A lot of people seeking silence prefer small cases. Not to ignore those who love giant cases and silence, but this case is definitely way too big for me.
Sure, but at what point? If mATX, 1x 3.5" and 0x 5.25" are enough (2.5" can be put anywhere), you can seriously decrease the depth and height of the case without compromising integrity. As air has to travel less distance, cooling might actually be better.
I think the MSRP depends a lot, on where they manufacture. If (I doubt it) the case is made in Germany, then the added cost of exporting into the States will probably make the prices slightly higher.
If they're producing in China (or anywhere else in East-Asia), then they can export directly from there into the US and should be able to match the Euro prices.
With an Editor's Choice in their pocket, I doubt that getting a distributor to stock them is going to incur significant additional expenses.
as Patrick said I'm stunned that a mom can earn $5388 in one month on the internet. did you read this (Click on menu Home more information) http://goo.gl/jV88c
At a dollar a pop I figure her mom must be taking on 10-20 guys at once. I am sure that AliceEmma is thinking about following in her mom's, uh, footsteps.
As far as I know, MSRP for the US is usually without taxes (VAT). While in Germany all prices for consumers are with taxes included. It currently retails for 100€ which is 130 USD incl. taxes and 84€ excl. taxes which translates to 109 USD. Shipping costs will likely be similar from their manufacturer to the respective countries. So 110 to 120 USD sound very plausible, depending on how aggressive they want to pursue the US market. I personally haven't heard from them and I'm from Germany. :D
I deal with international pricing of our product and you would not believe how much more expensive products have to be in non-US countries because of the government policies. VAT is obviously the largest issue which is typically closer to ~20% and built into the price rather than ~8% in US which most don't even pay if they order on-line. The other biggest price factor is warranty. Germany requires a 2-year warranty while the US only requires a 30-day one. Most manufactures include more in the US and use it as a competitive feature. That isn't really possible in much of the EU and everyone seems to have agreed to price fix and charge a lot for it. We charge roughly 2x the price in the EU as we do in the US between VAT and Warranty. The import duties and shipping are almost the same so they aren't a factor.
I'm still sporting a four year old Antec Sonata case. This might be my replacement. My needs are quiet and spacious, so (unlike Egg) I appreciate a full size Tower without a full size sound.
Buzzing front panel audio when using USB, no room to work inside, no USB 3.0 front panel (as with any older case), and that stupid door are getting pretty old.
It runs well and fairly quiet, but it really heated up when I tried to use dual 6850's.
What are you thoughts on the Nanoxia's door? I like the split door compromise.
I personally have moved from loving doors for providing a clean look to wanting cases with no external bays and no door for the same clean look. However, given the size of the Nanoxia I can't fault it for some external bays as cases of typical size typically have 5 or more bays. If you scaled up most mid-ATX cases up to the Nanoxia's size they would have 20 5.25" bays.
First off, well written and informative review Dustin.
Second, sans the things you already mentioned (that were of course quite minor) the only major flaw I see that was not mentioned is the lack of a SD/card reader. They're already eating up the top 5.25" bay with the fan controller/reset button, there's obviously room to put at the very least a SD card reader there, which would mean most likely people would not need the 5.25" to 3.5" adapter.
Thanks for this review, I hadn't heard of this case before and would very much like it to come to the States in time for Haswell!
It would for some people. :D I personally don't need a card reader and don't want one either. All my stuff is handled by a USB cable to the necessary device (camera, phone, tablet...). If this had a reader, it would take away from the clean look and give me something ugly that's never getting used.
I with you I too have absolutely no need for a card reader and consider them to be at best a legacy device. Really they are more like the zip drive which some people really needed and used and a lot of people never needed or used.
That said, I certainly would not care if they included one. I wouldn't see it much different than all the front, side, bottom USB ports they tend to litter cases with these days like blue bullet holes. Sure if I had my choice they wouldn't be there but they don't bother me either. Given that they cost $5 retail it should be a very cheap way to move any case up market for little additional manufacturing cost. The one critical caveat is that they not just install it in an external bay but make it like the USB port an integrate it into the case in a discrete way.
