Looking for a silent case

[Jon Smark]

I'm building my first FreeNAS server, mainly for backups and serving media files to a Kodi box. I'm aiming for six 3.5" drives in a Raid-Z2 configuration. One of the primary requirements concerns noise: the system will sit in a living room and should be as silent as possible. I don't mind if the case is bigger if that means it's also quieter!

Browsing through these forums and googling the interwebs I found plenty of references to the Silverstone DS380 [1] and the Fractal Design Node 804 [2]. They are both big cases which won't look too ugly in a living room, and both can handle six drives with room to spare. Anyway, what I'd like to have are your opinions about these cases where noise is concerned. Are the stock fans silent enough? Is vibration an issue? Would you recommend them for my scenario?

Obviously, if there's some other case out there that fits the bill, I would be very interested in hearing about it!
http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=452
[1] http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=452
[2] http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/cases/node-series/node-804

 

[Nick2253]

You can make any case silent. The real trick is making a case silent while also dealing with cooling.

I would definitely steer away from the DS380. There are a number of cooling problems with that case (though correctable with modification), and trying to completely silent the case will create even more problems. The Node 804 is a fantastic case, but you may need to replace the stock fans with something quieter, like Noctua fans (there are many silent fan reviews on the internet, so I'd search Google for that info).

The Node 804 is actually a fairly large case. If you want something smaller, there's the Node 304, which many people here favorably recommend. If you are OK with going larger, the Define R4 is probably where I'd personally steer you. It's a sizable case with lots of drive bays, and designed around being quiet. Again, you may have to replace the fans, but you could probably get by without depending on exactly what you're looking for in "quiet".

 

[Jon Smark]

I would definitely steer away from the DS380. There are a number of cooling problems with that case (though correctable with modification), and trying to completely silent the case will create even more problems. The Node 804 is a fantastic case, but you may need to replace the stock fans with something quieter, like Noctua fans (there are many silent fan reviews on the internet, so I'd search Google for that info).

Thanks for the input! One thing the DS380 had in its favour was the ease of replacing hard drives. Though frankly if in the long term I have to replace a drive more than once per year that means something else is wrong!

The Node 804 is actually a fairly large case. If you want something smaller, there's the Node 304, which many people here favorably recommend. If you are OK with going larger, the Define R4 is probably where I'd personally steer you. It's a sizable case with lots of drive bays, and designed around being quiet. Again, you may have to replace the fans, but you could probably get by without depending on exactly what you're looking for in "quiet".

Yes, I've seen lots of people using the Node 304. It's an option I'm seriously considering, though I feel that with 6 drives the case will be full to the max, which may complicate air flow and constrain my options regarding future expansion (though right now I really don't see myself using more than 6 drives).

But anyway, thanks to your input the Node 304/804 are now the lead contenders!

 

[nojohnny101]

I have both the silverstone ds380 and the node 804. the silverstone is currently running my backup freenas box that is replicated to from my main freenas box, the node 804.

I would say you can get better quality cases than the silverstone. it is not a bad case all, it just has the following drawbacks:
PROS
- almost no cable management. it requires a lot more effort and time to get cabling right because there are very cutouts and routing options.
- very small (which is also an advantage, see below) which makes initial setup very difficult. it is difficult to install everything because everything is compact. so if working in tight spaces frustrates you or you have abnormally large hands, then the silverstone is a no go.
- it has a severe airflow problem in cooling the hard drive cage. this is very easy to fix but again, having to make modifications to a case in order for it to provide what it should have done in the first place does not speak to its quality. See the fix here

CONS
- it holds a lot of HDDs, 12!
- it is one of the most compact cases that I have seen for the amount of drives that it holds. very good if you are working on tight space restrictions.

Basically I would only get the Silverstone if being super compact is a top priority for you. It is not a bad case, I just think you can do better for the money.

