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
Noise and Thermal Testing
Going into testing, I remained cautiously optimistic about the Nanoxia Deep Silence 2. Most of the original design cues are essentially intact from the DS1 and I remain overjoyed as ever by the inclusion of the analog fan controller, but silent cases still continue to run the age old risk of restricting airflow to the point where heatsink fans have to run much faster to keep thermals down.
Whenever I include test results from older cases with fan controllers, I tend to include the results that present the best balance of noise and performance. The Deep Silence 1 is unique in that it's one of the only cases where I include the high fan results instead of the low, as the low setting is essentially inaudible while the high setting is only marginally louder while producing substantially better thermal performance. You'll see the DS2 is basically the same way.
Ambient temperatures hovered around 22C during testing.
The DS2 runs into the same problem the DS1 did: the low fan setting just doesn't move very much air. It's quiet, sure, but it also runs very hot. At their respective high settings, though, the DS1 and DS2 do offer fairly comparable performance.
Unfortunately, you'll see the DS1 also has generally better acoustics than the DS2 does. The DS2 is still a very quiet case and it beats the BitFenix Ghost, but the AZZA Silentium runs ever so slightly quieter. Your best bet for silence continues to be the DS1.
When I saw the thermal results for the DS2, at least at the low fan setting, I lost some of my optimism. It's only when you max out the fans that the DS2's performance becomes competitive, but this is the trade you traditionally make when you move to a silent case.
Overclocked thermals remain fairly competitive provided you leave the fans on high, and the DS2 puts in a strong showing against its predecessor.
The noise level results get back to what I was talking about before; because the low fan setting doesn't move as much air, the heatsink fans spin much higher, and the DS2 actually gets pretty loud as a result. If you max out the fans, the DS2 is suddenly one of the quietest cases we've ever pitted against our overclocked testbed.
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Blibbax - Thursday, February 14, 2013 - link
The lack of intake filters is an absolute dealbreaker for me. You get front filters on cases that cost £30.Hrel - Thursday, February 14, 2013 - link
Agreed, really sad to see something that costs, for all intents and purposes, nothing be excluded. Hell, take away the bottom one. That's where the PSU goes, why would anyone even put fans there? So close, SO SO close. Happily I'm not building a new desktop until late summer to fall this year. Hopefully my ideal case has been released by someone by then.Haha, probably not though.
kenyee - Thursday, February 14, 2013 - link
Seems to be roughly in the same size/cost/performance class IMHO....Dustin Sklavos - Friday, February 15, 2013 - link
No comparison with the R4 in this review because the R4 consistently performs worse than the DS1. The DS1 is a superior enclosure to the R4, and the DS2 performs roughly on par with the DS1.Hrel - Thursday, February 14, 2013 - link
You REALLY need to do something about your noise floor. 30db is crazy loud. Makes you sound testing only partially usable. Go to a basement with no other equipment. Go to a bedroom. Do SOMETHING to get that noise floor down to more realistic levels.Zoatebix - Thursday, February 14, 2013 - link
I'm pretty sure that's a product of the sensitivity of his equipment, not a noisy testing environment.Dustin Sklavos - Friday, February 15, 2013 - link
Correct. 30dB is the noise floor of the majority of sound meters. If you want a sound meter that goes below that, you're looking at spending at least a grand if not two.Hrel - Monday, February 18, 2013 - link
I see, perhaps the Anand Writers could pool their resourced to make it happen? Hm, yes yes! Probably wishful thinking but I'm gonna keep wishing.Dug - Thursday, February 14, 2013 - link
30db is not crazy loud. It is a whisper.Mine measure 30db at seating position and I can't hear it with normal house ambient noise.
Even in the dead of night its barely noticeable. Typing and clicking the mouse is far louder than my computer. If you aren't typing or using your mouse, then what good is the computer?
Dug - Thursday, February 14, 2013 - link
Not to mention it rains here a lot. Rain on house is 50db so the computer doesn't even come into the equation.