Quiet mATX case for non-gaming general use

[cookie365]

Hello everyone

I'm going to put together a general use PC for basic everyday stuff, no gaming beyond Plants & Zombies.

I'd like something more compact than a full size tower, but still with a few card slots so I'm looking at mATX. I'll probably go for an i3-4340, with the built in graphics. Quietness is a high priority.

Can anyone suggest a case? So far the contenders I've got are the Aerocool Dead Silence Black Edition and the Bitfenix Phenom mATX.

But there must surely be something cheaper that does what I need? I'm happy to pay for quality, but I'm hoping there's something a bit better priced.

Musts:

• good noise proofing
• compact
• be able to take a standard ATX power supply, not that it'll need significant power, just that I have silent PSUs already, and there's better choice in the market if I need another
• be able to take 2 3.5 inch drives plus a 2.5 inch SSD
• two front USB3.0 ports
• good build quality and easy to work in

Nice to have, meh if not:

• external 5.25 inch slot
• tall cpu cooler support, stock will provide more than enough air, I'll probably change it for something quieter but there's plenty of low profile options.

Completely irrelevant

• watercooling support
• loads of fan mounts - I'll have one in the PSU, one on the cpu, one on the case.
• graphics card support, even if in the future I go for a graphics card, it'll be a budget one that's only just long enough to reach the end of the slot

Any suggestions?

Thank you!

[Bonebreaker777]

Ace Ecco 250 Black Micro-ATX Case with Sound Proofing very quiet, lots of space, currently three additional FANs mounted, also housing a tall CPU cooler (Thor's Hammer S126384 W) but like lacking USB 3.0 front ports as you requested.

A quick browse on Scan.co.uk revealed Aerocool DS Cube Black Edition Silent Cube which should tick most of your needs and cheaper that on Amazon. Also the following review does answer some questions of your if any may pop up Aerocool Dead Silence Cube review. The one being sold by Scan.co.uk is fully black, unlike the one in the review, so don't worry.

And as of last, Silverstone TJ08B-EW USB 3.0 Temjin Micro ATX Case. A fantastic case to work with (beside the lack of space but if you will not change the components too often, as in any mATX case, you can bear with it for once). Fantastic temperatures and the sound is acceptable too. But the price is above anything else listed here.

Also with non-OC CPU and IGP I would wonder about the need for an expensive case. <- personal thought.

[cookie365]

Thanks Bonebreaker777

I agree that I shouldn't need an expensive case, but the case makers seem to disagree - choice with matx is rubbish right now.

There's a few that are almost there but bafflingly only have 1 front USB3.0, I'm maybe going to drop the requirement for 2 USB3.0 and add a 3.5inch front panel adapter for them instead. In which case that Ace Ecco 250 could be it. The company seems to have vanished without trace though

[Pob255]

I'd agree with Bonenreaker here, esp his last sentence, although all his selections are good, as are yours, they are mainly aimed more at gamer/high end, with space for large cpu coolers and graphics cards.

That said the Ace Ecco 250 is probably on of the best low cost mATX cases about, as it's big enough to still put larger cpu coolers and graphics card in if needed although it will mean you lose hard drive space, but it's got that flexibility that a lot of low cost matx cases lack.

One other I'd add to the list is the silverstone precision ps07 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/silve...-psu-(std-atx) this is a cheaper version of the tj08b, it uses the same internal frame the only real difference is the front bezel, plastic rather than aluminium and 2x120mm fans rather than the single 180mm air penetrator fan.

The new Coolermaster Silencio 352 looks ok too, although it's a bit narrow which limits the cpu cooler (155mm not 160mm) which wouldn't be a big issue for an i3 as you don't need a big cooler on it, however it lacks space behind the motherboard for cables which is a bigger issue in my eyes.

edit: yes it looks like the ace site is down http://www.aceofsweden.se/ although their mouse&headset site seem to still be live http://www.edgeofgaming.com/
I'd not that surprised as their matx ecco cases where the only good ones and didn't get much publicity, they did some other atx cases but they where not much good.
All told their cases just seemed to be rebrands with new front bezels, the ecco 250 seems to be a rebrand of an old case by MaxPoint GmbH the Aplus CS-566C http://www.google.com/translate?lang...t_Review-21996

[cookie365]

Thanks Pob255 - that PS07 could be just what I'm after

[Macadee]

Could be worth getting an ETA on this : http://www.scan.co.uk/products/nanox...e-matx-pc-case

[cookie365]

Now I'm getting choice overload - that's the kind of thing I had in mind

[Pob255]

The Nanoxia Deep Silence 4 looks good, again cable space is a bit limited, yes it's 20mm behind the motherboard tray which would be good but you lose about 5mm of that to the noise absorption foam and limited roof space for a fan, forget a radiator in the roof.
One thing I cannot find is how you get to the front filter, on the Deep Silence 6 (the atx mid tower version) the lower section of the front is a 2nd door to access the front filter but on the 4 it looks like it's solid, so you might have to remove the bezel to clean the filter.
These are minor niggles but something to be aware of.

edit: ah ha, page 11 and 12 of the manual http://www.nanoxia-world.com/upload/...al_english.pdf yes you do remove the bezel to get to the filter and have to swing out the fan to get to it, which is all a bit awkward while the bezel is still connected by the front usb+button+led cables and optical drives might also cause issues.
One current trend I do like is mounting the front ports&buttons on the frame not the bezel so it can be removed easily, shame this isn't one of them.
All told this really looks like a slight tweak to a fractal design case, not that that's a bad thing.

