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Quiet Gaming Cases, Part 1: Antec, Azza, And Cooler Master

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  • Cooler Master
  • Cases
  • Antec
  • Gaming
Last response: in Reviews comments
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December 26, 2012 3:00:05 AM

The pursuit of performance often dictates that we simply live with a loud PC. Enthusiasts sometimes feel forced to choose between reasonable acoustics and the ventilation needed to overclock. Today, we evaluate three cases that promise to deliver both.

Quiet Gaming Cases, Part 1: Antec, Azza, And Cooler Master : Read more

More about : quiet gaming cases part antec azza cooler master

December 26, 2012 3:45:01 AM

I like the Silencio 650 features, but the airflow is restricted in the front and bottom. And no one sells that case in my country.
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December 26, 2012 3:46:11 AM

sweet, been looking for a quiet gaming case =)
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December 26, 2012 4:17:15 AM

I'd like to see how the Nanoxia Deep Silence 1 compares in your testing.

In my testing I found it to be the most efficient silent case I've ever had on my workbench.
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5
a b 4 Gaming
December 26, 2012 4:23:15 AM

Things I love about silence optimized case: Simple, elegant look. Nothing tacky and doesn't looks like it was made for some 12 years old

Things I hate about silence optimized case: Usually doesn't cool well (poor airflow) and isn't really that much quieter compared to non silence optimized case

It 's really hard to find the right balance but I'm loving the Antec P280. Exterior and interior looks good and seems spacious enough. Price isn't so bad either.

Any chance you could review the Nanoxia Deep Silence 1? Heard a lot of good things about it .
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6
December 26, 2012 4:33:11 AM

I'd like to see the Fractal Design Define R4 (and/or XL if it's not out of stock, which it currently is) reviewed and compared at some point. It's suppose to be a quiet case. Gaming, not sure about that one.
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December 26, 2012 4:37:43 AM

There is also the Corsair 550D to look at for the quite gaming experience.
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December 26, 2012 4:39:46 AM

As usual, Cooler Master is mediocre at best. What pathetic company, the only thing they seem to do good is marketing to budget-conscious consumers.
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a b 4 Gaming
December 26, 2012 4:55:03 AM

killerclick said:
As usual, Cooler Master is mediocre at best. What pathetic company, the only thing they seem to do good is marketing to budget-conscious consumers.


I disagree. A lot of their chassis are good (HAF, Elite). I like their storm stryker/trooper. Most of their peripherals have great quality and reasonable price compared to something like Razer. Their coolers are also great as well (Hyper 212/212+/212 EVO). I just find their power supply unit to be the 2nd grade components, almost all of them I wouldn't use or recommend to other people
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December 26, 2012 5:17:26 AM

^ except for the high-end cooler master PSU's. They are quite decent, probably because Seasonic actually makes them.
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December 26, 2012 5:58:26 AM

dthesleeplessI'd like to see how the Nanoxia Deep Silence 1 compares in your testing.In my testing I found it to be the most efficient silent case I've ever had on my workbench.
JOSHSKORNI'd like to see the Fractal Design Define R4 (and/or XL if it's not out of stock, which it currently is) reviewed and compared at some point. It's suppose to be a quiet case. Gaming, not sure about that one.
Perhaps you will...has anybody ever noticed the resemblance between those two?
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December 26, 2012 6:25:50 AM

Hm... A PC case noise benchmark test without a HDD???
SSD is totaly silent, but HDD can make quite a bit of noise, and is still a basic part of every PC today.
You guys seem to have forgotten something.
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December 26, 2012 6:52:44 AM

dasickHm... A PC case noise benchmark test without a HDD???SSD is totaly silent, but HDD can make quite a bit of noise, and is still a basic part of every PC today.You guys seem to have forgotten something.
An HDD can make a lot of noise, but not nearly as much as a graphics blower. The HDD was rejected as redundant noise.
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December 26, 2012 9:20:49 AM

Can you even buy the Azza Silentium 920 case anywhere? I can't find it on Amazon or Newegg.
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December 26, 2012 9:25:42 AM

EzioAsI disagree. A lot of their chassis are good (HAF, Elite). I like their storm stryker/trooper. Most of their peripherals have great quality and reasonable price compared to something like Razer. Their coolers are also great as well (Hyper 212/212+/212 EVO). I just find their power supply unit to be the 2nd grade components, almost all of them I wouldn't use or recommend to other people


Their products are great when compared to box coolers and cheap no-name cases, but inferior to Corsair, Noctua, Scythe, Antec and the like. Hyper 212? Junk - even Tom's thinks so. Why buy fourth best? Find me one roundup of anything where Cooler Master comes out on top in performance or acoustics.
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a b 4 Gaming
December 26, 2012 9:52:15 AM

killerclick said:
Their products are great when compared to box coolers and cheap no-name cases, but inferior to Corsair, Noctua, Scythe, Antec and the like. Hyper 212? Junk - even Tom's thinks so. Why buy fourth best? Find me one roundup of anything where Cooler Master comes out on top in performance or acoustics.