At least the DS1 is available here in Europe already (guess it helps being from the same country as the company making them), but before i go out and buy it, whats the outlook on future cases, like the DS2? Its not available yet, but i would love a comparison to the DS1 to decide if waiting is worth it.
The materials used to construct the case are important to at least a few of us, if not more. It would be nice if they were listed in the spec table. I have left a comment to this effect a few times already, but to no avail. Please consider.
I'm glad you finally got to review the case Dustin.
I had my mind set on the Fractal Design R4 for my silent built even with all the Nanoxia DS1 reviews on the web. After reading your review, however, I'm not so sure anymore. It looks like you prefer the DS1 to the R4 since it has better performance and is "more solid". I agree that the DS1 could use some more refinement but aside from performance I thought that the R4 is more solid of the two. I guess I would like to know how the two compares on the ease of assembly, quality, features, etc. In other words if they both perform about equally at the same price, which one would you prefer?
I know that the DS2 has been announced and it looks very similar to and shares many of the features of the R4. Maybe that could be the perfect case I'm looking for if it continues to improve on what they did with DS1.
I reviewed the R4 and still have it on hand. I was going to build a system for a friend in it, but now I'm going to use the DS1 instead. They're also sending me a second one in the anthracite (gunmetal) finish, and I'll be moving my desktop into that most likely.
Thanks for the reply. I know you like the case but I didn't expect you to move your desktop into it though. Maybe you will have to make another move in the future (into the DS2.) I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Here's an afterthought: how would the R4 perform with Nanoxia's fans? I know Nanoxia started out making fans so they have the advantage on that department. I wonder if the R4 might perform at least as well given three better case fans. I know that would drive up the total costs and make it an unfair comparison though.
I think there's a reasonable chance the R4 would be much more competitive, either with Nanoxia's fans or with a pair of 140mm be quiet! fans on the intake.
The issue the R4 runs into, for me at least, is that it has virtually no clearance in the top for a radiator. What they need to do is what SilverStone did with the Temjin TJ04-E; shift the mounts towards the left side of the case to clear the motherboard.
You guys not only keep your review samples, but you give them to your friends!? I thought it was good form to give away review samples if you have no long term use for them (except in a test bed or something).
I feel like I misinterpreted this comment. Could you clarify the policy on what happens to review samples after a review goes up?
My company reviews products completely unrelated to computers. We footnote what we did with each sample at the bottom of the review. 50% of the equipment we send back at the request of the manufacturer. Of the other 50% we give away about 40% to our readers. I will say that giving them away takes a lot of time and expense. This is why 10% ends up going to internal staff or in a broom closet. I will say that when you review a lot of equipment you completely lose any sense of cost in a weird way so I wouldn't worry too much about it influencing a reviewers review. You still put yourself in the place of a customer when evaluating value but in your mind that $500 piece of equipment is worth $0 since you have 40 similar ones lying around collecting dust.
Gunmetal finish?! Did I miss that in the review? I see they have white and Silver too but I think the Gunmetal is the best. The contrast of color makes it look a bit less German. I didn't think I'd be interested in owning a case like this but I have to admit I want one now. Certainly will keep it in mind for my next server.
I have a couple of fans (the fx-1250) that are are dead silent on low and are quite on high, they seem to be good fans but one interesting marketing ploys is that they will run submerged in water. if you look on youtube you can find several vids of them doing that.
This is a case that appeals to me on many levels. But what it appears to lack is any ventilation for the upper half of the front. I always put hot swap bays in and some ventilation is a must.
After so many rigs for which I paid pros to assemble, the Nanoxia DS1 was my choice for the first system to build from scratch with my own bare hands (figuratively, of course; but I did indeed not need my screwdriver often). While I did experience most of the issues mentioned (except the sticky I/O hinge at the top), I found none of them difficult to overcome, and the end result is sheer beauty. The combination of price and performance, I was simply wowed. What then really made the case an outstanding experience as a customer was the result of an inquiry I had sent them (some newbie question on audio headers and power switch connectors). I mailed it off on Sunday night from their website. I received the most friendly, competent and comprehensive answer I have yet received (in such combination) from a manufacturer or vendor, on Monday, 9:18 am. Should I ever need anything in the future that is also available Nanoxia, you bet they'll be my first choice. (Let me mention I'm German, yet I hold myself to have no tendency to fawn, or favor German products for nationalist considerations)
Go to http://www.nanoxia-world.com/ to see more details about the DS2 (and the DS1). Seems to be a misconception here that the DS2 will be the improved version of the DS1 - it's actually a simplified and smaller case.
