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

By Thomas Soderstrom
published

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.

Building With Antec's P280

The P280 includes a simplified installation guide, several zip ties, and a bag of assorted screws. Long shoulder screws are bundled in the screw pack, as are standoffs and even a few radiator screws.

We mention the long shoulder screws because they prevent over-tightening of 3.5” drives against silicon grommets. Those grommets (and their corresponding shoulder screws) aren't needed for the 2.5" mounting holes, since enthusiasts would typically use SSDs there.

External 5.25” drives simply slide into place by flexing a rocking latch mechanism until its pins engage the drive’s front screw holes. Pulling a tab flexes the latch further, disengaging the pins for easy drive removal.

Our most recent gaming enthusiast case comparison (The Final Five: Gaming Cases Between $80 And $120, Rounded-Up) called out several enclosures that didn’t properly support our slightly-oversized motherboard. But the P280 has no such problems, providing enough room for even larger platforms.

The P280 appears to be the perfect case for enthusiasts who prefer their computers to be seen, but not really noticed. Our tests will reveal whether the aesthetically-subtle chassis can achieve a low acoustic profile, too.

Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
44 Comments Comment from the forums
  • jrayx
    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.
    Reply
  • James296
    sweet, been looking for a quiet gaming case =)
    Reply
  • dthesleepless
    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.
    Reply
  • EzioAs
    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 .
    Reply
  • JOSHSKORN
    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.
    Reply
  • There is also the Corsair 550D to look at for the quite gaming experience.
    Reply
  • killerclick
    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.
    Reply
  • EzioAs
    9540164 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
    Reply
  • mayankleoboy1
    ^ except for the high-end cooler master PSU's. They are quite decent, probably because Seasonic actually makes them.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    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?
    Reply