Case material for keeping the noise down

[aznherb36]

What type of material is best for keeping the noise low??

[GrayFox]

Stealth fans is the best WAY

material will most likely result in overheating :p

[muddocktor]

Grayfox does bring up a good point there; any sound insulating material you add into the case will definitely act as a heat insulator too, keeping the case from helping heatsink the trapped heat. If you really want to try getting a quiet rig, then build a rig based on a Winchester A64, mobile A64 or a Pentium M proc as they all have high performance with much less heat output than a P4.

[aznherb36]

Woops, I meant what type of case like alum, steel etc. which one best holds the sound inside? and which ones are more sturdy?

[entropy]

And what are some really good "stealth" fans? 80mm ones that are dead silent but still move respectable air? Is there such a thing? If so, if I put a grate over one, will it make it loud, like it did the last few fans?

Sorry for all the questions :p I'm just trying to get this near dead silent. I hate the noise, even though it's quieter than everyone else's computer... ;D

[aznherb36]

Stealth fans is a type of fan made by vantec

[Madball]

An Antec Sonata is a very quiet case. Comes with one 120mm fan, a quiet power supply (with a 120mm fan) and room for one more. The quietest case I own by far.

[profdlp]

There was a review of some noise dampening panels at Dan's Data (http://www.dansdata.com/foam.htm), though the results were mixed.

[csimon]

Woops, I meant what type of case like alum, steel etc. which one best holds the sound inside? and which ones are more sturdy?
steel is more dense and should keep the sound out better ...it's also more sturdy.