Anyone have a Fractal Design Define R5 or other similar "silent" case? I just finished my build and I'm loving how quiet it is.
Just ordered an r5 in white, really like the simple and clean look. Really excited for my next build to replace my loud as fuck hot n' shitty laptop. Good choice dude. I heard the sound dampening is great, how many fans did it come with?
I have an R4, great case.
have r4, amazing case
The only complaint i have is front panel being slightly lower build quality than overall case
But still that's very minor
Sad you guys werent able to get good Lian-Li cases last decade
>>55598262
Own it, hate the vibrating HDD cages.
>>55599025
Yeah I wish they made good cases too. Oh well.
>>55599230
Thanks ill pick up a couple more.
>>55599156
I own fractal design XL R2
i put all my software on SSD, all movies and music - on WD Green HDDs. 95% of the time PC is silent. I only hear HDDs spinning up for 5 seconds when opening movies, and that is all.
>>55598262
Í got an R3 years ago for my budget build. I had no idea how enormous it is, especially if you are building a mATX system.
I've had an r5 for a year and a half now. It's a nice case but goddamn is it heavy. I've moved like 4 times since I've had it and it sucks trying carry it upstairs.
>>55598262
I'm considering a ThermalFake F51. It has the same styling as the R5, the PSU shroud of the H440, the magnetic dust cover of the 450D, and a 200mm front fan. It's like they stole all of my favorite features and rolled them into one case.
>>55599313
Manlet detected. I carry mine up and down the stairs every month for cleaning and it's not a problem.
>>55599335
Shame it comes in only one color
>>55598262
I got a define S for the superior airflow, and yeah, I sit like a foot away from it and I can't hear it over my music even under load.
>>55598262
Ultimate comfiness
Did they remove the top fan holes?
In my old Antec One case I had five 120mm fans and in my new r5 I have 6 140mm fans and 2 120mm fans but despite this I have higher temperatures. I think the sound dampening material acts as an heat insulator making me need to run the fans at a higher speed which completely destroys the "silent" part of the case.
I have the same (R5) and sometimes , I don't know if the computer is ON or OFF
With 7 fans in total
>>55599335
Have the first revision (no psu cover) and non windowed version. Very silent but huge. Improved version of the R5 imo. Could have had more space behind the motherboard tray and dedicated ssd mounts i the back. Unless you're putting in more than 3 3.5" drives or a custom loop you're probably better off with a smaller case or even the F31 (no 200mm front fan). Solid choice otherwise but compare it to the new bequiet cases if you don't mind spending more.
>>55599629
It's generally expected that you're either not going to be running a hot system inside of a silent case, or simply deal with having higher temperatures. You're the one destroying the silent aspect by running the fans fast.
I have a fractal design s and I love it. It's also cheaper than the r5 and i like the interior a lot better. Not a single cable showing inside the case, save for the tips where they tie into the mobo
>>55599640
What's your fan setup?
>>55599640
>seven fans
have the define S
I've got an NZXT H630. It's k.
>>55599691
Front 2 IN
TOP 2 OUT
Back 1 OUT
2 With the Noctua D15s
Awesome Temps and Noise
I have one, the only bad about it is the shitty front usb ports.
>>55599516
>2016
>not buying a case with a window
>not being able to look at the qt components inside
Pleb.
>>55598262
I have the Define Nano.
It is maximum comfy. The only problem is my poor choice in CPU cooler means I need to use the top vent to expel air but the Nano only has a single cover for the entire top which is a little disappointing.
Still, it is almost completely silent.
>>55598262
My Lian-Li is pretty quiet, but that's mostly because of the Noctua fans.
>>55598262
I bought one a few months ago. It's nice and silent, easy to build inside, but why is it so big? This thing takes up a ridiculous amount of space.
I can fit all the same components (with an mATX instead of ATX) in my Fractal Core 1000, which is nice and compact. I don't understand why the R5 is so giant, there's a ton of unused space in mine.