Look at the price. The Hyper 212+ is not even remotely close to the price of top air coolers however it offers extremely good value and the link you provided is enough evidence. I'll also vouch for it since I have one and I'm using it to cool my 3570K running at 4.5GHz fully stable with cpu voltage of 1.18V and max temps of 78 degrees on the hottest core. I paid $30 for it and I can get my cpu to 4.5GHz, fully satisfied.

Corsair do have great cases (no doubt here) but look at the total number of cases they have and the price point. Cooler master have everything from $30 to $300+ case.

Look, this is not a debate on whoever makes the best products. We don't need one company dominating the other. If we do, we get fewer alternatives and high prices. Let's say you're right and let's take a look at the SSD market. Based on what I've found out so far is Samsung has the highest performing consumer SSD, the 840 Pro (if I'm wrong, consider this a hypothetical situation). However, does that make other SSDs like the crucial M4 or OCZ vertex 4 irrelevant? If the M4 and vertex 4 had lower prices and better price per GB than the 840 Pro, wouldn't it be a better deal for someone who's not looking for the best and/or is not willing to pay the premium?

To conclude, there's nothing wrong with Cooler Master not taking the performance crown, value is not simply performance/aesthetics/size, it's more of how much you can get for the price you pay.
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December 26, 2012 9:52:53 AM

killerclickHyper 212? Junk - even Tom's thinks so.
It's a decent low-cost cooler and the one Tom's fell back to in the recent SBM when Newegg's mid-priced parts were out of stock.
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December 26, 2012 10:47:54 AM

Where's the Corsair 550D?
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December 26, 2012 11:48:00 AM

EzioAsTo conclude, there's nothing wrong with Cooler Master not taking the performance crown, value is not simply performance/aesthetics/size, it's more of how much you can get for the price you pay.


Yeah, but who wants to save $15 on a CPU cooler they buy once in two years, especially if the CPU it cools costs 15 times as much?
And you said "great quality and reasonable price", it's more like "mediocre quality and reasonable price". Great quality would come up on top, being in the bottom half in most comparisons is not great quality, unless compared with a box cooler, in which case the price would be beyond unreasonable.
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a b 4 Gaming
December 26, 2012 12:24:13 PM

killerclick said:
Yeah, but who wants to save $15 on a CPU cooler they buy once in two years, especially if the CPU it cools costs 15 times as much?
And you said "great quality and reasonable price", it's more like "mediocre quality and reasonable price". Great quality would come up on top, being in the bottom half in most comparisons is not great quality, unless compared with a box cooler, in which case the price would be beyond unreasonable.


Some people just aren't enthusiast :??:  . Some people just want to spend little and they only change parts after a couple of years. You can call cooler master's products mediocre all you want, as far as I'm concern, most of them are decent to great quality
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December 26, 2012 12:25:49 PM

I absolutely love my Antec P280, my favorite case I have ever owned.

My $250 Lian Li was nice and all aluminum but its overall design and features paled in comparison to my Antec p280.

I added 1 120mm fan to the front of my Antec and will admit it is not exactly "silent" but it is not what I would consider noisy either and I am more than willing to live with it since I have easily overclocked my 3770k to 4.5 ghz with a cheap $25 3 heat pipe cooler.
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a b 4 Gaming
December 26, 2012 12:57:52 PM

I'm with you, killerclick. For reasons I've enumerated too often in the forums to repeat here, Crappermaster is on my personal "Do Not Buy" list. Even in this article, it was said to arrive looking..."used." That's a pretty decent summary of my opinion on their quality. The point being, there is ALWAYS a better bang/buck choice; same price, better quality (cases, e.g. Rosewill), or lower price for the same quality (coolers, e.g. Xigmatek).

I expect this to be thumbed down by Crappermaster fanbois, but that doesn't change the facts.


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a b 4 Gaming
December 26, 2012 1:02:16 PM

On an entirely (and more relevant) note, I disagree that hard drive noise is "redundant." The type of noise can be as important as its volume when determining how acceptable it is. An even whooshing of fans is not as obnoxious as the intermittent rattles and buzzing of hard drive operation.

