Are there any cases with muffled intake and exhaust parts?

[RejZoR]

I currently have Silverstone Kublai KL07 case which was years ago the only one that I could find that has specifically designed intake and exhaust panels to dampen the noise.

https://www.silverstonetek.com/en/product/info/computer-chassis/kl07e/

All other cases I could find always have the top open which I think is just stupid even if they have intake covered (there was some CoolerMaster cases with intake cover and some BeQuiet). But the top is always just open. Not only dust falls into the case from the top, it also just dumps all the noise straight out. Even BeQuiet cases, praised for silence which is their entire shtick and I otherwise love it, but it seems they don't do it either. Unless the Dark Base Pro 901 has optional straight mesh or enclosed, but I can't really see that from their images.

Why is Silverstone the only case maker that did both? Do users just care about the RGB and glass panels and not actual silence? Reason I'm looking for more of similar cases is that KL07 (old one I have anyways, not KL07E) has HDD bay at the bottom which is restricting PSU size and cable management and it's a bit annoying as I have all the cables crammed between PSU and that HDD bay and it's hard to maintain it. But I just don't find any cases that would have such design. On top of just being simple. I don't need bling, KL07 is just a plain black case, absolutely nothing fancy about it and nothing offending.

 

[Kwadratowicz]

I see trend that newer cases are "airflow oriented", which means that they don't care about acoustics, and stuff, more open mesh better.
And the vents are problematic to manufacture, punch hole design is easier to make.
But You can try and find someone that could 3d print something for You. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5247872 for example.
I care about noise, but problem is that I'm more concerned about thermals, and for now I've got lian li lancool 207 that has great thermal performance, but is a little to audible without headphones while gaming. (It's so open case that thermals are the same when pc was fully opened, and had a ton of fresh air).
I don't like the glass panel, but it's not that bad for now, and I think it will be ok for longer therm to see if anything is going on with the pc (it's standing on desk).

 

[Todestrieb]

Well designed meshed panel cases would reach the same cooling performance with less noise (This is the TLDR for this post) ...if GamersNexus's tests are to be believed.
And I don't mean the "mesh everywhere" type of cases.

When I build my current rig using Phanteks P600S, I went as far to make sure my choice of case has solid noise-dampened panels on each sides.
My plan was to close both front and top panels. I did get my rig to operate virtually silent at both CPU/GPU heavy stress tests but with an open front panel and with the help of very expensive case fans. I tried closing the front panel, and my CPU and GPU will get real close to thermal throttling on full load in summer days, and I will have to speed up the front fans to an annoying noise level to combat that if I want to keep the front panel closed.
* The top panel on my case is of course closed.

The Silverstone KL07E did pique my interest for its noise-dampening capabilities, but I doubt it will handle a top-end GPU without sweating. CM's Silencio series didn't do well in reviews. My brother's NZXT H500 build did comically bad in thermals until he got a custom vented side panel.
The P600S I used was released in 2019. It is not EOL'd yet, and might fit your criterias, but it's a fairly dated case. I see your sadness (I don't have a a better word for this) on be quiet not keeping the "at least optional noise dampened panels everywhere" tradition and general lack of solid noise-dampened panel options.

FYI, the Dark Base Pro 901 has a solid top panel (see manual page 10 item J ) and meshed top panel (item K).

 

[BoggledBeagle]

Fractal define cases have muffled air intake.

 

[Event Horizon]

Fractal define cases have muffled air intake.

This. Muffled intake, solid top, and solid side panel, and noise dampening material inside.

 

[Chrispy_]

Muffled exhaust doesn't really exist any more. Some of the old Silverstone cases (Ravens?) that did a rotated board layout used to hang the GPUs vertically and do a bottom-to-top air route with a cable management baffle and air guide that redirected the exhaust air backwards. A different approach to your Kublai but also no longer on sale.

Old NXZT H440 was baffled front and top, but not rear.

If you're worried about noise, you can reach very low noise levels by going with a larger, very open/mesh case and reach high airflow with lots of slow fans. The things inside your case that you're trying to muffle the sound of won't be making as much noise if they have plenty of access to the freshest, coolest air.

 

[Redwoodz]

Because baffles make noise.

 

[freeagent]

I see trend that newer cases are "airflow oriented", which means that they don't care about acoustics, and stuff, more open mesh better.