It's a midtower, has 7 expansion slots, 165mm CPU clearance, no chimney up top (just 2 fan mounts), a single large HDD cage, and USB/audio on top that is not hidden. It seems to me that the main item of interest is that it will accept a 240/280mm radiator mounted to a bracket behind the 3.5" bays - or an additional pair of fans.
BTW - sure seems to me that all 3 HDD bays are removable on the DS1, Dustin.
can't say i'm impressed, not sure why everyone's still using those ancient drive cages/sleds. especially in a case that focuses on efficiency. a smarter solution would be 4 independent vertical rails, just wide/thick enough to be rigid.
Sounds like an interesting concept. Can you give an example of a case that does this? My pet peeve are external bays but I also think internal ones could be designed better and have been trying to find someone doing something new in this area.
Where are the Antec Performance One series in the comparison charts?
This thing looks like a P18x/28x inspired design, I'd like to see how well it stacks up against those.
I'm still running a jet black P180 and a Mirror finish P182, but I had to do some modifications to get them to play nicely with the new longer PSU's and video cards.
I am still running my main rig in a P180 :). It rocks. And it's used for gaming, playing server and everything else at the same time. While overclocked. The only problem I have now is that I have put so many HDDs into it (replacing the upper stock HDD cage) that I reduced it's air intake too far :(.
In my opinion, the only sources of noise in most modern computers should be two 140mm+ fans: The CPU fan and the PSU fan. The 140mm CPU fan on a 120mm heatsink can be ducted to the rear exhaust port - no need for case fans. SSDs make no noise. Hard drives make no noise when idle, and when running they require no active cooling, see the Google hard drive study. Integrated GPUs obviously don't need extra cooling.
It's possible to eliminate the PSU fan by using a fanless PSU, but this limits your GPU choices. As for high-end GPUs like a GTX680, one could easily imagine an aftermarket GPU heatsink with a 140mm which spins at inaudible speeds on idle.
Combine all that with a quiet case and an inch of soundproofing stuff, and your computer will be literally inaudible by human ears when idle.
Any interest in anandtech reviewing a CaseLabs case? I know real water cooling is a bit too "enthusiast" for this site, but still might be a nice to compare an SM8 with the Corsair 900D when/if it launches. Although I'm planning to do that myself anyway, it would be nice to see the professional/mainstream view also.
Dustin: thanks for the "requested" review! It was very insightful and objective, and helped with my decision. I'll be buying one as soon as it becomes available at NewEgg; and BTW, I prefer the Anthracite version also.
NewEgg just replied to my e-mail inquiry as to when it will be available on their Web site, and their response was "hopefully by Jan. 2013".
Share a website with you , ( socanpower. ca) Believe you will love it. laptop battery,CPU fan,AC power adapters.DC power adapters and laptop keyboard. I bought two. Cheap, good quality, you can go and ship with there.
How much air intake is left from the front if I would put a 3.5" HDD in each HDD slide (and I would probably install 4 in the 3x5.25" bays too :P). From the pictures in the review I don't really have an idea how much space would be left around the HDDs. Thanks!
After reading this review I built a home office/home server using 2012 essentials in this case. My boot drive is a samsung 840 and I have put in 6 x WD red 3 TB drives. Air flow seems fine and I am running it at low setting. Case is extremely quiet and cool. I used i3770s for cpu and there is no gpu installed.
at the end of the day its still what you like the most and what you get for the dollar. i REALLY like fractal cases and the fact that they are coming out with new cases and revisions and constantly make their products better is a very admirable quality. i have a define r3 an i love it, getting a node 304 for xmas. i would also buy a bitfenix ghost, if i had to choose between this case, a ghost or a define r4 id probably get the r4, the second choice would be the ghost
Should be able to crowd source a silent PC system. It may not look like your PC. It should be 99% silent, and very cheap. There's nothing that dictates that sound baffling has to be dense and heavy. Airflow, aka cooling, does not need to be generated by noisy fan blades or even push air.
