# Small Cool and Silent?



## washd123 (May 3, 2012)

I've been looking for a case that's small cool and quiet with size and silence taking priority. Is this a dream in vein? Does such a case exist? I currently have a Antec P180-mini which I though would work but it's too big outside for the space inside (should be an ATX case not mATX). It's pretty silent and it's wicked cool (also looks cool). I'm looking for a new one though. Also for size I don't want a case any longer than the P180-mini preferably not as long, the height and width are fine. Also I'd prefer one that's easy to work in or relativally so. This case is a pain.


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## Jetster (May 3, 2012)

Your being very vague. Exactly what size do you need and what parts do you want have to put inside? Also there is a difference between Micro ATX (mATX) and Mini ATX (ITX) Also what do you want it to do with it? Game, HTPC?  Actually I have a p 180 also but have the full size one. 

There are many quiet small cases. From the Mini Zotacs to Silverstone GD05 which will hold a full size GPU and 3 - 120 fans for cooling and is very quiet. There are also ways to make a case even quieter. Fan controllers, passive cooling, insulation and rubber gaskets for the PSU and hard drives.

Interesting that you mentioned the Antec P180. It has no window and insulated side panels. A must for sound control. I love mine

So you want a case that is the same size as the P180 Mini but not as deep?


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## de.das.dude (May 3, 2012)

stock you will get lots of small cases that support mATX but most of them are hot.
so you have to mod them, like i did to my prev case. now its all silent and cool


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## Jetster (May 3, 2012)

http://www.acousticpc.com/quiet_computer_case_insulation.html

http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/buildaquietpc.html

The Antec Solo has the latest noise reduction technology dual-layer sound deadening panels and a suspension system that makes hard drive noise a thing of the past. 
Antec Solo Black/Silver Steel ATX Mid Tower Comput...


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## washd123 (May 3, 2012)

Thanks for the guides and replies.

the size of the P-180 is fine, as long as it's either as deep or less, anything deeper will stick out.

Height wise I don't want higher than 19", I believe depth is 17"

at this size though I want a ATX case, if it's smaller I can settle for mATX (micro) like I have now


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## Jetster (May 3, 2012)

One thing I didnt like about the P180 is the cable management. They didnt put enough space behind the mother board to run wires. I drilled some holes for mine but they fixed the proble whe the P 183 came out. The Antec P280 has the best insulation but its 22" deep where the SOLO is 18 1/2 " deep


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## Norton (May 3, 2012)

Silverstone  PS07

SilverStone SST-PS07B Black Steel / Plastic with A...

or TJ08

SilverStone Temjin Series TJ08B-E Black Aluminum f...

Both are great quiet microATX cases


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## lZKoce (May 3, 2012)

Fractal Design Arc *Mini* (not Midi) : Fractal Design Arc Mini Black High Performance PC ... 

Cooler Master Elite 361: http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?product_id=3074 

Silverstone SG04-FH: SilverStone Sugo Series SG04B-FH Black Aluminum / ... 

Silverstone SG03B: SilverStone Fortress Series FT03B Black Aluminum /... 

I would personally go with Fractal Design Arc Mini: balanced, easy to work with, comes with 3 fans! and a fan controller (you can move the front fan to the door and get a better airflow), and has space for any of the pre-assmebled liquid cooling solutions: Corsair H40/60/80/100, Antec Khuler etc... You can get it as low as 70 euros, which I think it's a steal.


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## washd123 (May 4, 2012)

I'm thinking of the silverstone TJ08

does anyone have experience with it? The reviews look positive, but how hard is it to build in?

my P180-mini is an ass to build and wire.


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## sneekypeet (May 4, 2012)

The TJ08-E was cool to build in. Removable motherboard tray, removable top panel to get to the PSU and ODD wiring, a stand for the CPU cooler to help support it. There is just so much to like in that little case. With the 180mm fan, the silence factor depends on what you put in it. I could hear my GPU and CPU fans over the case, but that can be remedied with the right selection of parts.

I do strongly suggest a PSU that is modular, and if possible to have one with a short cable kit to keep the air flow mostly uninterrupted.


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## Norton (May 4, 2012)

sneekypeet said:


> The TJ08-E was cool to build in. Removable motherboard tray, removable top panel to get to the PSU and ODD wiring, a stand for the CPU cooler to help support it. There is just so much to like in that little case. With the 180mm fan, the silence factor depends on what you put in it. I could hear my GPU and CPU fans over the case, but that can be remedied with the right selection of parts.
> 
> I do strongly suggest a PSU that is modular, and if possible to have one with a short cable kit to keep the air flow mostly uninterrupted.



