I want a QUIET case!!

[maidenforlife]

Any suggestions on a case that offers good airflow but is quiet? I am tired of cases that are just one big fan!! Would better fans help? Noctua worth it? Is the Artic Freezer pro quiet? I had a Cooler Master V6GT that was way loud. I have a Dell P390 that is super quiet with a GTX 460 in it. I also have a parts for an ATX machine that I would like to put in a quiet case. P390 is getting pretty old. I have tried a HAF 912 and it sounded like a hair dryer. Any help would be appreciated.

[clocks]

I am not an expert on cases, but I just got a system with a CM T05, and it is very quiet compared to my other PCs. But I have heard the Antec Sonata is even quieter. It has two fans by default.

[Activate: AMD]

The vast majority of the noise is going to depend on the fans. Have you ever heard a case by itself? its silent

Seriously though, aside from some dampening materials or what-have-you, the case is going to have little to do with the sound. Get quieter fans and you'll notice a big sound drop. Supposedly the Arctic Freezer pro is pretty quiet

[Sansa]

I've owned a couple of cases, and been around a few others. The fact that you bought a HAF 912 makes me think you game, or want something with airflow and looks like "performance."
Here's what I have been around:
Antec 1200
Antec 902
Antec 300
Antec Sonata
Cooler Master CM690 II Basic
Cooler Master CM690 II Advanced
Cooler Master 310 Elite (with Window)

All opinions below are stated with this environment in mind: No music or audio is being played, just quiet computer use (like surfing the net).
Antec 1200 with all optional fans installed with them all running on low, is quite noticeable regardless. It's not irritating by any means, but its there. I use it with the stock fans + Antec TriCools set on the lowest speeds.
Antec 902 with just stock fans, on low, is surprisingly quiet compared to the 1200. But I am used to 1200 with every fan installed.
Antec 300 I added a window to mine, therefore there is no side fan mounted. But I do have fans in the front. I switched the 120mm fans for Cooler Master fans. There is an even quieter variant of this model available. On the Antec 300 I installed a fan controller that lets me turn all fans off except the cpu/gpu fans. This makes for quiet computing, and I enjoy it way more than I thought I would.
Antec Sonata I have the model that comes with the PSU (before the PSU quality that came with it went south supposedly). It has just one fan inside that has a switch for two(three?) fan speeds. On low, the computer is dead silent. I've actually had people, repeatedly, turn my machine off thinking it wasn't on yet.
The Cooler Master CM690 II's are basically the same thing, and they also had the CM fans installed. It was basically dead silent due to low turbulence.
The CM Elite 310 can be used with just one fan, or three, I've used it both ways. This is the first time I went hunting for silent fans and failed miserably, I bought some Xigmatechs and was disappointed with the actual volume vs advertised volume (I did read reviews, but whatever). I ended up replacing them with Antec TriCools on low speed (mobo didn't support more than two fans for speed control).

As mentioned earlier, your fans have a *huge* impact on noise. The amount of material in front of the fans will increase that noise. Then the number of fans will multiply that. Replacing the stock coolers often results in a much quieter case too. I enjoy the Corsair H50 for how quiet it is (and how well it performs) compared to my stock cooler for the Phenom II X4 965. I've also used two Cooler Master V8's for cooling CPUs. I see you have the V6, but I can assure you, the V8 is super quiet. I put it on an Intel i7 920 and an AMD Phenom II X4 940. Both V8's I received were incredibly quiet, even on high speed. I'd recommend that if you want air cooling that quiet. I also own the Corsair A50, its kind of loud without the resistor on it. But when you add the resistor it spins the fan at 1600 rpm and its much more quieter at that volume. It's on an Athlon II X4 620 (OC'd to 3.2 on stock voltage). Idle's at 18C, highest I've seen it go is 41C.

You can make any case quiet, it all about the fans. Some cases do make the silent part easier though, and if I were to pick a quiet case, its definitely the Sonata.

[TheGlasMan]

www.silentpcreview.com to research your question

[frogmeat69]

I have a Silverstone Raven 2 case, and a Gigabyte GTX460 1GB card and my system is near silent, the case has three 180mm fans on the bottom and a 120mm fan on top and even set on high speed they are super quiet

[no2guncntrl]

I know this will sound goofy, but has anyone ever used Dynamat
in a case ?

http://www.dynamat.com/products_comp...roduction.html

[AMDScooter]

I know this will sound goofy, but has anyone ever used Dynamat
in a case ?

http://www.dynamat.com/products_comp...roduction.html

Not goofey at all.. soundproofing is soundproofing. I know several people whho have used it in their street rods (usually under carpet and at the firewall) and they swear by the stuff. Keeps the rumble from them glaspax and 3" exhausts in check.. well as much as possible anyway. Should work well in a PC case... if you have the space to spare for the installation that is.

[Petden]

My suggestion is a little more out of the box. How about you go with a fan controller, and purchase some very nice noise cancelling headphones. If you game a good headset is key. Instead of spending $200 on a case spend it on a headset. That allows you to cool all your products, which means they will last longer and you wont hear the noise, 2 birds, 1 and a half stones :P