There are lots of different materials to use for a case, and it does not need to be rectangular inside or out. Sound travels, so lets move it somewhere. Sound vibration that is put to work can be transformed into a melody, even a symphony, or it can be effortlessly extinguished.
Overall, a silent PC system should have been defacto 10 years ago. It is an engineering problem that does not require traveling faster than light. Throw a lamp shade over your PC for a second. It's already quieter.
One question: why does nowadays drive cages all facing side way, other than that it provides easier wire routing?
For someone with a lot of drives (8 in my case), the side way cages will totally block the front two intakes. Maybe I shall stick with my P180 where drives are very well cooled by the front fans.
Glad to know I'm not the only one reviving an old thread.
I'd love to see a temp/sound test with all the fan bays filled with the largest size they hold, on low. From what I see, it has 7 fan slots, and ships with 3, according to newegg, so that's how I assume you tested it.
You can remove the top 2 drive bays and slot one of them in the space on the bottom between the PSU and the fixed drivebay, leaving 2 thirds of one fan to cool the closest drives and 1 and 1 thirds worth of direct airflow towards the GPU and CPU. It makes a huge difference.
All well and good. I bought the case and this may be also a nitpick, however, most Motherboards these days come with Molex fan plugs for intelligent fan control and this case comes with old-type 3 wire fan plugs which defeats the purpose. In addition, if you buy adapters (only from England so far), this case is no longer competitive. It also comes with a "Molex to Power adapter" which doesn't seem to plug in anywhere (as far as I could tell). The whole "fan" power up thing is flaky at best.
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75 Comments
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Egg - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
A lot of people seeking silence prefer small cases. Not to ignore those who love giant cases and silence, but this case is definitely way too big for me.And I'm not sure I trust that US MSRP...
Dustin Sklavos - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
Small and quiet don't necessarily go together, though. They can, but at a certain point you have to start seriously sacrificing performance.Olaf van der Spek - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
Sure, but at what point?If mATX, 1x 3.5" and 0x 5.25" are enough (2.5" can be put anywhere), you can seriously decrease the depth and height of the case without compromising integrity. As air has to travel less distance, cooling might actually be better.
Rick83 - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
I think the MSRP depends a lot, on where they manufacture.If (I doubt it) the case is made in Germany, then the added cost of exporting into the States will probably make the prices slightly higher.
If they're producing in China (or anywhere else in East-Asia), then they can export directly from there into the US and should be able to match the Euro prices.
With an Editor's Choice in their pocket, I doubt that getting a distributor to stock them is going to incur significant additional expenses.
AliceEmma - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
as Patrick said I'm stunned that a mom can earn $5388 in one month on the internet. did you read this (Click on menu Home more information)http://goo.gl/jV88c
rangerdavid - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
I know how -your- mom makes $5388 / month...djshortsleeve - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
worth every penny...fic2 - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
At a dollar a pop I figure her mom must be taking on 10-20 guys at once. I am sure that AliceEmma is thinking about following in her mom's, uh, footsteps.sharepass11 - Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - link
Indeed. That's how she became a mom in the first place.random2 - Thursday, January 31, 2013 - link
Shut-up about my mom! How does everybody here know? She can't help it. Why not make a little money from your sexual addiction? Sheeeesh.kevith - Friday, March 8, 2013 - link
Lol! :)ShieTar - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
If the case would be made in germany, the export-cost would be negligible as compared to the 500$ worth of salaries going into the production.Like basically everbody else, Nonoxia are producing in China.
