Antec Aluminum MicroATX Cube

[_G_]

has anybody tried one of these cases
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-129-146&depa=0
looks good but psu may overhang the cpu depending where the
socket is located on the mobo

edit

Wow, what a response :D looks like I am getting at least 1 now.
I'd bet aluminum\wire mesh side pannels would look good on this thing+ help cooling.

[ST|FFY]

i think that case looks very slick. i think it would be totally compatible w/ any mobo no matter where the cpu socket is cuz it doesnt cover too much

[_Korruption_]

They give you room under the PSU to mount some aftermarket HSFs. You will need to check the clearance though. Any mATX board will fit this case.

[ZorPrime]

I'm using the Aria as I type this now. It is a tight fit but I put my SLK-800 on there with a 70mm fan.

[valve1138]

I have one for my HTPC, it's a great case.

[Bomber]

I'm considering getting one to replace my Chieftech Dragon as my primary machine and delegate the Dragon to file server for my HTPC.

[Pecos]

I've got one too. I like the case overall, but they need to completely rethink the area where you screw down the cards. It's like they had a token retard on the development team and he came up with that monstrosity. It is a bit louder then I thought it would be, but I still like it -- except for that retard thing. :p

[ZorPrime]

I've got one too. I like the case overall, but they need to completely rethink the area where you screw down the cards. It's like they had a token retard on the development team and he came up with that monstrosity. It is a bit louder then I thought it would be, but I still like it -- except for that retard thing. :p

LOL... I stripped out a screw. You have to take all the screws out just to add one card in it.

Heh, feels so empty on my desk now.

[ufokillerz]

i saw this in person, it is a good deal, but it is more plasticky then i would ever want it. heh. great case though. very nice psu design with 120mm exhaust

[Neurotic-Turtle]

My brother has one, he has a zalman cnps7000a-cu in it. Tight fight (it touches the side panel) but it'll work

[_Korruption_]

My brother has one, he has a zalman cnps7000a-cu in it. Tight fight (it touches the side panel) but it'll work
Wow, I didn't think that monstrosity would fit. Nice job.

[evildre]

I built 15 systems in the Aria case for a local client. We used Intel D865GLCL motherboards, which are 9.6x9.6 inches (biggest Micro-ATX size, IIRC), which fit without a problem. We used the stock Intel heatsinks that came with the P4 2.8Cs that went onto the boards, and they had plenty of clearance. It's pretty cool that it comes with the card reader built-in and has room for 3 hard drives. The optical drive's flip-down cover is pretty swanky.

The problem with this case is the card slot area. The screws strip easily, and it is brain-dead simple to cross-thread the screw holes. I found myself replacing all the screws with the good, solid, hex-headed ones that come with other cases.

The thing I didn't like about the way the case looks is the top. I don't like the "ribbed for her pleasure" top panel ... but that's just me.

[Chaballaman]

according to few review i read it doesn't have good air-flow so you'll get a build up of hot air inside the case.. even abit digidice can cool much better let alone aopen or shuttle sff.

[Venusprobe]

I'm planning to build 2 machines using that case, from the reviews I've read and the looks of it there's plenty of ventilation.

[Col_Hogan]

I have one Also...Running a SLK-800 w/ a 70mmTMD fan....And as far as heat consearns...I already Modded Mine for a Blowhole on one of the Side Panels.
http://69.30.192.125/hogan/Aria.jpg

And its actually Pretty quiet with that 92mm Fan on the side.

My temps stay around 38-40 degrees...And thats with a Load(playing DC for 3-4 hours)

[PruBowl300]

Col_Hogan, why did you remove the CD-ROM door? I am using one of these for an HTPC, but I plan on getting another and building a nice LAN Box in one. Probably going with a mATX Athlon 64 motherboard, but I am waiting for either Asus or Abit to release their boards.

[Pecos]

I've been thinking about doing the blowhole thing to mine too, but one fan on either side in a push-pull config.

I removed my cdrom door too. I saw no reason to keep that thing on there. Personally, I think it looks better without.

[Col_Hogan]

MIne now sports a Nec-2500a DVD Writer...The door springs fell out...couldnt find them...So what the Heck. I like the way it Looks without the Door...Just wished the Case wouldve been Black...So that it wouldve matched the Bezel of the Nec.

