I am looking to build a new system in the next couple months.  what are the options for a quiet case. I see posts of people tracking in the same room as their computer.  I track a lot of solo acoustic so I need really quiet.  Right now I have my computer downstairs with cable going through the floor.  That is kind of a pain but it does work. 
    What are the quietest cases?  I am looking at nanoxia deep silence models from around 100 to 230.  Then of course a quiet power supply, quiet drives? case fans, quiet cpu fans?  I am really a rookie when it comes to making a computer quiet so any input would be appreciated

Howdy:
 
Just my opinion :-) I have built several machines and this is what I arrive at:
 
1) use a low power consumption CPU with integrated graphics. Any i3, i5 or i7 Intel CPU with the "S" suffix should work great...the "S' designates a low power consumption selected/binned CPU...low power = low temp = low fan speed=low noise. In the end whatever cooler and fan you specify, if board controlled, will run slower and quieter. BTW, I use a Intel i7-3770S CPU...waaay more that I need but fun to boast of. Almost soundless with:
2) I like Thermalright's lower profile coolers, like the 120 i or M (the 140 might be a bit better/quieter if you have room). I have not found water cooling necessary but that might be an option.  
3) Calculate your power supply wattage requirements (search Newegg for this tool)  and buy something a bit more capable and go fan-less. For example, if you calculate you need 300 watts, buy 500 watts. This is to "derate" the supply so that it runs "cooler"/lasts longer = more reliable. Of course, no fan = no noise.
4) Do run a SSD boot/program drive. If you can, go all SSD = no noise. I run WD Raptor HDD's for data storage but If I had the $$$, SSD all the way.
5) I built with Fractal Design's R4. Huge case (I run multiple hard drives), easy to build, great cable routing...comes with two very-quiet-if-run-on-lowest-speed fans. Case side panels are sound dampened with a heavy rubber-like absorber. You might check their smaller cases.
 
Bottom line, do what you can to go fanless. Low power and non-mechanical/solid state.
 
Cheers
 
 
 
 
 
 

If you have your computer set up in a different room, you are going to have to spend a lot to get the same quiet you have now. You do not say which cables are going through the floor or what the source of pain is. Presumably these are at least the audio cables or audio interface to computer cable. You can probably buy extension cables for mouse keyboard and monitors for a lot less than a quiet computer. With those you could control and feed data to your distant computer without ever having to visit the machine while working.

I have usb, video, and firewire cables going through the floor.  I know I thought about that price differential
 

I can't speak highly enough for the Corsair Obsidian Series 550D case. Everything about it is based around keeping it silent.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139012
 
For fans, I use SilenX. They work very well at keeping the case cool while getting good airflow.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835226042
 
The new desk I'm building will have an enclosed area for the computer case with two fans on the back to promote airflow through it while keeping sound inside it from escaping as much as possible.

I've bought some very quiet CPU coolers and case fans from these people:
 
http://www.quietpc.com/
 
They're knowledgeable and helpful, I'm sure they could give you some good advice.

Thanks for all your input everyone. 

Thanks for all your input everyone. 

Most fans that are supposed to be quiet are anything but.  The only brand of case fan that I would recommend is Papst. I once fitted two of these in a computer and when I initially switched it on they were so silent that I thought they were not working at first. They remained quiet for the life of the computer. I wanted to fit similar ones in my later computer builds but none of the online stores I was using seemed to stock this brand.

yeah I don't recall seeing papst