Egg - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
I agree. However, 109 euros is 140 dollars. Selling it for 109 dollars would actually make it cheaper in the US.Death666Angel - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
As far as I know, MSRP for the US is usually without taxes (VAT). While in Germany all prices for consumers are with taxes included. It currently retails for 100€ which is 130 USD incl. taxes and 84€ excl. taxes which translates to 109 USD. Shipping costs will likely be similar from their manufacturer to the respective countries. So 110 to 120 USD sound very plausible, depending on how aggressive they want to pursue the US market.I personally haven't heard from them and I'm from Germany. :D
Grok42 - Thursday, November 29, 2012 - link
I deal with international pricing of our product and you would not believe how much more expensive products have to be in non-US countries because of the government policies. VAT is obviously the largest issue which is typically closer to ~20% and built into the price rather than ~8% in US which most don't even pay if they order on-line. The other biggest price factor is warranty. Germany requires a 2-year warranty while the US only requires a 30-day one. Most manufactures include more in the US and use it as a competitive feature. That isn't really possible in much of the EU and everyone seems to have agreed to price fix and charge a lot for it. We charge roughly 2x the price in the EU as we do in the US between VAT and Warranty. The import duties and shipping are almost the same so they aren't a factor.Dustin Sklavos - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
You'll have to take my word on it. I spoke with them about their MSRP and what they were targeting.Azethoth - Friday, October 18, 2013 - link
Amazon price: $105.50Alexvrb - Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - link
Well, in the quiet case department... personally I'm looking to get an Antec Solo II. It's just about perfect. Reasonably priced, too, IMO.MyrddinE - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
I'm still sporting a four year old Antec Sonata case. This might be my replacement. My needs are quiet and spacious, so (unlike Egg) I appreciate a full size Tower without a full size sound.crimson117 - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
Antec Sonata III user here!Buzzing front panel audio when using USB, no room to work inside, no USB 3.0 front panel (as with any older case), and that stupid door are getting pretty old.
It runs well and fairly quiet, but it really heated up when I tried to use dual 6850's.
Nanoxia, bring this one to the USA!
Grok42 - Thursday, November 29, 2012 - link
What are you thoughts on the Nanoxia's door? I like the split door compromise.I personally have moved from loving doors for providing a clean look to wanting cases with no external bays and no door for the same clean look. However, given the size of the Nanoxia I can't fault it for some external bays as cases of typical size typically have 5 or more bays. If you scaled up most mid-ATX cases up to the Nanoxia's size they would have 20 5.25" bays.
johnsonjohnson - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
Looks like the Define R4's twin. If only they could merger into one..johnsonjohnson - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
..which they did to become the DS2. I'm sure Dustin will be looking at that one too. I wonder how it would fare against its future twin (R5) though.vhx - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
Looks more like an Antec P280 to me.martyrant - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
First off, well written and informative review Dustin.Second, sans the things you already mentioned (that were of course quite minor) the only major flaw I see that was not mentioned is the lack of a SD/card reader. They're already eating up the top 5.25" bay with the fan controller/reset button, there's obviously room to put at the very least a SD card reader there, which would mean most likely people would not need the 5.25" to 3.5" adapter.
Thanks for this review, I hadn't heard of this case before and would very much like it to come to the States in time for Haswell!
FragKrag - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
Doesn't really seem like that big of a flaw to me... I don't know any cases off the top of my head that come with an SD card readermartyrant - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
NZXT has one I believe, and if you already have almost everything perfect, there's no reason to not attempt pure perfection.Death666Angel - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
It would for some people. :DI personally don't need a card reader and don't want one either. All my stuff is handled by a USB cable to the necessary device (camera, phone, tablet...). If this had a reader, it would take away from the clean look and give me something ugly that's never getting used.
martyrant - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
Are your eyes not working? Ignorant? Not read the article or look at the case at all?The card reader would be behind the top front door...and would not effect aesthetics at all.
Death666Angel - Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - link
Wow, you clearly have no issues with criticism.It would not destroy the aesthetics, except when I use anything that is behind the top front door....
Grok42 - Thursday, November 29, 2012 - link
I with you I too have absolutely no need for a card reader and consider them to be at best a legacy device. Really they are more like the zip drive which some people really needed and used and a lot of people never needed or used.That said, I certainly would not care if they included one. I wouldn't see it much different than all the front, side, bottom USB ports they tend to litter cases with these days like blue bullet holes. Sure if I had my choice they wouldn't be there but they don't bother me either. Given that they cost $5 retail it should be a very cheap way to move any case up market for little additional manufacturing cost. The one critical caveat is that they not just install it in an external bay but make it like the USB port an integrate it into the case in a discrete way.
roberta - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
Good Day Dustin,Thank You Very Much for a SUPERB review....