And Im going to also Finish with a Push - Pull Config for the Blowhole setups...And keep both fans a 7 volts...that one Big 120mm fan just doesnt do enough...when you have a PAcked case...

Aria Specs:
Shuttle MN31N
2500 Barton
1 gig of 3200
250 Gig HD
Nec-2500a
ATI 9800 Pro

This is my Quakecon Rig.

[Pecos]

I agree about the 120mm in the back. I see that only has a PSU cooler only. What did you use to cut your hole(s), btw. Did you shoehorn that 92 there? There's not much space under that optical drive tray.

[TheGameguru]

Yeah I just built one of these cases also for a friend...

Same issue..stripped a screw trying to install the Video Card.. pretty brain dead placing the power connector right over the middle PCI slot so you are almost certain to strip that screw trying to remove it an an angle..

Use a MATX MSI KT800 Board with an AMD 64 3200+ and stock heatsink...system stays quiet so far..

I used the included PCI Bracket Fan for some added cooling..

A bit plasticky...but its nice since you have options on the Mobo you want..

I'm going to build one for my HTPC as soon as I find a MATX Nforce 3 250 board.

[Bad Goat]

How are the PSU's on this thing? Thinking of building a box like this for myself but was thinking along the lines of A64, X800Pro, 1GB of RAM, 74GB Raptor, DVD Burner, TV Tuner...and maybe a second harddrive...this this box could handle all of that??

[Pecos]

The PSU is 300W and it does have the extra +12V plug too. I think the PSU could probably handle it, but I think you may end up with a heat problem without some modding. I just ordered a couple of 92mm Enermaxes from the Egg to install into mine.

[Aztlan]

how much does that thing weight will all components installed?

[Pecos]

how much does that thing weight will all components installed?

I don't own a scale, but I'd say that it weighs about 10 lbs or so. Maybe a little less. I guess it depends on the size of your heatsink! :p

[Aztlan]

hmm, thats light
but since i am getting into overclocking, is not a good buy for me
I am just going to buy one of those aluminum cases

[Pecos]

I have one Also...Running a SLK-800 w/ a 70mmTMD fan....And as far as heat consearns...I already Modded Mine for a Blowhole on one of the Side Panels.
http://69.30.192.125/hogan/Aria.jpg

And its actually Pretty quiet with that 92mm Fan on the side.

My temps stay around 38-40 degrees...And thats with a Load(playing DC for 3-4 hours)

Col_Hogan-

Did you remove or cut a portion of the optical drive tray to fit that 92mm fan in there? Looking at the pic I attached (pardon the quality, it's from my phone -- Moto V600 if you want to know), If that tray isn't modified and since it's only about 15mm from the edge of the case, your fan would have to sit under it which would put the bottom of it into the vent at the bottom of the side panel.

Hmm... I may have to think about this... I may go with a couple of 80mm's. I think they should just clear both the bottom of that tray and the vent on the side panel(s). There's not much depth on the other side either, but I think an 80mm will fit perfect on that side too.

http://www.playazclub.gotdns.com/06-06-04_2140.jpg

[Havik_1]

http://www.gamepc.com/labs/view_content.asp?id=antecaria&page=1

http://www.gamepc.com/images/labs/rev-antecaria-installedSM.jpg

[valve1138]

Just had a thought about the screw stripping situation. I don't know why I didn't think of this before.

Get some small nuts/bolts/washers and bolt the PCI/AGP cards in there.

[Col_Hogan]

Pecos,
Yes I had to notch the Optical Drive tray...Just by about 2 inches...Did not affect the way a HD would be mounted...
I need to do the Other side now also...Cause I found that having only one Suck Fan(92mm) Causes the Processor to get hotter...So I am Adding another Fan on the Other side. Fans are Stealth fans...and Both only run at 7volts..so they are Virtually Silent!

Next Mod:
Putting a 3 1/2 inch Fan Bus in the same area as the Card Reader...I already Removed Card Reader..Had no Use for it!!

[gpfreek]

Would you be able to use an open slot to pass through water cooling tubes? I ask because it seems this would be perfect to use an Exos Al on.
Can you buy a bigger P/S and put it in there? 300 watts seems kind of small.

