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 21dBa before powering on the system (air conditioning unit in the far corner of the room causes this).
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 Refrigerator
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 Lian Li PC C60 is barely audible, depending on the CPU cooler used. The two 140mm fans are quality products, similar to units we have tested in other chassis they have released this year.
Awesome, but the pricing make me cry. that will probably cost over £200 in UK, although I cant find it anywhere. you pay for the design and use of materials.
Very lovely! I dig the internal design. although its a shame its not tool less.
They could have made it about 1 cm ‘fatter’ to accommodate a whole new range of CPU coolers. Ideal would be an all in one liquid cooler however as they are small and there are fan positions for the radiator very close by.
The tool less design should have been passed over to the internal rack system, however I dont think the screws could be fitted in any way to accommodate the size.
It looks a bit big for what I would consider a true media chassis, but for gamers it would be good thanks to the shape.
They might get a few negative comments on the GPU size support, counting out the HD6990 etc.
What is the point of mesuring temperatures without the odd and hdd bays installed ?
Obviously, the air flow will be worse with the ODD cage on its way.
It would have been more useful to have temperatures and noise levels in a sli or crossfire configuration and the ODD and the HDD installed.
I used this case in a new HTPC build. Great case. Couple changes I made…shortened the ODD cage bottom by 22mm to clear the M/B power cable. Also the ODD cage blocked the front case fan, so I moved it to opposite side to exhaust warm air. Improved air flow.
I used Noctua NH-L12 CPU cooler…nice. No room for water cooling radiator and fan.
I think I should mention that the dimensions given for the PSU & VGA card length are only true if the rear harddrive bay cage is removed. Also, while the CPU Cooler height is accurate, they should mention that the support bar limits the height of VGA cards in the first PCIe slot to 130mm.
I think I should mention that the dimensions given for the PSU & VGA card length are only true if the rear harddrive bay cage is removed. Also, while the CPU Cooler height is accurate, they should mention that the support bar limits the height of VGA cards in the first PCIe slot to 130mm.
I used a Noctua NH-L12. There are two issues with it, the first being that the heatsink overhangs 3 of 4 memory slots. So you have to install memory before the heatsink. Second, the length of the optical drive has to be as short as possible. I kept both fans on the heatsink, but you could definitely remove the top fan and safely use the pc without overclocking. The Noctua fans are very quiet, and the heatsink is very effective.
You could use the NH-L12 fanless if you use a low wattage CPU like an i3-2100T or i3-2120T.
It was a really BAD idea to submit a review without the ODD and the HDD…
=> I put 2 HDD and they hit 39-40° at idle !
(34 and 37° with a 900rpm Aerocool Shark 12cm)
How can you sya the fans are silent as I hear the motor cache mess with the fan filter !
For now I had to put the filter outside and add little pads