PC Case Dilemma...

[MrJim]

I'm planning to replace my existing PC system, which is used for mostly for gaming & video transcoding / editing. My current system is housed in a Silverstone FT-02 case, which is fantastically quiet, but very much designed around air-cooling.

The dilemma I have is whether to keep my existing case, or buy a new on? Since I'll be overclocking the 5820K CPU, I think an AIO water cooler is probably the best choice, but the FT-02 is only able to accept a small 120mm cooler like the Corsair H80i GT. Ideally I'd like to use a 280mm cooler like the Corsair H110i GT, which would necessitate buying a new case. So the question is this: what's the best 'money no-object' QUIET case available at the moment? My FT-02 was £190 when I bought it, so something around the same price (or even a bit more) would be fine. The problem is that a lot of the cases I've looked at are distinctly plasticty & not particularly nice looking. These include the BeQuiet Silent Base 800, Corsair 550D, & most recently the Corsair Carbide 600Q. I'm not a big fan of windowed cases, as my PC is situated against a wall so most windows are redundent anyway. Any suggestions would be much appreciated

For reference, here's a list of the components I'm currently considering:

EVGA SuperNova P2 750W Platinum Fully Modular Power Supply Unit

Samsung MZ-V5P256BW 950 PRO 256 GB M.2 PCIe SSD (for OS drive).

Intel i7-5820K Extreme Hex Core CPU Processor (3.30GHz, 15MB Cache, 140W, Socket 2011-V3, 28 Lanes PCI Express Generation 3

Corsair CMK16GX4M4B3000C15 Vengeance LPX 16 GB (4x 4 GB) DDR4 3000 MHz CL15 XMP 2.0 High Performance Desktop Memory Kit

Corsair (CW-9060017-WW) Hydro Series H80i GT 120mm High Performance All-In-One Liquid CPU Cooler.

Asus Sabertooth X99 Motherboard (Intel X99, DDR4, S-ATA 600, ATX, USB 3.0, Socket 2011-3)


I already have a 970 GPU, monitor, keyboard, mouse, Windows 8.1 and 1TB SSD for storage. I'll be buying a 16nm GPU once they're available next year

[spacein_vader]

If you want quiet a high end air cooler will always beat a AIO water cooler. Both have fans, but the water cooler will always have pump noise on top of it.

Silent PC Review Is probably your best bet for finding a quiet case.

[MrJim]

If you want quiet a high end air cooler will always beat a AIO water cooler. Both have fans, but the water cooler will always have pump noise on top of it.

Silent PC Review Is probably your best bet for finding a quiet case.

It's strange that you should suggest that a high-end air cooler would beat an AIO water coolers - pretty much every review I've ever read would suggest the opposite Of course noise levels are another matter, I know some AIO water coolers can get a bit noisy on higher speed fan settings.

I've already looked on Silent PC review at their cases, & haven't seen anything which particularly grabbed me...

[spacein_vader]

It's strange that you should suggest that a high-end air cooler would beat an AIO water coolers - pretty much every review I've ever read would suggest the opposite Of course noise levels are another matter, I know some AIO water coolers can get a bit noisy on higher speed fan settings.

I've already looked on Silent PC review at their cases, & haven't seen anything which particularly grabbed me...

Sorry, I should have been clearer. A high end air cooler with quiet fans will always beat an AIO water cooler for silence. In terms of cooling potential then a well designed AIO can shift more heat. If I was overclocking or working in a high heat environment AIO may be the way to go, if silence (or close to it,) is your 1st priority I wouldn't even consider them.

[Jonj1611]

Sorry but I don't agree with that, I have a H100 with quiet fans and its virtually silent, not even the pump makes much noise, in fact the case fans, which are also silent probably make more noise than the pump so not sure if you are thinking about a particular all in one cooler or saying they are all noisy when thats not the case.

[EndlessWaves]

It's strange that you should suggest that a high-end air cooler would beat an AIO water coolers - pretty much every review I've ever read would suggest the opposite Of course noise levels are another matter, I know some AIO water coolers can get a bit noisy on higher speed fan settings.

Their lead tends to be very small though. The H80i GT is only a degree or two better than a Noctua D15. Given that it's also noisier it doesn't seem to justify swapping cases.

[Noxvayl]

I would mod the case to fit the cooler you want.

If you do go for a new case, please let me know because I want the FT02. I'd love to mod that case to suit my system.

I am currently contemplating getting a new case or doing a GPU upgrade, leaning towards GPU upgrade at the moment despite the extra cost.

[MrJim]

Their lead tends to be very small though. The H80i GT is only a degree or two better than a Noctua D15. Given that it's also noisier it doesn't seem to justify swapping cases.

I think RAM clearance might be a problem with a big air cooler like the Noctua D15 on an X99 motherboard, because the DIMM slots are both sides of the CPU socket.

[MrJim]

I would mod the case to fit the cooler you want.

If you do go for a new case, please let me know because I want the FT02. I'd love to mod that case to suit my system.

I am currently contemplating getting a new case or doing a GPU upgrade, leaning towards GPU upgrade at the moment despite the extra cost.

Modding's not really an option for me, unfortunately. If I do get rid of the FT-02 though, I'll let you know

[EndlessWaves]

I think RAM clearance might be a problem with a big air cooler like the Noctua D15 on an X99 motherboard, because the DIMM slots are both sides of the CPU socket.

D15 on a Sabertooth X99:


(image source)

[MrJim]

D15 on a Sabertooth X99:


(image source)

Thanks for that - good to know!

[outwar6010]

Im thinking of going for the master case pro 5 for like 109.99.

[MrJim]

Im thinking of going for the master case pro 5 for like 109.99.

Is it very quiet? I was a put-off Coolermaster cases after previously having a Stacker which sounded like it'd take off!

[Noxvayl]

If you are interested in another case have a look at the Fractal Design Define S, so long as you don't want/need a DVD drive it has a cavernous interior with loads of flexibility for any type of cooling solution.

Fractal Design are well know for quiet cases.

[royo]

I'd take a look at Fractal Design's R5, comes with sound dampening, available with & without a window, and pretty spacious.

[Jonj1611]

I had the Fractal R4 and whilst it was quieter because of the sound dampening I found the temps higher.