I'm thinking of tossing my old case to build a somewhat quieter rig, which in turn made me wonder what the best CPU cases of this day and age are. Here's one from Cooler Master:
its as big as she is.... Im definitely remembering this one. I like almost everything about this case.
Too large for me and too pricey. Go with a custom case if you're going to spend the money on something like that, imo. Although, the original Cosmo pretty much was praised for everything - so maybe this one will be just as good (Seems like it).
I had a Cosmos 1000 before. It was a very well built and designed case. Incredibly solid. Had all the little extras that make a case perfect. Also those bare on the top and bottom let it slide around easier when moving it and to pick the case up if you want to. I love everything about this from seeing it, with the exception of this one doesnt come with sound damping on the side panels. This case is perfectly designed for hardcore air cooling, or any size water cooling you can come up with. Even enough space for a triple radiator on top :O
If you're looking for a computer case that is absolutely modular and will last you a long time, then go with a http://www.mountainmods.com/ case. I personally have the U2-UFO and the Ascension cases. After seeing how spacious and the ability to mount the mobo horizontally, I could never go back to a normal case.
Exactly what I would have recommended, FF. DangerDen has decent cases too but I love the mountain mod series.
The ability to mount the mobo horizontally sold me because I use the true copper heatsink (1900g, 4 lbs!!!!) in one of my systems. A normal tower case would be a no-go with that mother of all heatsinks.
Nice rigs y'all. The Fractal Design Define R3 is Shell Shocker right now for $30 off + free shipping, so today's your lucky day if you're looking for the same. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352013
This is the used at my place for both my and my girlfriends desktop. We are extremely happy with them.
Wow that Coolermaster full tower looks sweet. That said, if I'm going to spend a bunch of money on a case I'd want to play around with modding and turn it into a project. In fact, I'd love to create my own design and will probably do something like that after I'm done with school and get a job to pay for all the computer stuff hehe.
I've found that SPCR is a nice place to visit in lieu of quieter computing. The actual decibel recordings are available, tested at 1m distance. This goes for cases, fans, power supplies, and also includes info on DIY case damping. An example listing, at regular volt intervals:
Just about everything from Silverstone has good build quality and a nice look Usually a very well thought out layout design too. Yep CFM is cubic feet per minute. Most fans are rated this way for airflow, although lately I have seen some fans rated another way. Cant remember the fording but it was something inches.
Yes, although you might have to work through percentage math: http://www.silentpcreview.com/fenrir-hyper212 Edit: Some of the info, like thermal compound footprints, is also really nice to know ahead of time Ex.1 Titan Fenrir Ex.2 Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus
For Quiet, roomy, and good cooling, I love my Fractal Design Define XL. Its very minimalist though. http://www.fractal-design.com/?view=product&prod=68
There's nothing I hate more then seeing ratings go down on newegg because the person thought it was "loud." I guess I just don't get it, but I've never been like oh my god my computer is so loud right now, kill it. If my machine sounds like a jet fighter, good, I don't care, it means its working hard and pwnin bitches. Joking aside, I'm a temp freak, I monitor my temps and I love when I can toy with fans and cooling to get my temps low as possible, if my machine gets louder because of it, I've always just dealt with it. I'd rather have my machine running a little loud and cool than quiet and hot.
What one person considers "quiet" may be considered unbearable to another. I don't see the point of discussing whether the noise level of a case/fan configuration is acceptable because it varies so much from one person to the next. In reference to the Fractal Design case discussion - it looks cool, but I still stand by the Mountain Mod cases!
Notably if one leaves it on all the time. I used to have contests with old friends using AOL Instant Messenger to see how high we could get the online time. I left mine on in my room for like a year once, think I micro-perforated an eardrum, lol. Sort of this crunching mini-tear and every sound is 1000 times sharper for a while. All I should hear is the wind whooshing through vents and maybe a very subdued ultrahigh freq. Also, I have animals and they hate the white noise. One of the rigs I built a while back was for a custom steel manufacturing company (like Mountain Mod, but the company didn't do wiring) and, just looking from the production lines to that case, I can tell the material and assembly are top grade. All those fans though...