TJ-08 and the PS-07 are essentially the same case (same internals with a different front panel and fan setup (PS-07 has 2x120mm fans, TJ-08 has 1x180mm fan)

The PS-07 build I did was silent and as sneekypeet said it depends on the components selected.... I used a Xigmatek Gaia and a 6670 with an Arctic Cooling fan/heatsink.

I did quite well with the non-modular PSU is used. There was a lot of room behind the mobo tray to hide extra cables

My $0.02


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## washd123 (May 4, 2012)

I have a gtx560ti HAWK from MSI. It's silent. also I have a cooler master hyper 212. I'm thinking of replacing the stock fans with 800RPM fans from scythe


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## sneekypeet (May 4, 2012)

That's what I was getting at. They seem like good choices. Should keep noises to very minimal levels.


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## washd123 (May 4, 2012)

thanks guys. I will be hopefully doing this in a few months. What about the cooler master silencio 550?

it's a little bigger than I want, but you think it'd be any easier to build with? any quieter? or any cooler?


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## sneekypeet (May 4, 2012)

I don't remember it being as nice as the TJ, but if I recall it does have sound proofing applied to the front and side panels.


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## washd123 (May 4, 2012)

yeah but in my experience the foam does little.

I think I'm going with the TJ08 the ps07 is cheaper but I like the way the tJ looks.

next question is about a cpu cooler, what do you think would be quieter, a coolermaster hyper 212 with 2 900rpm fans? or a corsair h60 with 1 or 2 900rpm fans? I'm thinking the corsair would be easier to build with.

They should both perform about the same, but I'm worried about the sound, any suggestions?


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## Jetster (May 5, 2012)

Dont run two fans is you want it quiet. Also the 212 EVO fan is loud. Not sure how much louder then the 212+ 

But I would change the stock fan on the 212 if you want it quiet. To like a COUGAR CF-V12HP Vortex Hydro-Dynamic-Bearing Silent Cooling Fan. I just bought one and its pretty quiet


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## sneekypeet (May 5, 2012)

h60 would be rough in the TJ with a 180mm fan hole


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## washd123 (May 5, 2012)

yeah I wouldn't use the stock fans for the hyper 212, it's not too bad I have one right now.

just wondering if the h60 with 1 or 2 low RPM fans would be better. the hyper 212 is rough to install in a tiny case. and sneekypeet the TJ08 has a 120mm fan in the back


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## Norton (May 5, 2012)

washd123 said:


> yeah I wouldn't use the stock fans for the hyper 212, it's not too bad I have one right now.
> 
> just wondering if the h60 with 1 or 2 low RPM fans would be better. the *hyper 212 is rough to install in a tiny case*. and sneekypeet the TJ08 has a 120mm fan in the back



Removable mobo trays on those Silverstone's... need to pull the tray to put *most *tower coolers on. It's easy when the mobo is out of the case but if you want to leave it in there you may have easier time with a water setup


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## washd123 (May 5, 2012)

do you think one would be quieter than the other? I'd use the same fans for both but I know the h60 also has the pump going


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## Norton (May 5, 2012)

washd123 said:


> do you think one would be quieter than the other? I'd use the same fans for both but I know the h60 also has the pump going



A large tower with quiet fans would probably be best IMHO. The Xig I used in my setup was set to Cool n Quiet (AMD system w/Phenom II X2 555) and the fan was under 600 rpm and quiet regardless of the load and always ran cool.


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## washd123 (May 5, 2012)

I can't do a large tower due to where I have my computer, it's why I can't do a case that's deep it'd stick out.


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## Norton (May 5, 2012)

washd123 said:


> I can't do a large tower due to where I have my computer, it's why I can't do a case that's deep it'd stick out.



Check the width on that TJ-08 then to make sure it will fit where you need it.... it's a wide case and can fit a large cooler. 

Just checked, the width on the PS-07 and TJ-08 is 8.27"


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## washd123 (May 5, 2012)

width is fine, it's the depth that matters to me, my p180-min is 8.3" wide and 17.2" deep any deeper and it'd stick out


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## Norton (May 5, 2012)

washd123 said:


> width is fine, it's the depth that matters to me, my p180-min is 8.3" wide and 17.2" deep any deeper and it'd stick out



The TJ-08 is less than 16" deep so no trouble there- that case is crazy big inside... you may even be able to stuff a Noctua NH-D14 in it (check w/Silverstone first though)


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## washd123 (May 5, 2012)

that cooler is massive, I'd rather not, I had bad experiences working with large coolers like the zalman CPNS9900LED my hands were bleeding


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## Norton (May 5, 2012)

washd123 said:


> that cooler is massive, I'd rather not, I had bad experiences working with large coolers like the zalman CPNS9900LED my hands were bleeding



Well the the Xig Gaia is a lot smaller and kept my system cool and quiet. The mounting system is very solid and cost is only about $30 in the US.... most towers in that size class should work fine but I would need to know what kind of hardware you were planning to use to say for sure.