[cookie365]

Yes, I'm swaying towards the Nanoxia.

The space behind the tray is more than enough - I'm used to cases that don't even have a way to route stuff behind the tray.

And I'm never going to put in watercooling so not an issue with a radiator.

I'll be careful when I take the front panel off, I promise

I'll try it with the stock cooler and see if it really is quiet as it claims

[Pob255]

It's not a matter of being careful it's a matter of being awkward, ideally you need to clean your primary intake filters between once a month to once a week and having to remove the bevel each time, then having to work around it because it's still held on by the cables could get highly annoying.

It's a real shame they didn't go the extra step and make the bottom section a door like they did on the 6 as cleaning the filters becomes a smooth and simple job.

I'm used to tight cases and not running cables behind the motherboard tray, I never thought of it as that important until I got my current HAF912, the ease that little extra space gives you has now gone right up my list of things to look for in a case.
It'll come down to how squishy the foam is, without it 20mm is ideal (same as the HAF 912) if the foam has enough give then it's not a problem.

[nepenthes]

I built a system with the Coolermaster Silencio 352 a few months back, it's a pretty nice case but it's slightly big compared to other mATX cases around- I remember it being 'deeper' than expected. The soundproofing isn't the best as well, not as thick as the one on the Define R4 side panels, and you need to be careful the wires aren't pressed against it as it leaves indentations. In terms of heatsink clearance, the only 120mm cooler I could find that fit inside comfortably was the Zalman CNPS10X.

For the price though, (I purchased mine from Dabs) it's a very good case for a value build. Looks the part too

[Bonebreaker777]

...Quietness is a high priority...

Also, wouldn't be easier to just go for a passive CPU cooler (Nofan CR-80EH) and a passive PSU (FANless PSUs at Scan.co.uk) plus case FANs slowed down to literal silence and be happy

I know you said you have a silent PSU, but not sure how quiet. Trust me, if I could slow down the PSU FAN further, I would but I can't (and it is still louder that my Akasa Apache at 50%).

Thought of ITX? <- if you are going to invest in a new system, an ITX sounds like it's made for you (which would open up further choices of cases like Bitfenix Prodigy, which I know it take SFX PSU but even so).

[cookie365]

Quietness rather than absolute silence

Existing PSU is a choice of 2 BeQuiets - one of which the fan doesn't even turn on in the Athlon 64 X2 I'm going to replace or in the Phenom X2 550 that'll become my backup. So no reason to get a new PSU.

ITX is too limiting in terms of PCI slots, and given I need a case that takes a standard PSU there's nothing really to gain over matx. In fact, I've just realised even the Silencio and Nanoxia are actually bigger than my existing ATX case.

So I'm going to go for the Aerocool after all. The only minor gripe about it is the lack of a proper cutout for the CPU cooler so I'll get a Coolermaster TX3 Evo cooler as it uses the standard push clips so I don't need to mess about with backplates.

A few people have said the front 20cm fan is a bit noisy, I'll give it a go and I can always replace later on if it's not acceptible.

Thanks to everyone for the advice - even though I've ended up coming full circle back to my original choice, all the suggestions have been helpful

[nepenthes]

I'm msure you'll be happy with the Aerocool case. I would have considered it too, but the price difference was too much for me. Let us know how you get on with it

[Goobley]

Just a heads up, a TX3 can get rather noisy. I had one on a 95W Athlon II a few years back and the noise did ramp up quite significantly under load.
I wouldn't have thought the backplate was a major issue if you're changing case because you can just attach it while moving the motherboard. Although if you're going with an i3 I expect it can keep it cool without ramping up too much, but it's just something to bear in mind.

[Pob255]

I just want to say that a CPU backplate cut out is massively overrated.
Unless you actually need to swap out the cooler you're much better off fitting the cooler to the motherboard outside of the case then fitting the motherboard than trying to fit it in situ and that removes any need for a cut out.

Heck generally speaking the smaller the case the harder is it to fit a large cpu cooler in situ.
That all said an i3-4340 doesn't need much in the way of cooling and non-gaming general use it's not going to be under any load so the stock cooler will be fine (remember to set up your PWM correctly)
If you want small I still think the ace ecco 250 is a better option.