Quiet Case for many HDDs

[lopri]

I have recently purchased Corsair 800D and am very disappointed because it wasn't what I hoped it to be. The case is nice and roomy for sure but it still has many flimsy plastic parts and the side panels aren't tight. I see these are for "Tool-less" build and convenience but it doesn't help at all with HDD vibration and noise caused by it. So I feel like I wasted $270 because this case isn't anything different from $70 cases for me. Really, really annoyed since it's not returnable and I wish reviewers start testing cases with many HDDs installed.

In the past I used one of the Antec case that hangs/suspends HDDs with rubber bands(?) which basically eliminated HDD noise. Unfortunately that case only holds 3 HDDs, and it can't house oversized video card.

I want a case that can withstand 6~8 HDDs running non-stop (imagine 6 old Raptors in RAID5), and will not aggravate me with the HDD vibration noise. Any suggestion? Which case has the most secure and quietest HDD mounting mechanism and can withstand HDD vibration?

 

[Ayah]

If you're really serious into a super silent "server" and don't mind going the extra mile:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/Mid-Tower_File_Server_Configurations

 

[Anubis]

do the HDDs in the 800D really make that much noice. more then any of the fans?

i have a 600T and the 1 complaing i have is that the HDD cages really are crap and dont securly hold the HDDs as well as i would like. but they dont make noise.

I have had a few Lian Li's which had different mounts for HDDs that were rock solid and didnt vibrate. they look like this http://lian-li.com/v2/tw/product/upload/image/oh-01/oh-01-01.jpg slide on a rail made of rubber, worked very well

 

[lopri]

do the HDDs in the 800D really make that much noice. more then any of the fans?

i have a 600T and the 1 complaing i have is that the HDD cages really are crap and dont securly hold the HDDs as well as i would like. but they dont make noise.

I have had a few Lian Li's which had different mounts for HDDs that were rock solid and didnt vibrate. they look like this http://lian-li.com/v2/tw/product/upload/image/oh-01/oh-01-01.jpg slide on a rail made of rubber, worked very well

Yes, 800D is a total crap with HDD noise. Fans are quiet and to be frank fan noise (the loudest being from a video card) never really bothers me and I have control over them. But as soon as the machine is turned on the thin side panels vibrate and the pulse-like whirling sound persists. I have been extremely sensitive with HDD noise so most HDDs are 5400RPM ones, and still the noise is unbearable. Not loud, but incredibly annoying because it's pulsating. (I wish I could get my money back, ugh)

If you're really serious into a super silent "server" and don't mind going the extra mile:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/Mid-Tower_File_Server_Configurations

Oh man.. that's a little too much. Indeed my old Antec case had a mounting/suspension system just like that. I was hoping a little less work than that.

How about Antec P193? That was a candidate before I decided on 800D and in retrospect I should have gone with that one. At least it has a sound dampening material on side panels and seems much sturdier than this 800D garbage.

 

[BTA]

I have 8 drives in my Fractal Define R3 and love it. Very quiet.

http://www.fractal-design.com/?view=product&prod=48

I have a combination of Samsung 2TB, Seagate 1.5tb, and some other smaller drives.

 

[Zap]

In the past I used one of the Antec case that hangs/suspends HDDs with rubber bands(?) which basically eliminated HDD noise. Unfortunately that case only holds 3 HDDs, and it can't house oversized video card.

Ahhh, Antec Solo or P150. I love those cases, but yeah a bit restrictive on graphics cards, not just in fitting big cards at all but even cards that fit until you try to install HDDs.

Have you looked into Antec cases that use those soft white grommets? They are in the Solo/P150 if you elect to use trays instead of the suspension, and Antec uses them in some of their other cases that have grommets (but not all). Those white grommets are a few orders of magnitude softer than pretty much any other grommet that comes stock with cases.

Antec white grommets. They are called "rubber" but damned if these things aren't as soft as... fake boobs! :awe: Seriously though, you won't find a softer grommet. You can easily squish these between thumb and finger to a fraction of the thickness. Speaking of, these are also thicker on one side, making them a lot thicker than any other HDD grommet I've seen.

They need long screws like the long ones in this assortment with the built-in washer so the screw head doesn't push through the grommet.