[Pecos]

Pecos,
Yes I had to notch the Optical Drive tray...Just by about 2 inches...Did not affect the way a HD would be mounted...
I need to do the Other side now also...Cause I found that having only one Suck Fan(92mm) Causes the Processor to get hotter...So I am Adding another Fan on the Other side. Fans are Stealth fans...and Both only run at 7volts..so they are Virtually Silent!

Next Mod:
Putting a 3 1/2 inch Fan Bus in the same area as the Card Reader...I already Removed Card Reader..Had no Use for it!!

Thanks. I'm still debating going 80mm or 92mm... Bigger's better, right!? :p Maybe I'll tackle it this weekend. I still have a mobile 2400+ to stick into one of the machines around here too. That may capture some of my time.

That fanbus mod should look cool when you're done with it.

[Mad_Pyro]

Thanks. I'm still debating going 80mm or 92mm... Bigger's better, right!? :p Maybe I'll tackle it this weekend. I still have a mobile 2400+ to stick into one of the machines around here too. That may capture some of my time.

That fanbus mod should look cool when you're done with it.

By that logic, you should go all out and put a 120mm 7volted. That would be an impressive feat of engineering.

[Pwnisher]

I am about to mount a GlobalWIn Silent Stream H2O kit in my Aria case Link (http://www.axiontech.com/prdt.php?src=PW&item=58347) . I'll post some pictures as soon as I get it done and figure out how I'm going to get it all in there. LOL

[Pecos]

By that logic, you should go all out and put a 120mm 7volted. That would be an impressive feat of engineering.

That would look pretty swank too! A couple of 120's may fit without a mobo in it. I went with a couple of Panaflo FBA08A12M's (80mm). It's a bitch to cut these side panels with a dremel though. They're 1/8" thick plastic panels in between 2 aluminum sheets. I've got one more hole to cut in the puppy.

[Pecos]

I am about to mount a GlobalWIn Silent Stream H2O kit in my Aria case Link (http://www.axiontech.com/prdt.php?src=PW&item=58347) . I'll post some pictures as soon as I get it done and figure out how I'm going to get it all in there. LOL

6lbs. That thing will almost double the weight of the entire case! :p

Yeah, post some pix of that. I'd definitely like to see it. If I could find a mATX that had all the BIOS options of an ATX (read o/c options), I'd probably never build an ATX sized rig again.

[Pwnisher]

It's not even close to 6lbs, more like 2. I just got it assembled, I mounted the radiator an fan on the side like Col_Hogan did his blow hole, and I'm going to mount and intake fan on the other side, it looks like I'll get decent cross ventilation even with the AGP card in it, here's hoping. The only other option was to mount the radiator on the outside of the case which I didn't want to do. I'm snapping pics along the way, I'll have some up by morning.. it's going to be a long night of modding...

[elmopuddy]

I had a few parts laying around, so I decided to make my 4 year old daughter her own machine:

P4 2.4@1.8
Asus P4S333-M
WD400JD
Asus V7100
512 PC2700

34 at idle, hits 50 pretty fast.. my CPU fan is too loud, I ordered a silent 80mm to mount on it..

Wouldn't it be better to reverse the CPU fan? The PSU is right over the CPU fan, and its sucking out, with the CPU fan working with it....

I'll have to experiment a bit..

I like the case, but they need better cooling... hopefully the next rev will be better, I'd love to get my main rig into a wee case as well.

BTW, someone on another site says to use a 3" hole saw to cut blow hole

[Col_Hogan]

Actually I use a 77mm Hole saw to cut Holes for 80mm Fans...
and I use a 88mm for the 92mm fans...

That how I did mine..One side has a 92mm(sucking) the other side has a Slim-line 80mm(blowing) ...seems to really helped with Cooling off the inside of the case...
temps never go above 40 anymore...Cpu or Case temps!!

[elmopuddy]

Which direction is best for the blowholes? Which side to suck/blow?

[Pecos]

RIght now on mine, I've got the intake on the right side (looking at it from the front) and the exhaust on the opposite. I haven't tried the other direction, but chose the way I did because the CPU is on the intake side.

As far as I'm concerned, all that 120mm in the PSU cools is the PSU.

