Silent PC case

The case does provide many elements whuch have in impact on how noisy a system will be. This includes:

a) Quality of panels... some cases are 1/4" aluminum, some are thing gauge steel which are noisy
b) Cases that are assembled with screws are generally quieter than rivets
c) Some cases provide runner isolator for all component mounts, some don't
d) Some cases provide slower rpm 140mm or larger fans, some use smaller / higher rpm fans.
e) Some cases provide fans affix with little rubber thingies, or rubber / foam padding, some don't
f) Some cases applt sound dampening material, some don't ... this is more effective on cases with thin steel panels than the thick aluminum ones.

As or the cooling that you add, 140mm is quieter than 120mmm as to move the same amount of air, the 140mm spins at significantly lower rpm. 10 fans at a lower rpm, is better than 5 fans at a higher rpm. Always have more fans blowing in than out ... in addition to keeping dust out, keeping PSU and GFX card exhaust from being sucked back in ... the sound of the fans directed inside the case will me muffled by the case walls and components, the stuff out gets no such benefit. Air exiting thru the rear case grille doesn't make any noise.

The thing is, the case that usually do this the best are the one with heavier side panels, and all those other things have a price premium associated with them. Our "go to cases" are the ones from Phanteks. They address most of those items listed above and are able to do so without the "stickum" (aka sound dampening material). The fans are rated No. 1 on SPCRs ranking based upon noise performance ration which is a plus as you get as many as 5 when you buy a case. On the ones I have here, the fans I added and bought separately had the rubber foam pads, the ones preinstalled in the case did not. I called Phanteksusa and they sent the pads in a baggie.

Antec makes some cases specifically designed for sound reduction (Sonata and P Series, Cooler Master Silencio, Corsair Obsidian Series 550D)

Good reading
http://www.silentpcreview.com/Case_Basics_and_Recommendations


However, the cases they have tested are not, for the most part, popular ones and oft one with 20dba is labeled as good, one that is 16 is not as much. So read closely and look at the numbers rather than relying on the conclusions paragraph. Also they have reviewed a lot off ITX cases, which by their very nature are noisy.