How quiet is HAF 922 with stock fans?

[src1425]

Looking to rebuild my son's PC for Christmas, which he uses primarily for gaming. Would like to get him a better case for cooling that's also fairly quiet, as we have an open floor plan and our study is directly adjacent to the family room. I have a CM690 II Advanced for my PC, which has served me pretty well, but I've been looking at the HAF 922, Storm Enforcer, and Storm Scout 2, as he probably doesn't want the same case as dear, old Dad! I notice a lot of people love the HAF 922, but I'm concerned about the noise levels, particularly with the large grill on the side panel.

Any suggestions for a good ATX midtower, priced up to $125, would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[TheBigTroll]

haf cases are good for airflow, not silence. if you are looking for silence, get the fractal define R4. has decent cooling but lots of silence.

if you need more airflow, the 500R is another good choice

 

[Jay-Z]

I own the HAF-922 with clear side panel. Most of the time it is reasonably quiet, similar to my ceiling fan and fridge. At load it is a little louder but not annoying. The real question is what noise is acceptable, and what ambient noise there is to mask it.

If you are looking for silent or near silent then this case will not work for you. I don't think the Storm ones will either.

If you can get one of these in stock, it should fit your needs
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129154

This is also worth a look
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146067

There are other more "silent" cases but they do cost more. Replacing the case fans with low rpm fans like the Sharkoon Silent Eagle or any Noctura fan would help further

 

[src1425]

Just to clarify, not looking for a silent case, just one that provides good cooling without being too loud. If he's gaming, we can hear his current rig over quieter conversation on the TV, which is a little distracting. If I had to weigh the importance of cooling vs. quiet, it would probably be 60/40.

 

[TheBigTroll]

the fractal is more 65% silent 35% cooling

 

[Jay-Z]

I forgot about Fractal Design. If you have a 212+ EVO, then CPU cooling should be fine and as long as you don't OC the GPU that should be fine too.