Quietest PC Cases, for Music Production PC Build?

[QuestionAsker]

Looking to build the most silent PC [at idle / normal operation] possible.

I know Macs are great, but I need to go PC to run various Windows programs for work, etc.

If gaming or video editing or doing very taxing tasks, I don't mind fan noise - just want to keep it as silent as possible for everyday work use, and recording music with microphones.

So far I've narrowed the cases down to:

- Fractal Define 7
- be quiet! Silent Base 802
- Antec Flux Pro

(I am open to replacing stock fans with Noctua fans, and even adding extra fans, to bring down the noise even more)

Any insights on which one might be best? Or other cases I should consider?

[Michael Dow]

Adding more fans isn't going to bring noise down.

Under volting/ under clocking will bring down noise levels as you won't even need your fans running

I run a 12700k in a be quiet purebase 500.

Almost all the time I have "turbo mode" switched off using a program called Throttle Stop. You can set profiles for your CPU clock speed. I keep mine at 3.6ghz 95% of the time and that's plenty of power for most DAW use for me. And when I need oomph i set it to 4.4 or so

Keeping turbo mode off keeps temps incredibly low. 30/40degree CPU temps while producing music. Meaning the case fans don't even need to be on. Which has the added benefits of not drawing in dust and not making any noise. Only my PSU fan is on and basically inaudible from listening position, and the CPU cooler fan (you will need a good CPU cooler for this, I have a dark rock, there are better out there too.

Noctua also do a fanless cooler. Not sure how good it is.

[Wonks]

I'll just point out that more fans running slower can be quieter than fewer fans running faster, but it will all come down to the choice of fans, as they are far from equal. For an x° temperature difference between inlet and outlet air temperatures, you need y l/s of air movement. You can do that with either one fast fan or several slower ones. Slower fans make less noise, but the case has to be able to accommodate them in a practical way that means the air is being moved over the components that need cooling or areas where hot air is being dumped by cooling fins or processor fans and not a large percentage of the air being pulled in and then extracted without doing anything useful.

[Michael Dow]

I'll just point out that more fans running slower can be quieter than fewer fans running faster, but it will all come down to the choice of fans, as they are far from equal. For an x° temperature difference between inlet and outlet air temperatures, you need y l/s of air movement. You can do that with either one fast fan or several slower ones. Slower fans make less noise, but the case has to be able to accommodate them in a practical way that means the air is being moved over the components that need cooling or areas where hot air is being dumped by cooling fins or processor fans and not a large percentage of the air being pulled in and then extracted without doing anything useful.

Yes indeed i forgot to say that more fans wont "necessarily" reduce noise. Based on what you have said really. They have to be well thought out and be inside a case that suits that amount of fans for a useful airflow. Really, keeping the CPU cycles and therefore temperature low is the best way of keeping it quiet when you're using it for MOST things. When i'm just browsing, i have my CPU set to what is essentially idle. It generates about 27 degrees of heat and not even the CPU fan NEEDS to be on (although i keep it turning). 2.4ghz for a modern CPU is nothing and it's only using a few watts of power. The higher the wattage, the more heat. And when you start getting up to the 120watts at 5ghz for example, the heat is increased dramatically, for not much gain in processing speeds when compared with say 4.5ghz and 60watts. (rough figures not to be taken as bang on)

Basically you get diminishing returns as the power goes up to mad levels. And for 90% of what you;ll do stock speed (no turbo) will probably do you fine on most high end CPU's since 2021/2022

[Michael Dow]

Make sure you get a PSU that when idle/low power, does not turn its fan on. Mine seems to always run a bit, which annoys me a tiny bit, but i can only hear it if there is silence.

[Michael Dow]

On fans, i for instance do not have my cases top rear fan installed, as i didn't want it to suck cold air away before it even gets to the cpu (when i am pumping it which is very rare) as i say, 90% of the time my case inlet fans aren't even spinning. They spin for 10 seconds or so when PC gets turned on, and then turn off

[ceivmusic]

I've been using a Fractal Define R6, which apparently has better acoustic isolation than the R7 due to the acoustic panels. Honestly wouldn't know it was on most of the time. Also never had any overheating issues and I've pushed it at times on very hot days, and it's tucked away under a PC storage unit.

https://www.fractal-design.com/products ... 6/blackout

Have a Be Quiet PSU which also runs very quiet.

Good luck!

BW,
Brian

[Moroccomoose]

In my day job, I am an Electronics cooling engineer.

This is more about strategy rather than brands. You need to think about where the noise comes from and how best to cool the various chips, but mainly the processor and PSU.

1) eliminate the creation of heat. Only have the hardware you need. Eg, if doing solely music, don't have a bells n whistle graphics card etc.

2) slightly contradictory to point 1, over spec the stuff you do need, but don't use it to the limit. Eg give yourself lots of headroom on the power supply, but use it at 75% capacity.

3) use the biggest case you can so you can have the biggest possible heatsink. A large heatsink will allow for slower airflow and will also smooth out any transient peaks from activity bursts in the processor.

4) with fans, more is not necessarily more! It is very easy to create competing airflow causing recirculation zones in the case. Be clear where the air is coming in to the case and where it is leaving and it's path through the case, passing the the hot stuff. Large diameter fans will be quieter than small for the same mass flow. Avoid having fans sucking out the case, only have them blowing in. Fans sicking air out will cause a lower pressure inside the case meaning dust is more likely to get sucked in and settle. Blowing air in means the case is at high pressure compared to the room, so dust ingress is less. This is important because dust on the fan blades and in the heatsink fins is probably the most significant factor for noise. The dust makes heatsink fins and fan blades less efficient so the have to try harder (ie make more noise) to cool stuff.

5) use the operating range of the processor. Most will have a Tmax of 100 or 105degC. So don't be too quick to turn the fans to full when the processor is at 60degC let it run at 90.

6)Use good thermal paste, applied correctly. This is one of the biggest thermal resistances. Apply only enough to fill the voids between the processor and heatsink caused by the surface roughness. You do not want a 'cream bun'! Another place where more is not better. Use a wipe on wipe off technique. The aim is to minimise the paste to just have enough.

7) make sure everything in the box is tight and use rubber washers etc to dampen vibration.

Sorry, this is a bit of a brain dump, but I hope it gives some ideas on strategy.

Stu.

[James Perrett]

5) use the operating range of the processor. Most will have a Tmax of 100 or 105degC. So don't be too quick to turn the fans to full when the processor is at 60degC let it run at 90.

In another thread the OP has asked for a system that will last 10 years or more. Running electronics at high temperatures (particularly things that use electrolytic capacitors) tends to shorten its life.

[Moroccomoose]

Yes, that is a consideration. But we used to use commercial grade components in ruggedised military COTS equipment where the AMBIENT was 85C. The elevated temps on thier own are not so much an issue, it is high temps and turning on and off often and running in harsh environment starts to give problem.

In the lab, we once had an intel processor running on molten shoulder balls! Not recommended for your every day! But running a core junction temp of 70-85 C is no problem.

[S.Crow]

If gaming or video editing or doing very taxing tasks, I don't mind fan noise - just want to keep it as silent as possible for everyday work use, and recording music with microphones.

At that sort of performance level it is fairly easy to have silence in a tower system located under a desk.
It's when the CPU is consuming around 100W that I have found it harder to have total silence.
I read reviews of individual components and that worked for me.
This was about about six years ago so I am not up on current products.
My current system can be heard once a week when I create an archive as that can peg all 8 cores at 100%.
I could tweak it to make it silent then too but it's so quiet I haven't bothered.