So, Antec has a "fits these cases" list but it isn't complete. For instance the NSK2480 and NSK3480 comes with these grommets, but the NSK4480 does not (regular black grommets using harder rubber).

If you need a ton of storage space, have you considered making a server? You can do something SFF and efficient, and accessing it over a gigabit network should be pretty fast. You can even turn off the server if it isn't needed for a while.

 

[Raswan]

Or, since you are willing to spend 270 on a case, you could ditch your "6 old raptors" and get one (or two) larger 5400 rpm drive(s).

2 of http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152287

1 of http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822145493

 

[decrescendo]

Or, since you are willing to spend 270 on a case, you could ditch your "6 old raptors" and get one (or two) larger 5400 rpm drive(s).

2 of http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152287

1 of http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822145493

That's probably the route I'm heading. 3 or 4 of those 5400's (in a silent case).

Anyone have any luck with the Corsair 650D? Read some good things about it in the last few days.

I'm definitely into that sleek dark alumnimum look over the gaming/bright lights and plastic look.

 

[lopri]

"6 old raptors" were an example. I am not crazy. And believe me spending $270 on a case wasn't an impulse. (Thus this much aggravation) I used to have 6 HDDs but reduced to 4, and 3 of them are 5400 RPM ones. Two 2TB disks are software mirrored, one 1TB 7200RPM disk for scratch disk, and one 5400 RPM laptop disk for VMs. OS is on an SSD.

So it's only 4 HDDs yet this case still can't keep them quiet. Really frustrating. I might have to go to the server route as Zap suggested (though I do already have a server for backups) and ditch the HDDs in the system. But I do swap out VMs between my systems so those are still necessary.

 

[piasabird]

If it was a server, maybe you could just wire it into a shelf in a closet, Or a rack.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

The 800D is more geared towards a water cooling setup than a "server" setup.

I have a PC-A20 Lian Li case and the bottom zone can hold 6 drives and with my case/hdd cage version they are well suited to damper vibration.

 

[Anubis]

The 800D is more geared towards a water cooling setup than a "server" setup.

I have a PC-A20 Lian Li case and the bottom zone can hold 6 drives and with my case/hdd cage version they are well suited to damper vibration.

water cooling is going to do absolutely nothing for HDD noise

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I seriously have no idea how to respond to your response.. It's like you took the idea from the first sentence and decided to combine it with the second sentence that has a totally separate idea and then make it your own... i must say pretty creative on your part but come again?

 

[lopri]

BTRY B 529th FA BN: Yes, I know the case is great for watercooling and multi-GPU configuration. But when the asking price is whopping $270 I expected nothing less than a top notch quality. The case comes with 4 hot-swap bays which were a huge attraction for me (I swap VMs between my systems) and it natively supports total six 3.5" drives.

But what I found was flimsy and thin metals and dubious quality plastic pieces. I mean, Lian-Li (Aluminum) or Silverstone (Unibody steel) cases are like 2~3 times thicker just by the looks. I have a 6 year old Lian-Li 1000V case and that case's build quality is much, much higher. IMO 800D is a total rip-off (low-quality, but gimicky/catchy design to call bluff) and it tainted the whole Corsair brand for me.

 

[lopri]

I have 8 drives in my Fractal Define R3 and love it. Very quiet.

http://www.fractal-design.com/?view=product&prod=48

I have a combination of Samsung 2TB, Seagate 1.5tb, and some other smaller drives.

I've just checked that case at the Egg. It looks good for reasonable price. Do you know of any review on that case?

 

[Zap]

I might have to go to the server route as Zap suggested (though I do already have a server for backups) and ditch the HDDs in the system.

Why can't your backups server also be a file server on separate HDDs when it isn't doing backups?

But what I found was flimsy and thin metals and dubious quality plastic pieces. I mean, Lian-Li (Aluminum) or Silverstone (Unibody steel) cases are like 2~3 times thicker just by the looks. I have a 6 year old Lian-Li 1000V case and that case's build quality is much, much higher.

Have you seen current Lian Li cases? They went to thin aluminum, but of course designed with some folds in it to make it feel more robust. I know what you are talking about, because those old Lian Li cases used super thick aluminum. Trust me when I say that their current cases don't.

it tainted the whole Corsair brand for me.

Are we talking about the CX430 PSU or some case? :twisted:

 

[aigomorla]

lopri.. have u tried racks then?

