Silent, passive or nearly passive large ATX case

christpunchers

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 26, 2006
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I’ve tinkering with the idea of making a new build. Probably a Ryzen 3800x or better with a full size ATX or EATX x570 board, re-use my 1080ti along with soundcard, hard drives, etc.

I’ll be going for one of those bulky air cooler if possible and run 1-2 CPU fans at low speed rather than use another AIO (I find them to be noisy).

I was one of the fools who put down money for the NSG S0 that never went into production. Checking out Monsterlaboo’s The First, it looks okay, but can only take Mini ATX and is quite size constrained.

Anyone with experience could recommend a larger case that is passive and fanless or can operate with just one fan? Much appreciated.
 
I don't an exact recommendation for what you're going for, but I still appreciate a super quiet system so I feel like I can comment.

I run a Fractal Design Define S case, which originally I got because it's designed for watercooling and I was putting in an AIO. Well, eventually that AIO died, and now I'm just using it as a nice quiet case. The fans I put in it are super quiet, and I run a 3700x and 1080ti and never found the need to add any of the 'chimney' fans on the top, nor the one on the side panel (didn't get the window one) - those parts of my case remains sealed. The whole case is lined with sound dampening material, and two super quiet fans in the front, one in the back and the one on the power supply have been plenty to keep my system running at acceptable temperatures. I do have a Noctua U12S with second fan on my CPU, but again it's super quiet and basically doesn't have to spin up.

Actually, until a couple months ago the single loudest thing in my case was my PSU. I always assumed it would be my 1080Ti because the system got loud during gaming, but turns out it was the fucking power supply fan spinning up. When I got a nice, efficient, modern PSU I'm not even sure the new one's fan even turns on.

With all that said, the *quietest* my system has ever been is when it was 30 feet away in another room and I routed the cables through the wall/ceiling. Dead silence, highly recommended.
 
I don't an exact recommendation for what you're going for, but I still appreciate a super quiet system so I feel like I can comment.

I run a Fractal Design Define S case, which originally I got because it's designed for watercooling and I was putting in an AIO. Well, eventually that AIO died, and now I'm just using it as a nice quiet case. The fans I put in it are super quiet, and I run a 3700x and 1080ti and never found the need to add any of the 'chimney' fans on the top, nor the one on the side panel (didn't get the window one) - those parts of my case remains sealed. The whole case is lined with sound dampening material, and two super quiet fans in the front, one in the back and the one on the power supply have been plenty to keep my system running at acceptable temperatures. I do have a Noctua U12S with second fan on my CPU, but again it's super quiet and basically doesn't have to spin up.

Actually, until a couple months ago the single loudest thing in my case was my PSU. I always assumed it would be my 1080Ti because the system got loud during gaming, but turns out it was the fucking power supply fan spinning up. When I got a nice, efficient, modern PSU I'm not even sure the new one's fan even turns on.

With all that said, the *quietest* my system has ever been is when it was 30 feet away in another room and I routed the cables through the wall/ceiling. Dead silence, highly recommended.
Yeah that’s my thinking. Some sort of steel chassis with all the holes sealed and a lot of dampening materials. Been looking for one that’s bigger than mid size but on the right track. Looks like Fractal leads this game as per some of the reviews and comments on their Define series. Won’t use more than a couple case fans. One larger one in front and one in the back. Avoiding AIO and just going with an efficient and large air cooler. Should be vertically silent. Can’t stand noise coming from a PC.
 
I've owned both a R4 Black Pearl and this Define S, and know friends that have owned others. I've never been disappointed. They're a bit big and heavy, but they're roomy, expandable, and quiet. And they're not stupid expensive, which is a nice bonus.
 
From the looks of it what do you think of the XL R2? Should be more of the same but just larger right?
 
It looks like a full tower version of the Black Pearl R4 I ahd. I'm not sure why anyone needs a full tower, but I see no reason it won't be a great case.
 
Yeah that’s my thinking. Some sort of steel chassis with all the holes sealed and a lot of dampening materials. Been looking for one that’s bigger than mid size but on the right track. Looks like Fractal leads this game as per some of the reviews and comments on their Define series. Won’t use more than a couple case fans. One larger one in front and one in the back. Avoiding AIO and just going with an efficient and large air cooler. Should be vertically silent. Can’t stand noise coming from a PC.

The muffled, sealed up, noise damping cases just choke off the airflow and make all your fans spin up to compensate.

Get something with a mesh front and run 2 or 3 if the Noctua 140mm fans at low rpm and you can easily make your system silent.
 
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