Looking For Quiet Case < 18" Tall

[shooga]

Hi All. I'm building a gaming machine and have one requirement that's making things a bit more difficult: the case needs to be less than 18" tall (probably more like 16-17" to allow air flow if needed). I'd also like the machine to be very quiet and have sufficient cooling to support SLI.

I've looked at the Corsair Air 540, which looks great except it appears to be relatively loud because of the very open design. Same with the Cooler Master HAF XB. I think I could probably get very quiet fans for one of these two and that might be ok, but I would rather find a more closed case that is designed to be quiet. Something more like the Fractal Design Define R4 - which I'd love to get but is too tall.

Does anyone have recommendations? Again, I think something with the form factor of the Corsair Air 540 but that is designed to be quiet would be ideal.

I'd like to stick with ATX if I can, but if I move to mATX then more case options do open up. Thought I would check here for ATX options before giving up on it.

Here's my current build list:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($73.50 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD4H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($179.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($134.95 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($214.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($83.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card ($719.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 850W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($149.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $1856.40
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-03 23:36 EST-0500)


THANKS!!!

 

[Luke1978]

Hi All. I'm building a gaming machine and have one requirement that's making things a bit more difficult: the case needs to be less than 18" tall (probably more like 16-17" to allow air flow if needed). I'd also like the machine to be very quiet and have sufficient cooling to support SLI.

I've looked at the Corsair Air 540, which looks great except it appears to be relatively loud because of the very open design. Same with the Cooler Master HAF XB. I think I could probably get very quiet fans for one of these two and that might be ok, but I would rather find a more closed case that is designed to be quiet. Something more like the Fractal Design Define R4 - which I'd love to get but is too tall.

Does anyone have recommendations? Again, I think something with the form factor of the Corsair Air 540 but that is designed to be quiet would be ideal.

I'd like to stick with ATX if I can, but if I move to mATX then more case options do open up. Thought I would check here for ATX options before giving up on it.

Here's my current build list:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($73.50 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD4H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($179.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($134.95 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($214.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($83.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card ($719.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 850W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($149.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $1856.40
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-03 23:36 EST-0500)


THANKS!!!

Might have to go with mountain mods or another build to suit company to get what you need/want without going mATX.
If you do go mATX Lian-Li makes an awesome case Lian-Li PC-V351B

Could be paired with MSI Z87M Gaming mATX

 

[Firas]

Isnt the Lian-Li PC-V351B A small case ??

 

[Luke1978]

Isnt the Lian-Li PC-V351B A small case ??

Very, which is what the OP is looking for according to his post.

 

[Firas]

 

[shooga]

Thanks for the replies. The case height is my only real limitation, but the more I read the more I think I'm probably better off with mATX. That would open up many more case options and doesn't seem to be very limiting at all in terms of features or performance.

The Lian-Li looks good, but I would be very tempted by the Fractal Design Define Mini. Any feedback on it?

 

[Luke1978]

Thanks for the replies. The case height is my only real limitation, but the more I read the more I think I'm probably better off with mATX. That would open up many more case options and doesn't seem to be very limiting at all in terms of features or performance.

The Lian-Li looks good, but I would be very tempted by the Fractal Design Define Mini. Any feedback on it?

Based solely on looks I like it. And the sound dampening at that price is A+.