I hope the Nanoxia Deep Silence 1 (DS1) becomes available in Australia in time for Haswell.
Best Regards,
Roberta
nevcairiel - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
At least the DS1 is available here in Europe already (guess it helps being from the same country as the company making them), but before i go out and buy it, whats the outlook on future cases, like the DS2? Its not available yet, but i would love a comparison to the DS1 to decide if waiting is worth it.Dustin Sklavos - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
From what I can see, the DS2 looks like a slightly cut down DS1. If you want a DS1, pull the trigger on it.HollyDOL - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
I think openable chimney starts fulfilling it's purpose when you mount radiator under that...pdjblum - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
The materials used to construct the case are important to at least a few of us, if not more. It would be nice if they were listed in the spec table. I have left a comment to this effect a few times already, but to no avail. Please consider.monkey23 - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
I'm glad you finally got to review the case Dustin.I had my mind set on the Fractal Design R4 for my silent built even with all the Nanoxia DS1 reviews on the web. After reading your review, however, I'm not so sure anymore. It looks like you prefer the DS1 to the R4 since it has better performance and is "more solid". I agree that the DS1 could use some more refinement but aside from performance I thought that the R4 is more solid of the two. I guess I would like to know how the two compares on the ease of assembly, quality, features, etc. In other words if they both perform about equally at the same price, which one would you prefer?
I know that the DS2 has been announced and it looks very similar to and shares many of the features of the R4. Maybe that could be the perfect case I'm looking for if it continues to improve on what they did with DS1.
Dustin Sklavos - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
I reviewed the R4 and still have it on hand. I was going to build a system for a friend in it, but now I'm going to use the DS1 instead. They're also sending me a second one in the anthracite (gunmetal) finish, and I'll be moving my desktop into that most likely.That should be about all you need to know.
monkey23 - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
Thanks for the reply. I know you like the case but I didn't expect you to move your desktop into it though. Maybe you will have to make another move in the future (into the DS2.) I guess we'll have to wait and see.monkey23 - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
Here's an afterthought: how would the R4 perform with Nanoxia's fans? I know Nanoxia started out making fans so they have the advantage on that department. I wonder if the R4 might perform at least as well given three better case fans. I know that would drive up the total costs and make it an unfair comparison though.Dustin Sklavos - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
I think there's a reasonable chance the R4 would be much more competitive, either with Nanoxia's fans or with a pair of 140mm be quiet! fans on the intake.The issue the R4 runs into, for me at least, is that it has virtually no clearance in the top for a radiator. What they need to do is what SilverStone did with the Temjin TJ04-E; shift the mounts towards the left side of the case to clear the motherboard.
ImSpartacus - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
You guys not only keep your review samples, but you give them to your friends!? I thought it was good form to give away review samples if you have no long term use for them (except in a test bed or something).I feel like I misinterpreted this comment. Could you clarify the policy on what happens to review samples after a review goes up?
Grok42 - Thursday, November 29, 2012 - link
My company reviews products completely unrelated to computers. We footnote what we did with each sample at the bottom of the review. 50% of the equipment we send back at the request of the manufacturer. Of the other 50% we give away about 40% to our readers. I will say that giving them away takes a lot of time and expense. This is why 10% ends up going to internal staff or in a broom closet. I will say that when you review a lot of equipment you completely lose any sense of cost in a weird way so I wouldn't worry too much about it influencing a reviewers review. You still put yourself in the place of a customer when evaluating value but in your mind that $500 piece of equipment is worth $0 since you have 40 similar ones lying around collecting dust.Grok42 - Thursday, November 29, 2012 - link
Gunmetal finish?! Did I miss that in the review? I see they have white and Silver too but I think the Gunmetal is the best. The contrast of color makes it look a bit less German. I didn't think I'd be interested in owning a case like this but I have to admit I want one now. Certainly will keep it in mind for my next server.dawp - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
I have a couple of fans (the fx-1250) that are are dead silent on low and are quite on high, they seem to be good fans but one interesting marketing ploys is that they will run submerged in water. if you look on youtube you can find several vids of them doing that.I got them at crazypc
dawp - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
no edit: the model is fx12-1250SilentRunning - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
This is a case that appeals to me on many levels. But what it appears to lack is any ventilation for the upper half of the front. I always put hot swap bays in and some ventilation is a must.FRUNOBULAX - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
After so many rigs for which I paid pros to assemble, the Nanoxia DS1 was my choice for the first system to build from scratch with my own bare hands (figuratively, of course; but I did indeed not need my screwdriver often). While I did experience most of the issues mentioned (except the sticky I/O hinge at the top), I found none of them difficult to overcome, and the end result is sheer beauty. The combination of price and performance, I was simply wowed.What then really made the case an outstanding experience as a customer was the result of an inquiry I had sent them (some newbie question on audio headers and power switch connectors). I mailed it off on Sunday night from their website. I received the most friendly, competent and comprehensive answer I have yet received (in such combination) from a manufacturer or vendor, on Monday, 9:18 am.
