Best case + fan + air cooler set up for a quiet build

[Ya93sin]

Hi guys, planning to make a new build soon, will be emphasising quietness and will be going for air cooling again.

I was just wondering what in your opinion is the best combination of case and fans for a quiet setup?

I'd have an ATX motherboard, 780Ti, 2 5.25" front bays (fan controller + card reader) just so you guys know what's in the thing.

I currently have a BitFenix Colossus (windowed) and about 6 Noctua fans (including the two on the DH-14) in my current build, but I think the case isn't particularly lending itself to quiet operation, I also need something smaller than that

The case would need to be black also, would prefer a window, maybe without any fan slots on it as that would reduce noise. Fan colour doesn't matter too much to me.

Budget is say £300-350 for Case + Fans

Thanks in advance

 

[tinytomlogan]

This is a tough one to answer properly dude because no matter what case you use you will have to set it all up right to make it quiet.

Fractal R4 is a good one, NZXT H630 is another, Corsair 550D is another one depending on your brand allegiance.

Fans wise the quieter you make them the less they spin. Youll need a different type of fan on your cpu cooler than the ones for the actual case. Noctua are expensive but they work well. Corsair do the AF and SP fans which are a fair bit cheaper and IMHO quieter when using the fan speed reducers too.

If you need any more help we will need a budget and some more info

 

[Ya93sin]

This is a tough one to answer properly dude because no matter what case you use you will have to set it all up right to make it quiet.

Fractal R4 is a good one, NZXT H630 is another, Corsair 550D is another one depending on your brand allegiance.

Fans wise the quieter you make them the less they spin. Youll need a different type of fan on your cpu cooler than the ones for the actual case. Noctua are expensive but they work well. Corsair do the AF and SP fans which are a fair bit cheaper and IMHO quieter when using the fan speed reducers too.

If you need any more help we will need a budget and some more info

Thanks for your reply Tom,

It is a tricky one to be fair, I suppose as the saying goes a PC is only as quiet as the loudest component.

Was just watching your review on the R4, it doesn't support the H100 so I assume that extends to the H100i these days?

Bearing that in mind then, I wonder whether it might be better to just go with a 'normal' case and just make sure the airflow is solid and components quiet.

 

[tinytomlogan]

Look at the NZXT H630 matey or even the Nanoxia DS1

The DS1 is the case Ive chosen for my next home server "Grid Server"

 

[Ya93sin]

Look at the NZXT H630 matey or even the Nanoxia DS1

The DS1 is the case Ive chosen for my next home server "Grid Server"

Will do, and those two cases above look sweet as!

 

[waspen123]

For a cpu cooler I would say the bigger the better! The better cooling performance the slower you can set the fans and still get good temps.

I highly recommend Noctua NH-D14 if you can fit it! Or maybe the 14S?

 

[barnsley]

Quietest CPU cooler (if you are sticking with stock clocks) in my experience is the Scythe Big Shuriken. Scythe stuff is ridiculously quiet.

 

[Ya93sin]

I already decided what to do last week, sorry for not updating the thread

Old build with NH-D14 -> Transferred into a Fractal Design Define R4 and going downstairs. Has the old style NF-P14 FLX Noctua fans in it

New build with H100i (+ quiet fans) -> Going in a 750D with new stylr AF-P14 FLX Noctua fans in it.

Having started the build in the 750D already , I can tell you it's a b**** to install certain things in, especially the fans and a Formula VI mobo, but that's for the build log which I'll write up at the weekend

 

[4960X]

I strongly recommend either the NH-D14 or the NH-U14S. The NH-U14S, while being considerably smaller, gives the NH-D14 a run for it's money while still being quieter. Here are two very recent reviews for both coolers.