It also makes a bunch of noise whenever the DVD drive is in use.
>>55600220
It's big because they are specifically made to be able to fit water cooling inside.
From AIOs to custom loops, anything you want inside with plenty of room for storage behind the motherboard tray.
>>55600198
Post temps. That's a comfy looking setup even if it's a little cramped.
Which Lian-Li is it?
>>55600344
Doesn't go above 70C under load, but the GPUs don't get great airflow. I want to remove the HDD cage and add a 120mm fan there.
It's an A05.
>>55600385
That was my biggest concern, was the card, but I wouldn't be running SLI so I bet the airflow would be better.
>>55598262
I also have it, when gpu is not on heavy load I cant hear it, its lovely
>>55600486
What the fuck are you guys on about. I had a 30€ Zalman case and it was JUST as loud as the R5 is, I was pretty angry since I bought it just for silence. However I have kept it because of its other traits.
Silent cases are a waste of time because they get so hot, which means the fans will always run faster and noisier to compensate. You're better off getting a decent case with lots of fans and putting some sound dampening in the places that matter. The bequiet 800 looks a decent "silent" case though to be fair.
>>55600539
>Silent cases are a waste of time because they get so hot
I don't know what you're talking about. You don't make cases silent by blocking up all the vents.
>>55600616
Yeah of course sound dampening everywhere doesn't cause thernal issues. Less fans don't cause thernal issues. I've owned two silent cases, they were noisier and hotter than my current case.
>>55600539
They really don't, it's just your hot garbage hardware and your poverty preventing you from water cooling it.
>>55600672
I have a water-cooled 6600k and a 980ti laddy
>>55600661
Sounds like you made shitty purchasing decisions.
>Yeah of course sound dampening everywhere doesn't cause thernal issues.
Why the hell would it? At best it will just absorb a bit of the ambient heat in the case. It's not like it will get hotter than the air in/around the case.
I'm just going to write this one up as user error.
>>55598262
have a define xl r2 for a couple years now, super quiet, sits in the middle of my room and no sound problems. I did add finer filters to the front and side to keep it basically dust free even after all this time.
>>55599156
Did you forget the rubber grommets? I never hear my drives unless I'm using the drive in the cheap hotswap bay I installed.
>>55599629
>8 fans
Christ, I've got an OC FX8350 CPU air cooled with only 3 fans. What the hell are you running that requires so many fans?
>>55600509
Yeah, the only reason to buy a more expensive case is better component positioning (>hdaudio front jack doesn't even reach the mb >2016), better airflow, features like dust filters, and construction. Bad construction means the case will rattle like shit after just a bit of use, that's really the only way in which it matters. Cases don't impact noisiness unless you have soundproof padding which most likely means shit airflow.
>>55600113
>wanting more noise
>wanting even more lights in the dark
>not wanting to go for the simplistic look the define r5 was designed for
why.
>>55601355
That's because you're deaf. The rubber grommets dont help at all (i take it that the hdd inserts are identical to the R2 one's).
Its a shitty case, with poor airflow, unless you remove the hdd cage completely (cannot be done on the original or R2 without butchering).
>>55598262
soo, it doesnt matter what fans(power supply) you use . sound is all killed bc of the case , you say ??
Got an R4, love it. Lots of space, silent af, great design.
>>55599156
Seconding this.
>>55601355
The rubber grommets are too thin to be of any use.
Old Antec cases had three times thicker silicone grommets, those actually damped vibration - they were second only to elastic suspension.
>>55598262
Did my first build in one. It's a damn good case, glad I chose it over the Phanteks P400.
>>55598262
GUYS
FOR ANY CASE:
WINDOW OR NO WINDOW?
>>55598262
I have an Antec P180 mini. It's amazing. Not a huge fan of the 200mm fan though. It's a pain to find replacement since it's not standard
>>55603696
no window
unless you have a crazy watercooling loop (no aio shit) you want to showcase
>>55603696
No window because they have a tendency to vibrate, but on the other hand they're useful to debug issues without having to open the case (e.g. to see and be reminded to clean up the insides).
