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We take the issue of noise very seriously at KitGuru and this is why we have built a special home brew system as a reference point when we test noise levels of various components. Why do this? Well this means we can eliminate secondary noise pollution in the test room and concentrate on components we are testing. It also brings us slightly closer to industry standards, such as DIN 45635.
Today to test the chassis we have taken it into our acoustics room environment and have set our Digital Sound Level Noise Decibel Meter Style 2 one meter away from the case. The room rates as 21-23dBa before powering on the system (air conditioning unit in the far corner of the room causes this).
We have removed our Noctua fans from the side panels to measure a ‘out of the box’ scenario. We tested with fan controls on high and low.
As this can be a little confusing for people, here are various dBa ratings in with real world situations to help describe the various levels.
KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refridgerator
50dBA – Normal Conversation
60dBA – Laughter
70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA – City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA – Motorcycle or Lawnmower
100dBA – MP3 player at maximum output
110dBA – Orchestra
120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine
130dBA – Threshold of Pain
140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range)
160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum
We have replaced the graphics card with a Sapphire HD5670 Ultimate edition.
The system is relatively quiet, however we noticed that most of the noise is coming from the 120mm fan at the rear. By simply removing this the noise levels dropped 5.5 dBa. If we were using this case long term we might look at replacing the 120mm with a more expensive, quieter model.
this really is lovely, and great pricing too!
The recent price drops have helped this to sell well. I noticed it recently, great price. I love the front design of coolermaster products too. look lovely.
Cooler Master are great chassis makers. this is a great mid tower design. My friend has this case, the thumbscrews are a bit tight to turn by hand as mentioned. only fault I can see. I doubt too many people have a 5970 GFX.
Love it. I must have missed this earlier in the year. Well worth a look in our local shop if they can get them in.
Looks great, price is a good selling point,. I paid “£100 for my last cooler master case a few years ago. im tempted to move.
Weird its so close to being able to fit the 5970. t hink they could have made another 1cm of room for that.
Their cases are wicked. the HAF series is awesome.