Not true. It depends on the fans, and materials used in the case. I have an airflow orientated case, and it is very quiet.

 

[Kwadratowicz]

Not true. It depends on the fans, and materials used in the case. I have an airflow orientated case, and it is very quiet.

I mean it's about acoustics, that adding fans it will create sound, and with mesh and more opened cases it is more audible than in old pc cases that where closed, or had some sort of channels for the air to get in and out. Cause I think that old cases where breaking the sound wave better, than todays cases.
I like my lancool 207, but it is almost open case and it is audible while gaming, and while browsing internet it's whispering really quiet.
ps I love my gigabyte gaming oc 9070 xt, just beacouse the fans are really great with almost 2000 rpm they are audible but they don't irritate me .
I think that case fans could use some of the gpu fans design to dampen the noise.

 

[freeagent]

I love my current case, nice thick metal that does not flex, thick glass on the side, quiet, strong fans. Its heavy, and its a good setup. A bit pricey though.

 

[Sammoonryong]

I use Fractal Design R6 it’s muffled and very quiet but I’m not sure if it’s still available.

 

[Kwadratowicz]

I've found https://www.bequiet.com/en/case/2049 bequiet silent base 802, You can dampen top with panels I think that they give You option what You want .

 

[freeagent]

I have an R4, it has the damping inside. Doesn't help much since the case is so thin. If you have strong enough fans, you can hear the air being pulled into the front.

 

[Chomiq]

Not true. It depends on the fans, and materials used in the case. I have an airflow orientated case, and it is very quiet.

This, if you keep your fans at low rpm any mesh case can be quiet. If you opt for right fans you might have both - quiet at low rpm when doing regular operation and spinning at higher rpm and providing required airflow at high loads.

 

[io-waiter]

I have used a lot of dampened old (read ancient) workstation cases where you place the entire workstation in a soundproofed box with 220V fans providing airflow. These worked ok for high pitched noises but I do not see them as feasible with a modern gaming pc, the airflow noise would be significant and both noise and cost would be worse than a nice case.

Overall PC use more power, fans are getting better (and larger) and noise levels are down in comparison to the past, so the closed cases are not as competitive in comparison to meshed cases, especially for airflow and fan noise. Coil whine and similar would be a different.. case..

 

[Harlow]

I currently have Silverstone Kublai KL07 case which was years ago the only one that I could find that has specifically designed intake and exhaust panels to dampen the noise

I've got a 7950X rig in a Lian Li PC-S80 Quiet PC case dating back to 2006. CPU cooling is Noctua NH-D15.

http://dansdata.com/llpcs80.htm

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Case-Review-Lian-Li-PC-S80-25/

If you remove both side panels, you're confronted by more blank Aluminium panels inside, with no sign of the mobo or hard disks. You have to remove these blank internal panels to access all active parts. Air intake is via two long slots on the side panels, near the rear of the case. There's a metal hood at the back covering the two exhaust fans, directing air down towards the floor. This case is not silent when all fans are running at 100%, but it's quieter than some of my mesh cases. No good for AIO.

 

[Maxiaid]

I actually like the sound of roaring fans on a computer, as strange as it may be.

 

[leonavis]

Why is Silverstone the only case maker that did both?

My bequiet silent base 802 has both.

It's not the best of cases tho tbh. But very flexible

 

[RejZoR]

My bequiet silent base 802 has both.

It's not the best of cases tho tbh. But very flexible

View attachment 400080

I have concern if intake mesh allows enough air intake compared to KL07's basically zero obstruction slanted intakes. Same for exhaust on top. Those few exhausts on top at the back of the case just don't seem enough. I'll have to see a video review and reviewer hopefully takes good care in looking into those characteristics of the case.

 

[Frick]

I have an R4, it has the damping inside. Doesn't help much since the case is so thin. If you have strong enough fans, you can hear the air being pulled into the front.

Thin? Do you mean the metal is thin? It's not. It's very much not, especially compared to modern cases.

I actually like the sound of roaring fans on a computer, as strange as it may be.