[elmopuddy]

Thanks for the info, I 've switched the CPU fan for a silent 80mm, sucking.. so it blows right into bottom of PSU.. my temps start at 34, and climb into mid 50's.. which is fine, but I notice that the temps never go back down...

The case definitely needs fresh air.. I'll start with a blowhole on the CPU side to draw in cool air, see how that does..

The machine is totally over-kill for a 4 year old to play Nemo and Dora the Explorer, but if I gave my daughter a wimpy machine, she'd know is wasn't [H] ard :))

EP

[Pecos]

Ha, [H]ardness must be in her blood! Maybe she'll be building them by the time she's 7.

I take mine to work and I've taken it to LAN parties before. It's a lot easier to carry than a full-sized ATX case -- although a 19-inch monitor more than makes up for that. :D

Most heatsinks work better with the fans blowing down, into the heatsink. About the only ones that I remember that actually specified sucking rather than blowing are some old Alpha sinks.

[MrE]

Ha, [H]ardness must be in her blood! Maybe she'll be building them by the time she's 7.

LOL, now thats funny! I just bought this case for my 4 year old daughter because she felt left out that I gave my oldest an Shuttle SN45G, so I'm building her a new box using the Aria.

Thanks for the inputs on the AGP/PCI slot screws. I got the same bit of advice from the store I bought it at. Guess they've have a few returns due to the "soft" metal used on the case and poor placement (too close to the edge of the 90 degree bend) of the screw holes themselves. :rolleyes:

-E

[MAB]

Hey everyone, well I'm new to this forum but I gotta say, this forums pretty darn good...
well I'm planning on building a system based on:

Antec Aria Case
AMD 64 3200 - clawhammer - zalman alu/copper heatsink fan
corsair xms 1gb 3200
raptor 74gb 10000rpm - applications - antec hard drive cooler (2 fans)
wd 120gb SATA or IDE - storage
gigabyte sis 760 chipset
9800 pro 256mb - arctic cooling vga silencer
cdrw/dvd-rom optical drive


You guys think this system will run? Any suggestions, would appreciate some feedback and also was thinking of modding the case. I probably should huh because of all this stuff?

[Pwnisher]

Welcome to the forums MAB!

What mobo are you planning on? I think with those two drives you are going to have some heat issues, the second drive would mount in there vertically and really plug things up air flow wise, but I'm sure with some creativity you can mod it to fit your needs. You might have some issues with clearance and that HD cooler also. You might get a better view of the guts of the Aria if you check out the pics in my Water Cooled Aria thread somewhere on this page, it bounces up and down.

Cheers!

[Col_Hogan]

Updated with a new Mod this evening:
Pic 1 (http://69.30.192.125/hogan/Aria%20Mod%201.jpg)

Pic 2 (http://69.30.192.125/hogan/Aria%20Mod%202.jpg)

Pic 3 (http://69.30.192.125/hogan/Aria%20Mod%203.jpg)

It kinda turned out how I wanted it to..But it works...

[Pwnisher]

Nice lookin work there Col_Hogan, I was thinking of doin something similar but trying to mount it at the very bottom of the case and keeping the media card reader. On the other hand I only use Memory Sticks so a USB card reader would work just as well... hmmm I wish I had more time to play around!

[MAB]

nice hogan...very nice....does the fan controller fit right into the media card reader? or did you have to modify it a little? Also, what did you use to cut the holes on the sides? Two fans on each side right or just one?

[effigy]

Hey everyone, well I'm new to this forum but I gotta say, this forums pretty darn good...
well I'm planning on building a system based on:

Antec Aria Case
AMD 64 3200 - clawhammer - zalman alu/copper heatsink fan
corsair xms 1gb 3200
raptor 74gb 10000rpm - applications - antec hard drive cooler (2 fans)
wd 120gb SATA or IDE - storage
gigabyte sis 760 chipset
9800 pro 256mb - arctic cooling vga silencer
cdrw/dvd-rom optical drive


You guys think this system will run? Any suggestions, would appreciate some feedback and also was thinking of modding the case. I probably should huh because of all this stuff?

