Looking for Case with great thermals that is not too noisy

[Tech Enthusiast]

I know that good temps and quiet operation don't go well together.

But finding a good balance seems to be just harder than just going for one or the other.

 

The case has to have enough room for a 327mm GPU, so the Fractal Design C Meshify is out.

Changing the fans is expected, so I am fine with paying extra.

 

Tried checking GamersNexus tables, but they don't show how well build a case is, but only how well the stock fans work. Kinda useless sadly.

Currently thinking about a silence based Define R6, while adding more fans to fix the cooling, or going for a Cooler Master H500P Mesh.

The CM one kinda makes it hard to exchange the sucky fans for better ones tho. There are very few 200mm options nowadays.

 

Also looking at Lian Li Lancool One, with better fans. The reviews are pretty positive and suggest a solid headroom for cooling improvements when adding more / better fans. It seems like a semi-open case, so could fit the cooling/noise bill quite nicely. But unsure how much better fans would help here, as the thermal performance stock is not that great. (noise is tho)

 

So, anyone got an idea on which case + fan combo would be a solid bet for me?

Again, money is of no concern really, all I care about is a solid cooling / noise balance. Not looking like an RGB monster on drugs would be a plus though. 

[Acid Panda]

have a look at bequite

[Streetguru]

8 minutes ago, Tech Enthusiast said:

 

Does the Size of the Case matter?

 

The Coolermaster H500 is going to be fine

9 minutes ago, Tech Enthusiast said:

but they don't show how well build a case is, but only how well the stock fans work

They usually make mention if there's any major design issues, like with the original H500P having panels that fall over and being squeaky.

[Streetguru]

1 minute ago, Acid Panda said:

have a look at bequite

Anything built for silence like Bequite or Fractal is going to have more restrictive airflow.

[lmeneses]

the Cooler Master MasterCase H500

[lmeneses]

Oop, streeguru beat me to it

[Streetguru]

 

12 minutes ago, Tech Enthusiast said:

Also looking at Lian Li Lancool One,

Speaking of Lian Li though you could grab the 011 dynamic, airflow version is out but It's really not necessary at all
 

Otherwise Try a Core X9 with 200mm noctua fans if you don't care about size
 

 

[Enderman]

Bequiet and fractal design are great.

[Tech Enthusiast]

Size only matters if it can't fit a 327mm GPU. Bigger is no issue, though I would likely not buy a server rack sized case either. ;-)

I'll check the Lian Li Dynamic out.

 

Planning on adding a few of these Deep Silent fans. 68.5 CFM at only 14.4 dB.

If a case can fit 200mm fans, ill go for those Noctua nf-a20 . 86.4 CFM at only 18.1 dB.

 

Just need to find the right case for these I guess.

[Streetguru]

1 hour ago, Tech Enthusiast said:

 

The Core X9 is pretty big but offers a ton of options for cooling

 

Forget any other fans, just buy all noctua, maybe not the newest ones though unless you care a bunch about it, those are $30 a fan
 

 

[Tech Enthusiast]

 

Kinda settled for the Lian Li Lancool One.

 

Thinking about replacing the front fan with 2x140mm Phantecks PH-F140XP PWM, while the back gets a Noctua NF-S12A PWM Chromax.Black.

For 140mm Phantecks seems to have a much more silent offering, that also happens to push more air and higher pressure. The only other fan that beats this on paper is from Nonoxia and they seem to go for very cheap parts and are hit or miss from what I gathered, also their Numbers on paper do not seem to match up with reviews.

For the rear the case only offers space for a single 120mm fan, so I went with Noctua over Silent Wing 3s, due to pushing about 25% more Air, with only marginally more noise. I will play with the two built-in 120 fans to see if using bottom/top will actually improve temperatures, over having a better air tunnel.

 

Picked the Case for being the only one that went for 35 or less dB Noise in any GamersNexus test, while still having a front that does not obstruct air flow. When removing the front panel it only seems to drop about 0.9 Degree, which is much less than the common 10 degree other cases see that are also considered silent.

The one downside is medicore cooling, but this comes from two very weak and bad stock fans. Improving the incoming airflow by almost 6x CFM should fix this pretty easily. Due to the great front panel that incoming air has a chance to actually work, which other more silent cases do not offer at all.

 

Also, the case looks kinda ok. Not too over the top and not like a boring box.

If the fan tests with top/bottom lead to better cooling, I would plug in some more quality fans, but for now, I will stick with only adding 3 fans while replacing the 2 stock ones.

[TVwazhere]

12 hours ago, Tech Enthusiast said:

Tried checking GamersNexus tables, but they don't show how well build a case is, but only how well the stock fans work.

For Quality of case I usually reference HardwareCanucks who does a better job of detailing "The Build process" GN is only interested in thermals and objective stats.

 

A case similar to the Meshify C is the Enthoo Pro M TG, unless you're settled on the Lancool One

[Tech Enthusiast]

7 hours ago, TVwazhere said:

For Quality of case I usually reference HardwareCanucks who does a better job of detailing "The Build process" GN is only interested in thermals and objective stats.

 

A case similar to the Meshify C is the Enthoo Pro M TG, unless you're settled on the Lancool One

Thanks, good tips!

Settled for the Lancool One for this build (my Wife needs the case, as her 2080 TI is 327mm big and she has no removable drive bays in the old one).

 

In the not so distant future, I am planning on going a very similar route for my own build though. So I will keep looking for alternatives. Thanks.