Full Tower Case Choice

[darunium]

Hi All,

I'm building a box with a full length GPU that I'd potentially upgrade to CF/SLI within the next couple years. I don't intend to overclock the CPU at all, although I'd like the option to push the RAM or GPUs a little bit.

Also, the box will be in my bedroom, and if it happens to be quiet enough I'd like to leave it running overnight as I'll be backing up the other comps on my network to it. I figure that most gaming-designed cases incl. the Antec 1200, CM HAF932, etc. would be too loud to make this even potentially possible (I'm quite a light sleeper, and from 7-10ft away would like the box to be inaudible. A HDD in an undamped enclosure from that distance is too loud for me). If the case is too loud, it's not the end of the world I'll just turn it off at night, but it would be nice to leave it on.

After a great deal of research, I narrowed down my options to really 2 cases I'm interested in:

Antec P193
Antec 1200

I eliminated the HAF932 because I'd rather the 1200, it seems like the build quality is better, the air flow is everything I need, and it would be less obtrusively loud.

I eliminated the Zalman GS1000 because of cooling concerns.

I elminated the CM ATCS840 because while case temperature is fine, there are CPU and GPU heat dissipation issues.

My budget is <$200 incl. shipping

(other cases, like the Antec 900 II, are too small)

So, I'm wondering if people would weigh in on:
- Which of those two would you suggest?
- Does anyone that owns them have any problems with the 1200 or P193?
- Should I not have eliminated one of the other options?
- Are there other choices I should have considered?

Thanks!
Darunium

 

[mykah891]

I dont know, i went form an older antec mid size to the full size HAF32 and i have no problems at all with it, pretty solid case all around.

You probably cant go wrong with either, and i have never tried the 1200, however i'm more than happy with my choice.

 

[Meghan54]

The nice thing about those two cases you've narrowed down to is that they're both compatible with the Antec CP power supplies...the CP-850 and CP-1000, both some of the best power supplies on the market. Unfortunately for most, they only fit the 1200, P193 and P183.

Those two power supplies are essentially Signature series power supplies in Antec's proprietary form factor which fits the above cases. The CP-850 is probably the better value, barely over $110 for it and, as the JonnyGuru review put it, "outperformed my SG-850 for ripple suppression", was "very quiet, even in the hot box", had "exceptionally stable voltage regulation", and was "waaaaaaaaay overbuilt."

 

[darunium]

The nice thing about those two cases you've narrowed down to is that they're both compatible with the Antec CP power supplies...the CP-850 and CP-1000, both some of the best power supplies on the market. Unfortunately for most, they only fit the 1200, P193 and P183.

Those two power supplies are essentially Signature series power supplies in Antec's proprietary form factor which fits the above cases. The CP-850 is probably the better value, barely over $110 for it and, as the JonnyGuru review put it, "outperformed my SG-850 for ripple suppression", was "very quiet, even in the hot box", had "exceptionally stable voltage regulation", and was "waaaaaaaaay overbuilt."

Wow, thanks for the tip! I've been looking into power supplies and have been discouraged by the cost of >650W supplies with lower noise levels (variable cooling, etc.). It's only frustrating because I'm trying to go with the GTX480 (one now, another in SLI in a year or so when the prices come down and I can use the performance more), but dual GTX480s will set you back 500-600W even in real-world usage scenarios based on the data I've seen and my estimations from those (a couple links below), so an 850W+ supply is really the only reasonable way to go for those it seems.

On the flip side, dual Radeon HD5870's in CF should only eat 200-300W, making a 650W supply perfectly fine for my operation. I'd rather have enough power to accomodate future cards though, so I'll definitely look into the CP-850 and CP-1000.

link

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2977/nvidia-s-geforce-gtx-480-and-gtx-470-6-months-late-was-it-worth-the-wait-/19

 

[cbn]

The nice thing about those two cases you've narrowed down to is that they're both compatible with the Antec CP power supplies...the CP-850 and CP-1000, both some of the best power supplies on the market. Unfortunately for most, they only fit the 1200, P193 and P183.

Those two power supplies are essentially Signature series power supplies in Antec's proprietary form factor which fits the above cases. The CP-850 is probably the better value, barely over $110 for it and, as the JonnyGuru review put it, "outperformed my SG-850 for ripple suppression", was "very quiet, even in the hot box", had "exceptionally stable voltage regulation", and was "waaaaaaaaay overbuilt."

I remember reading that review not too long ago. I wonder how much of that durability is due to the form factor? The straight thru design looks very efficient from an airflow standpoint.

 

[darunium]

Looking into the CP-1000 and CP-850 more, I'm impressed by the performance on the +12V rail, the cooling, and the noise level.

Unfortunately, I just found that the CP-1000 can only put 840W on the +12v rails, and I worry that 2x GTX480 SLI (+CPU, HDDs, etc.) will just able to run on that, unless I can put some things on the 5v or 3v rails. Any ideas? link

 

[darunium]

Looking into the CP-1000 and CP-850 more, I'm impressed by the performance on the +12V rail, the cooling, and the noise level.