Should I ever need anything in the future that is also available Nanoxia, you bet they'll be my first choice.
(Let me mention I'm German, yet I hold myself to have no tendency to fawn, or favor German products for nationalist considerations)
stratosrally - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
Go to http://www.nanoxia-world.com/ to see more details about the DS2 (and the DS1). Seems to be a misconception here that the DS2 will be the improved version of the DS1 - it's actually a simplified and smaller case.It's a midtower, has 7 expansion slots, 165mm CPU clearance, no chimney up top (just 2 fan mounts), a single large HDD cage, and USB/audio on top that is not hidden. It seems to me that the main item of interest is that it will accept a 240/280mm radiator mounted to a bracket behind the 3.5" bays - or an additional pair of fans.
BTW - sure seems to me that all 3 HDD bays are removable on the DS1, Dustin.
araczynski - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
can't say i'm impressed, not sure why everyone's still using those ancient drive cages/sleds. especially in a case that focuses on efficiency. a smarter solution would be 4 independent vertical rails, just wide/thick enough to be rigid.Grok42 - Thursday, November 29, 2012 - link
Sounds like an interesting concept. Can you give an example of a case that does this? My pet peeve are external bays but I also think internal ones could be designed better and have been trying to find someone doing something new in this area.Death666Angel - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
Don't you guys have import in the US? I can buy stuff from all over the world and have it shipped to my door step in Germany. :Dkaragiosis - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
Just a small errata. On the noise level chart (overclocked) the labels for the fans at low and high speed should be swappedDustin Sklavos - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
Nope, it's correct as posted. The higher fan setting for the case improves airflow so much that the CPU and GPU fans don't spin as high.dehemke - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
Where are the Antec Performance One series in the comparison charts?This thing looks like a P18x/28x inspired design, I'd like to see how well it stacks up against those.
I'm still running a jet black P180 and a Mirror finish P182, but I had to do some modifications to get them to play nicely with the new longer PSU's and video cards.
Is this the right successor?
jjwa - Wednesday, December 12, 2012 - link
I am still running my main rig in a P180 :). It rocks. And it's used for gaming, playing server and everything else at the same time. While overclocked. The only problem I have now is that I have put so many HDDs into it (replacing the upper stock HDD cage) that I reduced it's air intake too far :(.mascotzel - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
What is the high low significance in the review?Galcobar - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
It's explained in the first paragraph of the Noise and Thermal Testing section, just above the charts.mascotzel - Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - link
so why are the fans on low noisier than the same fans on high in the charts?flyingpants1 - Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - link
In my opinion, the only sources of noise in most modern computers should be two 140mm+ fans: The CPU fan and the PSU fan. The 140mm CPU fan on a 120mm heatsink can be ducted to the rear exhaust port - no need for case fans. SSDs make no noise. Hard drives make no noise when idle, and when running they require no active cooling, see the Google hard drive study. Integrated GPUs obviously don't need extra cooling.It's possible to eliminate the PSU fan by using a fanless PSU, but this limits your GPU choices. As for high-end GPUs like a GTX680, one could easily imagine an aftermarket GPU heatsink with a 140mm which spins at inaudible speeds on idle.
Combine all that with a quiet case and an inch of soundproofing stuff, and your computer will be literally inaudible by human ears when idle.
abhicherath - Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - link
instead of:(similar to what BitFenix enjoys)I think you mean, bitfenix employs.