 

[InVasMani]

My D5000 even with zillion 120mm case fans can be basically whisper quiet depending on how it's setup and tuned. I mean if I OC it more aggressively obviously the noise expectations shift a bit. It's overall quiet enough though with a AIO for my tastes. Easy to adjust if I want it a bit more dead silent as well. I've had the tempered glass side panel on it off for like year now practically. I think I left it off initially for convenience and at this point idk why it's still off lmao it probably doesn't need to be at this point. It would be a bit quieter, but it's already pretty quiet. At least it pulls in plenty of fresh air.

They do make like 3D printed sound dampening acoustic pieces that you can mount onto the front or back of fan though. I'm not sure how well they really work, but some are similar to what you see on car muffler tail pipe.

 

[freeagent]

Thin? Do you mean the metal is thin? It's not. It's very much not, especially compared to modern cases.

Sure it is, I have it right here. Compared to my Asus, it is thin..

Edit:

Check out how flimsy the top of the chassis is in the fan area. It is strong enough to hold my weight.. I stood on it a few times

 

[yfn_ratchet]

In matters of heat and noise, the absolute best solution has been and always will be to move it someplace you won't hear or feel it—hence why your A/C compressor/condenser tends to be outside your house. If your goal is solely to remove noise, I would tell you do go a little old school and try using a passive thin client as a lite-terminal or something and run some nice cable to wherever you keep the actual PC.

That said, if you also enjoy convenience and simplicity, there's still some options. I would say your best effort towards silence is to make your cooler work as little as possible, bar none, but there's still sound-dampening cases of a similar design. My vote would be for the Fractal Design Pop Silent.

 

[RejZoR]

I'm annoyed that NO ONE tested the Silent Base 602 with ALL fan spots populated and AiO at the top (though top ventilation is questionable and again NO ONE bothered to really showcase the top section and show if all the cuts even lead anywhere for ventilation. Who in hell runs a case with just 2 fans that come preinstalled? Front can have 3 fans. None used on top. 3 fans are not louder than 1 fan just because it's more of them. If 3 fans run at 600 RPM they move more air but will be virtually inaudible. Also no one bothered to really showcase how intake holes are actually designed and routed and how restrictive they actually are.

But seeing what I could see, I still believe Kublai KL07 has the best design that best blends silence focused acoustics without restricting airflow. With some airflow engineering of my own, I've further improved upon already good (but not ideal) design of KL07. Top front intake fan I've made air focusing fan attachment so it pushes air in a straighter direction through top of the case to either feed air cooler with more air or help AiO on top get more cold air:

120mm & 140mm Fan Airflow Focus by RejZoR

Similar to my Fan Airflow Director design, this one is designed to focus fan airflow into more focused straight line instead of air scattering all over the place as it leaves the fan. Designed to be mounted behind the intake case fan to push air flow further into the case using static blades...

www.thingiverse.com

I've also created fan attachments that direct air in directions of my choice, further optimizing middle and bottom front intake fans to really direct air where it's needed the most and that's being fed into the graphic card.

120mm & 140mm Fan Airflow Director by RejZoR

Fan Airflow Director is a special slanted grill design for 120mm and 140mm computer fans that allows redirection of airflow depending on how you orient it. Grill is angled at 45 degrees and you can orient it to 4 basic directions depending on needs. This way you can force air to move in certain...

www.thingiverse.com

This dramatically decreased graphic card temperatures and thus its noise. You can also really feel the air being pushed straight into graphic card fans. PSU gets air from outside anyway and HDD that I have at the bottom still has some air circulation despite air being directed upwards that it doesn't really heat up much.

I need to make something for my rear exhaust fan because it's currently the loudest part as it's dumping air straight out and all the noise is basically reflecting from the wall which is not ideal. I need to figure out how to dampen that, either by directing exhaust downwards or by doing some sort of muffle that just scatters the exhaust so it's not focused straight at the wall...

 

[leonavis]

I'm annoyed that NO ONE tested the Silent Base 602 with ALL fan spots populated and AiO at the top

I have with the 802, 3*140 intake, one buttom, one rear, 360 aio top.

The buttom and rear fan did nothing tempwise. I removed them and nothing changed, at least with that config.

When it comes to noise, I really have to push it for the system to become audible. With 2 NF-A14 and a P14 front and 3 P12 top, in normal operation it's not noticable, barely noticable while compiling (CPU) or gaming (7800XT PG), and quite noticable but not annoying with mprime (CPU torture). With mesh front and top. It works well, but the dust filter front is filled regularly.