Furthermore, someone concerned about noise will also select components to that end. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure;" meaning quieter graphics cards and fans will be used.

In that context, Antec is the clear winner of these three.
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Anonymous
December 26, 2012 1:20:40 PM

CrashmanPerhaps you will...has anybody ever noticed the resemblance between those two?

i beleive anadtech did an article comparing silent gaming cases not long ago
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Anonymous
December 26, 2012 1:21:31 PM

i woulds still get a fractal define r4 or define mini. i love fractal cases, i have an r3 and a node 304
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a b 4 Gaming
December 26, 2012 1:30:45 PM

wtf? no fractal? what is this?
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a b 4 Gaming
December 26, 2012 1:50:23 PM

TheBigTrollwtf? no fractal? what is this?

It is the first of multiple articles, in which a number of cases are being examined.
articleIn the days that follow, we'll be going in-depth on six more enclosures before figuring out which one does its job the best.

Hopefully we'll see a Fractal in another set.
I really like the Define Mini. It has a couple of anomalies (e.g. no HDD activity LED), but it is very quiet and has decent cable management.
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December 26, 2012 3:46:02 PM

Corsair 550D and Fractal Define R4 are both excellent choices and would of loved to see them included as I was actually planning on using the 550D within the next few months for a build.
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December 26, 2012 4:12:43 PM

Have just an average case (Lian Li mini-tower ATX) that's not designed to be "quiet", but I purposely sought out quiet 120mm fans, CPU HSF/fan and video card. Its very quiet while gaming (just hear a the soft sound of air moving, that's it). Basically, components are way more important than cases where noise is concerned.
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December 26, 2012 4:54:29 PM

So far it seems they're going alphabetically - Antec, Azza, Cooler Master. So, hopefully there will be 2 more articles with 3 more cases each - and the Corsair 550D follows next following this pattern. Fractal Design Define XL R2, Nanoxia DS-1, NZXT H2, etc. But where's the BitFenix Ghost in this scenario?
I'm currently wanting the 550D, but my SLI GTX580's may be too much for that - heard the airflow is lacking although noise reduction is great. Hope the Nanoxia gets distributed in the US soon!
I do want to see how the new Define XL R2 compares - it's a solid maybe...

*Waiting for the rest of the articles*
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a b 4 Gaming
December 26, 2012 5:20:48 PM

no fractal design case no bueno
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December 26, 2012 5:28:28 PM

bigshootr8no fractal design case no bueno


This is Part 1 of the comparison tests - They repeatedly stated that there will be 6 more cases tested.

Come back tomorrow or the next day and check for a Fractal Design...
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December 26, 2012 6:38:32 PM

DraconianWhere's the Corsair 550D?
Alphabetically, Cor comes after Coo, look for part 2?
TheBigTrollwtf? no fractal? what is this?
F also comes after C...
teamheadCorsair 550D and Fractal Define R4 are both excellent choices and would of loved to see them included as I was actually planning on using the 550D within the next few months for a build.
I'm not going to talk model-specifics yet, but the third article has a final bonus page to show how the top solutions of all three articles compared.
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December 26, 2012 7:48:16 PM

I have the Antec p280 and reconfigured it with 2 intakes up front, one exhaust in the back, and sealed the top fan ports with sound dampening foam. Put a nice dial switch fan controller up front in the 5.25, and this keeps my overclocked i5 and overclocked GTX580 at good temps while being pretty silent.

Really like the level of quality on that case. I'm interested to see if Fractal will be on the list and how it compares because their Define cases were on my shortlist of silent cases before I ultimately went with Antec.
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Anonymous
a b 4 Gaming
December 27, 2012 3:54:57 AM

and then you all realize the Hyper 212 evo provides quite a boost in temp lowering power for only a slight bump in price ... CM doesnt make all crap parts.
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December 27, 2012 10:03:46 AM

Coldfire_Trilogy1and then you all realize the Hyper 212 evo provides quite a boost in temp lowering power for only a slight bump in price ... CM doesnt make all crap parts.


