Wrt. cases: I think a regular E-ATX compatible case should be enough, but it all depends on the motherboard, and those don't exist yet. Existing 8x GPU servers have been 4U rack mount dual socket affairs; you can also already get 7x GPU dual socket "EEB" motherboards and workstation style cases, but none that will do full 16x for all the GPUs.
For comparison, Notebookcheck's system noise scale is 30dB=silent, 40dB=audible, 50dB=loud.
I'd quit if I had to work in an office space with 60 dB noise. That's like sitting next to a rack of 1U servers at "moderately angry bee swarm" fan level.
I personally cannot stand to be near a noise source above 40 dB for any extended length of time (more than a few hours).
But 60 dB... wow. Can't imagine how shitty that must be to work in for 8 hours per day.