Its going to be warm. and loud with the hard drive coolers and more than one hdd. I am building a system with this case (2500+, not 64) and I went with the zalman 7000cu. the price difference wasnt that big, and I figured anything that might cool down the inside is going to be a bit help.

[elmopuddy]

Hogan,

What size side fans? Brand? Did you need to mod the case for them to fit?

tks.

[Col_Hogan]

Left Side Fan is a 92mm Blowing out
Right Side Fan is 80mm Sucking IN

I used Hole Saws...They work the best...cause you have to cut through 2 layers of Aluminium and a Sheet of Plastic

Also..I had to modify the Optical Drive cage..I had to remove some Material from the sides to make them fit...Or If you can find them..Those really Skinny 80mm fans(commonly found in Hard Drive Coolers) will fit and no Modifcations to the Drive cage are Necessary.

[MrE]

Arg, the pics are down. Have a mirror for them?

-E

[MAB]

Is anyone using this mobo for the aria? I thinking of getting it, what do you guys think?

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-128-244&depa=1

[MAB]

Also you think it can run a pack of 1gb corsair xms?

[Col_Hogan]

are you talking one 1gb stick of ram or 2X512's??

Im sure it can..

Users Manual says it can handle both 512 sticks(duh) and 1gb sticks..

[CIWS]

Got one, works just fine running a A64 3200+ (stock HSF), MSI K8MM mATX, w/ 1 GIg RAM, AIW 9600Pro, WD SATA HD, and Combo DVD/CDRW drive and I'm only using the 120cm fan on the back, still have the included slot cooler incase I want to add it, but so far so good.

[Baenwort]

You could pull apart the PSU and replace the 120mm with a better one. The one in there is a rather slow one which doesn't move much air. I did this myself and cut away the grill while I had it open and put in a Papst 120mm.

With the VGA Silencer for my 9800XT and a PCI slot blower in the farthest slot(had to place a firewire card in the middle slot) I haven't had any trouble with cooling. I've got a A64 3400+ with a MCX6400-V (I had to mod the fan a little to get it to fit under the PSU by shaving off some of the plastic from the edge) and a 76GB Raptor so I'm rather happy with my temps so far. You could use the supplied PSU mounting rail for the CPU fan if you don't want to do a little triming and it fits a 92mm fan fine.

I'm thinking of upgrading my Video card if it turns out that the 9800XT I pulled from my old case isn't upto the newer games but right now I'm mainly playing City of Heroes and Aces High II so its sufficent for now.

[WarlordBB]

Based largely upon this thread, I purchased the following last week:

Antec Aria Case
Biostar M7NCG-400
AMD Mobile 2400+
Zalman 7000A-cu

I had NO idea that the Zalman 7000A-cu was almost as big as the case itself (ok, slight exaggeration). I see now that I should have been more leary of the Newegg specs of "21H mm" for the height of this beast. I think it's closer to the specs listed in the Alu/cu part of 62mm.

Anyway, unfortuantely the M7NCG-400 has the CPU Socket directly under the P/S overhang. Based upon my unscientific measuring, anything taller than 50mm will not work. After digging through all my assortment of unused Heatsink/Fans (which it seems I'll be throwing the Zalman into), I came up with a ThermalTake TR2 (the one with the TMD fan).

I'm not really happy with this solution, even though I wasn't planning to OC this thing to extreme levels, I was hoping to keep things much cooler than what the TR2 can accomplish.

I was thinking about getting either the ThermalTake Volcano 10+ Heatsink/Fan or a different MB.

Any suggestions?

[Col_Hogan]

I use a SLK-800 w/TMD fan on it...works fine for me...

But I have heavily Modded my Aria though.

Blow hole and Suck hole,Fan Controller...Any more Ideas...??

I think I have seen that Zalman fan installed before..But it was an Intel Board.. But it was in an Aria..

Have you even tried to Mount the HSF?? then put the Motherboard into the Aria...

I would think that it should work...Keep us updated...A buddy of mine has a Aria..with that exact same board M7NCG 400...and he also has a SLK-800 with a 80mm fan on his..

[Meridian]

Greetings all,

I've been a [H]ardOCP reader for a while, but I'm a [H]ard|Forum n00b! :D

I bought an Aria almost three months ago. I documented my Arai saga on another forum (http://www.clandac.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=3613). It's pretty long with several updates, but it is pretty thorough. Temps at load are @ 57C CPU and @ 43C chasis.

