Nanoxia Deep Silence 2 Case Review: Trimming the Fat
by Dustin Sklavos on February 14, 2013 12:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- quiet
- ATX
- Nanoxia
Conclusion: The Case So Nice They Made It Twice
It's funny; while reviewing the Nanoxia Deep Silence 1 felt like a revelation, the Deep Silence 2 has left me feeling strangely cold. Make no mistake, the Deep Silence 2 is another excellent case, but it feels like Nanoxia played this one too close to the vest.
The tradeoffs Nanoxia made in engineering the Deep Silence 2 proved mostly to be smart ones, though I continue to lament the loss of the removable drive cages. The DS2 does what a good product often should: offer performance comparable to its predecessor at a lower price. They've trimmed a lot of the fat off of the DS1 while maintaining a pretty high standard of build quality. Like the DS1 before it, the DS2 is a heavy, solidly built case with a nice fit and finish, and it's a welcome change of pace during a time when case manufacturers continue to trim their budgets on building materials.
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Thermal performance is competitive without being exciting, while acoustics are potentially excellent. The DS2 is likely going to be the standard bearer for quiet cases under $100. That assumes Nanoxia hits the price point in the States that they're targeting, much as some of the DS1's success rides on that same factor. Yet the DS2 sells for 89 Euros (and the DS1 for 119), and when looking at how component price tags transfer over to the American dollar, it's not too hard to see them hitting their targets.
At the same time, though, the Deep Silence 2 doesn't really feel different enough from the Deep Silence 1 to really merit a purchase. Yes, you'll be able to save $20, which for some users is going to be worth the tradeoffs. I'm not really a fan of buying a slightly inferior product just to save a paltry sum of money: if you're already this close to the top, why start being stingy? It's like the used games at Gamestop that go for a whole $5 less than new. What's the point?
Getting a case under $100 has a certain cachet to it, though, and that may be enough to justify the existence of the DS2. As I said before, this is by no means a bad enclosure. Quite the opposite, if you want a quiet system it's hard to do much better than the Nanoxia Deep Silence 2 without spending a lot more money. Given the choice between the DS2 and the more feature rich DS1, though, I'd take the Deep Silence 1 every time.
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zinton - Thursday, February 14, 2013 - link
Does anyone know a retailer in the United States that ships to Hawaii, and sells the Deep silence 1 or 2?headbox - Thursday, February 14, 2013 - link
Amazing how far we have NOT come in case design in the 20+ years I've been building computers.jabber - Thursday, February 14, 2013 - link
I know, it's like time has stood still.Just moved on from beige and that's about it.
lurker22 - Thursday, February 14, 2013 - link
Maybe because there really isn't much to holding a few parts together in a box?arthur449 - Thursday, February 14, 2013 - link
Well, when I started building computers, the CPU was located at the front bottom of the case. Then came ATX, and then BTX compatible cases... then everyone said "meh" and kept ATX.It's just not worth it to make a new standard for cases and motherboards when custom builders are such a small portion of the overall market. All the big companies pay for custom boards if they need them, but most consumer-oriented brands have thrown in the towel and use mATX for lower cost and higher customer satisfaction due to future upgrade compatibility with different boards and add-on cards.
GotThumbs - Thursday, February 14, 2013 - link
Agreed.My first build was an AT case and I haven't built an ATX system for myself or anyone else is quite a few years. Most of my systems have been mATX based using Apevia QPACK cases with an upgraded PS. My systems/users are not for heavy gamers, so multiple graphic cards are not needed.
I am moving my personal systems to mini-ITX format now. I find it unnecessary these days to have a big case, since I have a separate home-server for all my content storage. Using a SSD and an AMD APU based system more than does the job for my needs.
Best wishes,
Zak - Thursday, February 14, 2013 - link
The ATX standard is adequate. But why is so hard to make a good looking AND functional case? There are some good looking cases that are barely functional, some functional cases that are butt-ugly and everything else is either boring or gaudy.LordOfTheBoired - Saturday, February 16, 2013 - link
Because everyone's idea of good-looking is different.Some people like plain square boxes, some like case doors, some like plexiglass windows, some like blinky lights, some like black mesh, some like pointy bits...
Ask ten people to name the best-looking cases on the market, expect ten different answers.
Personally, I like the original Phantom. I don't understand how the best-looking case I've ever seen can be considered gaudy, but obviously tastes differ.
I used to run in an old Antec Solo that I also loved(though not quite so much). And I've never understood how it could be considered ugly, but some people did.
michaelheath - Thursday, February 14, 2013 - link
I'm sure it doesn't help case designers that the ATX specification has been around since 1995 and hasn't changed all that much since. You can only do so much when your case design revolves around a 12" x 9.6" flat board (or a 9.6" x 9.6" or a 6.7" x 6.7" board, for that matter). Motherboard designers and component manufacturers would have to agree on a new specification for us to see a radical change in 'standard' case designs.ShieTar - Thursday, February 14, 2013 - link
Really, you can't see a big difference between the DS2 and this thing: http://interloper.com/graphics/cases/mid_tower/mpe... ?You know, the AT-case with the non-replacable power supply, because it needed to be hardwired to the front-panel power button? And all those sharp-edged, hard to access drive cages? And the total lack of any kind of ventilation outside of the power supply, because nobody owned a 225W-GPU anyways, let alone several?