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Noise Control Stealth Tower
Ben writes: "I have just reviewed a really innovative case. Noise dampening kits have been available for some time, but I think this is the first solution where the manufacturer has done something to combat the noise coming out of the BACK of the case! With its whisper box, the Noise Control Stealth Tower finally solves this problem" Update: 06/06 21:02 GMT by T : Ben points to this mirror, too.
Be bewwwwwy, bewwwwy, qwwwyyyet. I'm hacking wabbit.com. . .
You are not the customer.
I have moved my very noisy server into a kitchen closet that previously held a small refrigerator. So it has a power outlet and is well ventilated. No more noise in the bedroom (at least from the server ;-). And buying wireless LAN equipment to connect the server to my laptop costs less than the quiet case in the article.
It has stealth in the name, which raises the cool factor by like 10! Your friends will be thinking it escapes radar detection and that it may bomb them at any time.
You do want your friends to fear you, don't you?
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NoiseControl Stealth Tower with Whisper box
Manufacturer:Noise Control
Cases
Posted by Ben on 5-June-2002 at 7:02
Introduction
We are quite a fan of Noise Control's products so far here at OcPrices, with both their Magic Fleece noise dampening material and Silverado coolers providing great quiet solutions for today's noisy PCs. Their latest product is the "Stealth Tower" case, complete with "whisper box". The Stealth Tower is basically a high-quality tower case pre-lined professionally with magic fleece. In our tests of the magic fleece, whilst the drop in noise was quite significant, the majority of the noise was now coming out of the back of the PC, via the case fans and PSU. Naturally these couldn't be lined with the fleece! With the stealth tower, Noise Control have constructed a "whisper box", a metal box heavily lined with fleece, with some cleverly aligned holes that allow air to circulate, but should stop 90% of the noise from escaping.
As you can see the case is quite a behemoth! With five external 5¼" bays and four 3½" bays, you won't be running out of space any time soon. Because of the case's heavy fleece lining, and the fact that it is a big case already, the stealth tower is a heavy object. Hauling it onto some scales revealed an empty weight of 12.5kg (27.5lb).
Thanks to Chillblast for providing me with a World Exclusive review on this case. You can *only* buy this case from them if you are in the UK since they are the only Noise Control UK distributors. The case costs 166.99 inc. VAT - but as you are about to see, you certainly get your money's worth. Lets take a look at some mug shots.
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Case Exterior
The stealth tower is an attractive case despite its bulk, with a sliding cover to hide CD-ROM drives and other paraphernalia from sight. I was particularly impressed with the whisper box, which blends seamlessly with the case's design.
Now that we have taken a look at the exterior, lets have a look at the much more important interior where the Stealth Tower really comes into its own compared to other cases.
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The Interior
Inside the Stealth Tower you will find wall-to-wall carpeting the likes of which you have never seen! Most of the panels are double lined with the noise dampening material, so the dampening effect should be much more profound than when I tested the Magic Fleece kit myself.
The large metal expanse with no fleece attached is where you install the motherboard and other components. Behind this tray is a double lined side panel
You can see the notch in the second layer has been carefully cut so that the side panel fits on snugly, fitting the case skeleton like a glove.
You can see that the drive bays, where normally a lot of noise escapes is extremely heavily lined with fleece. I am very impressed with the sheer amount of noise dampening matting used in the case - if you were to DIY a case of this size with the same extent of sound proofing, you would have to factor in at least two fleece packs - which would set you back over £80 alone from Chillblast.
Here is the inside-back. Plenty of spare PCI slot gaps, and space for an 80mm fan to be mounted. This is where 90% of the noise escapes in a regular fleeced case. Enter the whisper box!
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Whisper Box
The whisper box is large and heavy contraption that attaches onto the back of the Stealth Tower by means of extremely strong magnetic strips.
Once attached to the case, it has no likeliness of coming loose without a good tug, allowing you to drag the case around without it slipping off. If you are planning to carry the case around however, of course it is a good idea to remove the box.