The node 804 is good as well. It has a ton of space to work with (which makes working the case very easy) and the airflow is ridiculous. It one of the top cases for the amount of different configurations it can run for cooling. It also has good cable management options and routes. However I will say it is quite large for only offering 8 HDD spaces in the rack (sure you can mount two more to the floor but I don't consider that elegant enough to qualify). They do offering two separate spaces for mounting 2 x 2.5" SSDs which is nice if you are going to go that route with running an SSD for freenas. Some people like the design (cube and two separate sides one for HDDs and other for motherboard and such) and the fact that it is a cube. I recently put aftermarket fans in it which you can read about here post #13 because I was seeing spikes of over 40C during scrubs (it is very hot though in my house, no AC). I'm very happy with it now, it is near silent and cooling is great.

That Define R4 looks nice that @Nick2253 recommended. He is right, you can probably make any case silent with enough work. Some are easier than others though.

Good luck! Let me know if you have any more specific questions about either case.

 

[CompuGlobalHyperMegaNet]

No matter how good the case is, it can only do so much (within practical limits) to silence the internal hardware. The idea that a "silent" case will make a build significantly quieter is a myth (unless you start out with a really crappy case). The very first thing your should do to build a "silent" computer is choose quiet parts. As this is a server/NAS build, that's not quite as easy to do as with a consumer hardware based build.

In your case (no pun intended), the main sources of noise will be the disks and the fans. With the disks, the only thing you can do to silence them (short of mechanical decoupling / "the bungee mod") is to choose a case that has well designed HDD mounting hardware and then mount the disks properly. More on this in a sec.

One of the biggest difference you can make to overall noise is controlling the fans properly. This isn't easy with server hardware as it's not designed with low noise levels in mind. You could use a hardware based fan controller but many of them (including pretty much all that come built into a case) do not control the fans dynamically... they don't respond to temperature. This leaves motherboard based control which, with server boards, has the advantage of being able to notify you in the event a fan fails. They can also respond to temperature changes. But as I said, server boards still have comparatively limited fan control capabilities. So you have to make the best of what you've got. That means checking out what the default fan thresholds are. In the case of my X10SL7-f, the default lower fan thresholds are too high for the fans I use and as a result, the fans spin much faster than they have to and, in the variable speed mode, when the fans spin at their lowest speed (which is below the motherboards low threshold), the motherboard thinks that the fan is stalling and ramps it up to full speed. Once the "stall" is prevented, it lets the fan idle back to a lower speed, it goes below the threshold and so on and so fourth. You can change the default values using IPMItool.

Now back to the case/HDD mounting. I would recommend the Fractal Design Define R5 as it has very well designed fan cages with rubber grommets to help dampen any vibration, the stock fans are actually rather good (as stock fans go) so you might not have to replace them with aftermarket fans, the R5 is one of the quietest cases on the market and it's superior in design to the R4 in many areas (which I'd be happy to detail if you'd like). It's cooling is also better than the 804 due to it's less restrictive air intakes.

In regards to rubber grommets on the HDD cages (of any case), just bear in mind that the rubber works at it's best when it isn't compressed. So when you tighten the HDD screws, do it just enough so that it's not loose in the HDD and that it's just touching but not squashing the grommet.

 

[Jon Smark]

The node 804 is good as well. It has a ton of space to work with (which makes working the case very easy) and the airflow is ridiculous.

Thanks for your impressions! It's disappointing to hear that the airflow on the Node 804 is ridiculous, as Fractal Design touts this case as focusing on cooling performance...

 

[Jon Smark]

Now back to the case/HDD mounting. I would recommend the Fractal Design Define R5 as it has very well designed fan cages with rubber grommets to help dampen any vibration, the stock fans are actually rather good (as stock fans go) so you might not have to replace them with aftermarket fans, the R5 is one of the quietest cases on the market and it's superior in design to the R4 in many areas (which I'd be happy to detail if you'd like). It's cooling is also better than the 804 due to it's less restrictive air intakes.

Thanks! I'm checking out the R5 and it's now the leading contender.

Regarding the stock fans, it's nice to hear they are decent, but I reckon I can only determine if they're good enough after I get the system running.

And yes, I'm curious to know in what ways the R5 improves on the R4... Am I correct in assuming the R5 is an iteration on the design of the R4?

