How quiet is the CM690?

[ElSteve]

I currently have this case and its far too noisy, and its driving me crazy. Theres a great deal at clubit.com right now for the CM690 ($19.99 after MIR w/$15.00 shipping).

How much difference in noise will I experience by switching? Also, how noisy will it be if I eventually decide to add more fans? Any personal experiences?

 

[BlueWeasel]

Good timing. I was wondering about the same thing.

I've heard several on this board say that the 690 is not a quiet case. But, based on my experience with the 2-3 CM cases I've had, they are always fairly quiet when using 120mm fans. I guess everyone has their own standard when it comes to quiet cases.

For that price, I'm probably going to jump on it. Just a word of advice, one of the rebates ends tomorrow, so be sure and order it by then.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

With the stock fans there will only be a marginal difference in noise but, it will almost definatly cool better and for $19 amir I'll probably go get one.

Holy god it's actually $14.99 amir.

 

[Zepper]

The 690 has so many holes in it, it would be expected to be noisier than a similar case with fewer perforations and identical equipment inside. But, if you block off the ventilation you aren't using, it can be plenty quiet enough. The one I have here surprised me in that regard.

.bh.

 

[ElSteve]

Thanks for the quick replies guys.

I plan on adding more fans into this case after I get some money flowing into my bank account. How much potential does this case have for silence? Also, what are some of the quietest fans I can get? I figure I can skimp on the cfm part in favor of smaller dB and just make up for it with all the holes and extra fans.

 

[BlueWeasel]

The Yate Loons push a decent amount of air and are very quiet.
Link 1
Link 2

Also, CoolerMaster has some really quiet 120mm fans, and I think their CFM is slightly lower than the YL previously mentioned. I've one of their blue UV fans and it's extremely silent

 

[DerwenArtos12]

well, in any case where you can see the fans, you're going to have to go out of your way to make it quiet. noise travels in waves so not having anything between you and the fan means the noise it makes it going to go everywhere. The quietest cases have a solid front panel and vent around the edges of the panels. There is such a thing as making any case quiet though. First and foremost, there's the free options. Cut all the integrated fan grills out and either don't replace them or just replace them with a bar-style grill. Keep in mind that anything within 1mm per cfm is going to make noise when the air travels across it so keep EVERYTHING out of the way. Next you'll want to isolate anything that moves from the cassis. Rubber grommets on the fans to keep them quiet is usually enough on low CFM fans. The hard drives will be best off if you completely suspend them. There are some kits to do this but some elastic bands or rubber surgical tubing do the job. You're basically SOL on the cd/dvd drive. Next up is sound deadening. Simple closed cell foam from your local home depot does the job but, open cell foam does it better. There are a couple companies that make sound deadening mats you can buy but, I find them really overpriced. Anythinng you can passively cool should be, anything you can't passively cool should have the biggest heatsink you can find with the lowest speed fan that keeps the system cool enough.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Originally posted by: BlueWeasel
The Yate Loons push a decent amount of air and are very quiet.
Link 1
Link 2

Also, CoolerMaster has some really quiet 120mm fans, and I think their CFM is slightly lower than the YL previously mentioned. I've one of their blue UV fans and it's extremely silent

I'm sorry if this post seems over the top but, WHY DO PEOPLE KEEP SUGGESTING YATE LOONS?????

I'll never dispute the value of yate loons but, if you want quiet they're not the best. There are TONS of fans that do a better job. If you really want quiet are you really going to stress over a couple extra bucks per fan? NO!

I've spend $20 on fans before and I almost won't spend less than 8 for quality assurance reasons. you will always get what you pay for!

 

[BlueWeasel]

Originally posted by: DerwenArtos12
I'll never dispute the value of yate loons.....

For me, at least, that's why. I'm never gonna spend $20 for a single fan. For the price, performance, and noise, it's hard to beat a $3.50 YL.

Then again, my case sits in the floor beneath my desk. Further, my opinion of a quiet case may not be the same as others.

What fans would you recommend? I'm always open to suggestions and don't want this thread turning into a case fan flamefest.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Originally posted by: BlueWeasel

Originally posted by: DerwenArtos12
I'll never dispute the value of yate loons.....

For me, at least, that's why. I'm never gonna spend $20 for a single fan. For the price, performance, and noise, it's hard to beat a $3.50 YL.

Then again, my case sits in the floor beneath my desk. Further, my opinion of a quiet case may not be the same as others.

What fans would you recommend? I'm always open to suggestions and don't want this thread turning into a case fan flamefest.

I try not to flame usually but, I'm nearing the end of my caffeine supply and it's making me cranky.

I use Scythe Slipstream fans a lot, they vary all the way from SILENT to moving STUPID amounts of air. The 120mm go from 500rpm, 7.5db and 24.5cfm to 1900rpm, 37db and 110cfm across 5 steps. I use the medium or the regular high a lot as they take to lower voltages really well too. Their ONLY drawback is they use smaller fins so they don't have the same pressure characteristics of fans with thick blades so they do not work as well in water cooling but, in air cooling at $9 a piece they're my chosen fan.

 

[BlueAcolyte]

The CM 690 is plenty quiet. The only thing I could hear was my DVD burner spinning on boot-up... My CPU fan drowns out most of the noise anyway.

 

[Zepper]

The fans that come with it are low and slow CM fans that are quite quiet. Here is a 4-pack of them: http://www.svc.com/r4-s2s-124k-gp.html for under $10...

.bh.

 

[TraumaRN]

My CM 690 is very quiet. I have 6 fans in it. All I hear is the soft whooshing noise of air being moved. And my CD/DVD burner when it first spins up. Otherwise very quiet.

