This is build I was talking about btw. http://pcpartpicker.com/b/VCVYcf   Much sexiness.. <3

[Shaqo_Wyn]

Get a non windowed Enthoo Pro ? It should be a bit cheaper than the windowed version.

 

I'll still have top and front fans then, so if I go for the Enthoo Pro I'll throw noise concerns out the window all together and get one with a window. 

[KamiKatze]

Yeah there is but I consider it a shame to get a windowed R5, as acrylic isn't very good at blocking noise.

 

How silent is that? With a NH-D15, 970 FTW and 750W G2 I doubt I'll be on the higher end of the noise scale.

 

Sounds quiet, get it? *badum tss*

 

The Supernova G2 is excellent, i like mine. Noctua is superb. The 970 FTW has a 0 dB mode doesn't it? -> Also superb in idle.

 

The acryllic doesn't make that much of a difference imo. Most of the noise is exiting the case through the rear mesh.

 

The Fractal stock fans are not that great, you might want to consider swapping them in the near future. And HDDs get the loudest component in the System, once everything is semi passive or super quiet. At least that's where i have arrived meanwhile.

[RazrLeaf]

The benchmarks seem to disagree with you on the cooling potential as the in case temps of the R5 are 55 degrees vs low 40s in the Enthoo Pro but I don't mind the sacrifice. 

 

Thanks for the feedback on the noise dampening. I'm concerned about the window because in my situation the window will be less than a foot from my ear.

Phanteks's stock fans are higher RPM, and one is larger. They just push more air than the Fractal fans. I actually added 2 Phanteks PH-F140SP fans to my R5.

[Nup]

Damn, IPPC in the rear.  Don't even want to imagine how loud that is.. 

 

This is build I was talking about btw. http://pcpartpicker.com/b/VCVYcf   Much sexiness.. <3

Yeah, does the job though.

Holy cow man, that's gonna be a nice rig. Over half a gig

Of ssds! Wow. Also love the noctuas.

Will you be putting up a build guide?

[Shaqo_Wyn]

The acryllic doesn't make that much of a difference imo. Most of the noise is exiting the case through the rear mesh.

 

The Fractal stock fans are not that great, you might want to consider swapping them in the near future. And HDDs get the loudest component in the System, once everything is semi passive or super quiet. At least that's where i have arrived meanwhile.

 

Hmm, I'll have to consider the windowed version then. I'm definitely leaning towards the R5. Logan form Tek Syndicate is doing his new X99 build in one soon, hopefully they will give some more insight into the noise dampening capabilities.

 

Yeah, I'm definitely going to replace all the fans soon. Note sure whether to get NF-A14's, NB PK-2 or PK-S or Be Quiet Silent Wings though.

[Shaqo_Wyn]

Yeah, does the job though.

Holy cow man, that's gonna be a nice rig. Over half a gig

Of ssds! Wow. Also love the noctuas.

Will you be putting up a build guide?

 

I know right, I'm not going that crazy with the components but it's going to be nice.

 

Dunno, yet. If I get my mate to take some nice pictures for me probably. Depends on how many people care to see it too. Don't have much time on my hands these days, with uni and stuff.

[KamiKatze]

Hmm, I'll have to consider the windowed version then. I'm definitely leaning towards the R5. Logan form Tek Syndicate is doing his new X99 build in one soon, hopefully they will give some more insight into the noise dampening capabilities.

Yeah, I'm definitely going to replace all the fans soon. Note sure whether to get NF-A14's, NB PK-2 or PK-S or Be Quiet Silent Wings though.

Bequiet silent wings were problematic in the R4 because of the vibration free mount of the Sw2 and the weird front bracket of the R4. The R5 has regular steel drillings afaik, so no worries there.they are my personal favourite amd they are worth the considerence if you decide to go with a windowed R5.

I can honestly not say how much difference there is between the window amd the closed version amd i haven't yet found a review that went into detail about it.

All in all this is looking great. Should be very quiet.

[RazrLeaf]

Note sure whether to get NF-A14's, NB PK-2 or PK-S or Be Quiet Silent Wings though.

Noiseblocker NB-eLoop fans are wonderful...and expensive. IMO they're better than Noctua fans in every way, but SPCR says the 3-pin ones are better. YMMV. Silent Wings are also good fans. Deepcool also makes come very nice fans that use real fluid dynamic bearings (the type you have to pay a royalty to use).

 

[Shaqo_Wyn]

Bequiet silent wings were problematic in the R4 because of the vibration free mount of the Sw2 and the weird front bracket of the R4. The R5 has regular steel drillings afaik, so no worries there.they are my personal favourite amd they are worth the considerence if you decide to go with a windowed R5.

I can honestly not say how much difference there is between the window amd the closed version amd i haven't yet found a review that went into detail about it.

All in all this is looking great. Should be very quiet.

 

Alrighty, thanks a lot!

[Shaqo_Wyn]

Noiseblocker NB-eLoop fans are wonderful...and expensive. IMO they're better than Noctua fans in every way, but SPCR says the 3-pin ones are better. YMMV. Silent Wings are also good fans. Deepcool also makes come very nice fans that use real fluid dynamic bearings (the type you have to pay a royalty to use).

 

 

Yep, the NB E-loops are better than the Noctua's IMO too. B12-3's FTW. However, I'm looking to get 140mm fans as they can easily be re-purposed for the 140mm rads I plan on getting down the road. Thanks for the recommendations.

[Nup]

I know right, I'm not going that crazy with the components but it's going to be nice.

 

Dunno, yet. If I get my mate to take some nice pictures for me probably. Depends on how many people care to see it too. Don't have much time on my hands these days, with uni and stuff.

 

well at least send some potato pics my way  

 

ahh time, the one thing that we can never have enough of! best of luck though!