Also, is there any difference between the R5 Black/White/Titanium besides the colour and possibly the case material? (I'm assuming the Titanium is made of, hum, titanium, whereas the others are made of aluminium.)

 

[Stux]

Thanks for your impressions! It's disappointing to hear that the airflow on the Node 804 is ridiculous, as Fractal Design touts this case as focusing on cooling performance...

I assumed he meant wicked/awesome/ridonculous

Ie great.

I also assumed you weren't being sarcastic

 

[Ejay8400]

Thanks! I'm checking out the R5 and it's now the leading contender.

Regarding the stock fans, it's nice to hear they are decent, but I reckon I can only determine if they're good enough after I get the system running.

And yes, I'm curious to know in what ways the R5 improves on the R4... Am I correct in assuming the R5 is an iteration on the design of the R4?

Also, is there any difference between the R5 Black/White/Titanium besides the colour and possibly the case material? (I'm assuming the Titanium is made of, hum, titanium, whereas the others are made of aluminium.)

I am happy with my R5, but as mentioned before, you need to think quiet components if you want a silent build, not just the case.
It also gives you great room to work in, but at the cost of being a big case.

When it comes to the stock fans, I haven't had any problems with them when it comes to noise or performance, but should mention I added an extra fan in the front from the start.

The difference from the R4 is that the R5 has better dust filters and aparently(haven't tried) suits water cooling better, easier to fit bigger video card and you can change what way the front door opens.

As for what the "Titanium" means in the name, it is the color on the front panel of the case. Not the building material.

 

[Jon Smark]

I assumed he meant wicked/awesome/ridonculous
Ie great.

Sorry, English is not my first language. I've heard that Millennials are changing the meaning of some words. Is this one of those cases? (Kids these days, getting their elders confused...)

 

[Jon Smark]

I am happy with my R5, but as mentioned before, you need to think quiet components if you want a silent build, not just the case.
It also gives you great room to work in, but at the cost of being a big case.

Yeah, I realise that. I meant that it's just easier to make everything quiet with some cases instead than others. For example: a case with good airflow and ample space for large fans is bound to result in a quieter system if all other factors are the same.

 

[Stux]

Sorry, English is not my first language. I've heard that Millennials are changing the meaning of some words. Is this one of those cases? (Kids these days, getting their elders confused...)

Yes. I think so

 

[Ericloewe]

Sorry, English is not my first language. I've heard that Millennials are changing the meaning of some words. Is this one of those cases? (Kids these days, getting their elders confused...)

Not really, it just tends to be used in a negative sense, mostly because it's associated with ridicule, which would generally not apply to a good thing.

Ridiculous would perhaps fit well with extreme overkill, like a huge industrial fan just to cool a Raspberry Pi.

 

[CompuGlobalHyperMegaNet]

Thanks! I'm checking out the R5 and it's now the leading contender.

Regarding the stock fans, it's nice to hear they are decent, but I reckon I can only determine if they're good enough after I get the system running.

I should make it clear that the praise I gave the R5's fans is not from first hand experience. I do have a couple of Fractal XL R2's, which are very similar to the R4, so I can compare some of the basic design features and I know where the R5 is better than the R4 but my information on the R5's acoustic performance comes from (the totally awesome) silentpcreview.com. They updated their Quiet ATX Gamer build by replacing it's R4 case with an R5. They also did a mini review at the same time, which I recommend reading as it talks about the fans.

I cannot recommend SPCR enough.

The guy who runs the website spent about $11,000 on building a 11 ~dBA rated hemi-anechoic chamber in his house (an incandescent light bulb produces about 11 dBA of noise by the way) and the equipment required to measure such low noise levels... including a special quiet microphone as regular microphones actually produce too much noise.

That's kind of a roundabout way of saying that SPCR is dedicated to it's craft. Their noise centric reviews are by far the best on the Internet. I might sound like a salesman but SPCR has almost gone under a couple of times, so I never pass up an opportunity to sing it's praises.

And yes, I'm curious to know in what ways the R5 improves on the R4... Am I correct in assuming the R5 is an iteration on the design of the R4?

