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After doing quite a bit of reading, and pulling the trigger on a fresh P183, I've contracted mod fever. My goal is to take this mid-range case with great construction to the next level of silence--while maintaining airflow (and using even more fans.)
My focus will be on the upper panel lid. Any time you have a discussion of silent cases, the limitation of direct noise is always brought up. And anyone who has seen a P193 knows that its side fan has been baffled for just this reason. I will extend this design idea to the top of the P183, and see what the results are. If there is a meaningful noise improvement, I will do the same to the fan at the rear of the case.
Of course, what will really make or break this is the parts. I recently stumbled over A.C. Ryan's case parts and will be putting them to good use. Namely, I will be using one black aluminum panel as the top of the baffle, (trimmed to size, of course) and I will Acoustipack (this will also be used inside the case) its surface facing the fans to reduce bounce and absorb some of the noise. I will use the screws and HDD standoffs from the Constructx suite--both to space between the baffle and the case, and to attach the baffle internally.
There should be room between the sandwich for airflow, but I realize that not having an absolutely direct path may limit it somewhat. I have a plan to counteract that. Below the baffle, I will install two 140mm Noctua NF-P14 FLX fans (these should be entering the retail channel right now) in place of the one 120mm fan. There appears to be plenty of space so I would just need to Dremel a hole in the upper surface; I could also remove the grill up there since I will have something over the top of the fans anyway.
Anyone see any problems with this plan? Any feedback or concerns?
My focus will be on the upper panel lid. Any time you have a discussion of silent cases, the limitation of direct noise is always brought up. And anyone who has seen a P193 knows that its side fan has been baffled for just this reason. I will extend this design idea to the top of the P183, and see what the results are. If there is a meaningful noise improvement, I will do the same to the fan at the rear of the case.
Of course, what will really make or break this is the parts. I recently stumbled over A.C. Ryan's case parts and will be putting them to good use. Namely, I will be using one black aluminum panel as the top of the baffle, (trimmed to size, of course) and I will Acoustipack (this will also be used inside the case) its surface facing the fans to reduce bounce and absorb some of the noise. I will use the screws and HDD standoffs from the Constructx suite--both to space between the baffle and the case, and to attach the baffle internally.
There should be room between the sandwich for airflow, but I realize that not having an absolutely direct path may limit it somewhat. I have a plan to counteract that. Below the baffle, I will install two 140mm Noctua NF-P14 FLX fans (these should be entering the retail channel right now) in place of the one 120mm fan. There appears to be plenty of space so I would just need to Dremel a hole in the upper surface; I could also remove the grill up there since I will have something over the top of the fans anyway.
Anyone see any problems with this plan? Any feedback or concerns?
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