Put them in a rack, and then the rack in a bay on grommets?

That way you would have double the vibration buffers.

 

[lopri]

Why can't your backups server also be a file server on separate HDDs when it isn't doing backups?

The server doesn't have much room. It's backing up 3 systems and I shoved old (read: small capacity) drives and maybe I can add one or two more disks in there.

Have you seen current Lian Li cases? They went to thin aluminum, but of course designed with some folds in it to make it feel more robust. I know what you are talking about, because those old Lian Li cases used super thick aluminum. Trust me when I say that their current cases don't.

That's sad to hear. I think it's time for review sites take a different approach to case evaluations. No one should see cheap components or anything loose in a case that costs ~$300.

Are we talking about the CX430 PSU or some case? :twisted:

I don't know what happened with CX430 (but I assume there was an issue?) but as of now I am done with anything Corsair. At least for the foreseeable future. I was going to purchase one of their 850W PSUs, but instead now I'm looking at Seasonic and XFX.

lopri.. have u tried racks then?

Put them in a rack, and then the rack in a bay on grommets?

That way you would have double the vibration buffers.

I did think about it and tried it once. The thing is, decent looking racks cost just as much as a case, and I can't be certain whether they will do the job. I once picked up a cheapo rack which wasn't satisfactory (expected). Another thing is that the cases I've got so far have 4~5 5.25" bays at most, and after installing 2 optical drives and possibility a fan controller, I'm left with only two 5.25" bay space which limited the choice of racks.

So I figured I'd bite my tongue and invest in a supposedly ultra high-end case and it would save me from hassles. Silly me.

 

[VirtualLarry]

My Chieftec Dragon full-tower ATX case, doesn't make any HD noise, even though I have six 2TB Hitachi 7200RPM drives, and four 500GB WD Blue AAKS drives in it.

I think you just need a case that is made out of nice solid steel, like mine, that automagically dampens the vibrations, because it's too solid to vibrate.

 

[Zap]

The server doesn't have much room. It's backing up 3 systems and I shoved old (read: small capacity) drives and maybe I can add one or two more disks in there.

Simple solution is to replace all those old/small HDDs with new/large HDDs.

That's sad to hear. I think it's time for review sites take a different approach to case evaluations. No one should see cheap components or anything loose in a case that costs ~$300.

Well, the good news is that they are cheaper now. Quality hasn't really gone down, just the thickness of the materials (= cost).

I don't know what happened with CX430 (but I assume there was an issue?)

The issue was one of managing expectations of fanbois enthusiasts. Until then, Corsair was thought of as a company (when talking about PSUs) that only made high end PSUs.

Corsair discontinued their lowest wattage product, the Seasonic made CX400. It originally MSRP'd for around $70 but nobody bought it at that price when they can get a VX550 or TX650 for a bit more when on sale. Thus, Corsair clearanced out the CX400 over a couple months for really cheap (I got one for $20 after rebate). Really cheap = below cost.

Corsair then recycled the CX moniker when coming out with their new low end lineup. People who remembered the cheap Seasonic 400W thought the new CX430 was going to be as good. It was not as good, because Corsair saw how pricing the CX400 really cheap turned it into a hot seller. So, they made a really cheap PSU that can be sold for cheap all the time. This was the CX430. It seems to MSRP for around $45 or so, and sales regularly bring it down even cheaper. It is not a bad PSU by any means. It is a few orders of magnitude better than the really cheap crap that you see - those $20 650W PSUs that weigh 12 ounces and that will blow up if you try pulling more than 250W from it. However, it wasn't as "good" as the old units, or any other Corsair PSU.

The wailing and teeth gnashing in some other forums was epic.

I think you just need a case that is made out of nice solid steel, like mine, that automagically dampens the vibrations, because it's too solid to vibrate.

LOL, that's one approach. I had an Antec 1080AMG that is basically the same case and to say it was built like a tank was to say that it weighed like one.

 

[Doltmoopsie]

The case is nice and roomy for sure but it still has many flimsy plastic parts and the side panels aren't tight. I see these are for "Tool-less" build and convenience but it doesn't help at all with HDD vibration and noise caused by it.