Unfortunately, I just found that the CP-1000 can only put 840W on the +12v rails, and I worry that 2x GTX480 SLI (+CPU, HDDs, etc.) will just able to run on that, unless I can put some things on the 5v or 3v rails. Any ideas? link

I just found this page on nVidia's site, where PSUs are certified for their cards:

link

It lists the CP-1000 as certified for GTX480 2xSLI, but not the CP-850. Neither qualifies for triple SLI (rofl). I assume I can trust that I can run and reasonably overclock dual GTX480s then on the CP-1000 if the nVidia site certifies it, unless they are really only certifying standard operation...

 

[cbn]

Is the fan on the CP-850/CP-1000 actually replaceable with something like a Scythe Gentle Typhoon?

 

[darunium]

Is the fan on the CP-850/CP-1000 actually replaceable with something like a Scythe Gentle Typhoon?

Not sure, I know it can be physically unscrewed from the PSU and you could probably hotwire the connections from the old fan, but the CP-850/1000 internally controls fan speed so idk what fans would appropriately interface with that controller.

 

[darunium]

Looking into the CP-1000 and CP-850 more, I'm impressed by the performance on the +12V rail, the cooling, and the noise level.

Unfortunately, I just found that the CP-1000 can only put 840W on the +12v rails, and I worry that 2x GTX480 SLI (+CPU, HDDs, etc.) will just able to run on that, unless I can put some things on the 5v or 3v rails. Any ideas? link

Confirmed, in the product specs there are only 840W on the +12v rails:
link

 

[cbn]

Confirmed, in the product specs there are only 840W on the +12v rails:
link

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=142

I just noticed both CP-850 and CP-1000 have 182.2 watts on the non-12V rails. The only difference is that CP-850 has 768 volts on the 12v and the CP-1000 has 840 volts on the 12v.

That is a difference of only 72 watts between both units.

 

[darunium]

yeah, that's a frustrating point. To be honest, I'm enamored with the CP-850, but don't feel like even with the CP-1000 I'm getting a true 1000W PSU. I'll probably go with the CP-1000 since if I intend to SLI GTX480s I won't be able to get away with anything less, but I'd hate to find that even that isn't enough...

One option I've been thinking of is the possibility of using *two* PSUs if necessary. I don't know if this can be done effectively or if it has consequences for the rest of the box, but if it were feasible I could go with the CP-850 now and if I required more power in the future get a nice, quiet, 300-400W PSU for relatively cheap by comparison.

 

[davidrees]

I am highly partial to the Cosmos S, but that is just because I have one and I built a fast gaming system that is very very quiet (inaudible in a normal room).

Here is what you need to keep in mind:

1. There are cases, quiet cases and "quieting" cases. By that I mean that some cases are inherently noisy due to loud fans and case resonance (my old Super Flower 201), other cases are resonance free and have quiet fans (Cosmos S) and still other cases are inherently quiet, but also include baffle and absorption properties to reduce the amount of noise you hear from your components.

2. Quiet is not cheap. In my opinion, it is not realistic to expect any case to make a high end gaming system become suddenly "quiet" by virtue of case design alone. If you really want to have a very quiet gaming system, you have to do research and invest in the right products - mainly, you need good aftermarket cooling solutions on your CPU and GPU.

3. Cooling is the enemy of silence. In my opinion, this is the reason the Cosmos S is such a great case - the side fan offers a LOT of airflow from a large, silent fan. I actually took mine out for cosmetic reasons and trying to replace the airflow and maintain the same level of silence is extremely challenging.

4. In addition to investing in quiet cooling on your CPU and GPU, hard drive suspension is mandatory. Do your own research, but I personally uses elastic strips from the sewing section at Wal-Mart and made suspension loops to hold the hard drives - the noise reduction this gets your is surprising.

Of course, you have to make sure you have a quiet power supply as well.

A lot of people like to use manual fan controllers, but in my opinion, a silent system works best when you use static fan speeds. By that, I mean you should adjust your fan speeds to the lowest speed you can get away with while still maintaining adequate cooling.

I would also say that if you really want to have a quiet system, you will need to be more heat tolerant than the people who try to OC everything and keep their temps under 50C. That is a great goal, but not realistic when you are serious about silence.

This is my system which, until I started jacking with the fan configuration, was inaudible unless you put your ear on the case - the exception being that HD seek noise was mildly audible:

Cosmos S case
Thermal Take XT 750
i5 750 (not OC)
8GB Corsair DDR3
ATI 4870X2
Arctic Cooler 4870X2 silent cooler
2 suspended hard drives

I have a Crystalfontz LCD on the front to monitor system temps and other specs through Everest - this has helped a lot in making tweaks to the system cooling.

Anyway, that is my input. I think any of the cases you mentioned will be fine, as long as you remember that quiet computing starts with a good case, but it does not end there.

 

[AdamK47]

I bought an Antec 1200 on Sunday to replace my 4 year old Antec 900. It's a really great case. It has three 120mm fans in the front, two 120mm fans in the back, one 200mm fan on the top, and I added a 120mm fan on the side. All fans are running 100&#37;. I also have a Megahalems with a 110 CFM Scythe fan also running at 100%, two Ati 5870s, and a Corsair HX 1000W which has a 140mm on top. The noise generated by the system is suprisingly good, but then again I've used 46db fans back in my P4 days. This is by far quieter than that.