I have disabled my power on led and I never know if I turned my PC on or not.
>>55603651
I hope you actually get a GPU in there.
Cases don't make noise, fans do.
>>55603696
No window since it's the latest hot meme to only offer your case in a windowed variant to show off your mismatched budget hardware, or to jew you into spending more so the inside of your case doesn't look like an eyesore.
>>55603722
b-but what about muh LED strips that i want to shine through a window?
This has genuinely been bothering me; I've been stuck choosing between:
> Corsair 250D
> Fractal Core 500
I'm planning on getting AIO (Kraken X61), LED strips (no fucking LED fans and LED hardware, LED strips only) and hardware with neutral colours. Been leaning towards the Fractal case, but it has no windows for me to showcase LED's through.
WHAT DO I DO
I want a Fractal Design case but I'm scared it'll overheat in summer.
>>55603779
if the leds are so important to you then get the window
>>55599156
this.
Define R3 amplifying vibrations like crazy. Never believe /g/ nemes.
>>55603828
The issue is that the 250D looks a bit like ass, and the Core 500 looks a bit better but still isn't the best MITX case I've encountered. I just want something sleek, with a sleek front-panel & a window. Preferably the Core 500 form-factor but with a window
It's too hard finding a nice MITX case with a window, might as well just fucking hang myself
>>55603779
Just get whatever you want. Buying things to "fit in" with /g/, one of the shittiest board cultures btw, is the wrong decision.
Myself I just built a new computer, R4 with the window, purple LED strip, it looks nice and I'm glad I got what I wanted not what some aut neckbeards on /g/ thinks.
Pretty silent
>>55599335
> all of my favorite features
> window
for what purpose
I'm not 13, I don't want any rgb leds anywhere glowing in my office
>>55600113
>case with a window
Let me guess: This is your car.
I have an R4, I can hear silence in my room.
Lately it seems that every case maker is gravitating towards the same aesthetic.
>>55603937
>Lately it seems that every case maker is gravitating towards the same aesthetic.
and like most good things in personal computing, this aesthetic was pioneered by Steve Jobs.
>>55603651
did you forget a gpu? Also where's the ssd? or did you fall into "ssd is a meme" meme?
>>55603696
absolutely no window. I don't really see the point having a windows there, it'll just end up being more noisy than the alternative.
>>55604009
SSD is in the drive cage, and as for the GPU, I'm waiting for shit to settle down before making a decision.
>>55603464
Not really. I had a corsair cx500 in mine and it was pretty loud. The case didn't do much to reduce that.
>>55603905
It was just the image I happened to come across first, obviously I'd want the non-window version.
>>55598262
its a wonderful case m8, i'm really enjoying the scandanavian function over form approach that every gaymin case forgets about
>>55599929
Same here. Pretty nice case.
>>55598262
ayyyyy
>>55603987
>hurr Jobs invented the black-painted cube
Get outta here
>>55598262
Just got an R5, honestly this is the best case I've ever had, between the cable management, how quiet and clean it is, dust filters all around, tons of HDD space. I'll probably just do any future builds in R5's or if they release a new R series then that.
Seriously, if there's someone who hasn't built into an R4/R5 yet just try it for your next build. They are fucking top notch.
>>55599156
what are half of you on,the desktop across the room uses an r5 and even next to it i never hear hard drives rattling
>>55604220
I agree with everything in your post but people should be warned that they are pretty big cases. That's about the only reason why someone shouldn't get a R4/R5.
>>55604223
I don't hear rattling, but my computer got three times louder somehow when I added my HDD.
>>55604198
Jobs was first on Earth to produce a commercial matte black personal computer.
>>55599156
I thought I was the only one who had that issue
>>55598262
I have an Arc Midi R2, which is fractal's airflow oriented series of the same case. It's very quiet as well while browsing, naturally a little louder while gaming, but nothing too intrusive.
