Sorry for my absence this week, I ran myself into the ground and needed a few days to recover.
How quiet your finished build runs is completely dependent on your choice of components inside the case as well as your choice of vent options.
The case is designed to offer good airflow and cooling capability, therefore giving you a solid foundation to build a silent/quiet system.
However, if for example you select a 95W processor and try to overclock it with an insufficient cooler then it will be noisy no matter what case its used in.
CPU COOLER CLEARANCE
The LZ7 has a CPU clearance of up to 65mm meaning that it does have limitations on cooling capability, as do most SFF cases, especially if silence is your goal. You have to set your expectations of what can be achieved in under 65mm of cooler clearance. If you limit yourself to a 65W TDP CPU and pick a high quality cooler then it is possible, an example build with an i7-7700 can be found HERE.
My top choices for an i7 class CPU would be the Noctua NH-L12 (bottom fan only) as shown above, or the Scythe Big Shuriken 2 (with fan swapped out for slim Noctua or equivalent - Scythe fan is noisy).
For i3 or i5 class CPU then the Noctua NH-L9 or Silverstone AR05 are good quiet choices for sub 40mm coolers.
I found that the Silverstone AR06 (58mm height) did not perform as well as expected for its height, I assume that this was down to the 92mm fan being starved of air due to its proximity to the under side of the power supply which covered most of the fan. Therefore my recommendation if using coolers above 50mm in height with a top mounted fan is to choose one that uses a 120mm fan so the PSU does not obscure the entire fan. This varies by motherboard depending on where the CPU socket is located.
I have no experience with the new Ryzen CPU's and how they thermally compare to the Intel CPU's.
VENT DESIGN
One other thing to consider when configuring the case is vent design choice, this plays a very important role in airflow and noise performance, some vent patterns are noisier than others due to fan turbulence effects. I carried out extensive prototyping and testing to determine what patterns work best for the lowest turbulence/noise and most airflow, so you can make an informed decision on which to choose to suit your priorities between noise and aesthetics.
A fair few people consider hex pattern vents to be the most aesthetically pleasing design, but unfortunately they are also the most restrictive and least quiet.
The best performer by a huge margin is the traditional fan guard, but not everyone is 'fan' of how they look.
I found that most vent designs cut directly into the panel introduced very noticeable turbulence noise to the case fan. To address the issue I developed the 'Cyclone' vent pattern in an attempt to reduce turbulence as much as possible. The resulting Cyclone aesthetic is not to everyone's taste, but the performance was very good with dramatically increased airflow and near silent fan operation compared to other cut panel vent patterns.
(Full Album of panel photos can be seen HERE)
Putting Aesthetics aside, here is a list of the vent types/designs in order of performance, best performers are at the top:
AIRFLOW
I've tried to show this data visually in the LZ7 CONFIGURATOR with some mini graphics that update when you select the different vent types.
Thats right, the idea is to try and keep the case in stock permanently. There may be times where certain options such as a specific colour/vent design go out of stock, but I'm sure we will be working behind the scenes to try and re-stock if it does.
From what I've seen AMD have 3 different coolers for their AM4 socket that range in height, not sure which are supplied with which CPUs though:
Unfortunately I don't think the slim 120mm Noctua fan will fit beneath the heatsink in combination with the Corsair Vengeance LPX RAM, I measure it to be something like a 13mm gap. It may fit with a bit of man handling, but can't be sure:
An Intel i3 or Ryzen 3 would go nicely with a GTX 1050Ti, and maybe an Intel i5 or Ryzen 5 would be a nice balance for a GTX 1060.
Yes, Overclockers.co.uk will be selling all the available panels and corner pieces separately.
From the fans I've tested the Prolimatech Ultra Sleek Vortex 14 is the best performing in terms of noise and amount of airflow, especially if your motherboard has good fan control, some motherboards struggle to keep fans moving at low RPMs. I am currently using the MSI B250i motherboard and it can run the fan at very low RPM no problem for a silent system when idle.
The Thermaltake Luna 140mm slim fan is also pretty quiet, but it doesn't produce as much airflow as the Prolimatech.
I've not managed to get hold of the new slim Noctua 120mm fans but these may also perform well. I'm most looking forward to when Noctua finally get round to releasing a slim version of their 140mm sized fan.
The Corsair SF450 works brilliantly with the LZ7, it will remain fanless for all but the most extreme builds. The SF450 would be my recommended choice.
How quiet your finished build runs is completely dependent on your choice of components inside the case as well as your choice of vent options.