Many companies appear to spend more money per case on marketing then on steel and plastic. Thick and heavy costs more to make and more to ship, but it works by cutting noise and flex. Tool-less makes reviewers happy, but most normal folks only open their computers every few months.

I want a case that can withstand 6~8 HDDs running non-stop (imagine 6 old Raptors in RAID5), and will not aggravate me with the HDD vibration noise. Any suggestion? Which case has the most secure and quietest HDD mounting mechanism and can withstand HDD vibration?

A thick case that screws all the parts together (non-tool-less) while providing soft-mounts the hard drives will help with noise. Some foam padding also helps with the high-frequency sound from spinning drives and component whine.

I have been using the NZXT Whisper with up to 10 hard drives. Nine (yes, 9) of the drives fit into the trays with vibration isolating dampeners. The last drive is a 1.8" Crucial SSD that is just taped to the lower divider of the case. (The trays work for 2.5" and 3.5" drives.)

I am not using any of the included fans. I disconnected and then taped over the rear 80mm fans. I disconnected the 140mm front fan (it was quiet, but not under-30db quiet). The 120mm rear fan was OK with a fan controller, but it was replaced after a year. My Corsair VX450 power supply 120mm fan moves enough air for 9 drives.

The NZXT Whisper also has foam-lined sides, top, and bottom. No need to spend $45, and get your fingers all sticky. This case comes with a rubber power supply grommet (another $8 you don't need to spend). It ALSO has a door to make the front air-path less direct.

A quick video review:
http://www.3dgameman.com/reviews/1011/nzxt-whisper-silent-case

Lots of pics in this review:
http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/?q=node/371

Put your loudest drives in the middle trays of the foam-lined lower chamber. You will be happy with this case. They have it at Newegg. Price has been about $120 for more then a year, but they did have free shipping once.

Amazon is the place to buy cases, including the NZXT Whisper. The free shipping for orders over $50 means that you get them to move this huge piece of metal for free!

 

[stealthycow]

In my experience rubber grommets aren't really enough to get the job done. That's with one HDD, I can't imagine how 6 of them would sound.

You could try doing what your antec case did, make your own suspension type system. It's really the best way to stop hard drive vibration. I'm not sure how you'd go about doing 6 at the same time, though. You'd also probably be kind of worried about stability, I guess. But check out some setups, it was/is a pretty big thing in the silent PC worlds, so you might be able to find a solution. The material you need will generally be a few bucks, too, if you decide to go that route.

Another solution is the NoVibes III rack, which is supposed to work really well, and actually inspired the DIY suspension stuff I think. But again, with 6-8 drives that's potentially a $200 solution at $25 for each novibes rack.

I don't have much experience with cases, but I just get the feeling that silencing 8 hard drives will be a tough feat no matter how you approach it. Getting a couple bigger drives to replace them might, unfortunately, be the easiest way to go about it.

Not to mention, of course, that suspension systems and grommets and stuff can only reduce vibrations. Vibrations are generally the worst noisemakers of a hard drive, but even with no vibrations hard drives can be very audible if you have quiet fans in your system. I recently bought a WD drive and it sounded like a mid-speed fan and had to return it.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

The NZXT H2 can handle 8 drives too. It's pretty darn quiet. You could probably stuff some more in the 5.25" bays too with an adapter. I'm thinking of using this for my NAS which will ahve 8 HDs + 1 boot drive.

 

[deimos3428]

Not to mention, of course, that suspension systems and grommets and stuff can only reduce vibrations. Vibrations are generally the worst noisemakers of a hard drive, but even with no vibrations hard drives can be very audible if you have quiet fans in your system. I recently bought a WD drive and it sounded like a mid-speed fan and had to return it.

You can't make spindle drives completely silent...but you can invoke the inverse square law. I moved all of mine into a separate NAS box across the room, and they're far enough away that I can't hear them at all. Might be worth considering.

 

[BTA]

I've just checked that case at the Egg. It looks good for reasonable price. Do you know of any review on that case?

I'm sure you can find some on google.

Seriously I have mine maxed out and cant hear any hard drive noise, and barely any fan noise. Can't even tell it's on most of the time. It sits about 2 feet away from my desk position on the floor, on 24/7.

Uses rubber grommets for hard drives and lots of sound deadening on the panels, low noise fans, etc. Not sure what else you could be looking for with a large number of hard drives.