Didn't want to risk higher temps with a sound dampening case, as Portugal gets pretty toasty in summer, >30c ambient temperature is very common. In fact I'm looking right now and it's 37c outside. Even still, I'm getting 60c on a 4790+hyper t4, and 70c on a gtx760, so I imagine how higher they would be inside a define.
>>55598262
I barely hear anything with my bitfenix atx with stock Intel cooler. Do people really pay extra for more "silence"
>>55604439
I honestly don't get the whole point of silent unless you life in a rental apartment and want to play at night
>>55604240
Also very heavy, my computer weighs like 40 fucking pounds
>>55604583
I don't like extraneous noise.
>>55598262
I use a Define R2 XL for my main build, but I'm absolutely enthralled by their cases in general. I do some builds for my friends, and I've given them a Define R3 and Define R5 respectively.
The biggest problem with building silent PCs, however, is that by removing fans etc. you start hearing other sources of noise instead - for example coil whine.
Coil whine is the death of silent builds in general, so personally I just slap in a few extra fans just to blot out the noise of coil whine more than anything.
>>55604583
What I meant was a case not made for silence can also be quiet if you set it up right. Or at least little more than noticeable.
>>55598262
Got a P180 and P182 right next to me here now. Nice and quiet :-)
>>55604317
Ummm no, that was IBM in 96?
Define S here, really like the vertical drives.
>>55599672
>It's generally expected that you're either not going to be running a hot system inside of a silent case, or simply deal with having higher temperatures.
My Antec P182 runs quiet *and* has low temps.
Fractal cases just suck.
>>55604223
It doesn't rattle, it just gives off a periodic humming. Extremely annoying if you sleep in the same room as the computer. It is caused by the vibration of the hard drives being amplified by the steel cage they are screwed into.
Having something elastic between the drives and the cage, such as silicone grommets, can sponge in the vibration. But the Fractal cases all have too thin grommets, so they don't do fuckall.
It gets really bad if you have multiple hard drive.
>>55605509
Not the guy you're responding to but the modern version of that case (p183) is pretty ugly. Is there anything better looking that's both quiet and cool?
>>55605569
I have 8 hard drives and I sleep next to my PC just fine. I also don't notice any “periodic humming”, it's pretty much just a constant noise.
Maybe I've reached the critical mass of hard drives needed for all the variations to cancel each other out in the sum?
>>55605610
>form over function
>>>/fa/
>>55605651
Not putting form over function, looking for something that has it all (if it exists). Compromise is bullshit
>>55599156
So I'm not the only one with this problem then? I took out two of the three cages and the case still rattled until I replaced the front fans with Noctuas. I assumed at first that it was the fan filter rattling, but I guess not.
>>55598262
My only complain are the bright blue power and hdd LEDs. I had to stuff paper in the gap so I can sleep at night. They could have went with the regular green/amber power LED and a red hdd led.
>>55605773
You could just unplug the power LED. I don't have any of the lights plugged in, and I have the reset switch plugged into the power so I can rest my feet on top of the case without worrying about hitting the power accidentally.
Wouldn't this be bad for airflow? I have a micro cube case with grates on all sides and four fans going and I hardly hear it.
>>55600661
>I've owned two silent cases, they were noisier and hotter than my current case.
>silent cases
>noisy
So in other words, you've owned two shitty cases that were MARKETED as silent.
>>55598262
I actually ordered two. First one arrived bashed to shit so did the second one. Fragile design more like. I then just got a fan controller, noise problem solved.
I'm looking at buying something like this, a define s, or maybe a corsair 400q, any other suggestions lads?
>>55603780
>I'm scared it'll overheat in summer.
Why would it do that? Are you going to take the fans out of it?
>>55604583
Silence serves as the foundation of creativity.
>>55598262
>javascript:quote('55598262');
I have an R5 myself. Got to be the easiest case i have worked with and love how quiet it is.
Fractal R5 or NZXT S340?