The whisper box works on the premise that hot air can move by convection, whereas sound travels in straight lines. The box is split into two sections, one for the PSU, and another for the case fan / PCI peripherals. Nearly all of the sound waves are deflected straight into fleece, where as the warm air coming out of the PSU and case fans can drift up to the top of the box and be expelled, and warm air from the case fan is expelled from the bottom due to pressure build up.
The entire interior of the whisper box is heavily lined with magic fleece noise killer, and thus weighs quite a lot. It's build quality is fabulous, and it looks like part of the case rather than just a third party add-on.
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Performance
I will compare the Stealth Tower to my other case, the Lian Li PC-60. I have fitted both with the same 80mm case fan and the same Enermax 430W whisper PSU. Lets compare both decibel readings, taken with the following contraption, and then case temperatures.
For the CPU I have fitted a 2100XP processor, with an Arkua copper core thermoengine. Its not the loudest of coolers, but certainly couldn't be considered quiet either. It is about on a par with most "regular" 4500rpm fans. The graphics card is the Creative GeForce 4 Ti-4600, which has quite a loud and annoying fan - and definately the noisiest component in my PC. It will be interesting to see how the Stealth Tower copes with it.
Case CPU temperature (full load) Case temperature
Lian Li PC-60 48.9 26.4
Stealth Tower 52.1 29.0
The Noise Control case results in a 3 degree increase on both the CPU and ambient case temperature. Initially I did the test with no case fans installed in any case, and the difference was a much more profound 6 degrees. The CPU was also a rather worrying 51 degrees with the Lian Li, and a borderline pass of 57 degrees with the noise control case. It just goes to show how stupidly hot these Athlons are getting now - even with a good cooler. Lets see whether the reduction in noise is worth the temperature cost. I also dug out my old fleeced case that I built myself and fitted the same components again. Readings were taken exactly half a foot from the front, then the side and then the back of the case about half way up in all tests.
Case Side Back Front
Lian Li PC-60 48.0 Db 56.9 Db 50.8
DIY Fleece case 43.5 Db 55.4 Db 44.5.1Db
Stealth Tower 40.1 Db 45.3 Db 40.1Db
The extent to which the Stealth Tower reduces system noise is truly amazing. There was barely an audible whisper coming from the whole PC, and it certianly showed up my l33t fleecing skills or lack thereof! To be fair to myself, the main difference between my DIY effort and the Stealth Tower is the whisper box on the back, it really does do wonders for noise reduction, with the PSU only audible if you put your ear to the whisper boxes top port. The differences in Db may not look like much, but when you consider it is a logarithmic scale, the differences are really VERY significant. Just for fun I placed a Delta screamer in the Lian Li (not actually connected to anything except the fan header) and then again in the fleece case and listened for the difference. I would say that the difference was maybe 80%. In the Lian Li, the Delta is as-ever, unusable in my opinion. In the Noise Control case it really isn't so bad! Finally! That said, I find it unlikely that anyone investing in the Stealth Tower would then negate its huge potential by putting such an uncivilised cooler in it!
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Conclusion
The Noise Control Stealth Tower case is big, beautifully made and sublimely quiet. Sure you get an increase in system temperature compared to an aluminium case, but the differences in volume need to be heard to be believed. Remember this review was conducted using regular equipment, with the likes of Zalman CPU coolers and PSU's, a silent PC - even an Athlon 2100XP PC - is now a possibility. People hankering after tranquillity, and especially those that NEED quiet PCs, for audio visual work or recording etc should not hesitate to buy this case. I am a total sound Nazi, and although I found the original magic fleece DIY kit impressive, the amount of noise coming out of the back of the case was still an annoyance. With the Stealth Tower, Noise Control have finally come up with a viable solution, and for that I humbly thank them!!
Click for an explanation of our awards.
Highs
- Huge potential for expansion
- Substantial size ideal for watercooling
- Nice looking
- Amazingly quiet
- Revolutionary Whisper box
- Sublime build quality
Lows
- Heavy
- Not cheap
- No removable motherboard tray
Comment on this review in our forums here.