Also, is there any difference between the R5 Black/White/Titanium besides the colour and possibly the case material? (I'm assuming the Titanium is made of, hum, titanium, whereas the others are made of aluminium.)

All of the R5's are made from steel and plastic... just the front panel is plastic, everything else is steel. The "Black/White/Titanium" denotes the front panel colour. It's worth keeping an eye out for the "Blackout Edition". With that version, everything is painted black. The reason I mention it is because I regularly see it going for less than the other models... at least in the U.S.

As for the differences between the R4 and R5-

• Front Filter - for me, this is the single biggest improvement with the R5. With the R4, the fans are installed into the front fan filter itself. When you want to clean the dust away, you have to remove the entire assembly, fans included. This can create issues with cable management as you need to leave enough slack in the fan wires to be able to remove the filter. The fans are also awkward to remove from the plastic filter as they clip into place. There in lies the other big issue. If you want to clean the dust that's stuck to the inside of the filter or you want to stop the fans spinning, you either have to settle for doing a poor job or go to the hassle of disconnecting or removing the fans entirely. With the R5, the fans are mounted to the case and the front filter is entirely separate.
• Bottom Filter - The R4's bottom filter is removed from front to back... in other words, you have to move the case so that it has enough room to pull the fan filter out from the back. With the R5, the filter is removed from back to front.
• HDD Sleds - The R5's sleds have much less surface area in side profile. This won't make a difference when you fill all the HDD sleds with 3.5" disks but when a few are left empty, they'll let more airflow through that the ones in the R4... the difference isn't going to be night and day but it's just another little incremental way in which Fractal improved the design.
• Front Door - On the R5, the front door can be made to open from either side of the case.

Other than that, there are several areas in which the R5's design is improved over the R4 but most aren't applicable to a NAS or server. It is indeed much better for water cooling, due in part to the slightly offset triple fan intakes in the top of the case and the removable 5.25" bays. There's also the sleeker design of the removable (ModuVent) vent covers that make the case look better. The 5.25" front covers are also solid plastic rather than slotted. This prevents dust being sucked in through an unfiltered hole. The motherboard tray is counter sunk slightly, which improves heatsink clearance and strengthens the case. I could go on but it'd just be about tiny little details that I think are just better design.

The last thing I'd say in regards to the R4 vs. R5 debate is the improvements that the R5 has are only worth so much. Sometimes the R5 can cost more than the R4. The price difference can be too much to justify. If the prices are close, I really think it's a total no brainer. The R5 is better in so many ways but in the event that the R5 is significantly more expensive than the R4, you'll have to decide whether it's worth the money. After all, the R4 is still a great case.

Not really, it just tends to be used in a negative sense, mostly because it's associated with ridicule, which would generally not apply to a good thing.

Ridiculous would perhaps fit well with extreme overkill, like a huge industrial fan just to cool a Raspberry Pi.

I've got to muddy the waters a bit. "Ridiculous" can also be used to mean "cool", "impressive" or "memorable". It has indeed had it's meaning redefined by the kids. Case in point being the truly awful "Ridiculousness" TV show, where pseudo celebrities fail miserably at being funny when reacting to clips of idiots doing stupid things (it's like the precursor of Idiocracy's "Ow, My Balls" only with a bunch of z-listers clamoring for a bit more fame). To them, "Ridiculous" is jumping over the Great Wall of China on a skateboard or parachuting from one plane to another.

 

[okgunguy]

I run the Fractal Design Define Mini. If you're looking for 6 drive capability. It's a mini tower, so not too large. With 2 120mm front fans and 1 rear. Room for more if you want. Excellent cooling.
https://www.neweggbusiness.com/product/product.aspx?item=9b-11-352-011

 

[Stux]

Nice MATX case

 

[sremick]

I have a Node 304 w/ 6 drives and my case is pretty much silent with no heat problems. See my sig for build details. In this day and age I'd make the following adjustments to modernize it:

Motherboard: ASRock Rack E3C236D2I
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1270 v5
RAM: Crucial CT16G4WFD8213