Help me build as quiet as possible?

I am currently looking around for the right parts to build a PC for my home studio. Due to lack of space, I am unable to build an isolation booth for recording and as such my current rig is too loud (fan noise gets picked up by microphones almost anywhere in the room.

I am hoping some of you folks could recommend a full-size case and CPU cooler that would be as quiet as possible. I assume something with 200mm fans, and a large heatsink.

At the moment, I am planning on a build around one of the newer i7 chips, but I have no problem with AMD if it means a quieter cooler.

What I have found so far is the Scythe Ninja 2 for the CPU, but I am at a loss when it comes to picking the case. I have built PCs with the Antec line (902 and 1200) and they are not very quiet at all. Aside from having a case custom made, I would like to know if anyone can link me to cases that have noise ratings. I have looked at the XCLIO cases (A380 and Windtunnel models) because of their 250mm fans, but I have no way of knowing how loud they are. The Nexus EDGE is built for this sort of thing, but I cannot find them anywhere.

Any help would be much appreciated!
Edited by mesaone - 11/1/11 at 4:45pm

Home studio use. Full size mobo is important, running several PCIe cards (GT210 for dual screen, UAD card for plugins, possibly firewire card if mobo does not have TI chip.


Fan noise is really the only issue here, since I will be running SSD for boot and two 7200 RPM drives for programs/media. HD noise is minimal compared to fan noise.


Thanks for your recommendations. Let's assume I will be running the case fans at a fixed voltage with no controller. I am really looking to get the quietest build possible without running dangerous CPU temps.

First thing I thought of. Unfortunately I do not have that option for several reasons. Length of cables for one, and also I do not have another room available. Space is really a concern here, otherwise I would just dedicate one room to soundstage and the other as my control room. Access to the case is important, because of iLok and other security devices that I use, as well as my audio interfaces. Plus I do not like the idea of not being able to see my computer for troubleshooting. I did consider building an isolation box with an equipment rack on top, and putting the PC inside that box. In the end, the idea of the PC burning up in a confined space was not appealing.

Another noctua recommendation, I will definitely look into those! GPU cooling is not an issue since I will be going with a GT210, which has a passive heatsink. This PC is not for gaming. However, on my gaming PC I have a GTX470SC with the Accelero XTREME PLUS and it is definitely quiet. As for the CPU cooler, I would like to remain passive if I can help it but it looks like the decrease in temps is worth the little bit of extra noise.

Thanks for all of your feedback, I'll check everything out and see.
Edited by mesaone - 11/1/11 at 5:13pm

Given the review I found on the Noctua NH-d14 I found here http://www.frostytech.com/testmethod_mk2.cfm, and the fact that its noise level was rated 30.8 dBA according to the testing method here http://www.frostytech.com/testmethod_mk2.cfm I am almost sold. I like the idea of the p183, and there are also more versions (along with a p193) on Antec's site... However, none come with acoustic foam.

There are just so many reviews out there, and many are conflicting. Most are aimed at the overclocking/gaming community, and that is simply not what I'm using this build for.