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n.b. moderators: I have enough karma, maybe I will post anonymously
I don't think I can quiet down my case that much
dk
People complaining about the noise from computers are the same people that stand in front of microwaves screaming "Faster, Faster!".
Best Windows Freeware
I've been running a reliable water cooled setup (including many moves, dropping upside down, upgrades, etc) for over 6 months now. It works great. I have install details written up for anyone who's interested. The noise went from deafening to a mild hum.
I'm currently gathering pieces for a passive watercooled setup (no fans) that handles cooling the video, system chip and processor. The power supply fan will be removed and replaced with a low-voltage 120mm top-mounted fan that runs silently with good airflow (for HD cooling as well).
Rather than mount the radiator inside the case, the radiator will be top mounted with a custom lexan mount. This moves the heat outside the system (closed box). In addition, the inside will be sound deadened with leftover Dynamat Extreme from my car stereo install. This should result in a cool looking, silent machine, with no compromises. It isn't going to be cheap though.
..don't panic
2. Get Swiftech MCX462 heatsink (CAD$85) plus Vantec Stealth fan 80 mm (CAD$20, 21 dBA) to cool it. Use Artic Silver 3 thermal compound (CAD$13/tube).
3. Replace case fans and possibly power supply fan with Vantec Stealth fans.
4. Avoid slot loading DVD drives (i.e. like car cd players, no tray) because noise gets out of the slot.
5. Make sure your box is sitting on carpet and not wood/concrete.
6. If worried about airflow, remove those bulky IDE and floppy cables and get rounded cables. (About CAD$15-20 each.)
Caveats: Kinda expensive, probably less expensive than this case. Overclocking is a no-no.
Noise Control
although there is not so much mention of this new tower. Bit odd
If an experiment works, something has gone wrong.
rack sound reduction is very very easy. I have a set of six racks that are nice and quiet, the air conditioning coming from the ceiling for us humans is louder.
First, you MUST have racks with doors on front and back, second you must have a plenum on the bottom of the rack and the AC drop in the top (or my raised computer room floor with a Libert unit in the other room feeding the floor with cold air, vent out the top back to the AC unit) We placed car audio damping material (Dynamat) on the solid doors and sides, and ther front smoked plexi door is left normal.
with the doors closed (Oh add felt around the doors for a sound seal) you can barely hear the 14 servers screaming along (anyone notice hoe ML530 fans sould like jet's taking off?)
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Go ahead and ignore the numerous studies indicating that white noise can help you sleep.
A perfectly quiet room is not conducive to a good night's sleep - you wind up being woken by small noises, such as the house creaking, wind blowing through trees, the HVAC system coming on and turning off, etc. White noise gives a higher base noise level that makes these events less noticeable because they're not such an abrupt change from what's in the room otherwise.
did you get to sleep before you had a computer?
Most people leave a fan running in the room - not only does it generate white noise, but it helps air circulation and keeps the temperature more stable.
Yes, Apple finally got it right on the third try. Too bad there were other issues with the Cube.
The original Apple ][, ][+, ][e were convection-cooled and silent. I was used to PDP-11's and such and when I saw my first Apple, I said, "Wow, they must have brilliant thermal engineering." Turned out they had NO thermal engineering. If you put expansion cards in it, it would overheat.
The original 1984 Macintosh was silent, and I loved it. There were no expansion cards, so no expansion card issues. I'm not sure whether the issues related to overheating or not, but there were a LOT of issues relating to the power supply on those early Macs and I'm inclined to think thermal design MAY have been part of the problem.
It's too bad other issues with the Cube (pricing, mostly) may have discredited it. I bought a standard-style G4 instead of a Cube at the time, figuring that, as with laptops, a design with lots of components crammed into a tiny space might be less dependable and more defect-prone than the spacious G4 tower.
But I really miss the silent (not just low-noise) operation of the 1984 Mac and Mac Plus. (All the Apple ]['s I ever worked with had aftermarket fans on them...)
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