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## washd123 (May 5, 2012)

MSI GTX560TI HAWK
4GB corsair DDR3 ram
MSI z68 mobo (maybe z77) microATX
OCZ ZT 750w modular psu
Scythe 900RPM 120mm fans
TJ07 case


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## Norton (May 5, 2012)

washd123 said:


> MSI GTX560TI HAWK
> 4GB corsair DDR3 ram
> MSI z68 mobo (maybe z77) microATX
> OCZ ZT 750w modular psu
> ...



It looks like just about any tower cooler that takes a 120 mm fan (or 2) will keep that setup cool and quiet depending on fan choice/fan settings

FYI- this is my next cooler 

XIGMATEK Dark Knight II SD1283 Night Hawk Edition ...


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## BumbleBee (May 5, 2012)

Bitfenix has a new case coming out 







http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGYmUirG3o8&feature=plcp


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## washd123 (May 5, 2012)

mini itx though

the other one looks cool though maybe to big though


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## BumbleBee (May 5, 2012)

have you seen this little guy?

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8Z77I_DELUXE/


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## washd123 (May 5, 2012)

yeah but microATX is as small as I want


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## BumbleBee (May 5, 2012)

check it out 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQoKs1g0FjQ&t=8m45s


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## washd123 (May 6, 2012)

I'm having a really hard time deciding between the 2 silverstone ones, I like the look of the TJ08E but the other one has 2x 120mm fans in the front I can replace with quieter ones. Also it costs about $20-30 less.


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## lZKoce (May 6, 2012)

Further options: Fractal Design Core 1000 Micro ATX Computer Case w... ,


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## washd123 (May 6, 2012)

looks like it won't fit my gpu or most gpus. I'm pretty settled on the silverstone, they're the same inside but different outside and different prices


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## sneekypeet (May 6, 2012)

washd123 said:


> I'm having a really hard time deciding between the 2 silverstone ones, I like the look of the TJ08E but the other one has 2x 120mm fans in the front I can replace with quieter ones. Also it costs about $20-30 less.



180mm fan is already quiet The $30 you saved will be spent on the fan swap, so either way it seems they are similar in price to get it the way you want it.


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## washd123 (May 6, 2012)

didn't think about that, do you think the 180mm would be as quiet as 2 120mm 800RPM fans? each one has a decibel rating of 10dB, while the 180mm is rated from 17-30dB


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## Norton (May 6, 2012)

washd123 said:


> didn't think about that, do you think the 180mm would be as quiet as 2 120mm 800RPM fans? each one has a decibel rating of 10dB, while the 180mm is rated from 17-30dB



The 120's in the PS-07 are pretty quiet. I could only hear them when the front door was open and even then just barely. I have 180's in my FT-01 Fortress and they are silent at 600 rpm


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## Prime (May 6, 2012)

that Bitfenix case looks awesome!


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## washd123 (May 6, 2012)

Norton said:


> The 120's in the PS-07 are pretty quiet. I could only hear them when the front door was open and even then just barely. I have 180's in my FT-01 Fortress and they are silent at 600 rpm



I know pretty quiet, I mean my p180-mini is pretty quiet I want silent. Which is why I figured I'd switch them out


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## Norton (May 6, 2012)

washd123 said:


> I know pretty quiet, I mean my p180-mini is pretty quiet I want silent. Which is why I figured I'd switch them out



With the 120mm's in the PS-07 you can always swap them out or slow them down a bit if you don't think they are quiet enough. The 180mm in TJ-08 is silent but your options for using something else is near zero as those fans are only made by silverstone....


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## washd123 (May 6, 2012)

Norton said:


> With the 120mm's in the PS-07 you can always swap them out or slow them down a bit if you don't think they are quiet enough. The 180mm in TJ-08 is silent but your options for using something else is near zero as those fans are only made by silverstone....



hm, so even though the TJ08e looks better the ps-07 is probably the better choice since it's cheaper and the fans can be swapped


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## washd123 (May 12, 2012)

I finally got the TJ08e, I also put in a corsair H60 cooler since it's easier to build with, I replaced the stock corsair fan with a 800rpm slipstream from scythe. I'm adding a second fan soon.

The build is silent the only noise generates from my psu and gpu, well and the hdd's. Overall silent though. It's also running cool I may overclock











Thank you for all the help


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## Norton (May 12, 2012)

Glad it worked out for you! 

Case and build look great!


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