It's not just about lowering temps, there's also noise to consider. Some people don't mind the noise, but for me noise is the only reason I buy aftermarket cooling (both CPU and GPU). It's easy to make a product that compromises on either cooling or noise, and charge a low price for it, but don't say it's a great product. You buy aftermarket cooling, might as well pay an extra $15 and get the best product that you'll use for 2-3 years.
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December 28, 2012 3:11:30 PM

I enjoy my Antec P280. I've used up all of the fan slots inside of it, adding Noctua fans to help make it quieter. I even flipped the top two fans so I had a positive pressure system to help keep the dust out. The case is huge and heavy, but I consider that a good thing. Definitely worth getting, imo.
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December 28, 2012 7:37:22 PM

How about Antec 183. How good is it compared to p280? It should be a little bit more silent and reasonable good for gaming too, but without comparison it is hard to tell.
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December 29, 2012 4:16:27 PM

I have a p180 and the plastics used on the doors are brittle. Both the sliding side door and the front door broke off within the first 6 months of use. Not one reviewer warned me about the fact that this box is weaker than glass. Tell me if the p280 fares better.
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December 31, 2012 7:29:21 PM

I like the design of the Silentium a lot.
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Anonymous
a b 4 Gaming
January 3, 2013 7:13:12 PM

I have been building systems since 1984. I have found Antec makes a solid, quiet and reasonable priced case. The P280 is a dream. Roomy and quiet. I also like the Lian Lee Aluminum cases. They are pricey but elegant, and very well made. Silverstone is another excellant cse. Possibly too pricey for the average user?
Chiefwiz
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August 11, 2013 7:40:07 AM

EzioAs said:
killerclick said:
Their products are great when compared to box coolers and cheap no-name cases, but inferior to Corsair, Noctua, Scythe, Antec and the like. Hyper 212? Junk - even Tom's thinks so. Why buy fourth best? Find me one roundup of anything where Cooler Master comes out on top in performance or acoustics.


Look at the price. The Hyper 212+ is not even remotely close to the price of top air coolers however it offers extremely good value and the link you provided is enough evidence. I'll also vouch for it since I have one and I'm using it to cool my 3570K running at 4.5GHz fully stable with cpu voltage of 1.18V and max temps of 78 degrees on the hottest core. I paid $30 for it and I can get my cpu to 4.5GHz, fully satisfied.

Corsair do have great cases (no doubt here) but look at the total number of cases they have and the price point. Cooler master have everything from $30 to $300+ case.

Look, this is not a debate on whoever makes the best products. We don't need one company dominating the other. If we do, we get fewer alternatives and high prices. Let's say you're right and let's take a look at the SSD market. Based on what I've found out so far is Samsung has the highest performing consumer SSD, the 840 Pro (if I'm wrong, consider this a hypothetical situation). However, does that make other SSDs like the crucial M4 or OCZ vertex 4 irrelevant? If the M4 and vertex 4 had lower prices and better price per GB than the 840 Pro, wouldn't it be a better deal for someone who's not looking for the best and/or is not willing to pay the premium?

To conclude, there's nothing wrong with Cooler Master not taking the performance crown, value is not simply performance/aesthetics/size, it's more of how much you can get for the price you pay.


Agree.
As a part-time student, I have not much money, but a moderate emphasis on computing performance and decent cooling. That is when people like me get to choose CM.

When the 212 first appeared it is a value-performance king that I can't easily find them in stock around my region, so yeah maybe it's mediocre and all but at least they can satisfy a lot of users, and there's nothing to say about it.

I am using an N200 with Hyper 212 plus, cooling my IB i5 very well IMO.
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August 11, 2013 11:53:59 AM

Onus said:
The Hyper212 EVO is a bang/buck LOSER compared to the generally superior Xigmatek Gaia:
http://www.techreaction.net/2011/07/07/review-xigmatek-...
http://www.techreaction.net/2011/11/27/review-cooler-ma...

Unlike the Hyper212 EVO (ignore the URL; it IS the EVO they tested), the Gaia never throttled, although it wasn't always the coolest depending on the fan used. Both got awards, but if you factor in the price, the Gaia wins hands down.


Thank you for your info! My local region have literally no news about Xigmatek. Yes this seems like a good opponent to the 212 EVO. From the looks of it I can bet it is designed to compete on that market segment even. :) 

But what I mean just now is just that every product has a reason to survive for a few generations (Like Win XP) so ultimately it's still up to the individual preference when choosing hardware.
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August 13, 2013 4:22:42 PM

I'm glad you at least mentioned the (unique?) one-bay cover for the top external slot on the Azza Silentium 920. This is the only quiet case I could find that allows external access without opening a big door.

As a photographer, my wife is constantly using her flash card reader; kind of defeats the purpose of a silent case if one must leave the front door open all the time.

For that reason alone, we're about to do a build using the Azza Silentium 920. Hopefully the other minor challenges won't bite us. The features are very right, and the price looks good too. (Even better when I note that they donate a full 50% of their profits to charity. A real do-good company.)
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