 

[ElSteve]

Thanks guys, I think I'm gonna go ahead and bite on these...hopefully it turns out ok.

If I replace the stock fans with the Scythe SlipStream 800RPM (40.17 CFM), do you think that would be enough airflow to keep my rig cool? Here are my specs:

C2D E6300 @ 3.22GHz (1.328V, 460x7)
Zerotherm Nirvana NV120
Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3
Corsair XMS 2GB DDR2-800
eVGA Superclocked 8800GT (650MHz)

 

[aigomorla]

even watercooled this case is loud.

just a headsup.

The thing has too many vent holes. its a great air case..

But too many vent holes = too much places sound can leak hence why its loud even watercooled with 3 silent fans.

 

[TraumaRN]

Originally posted by: ElSteve
Thanks guys, I think I'm gonna go ahead and bite on these...hopefully it turns out ok.

If I replace the stock fans with the Scythe SlipStream 800RPM (40.17 CFM), do you think that would be enough airflow to keep my rig cool? Here are my specs:

C2D E6300 @ 3.22GHz (1.328V, 460x7)
Zerotherm Nirvana NV120
Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3
Corsair XMS 2GB DDR2-800
eVGA Superclocked 8800GT (650MHz)

Those stock fans are really very quiet in their own right. See if you like them first if you buy this case. And loud is subjective. If you build it with quiet components you wont here much besides the soft whooshing of air. And yes it has ALOT air holes but honestly its the coolest case(temp wise) i've ever had. With my setup(see my sig) my 8800 GT idles at 37-38C(with a zalman VF1000), my Q6600 cores idle at 28,29,32,32. my HDD @ 25C, and my northbridge is usually 32C. None of my components load up to higher than 54C. I attribute that to my fan setup and the case.

And for reference I dont know how loud, loud is for you OP but once I'm 10 feet away from my computer I can barely hear it anymore. Like I said, loudest thing in my case is my CD/DVD drive.

And FYI if you dont have a aftermarket cooler for your 8800GT, GET ONE. Otherwise the whiney buzz from that thing will drive you NUTS with the CM690.

 

[nullpointerus]

Will the Tuniq Tower fit in the CM690?

Would it block one of the 120mm fan holes?

 

[TraumaRN]

Originally posted by: nullpointerus
Will the Tuniq Tower fit in the CM690?

Would it block one of the 120mm fan holes?

It fits but unless u have a low profile 120mm fan it blocks one of the side ports. No worries on that though as you only need that side port if you were going to duct your cpu cooler.

 

[nullpointerus]

Cool, many thanks!

 

[DerwenArtos12]

My last piece of advise before you pull the trigger. Buy the case, get your rig set-up in it and see how loud the fans are to you before you buy any aftermarket fans. Noise is FAR too subjective.

 

[ElSteve]

Thanks for all the input guys...I went ahead and bought it, should be in next week sometime. I'll let you guys know how it turns out.

 

[ElSteve]

Hey guys, its me again.

Just got everything put into my new case and I love it. Only 2 minor problems though. First, the fan on my side panel has a slight buzz on it. I've tried loosening the fan, but it still does it. Are there any solutions or am I going to have to replace it altogether?

Also, I find my case to be just the noise level I want it to be at until the 8800gt stock fan spins up, which I set to 50% with rivatuner. What are some suggestions for quiet aftermarket cooling? I think noise it the main issue here as I won't be overclocking this card any further (bought the evga superclocked version, which is at 650mhz).

 

[Zepper]

Funny, I moved my side fan to the bottom fan mount and it sounded like it was rubbing, so I disconnected it and haven't bothered to try to find out what's wrong with it yet. The front and rear fans are fine. I've got some spares of the exact model, if you find it's not repairable.

.bh.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Originally posted by: ElSteve
Hey guys, its me again.

Just got everything put into my new case and I love it. Only 2 minor problems though. First, the fan on my side panel has a slight buzz on it. I've tried loosening the fan, but it still does it. Are there any solutions or am I going to have to replace it altogether?

Also, I find my case to be just the noise level I want it to be at until the 8800gt stock fan spins up, which I set to 50% with rivatuner. What are some suggestions for quiet aftermarket cooling? I think noise it the main issue here as I won't be overclocking this card any further (bought the evga superclocked version, which is at 650mhz).

I wouldn't really suggest going passive with an 8800 but, it has been done and fairly successfuly so if you wanted to go passive I would suggest the Zalman VNF-100, have one on my 8500GT in my HTPC and it works GREAT, even completely passive it dropped temps by ~10C. If you want all around GREAT cooling I would suggest a Thermalright HR-03. The rev.a would be enough cooling for it to run well, but the GT would be a real sweetspot if you want to run an lower RPM fan on it.

 

[nullpointerus]

Originally posted by: ElSteve
...the fan on my side panel has a slight buzz on it. I've tried loosening the fan, but it still does it. Are there any solutions or am I going to have to replace it altogether?

I had the same problem. The side panel is a bit flimsy; the fan is fine, actually. I unscrewed the fan and sat it on my desk, turned the computer on, and there was no buzzing. So what I did to eliminate (most of) the buzzing noise is to get some of these:

http://www.jab-tech.com/4-Pack...rs-UV-Red-pr-3397.html

You use these in place of the screws, the idea being to keep the fan frame slightly separated from the case.

Note that there are two types: closed and open. Depends on whether there are four plastic "poles" joining the sides of the fan frame (for support), or no plastic "poles."

- The black stock case fans are Closed.
- The clear/LED stock case fan is Open.

So you would want to buy the kind I linked to above...or any other type of the Closed variety.

You could also combine those fan mounts with a gasket:

http://www.jab-tech.com/120mm-...ket-Black-pr-3268.html

I think I may end up doing this.