The case is designed to offer good airflow and cooling capability, therefore giving you a solid foundation to build a silent/quiet system.
However, if for example you select a 95W processor and try to overclock it with an insufficient cooler then it will be noisy no matter what case its used in.
CPU COOLER CLEARANCE
The LZ7 has a CPU clearance of up to 65mm meaning that it does have limitations on cooling capability, as do most SFF cases, especially if silence is your goal. You have to set your expectations of what can be achieved in under 65mm of cooler clearance. If you limit yourself to a 65W TDP CPU and pick a high quality cooler then it is possible, an example build with an i7-7700 can be found HERE.
My top choices for an i7 class CPU would be the Noctua NH-L12 (bottom fan only) as shown above, or the Scythe Big Shuriken 2 (with fan swapped out for slim Noctua or equivalent - Scythe fan is noisy).
For i3 or i5 class CPU then the Noctua NH-L9 or Silverstone AR05 are good quiet choices for sub 40mm coolers.
I found that the Silverstone AR06 (58mm height) did not perform as well as expected for its height, I assume that this was down to the 92mm fan being starved of air due to its proximity to the under side of the power supply which covered most of the fan. Therefore my recommendation if using coolers above 50mm in height with a top mounted fan is to choose one that uses a 120mm fan so the PSU does not obscure the entire fan. This varies by motherboard depending on where the CPU socket is located.
I have no experience with the new Ryzen CPU's and how they thermally compare to the Intel CPU's.
VENT DESIGN
One other thing to consider when configuring the case is vent design choice, this plays a very important role in airflow and noise performance, some vent patterns are noisier than others due to fan turbulence effects. I carried out extensive prototyping and testing to determine what patterns work best for the lowest turbulence/noise and most airflow, so you can make an informed decision on which to choose to suit your priorities between noise and aesthetics.
A fair few people consider hex pattern vents to be the most aesthetically pleasing design, but unfortunately they are also the most restrictive and least quiet.
The best performer by a huge margin is the traditional fan guard, but not everyone is 'fan' of how they look.
I found that most vent designs cut directly into the panel introduced very noticeable turbulence noise to the case fan. To address the issue I developed the 'Cyclone' vent pattern in an attempt to reduce turbulence as much as possible. The resulting Cyclone aesthetic is not to everyone's taste, but the performance was very good with dramatically increased airflow and near silent fan operation compared to other cut panel vent patterns.
(Full Album of panel photos can be seen HERE)
Putting Aesthetics aside, here is a list of the vent types/designs in order of performance, best performers are at the top:
AIRFLOW
- Fan Guard
- Cyclone
- Radial
- Open with Dust Filter
- Slotted
- Aero
- Fan Guard
- Open with Dust Filter
- Cyclone
- Radial
- Slotted
- Aero
I've tried to show this data visually in the LZ7 CONFIGURATOR with some mini graphics that update when you select the different vent types.
Thats right, the idea is to try and keep the case in stock permanently. There may be times where certain options such as a specific colour/vent design go out of stock, but I'm sure we will be working behind the scenes to try and re-stock if it does.
From what I've seen AMD have 3 different coolers for their AM4 socket that range in height, not sure which are supplied with which CPUs though:
Unfortunately I don't think the slim 120mm Noctua fan will fit beneath the heatsink in combination with the Corsair Vengeance LPX RAM, I measure it to be something like a 13mm gap. It may fit with a bit of man handling, but can't be sure:
An Intel i3 or Ryzen 3 would go nicely with a GTX 1050Ti, and maybe an Intel i5 or Ryzen 5 would be a nice balance for a GTX 1060.
Yes, Overclockers.co.uk will be selling all the available panels and corner pieces separately.
From the fans I've tested the Prolimatech Ultra Sleek Vortex 14 is the best performing in terms of noise and amount of airflow, especially if your motherboard has good fan control, some motherboards struggle to keep fans moving at low RPMs. I am currently using the MSI B250i motherboard and it can run the fan at very low RPM no problem for a silent system when idle.
The Thermaltake Luna 140mm slim fan is also pretty quiet, but it doesn't produce as much airflow as the Prolimatech.
I've not managed to get hold of the new slim Noctua 120mm fans but these may also perform well. I'm most looking forward to when Noctua finally get round to releasing a slim version of their 140mm sized fan.
The Corsair SF450 works brilliantly with the LZ7, it will remain fanless for all but the most extreme builds. The SF450 would be my recommended choice.