Great review!
stren - Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - link
Any interest in anandtech reviewing a CaseLabs case? I know real water cooling is a bit too "enthusiast" for this site, but still might be a nice to compare an SM8 with the Corsair 900D when/if it launches. Although I'm planning to do that myself anyway, it would be nice to see the professional/mainstream view also.LV3 - Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - link
I want this case! Hope it comes to the US soon, at least before Haswell.LarryDan - Friday, November 30, 2012 - link
Dustin: thanks for the "requested" review! It was very insightful and objective, and helped with my decision. I'll be buying one as soon as it becomes available at NewEgg; and BTW, I prefer the Anthracite version also.NewEgg just replied to my e-mail inquiry as to when it will be available on their Web site, and their response was "hopefully by Jan. 2013".
batguiide - Sunday, December 9, 2012 - link
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jjwa - Wednesday, December 12, 2012 - link
How much air intake is left from the front if I would put a 3.5" HDD in each HDD slide (and I would probably install 4 in the 3x5.25" bays too :P). From the pictures in the review I don't really have an idea how much space would be left around the HDDs. Thanks!amber03 - Wednesday, December 12, 2012 - link
After reading this review I built a home office/home server using 2012 essentials in this case. My boot drive is a samsung 840 and I have put in 6 x WD red 3 TB drives. Air flow seems fine and I am running it at low setting. Case is extremely quiet and cool.I used i3770s for cpu and there is no gpu installed.
vanwazltoff - Thursday, December 20, 2012 - link
at the end of the day its still what you like the most and what you get for the dollar. i REALLY like fractal cases and the fact that they are coming out with new cases and revisions and constantly make their products better is a very admirable quality. i have a define r3 an i love it, getting a node 304 for xmas. i would also buy a bitfenix ghost, if i had to choose between this case, a ghost or a define r4 id probably get the r4, the second choice would be the ghostDenniSys1 - Thursday, December 27, 2012 - link
Should be able to crowd source a silent PC system. It may not look like your PC. It should be 99% silent, and very cheap. There's nothing that dictates that sound baffling has to be dense and heavy. Airflow, aka cooling, does not need to be generated by noisy fan blades or even push air.There are lots of different materials to use for a case, and it does not need to be rectangular inside or out. Sound travels, so lets move it somewhere. Sound vibration that is put to work can be transformed into a melody, even a symphony, or it can be effortlessly extinguished.
Overall, a silent PC system should have been defacto 10 years ago. It is an engineering problem that does not require traveling faster than light. Throw a lamp shade over your PC for a second. It's already quieter.
qiankun - Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - link
One question: why does nowadays drive cages all facing side way, other than that it provides easier wire routing?For someone with a lot of drives (8 in my case), the side way cages will totally block the front two intakes. Maybe I shall stick with my P180 where drives are very well cooled by the front fans.
charliem76 - Thursday, March 28, 2013 - link
Glad to know I'm not the only one reviving an old thread.I'd love to see a temp/sound test with all the fan bays filled with the largest size they hold, on low.
From what I see, it has 7 fan slots, and ships with 3, according to newegg, so that's how I assume you tested it.
Deders - Saturday, February 22, 2014 - link
You can remove the top 2 drive bays and slot one of them in the space on the bottom between the PSU and the fixed drivebay, leaving 2 thirds of one fan to cool the closest drives and 1 and 1 thirds worth of direct airflow towards the GPU and CPU. It makes a huge difference.emperius - Saturday, July 6, 2013 - link
quietpcusa.com has the Nanoxia Deep Silence 1 in stock as of this comment for $100.emperius - Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - link
Scratch that. UK QuietPC.com has them but beware of outrageous shipping.randl - Friday, November 29, 2013 - link
All well and good. I bought the case and this may be also a nitpick, however, most Motherboards these days come with Molex fan plugs for intelligent fan control and this case comes with old-type 3 wire fan plugs which defeats the purpose. In addition, if you buy adapters (only from England so far), this case is no longer competitive. It also comes with a "Molex to Power adapter" which doesn't seem to plug in anywhere (as far as I could tell). The whole "fan" power up thing is flaky at best.