Anyhow, several days ago I had the rig running and it just shut off. When I hit the power button to power it back up, the blue power LEDs just blinked once and then nothing. Nada. Zip. Subsequent use of the power button would not even make the LEDs blink. If I unpluged the power cord from the wall outlet and then plugged it back in I could get the LEDs to blink once on the first power button push, but not after the first push. So, I checked all the connections from the PS to the motherboard; same results. I left everything in the case and tried a different power supply; bingo, everything ran fine. So now I get to see how customer friendly Antec's warranty service is for a dead PS.

Anyone think the high CPU temp led to the PS failure? I thought the chasis temp was okay hovering in the mid-forties, but that CPU sits right next to/under the PS, and I suspect some of the heat from that went straight into the PS vents.

TIA for the repies,

Mer

[WarlordBB]

Wow, you're right, I should have just tried using the Zalman! I tried it and it fits just fine...

As long as I take the power supply out. :)

Just kidding. I appreciate your input Col Hogan. I'm thinking of going with the SLK-800 w/TMD fan like you mention. I think that will be good enough for my purposes.

[That_Sound_Guy]

Hey Hogan,

Nice rig, guess we need a LAN here to really test that out ;)

Anyways, what kind of fan ya got in that 120mm bay in the back. I got a bunch of cisco router 120mm fans that move air like no tomorrow and they are damn thin (half as thick as your normal 120mm)... If ya want you can have one to try out and keep if it works. I dont know if you remember my case but the top fan is one of those cisco ones and at 5-7v they shred paper :D With your rheobus it might work out well.

[agentzero9]

Meridian 57C for a 2800+ isn't that extreme.

AMD chips are rated up to 90C I think. Ideal operating temp would be between 40C and 60C. But even if you go a little above 60 it's not like you are going to kill your components (but for example some things might last 3 years instead of 5).

This case doesn't have the best of cooling and I'm sure 57C is very much within the range expected by Antec and it shouldn't kill the PSU.

[MAB]

you guys think a x800 pro will run cool with a vga silencer on the arias 300 watt ps?

[neoreturns]

Greetings all,

I've been a [H]ardOCP reader for a while, but I'm a [H]ard|Forum n00b! :D

I bought an Aria almost three months ago. I documented my Arai saga on another forum (http://www.clandac.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=3613). It's pretty long with several updates, but it is pretty thorough. Temps at load are @ 57C CPU and @ 43C chasis.

Anyhow, several days ago I had the rig running and it just shut off. When I hit the power button to power it back up, the blue power LEDs just blinked once and then nothing. Nada. Zip. Subsequent use of the power button would not even make the LEDs blink. If I unpluged the power cord from the wall outlet and then plugged it back in I could get the LEDs to blink once on the first power button push, but not after the first push. So, I checked all the connections from the PS to the motherboard; same results. I left everything in the case and tried a different power supply; bingo, everything ran fine. So now I get to see how customer friendly Antec's warranty service is for a dead PS.

Anyone think the high CPU temp led to the PS failure? I thought the chasis temp was okay hovering in the mid-forties, but that CPU sits right next to/under the PS, and I suspect some of the heat from that went straight into the PS vents.

TIA for the repies,

Mer

Welcome to the forums, great sumary of the Aria. I'm thinking of moving my AXP system with a new mATX board to an Aria case to use as a secondary gaming rig.

[CIWS]

Anyone think the high CPU temp led to the PS failure? I thought the chasis temp was okay hovering in the mid-forties, but that CPU sits right next to/under the PS, and I suspect some of the heat from that went straight into the PS vents.


Well I can let you know in about another two months ;) I'm running mine with an A64 3200+, 1 gig of ram, SATA HD, and AIW 9600Pro under 100% load most of the time Folding and watching TV. :)

[elmopuddy]

Update on my Aria,

Moved some cables around, redid HSF with a slightly faster fan.. swapped in a 8500LE.. damn P4S333 no like ATI card..

I'm swapping out this board for a P4P800-VM or better yet an Abit IS-12, which would allow me to use all the ports on the case..

2x80mm blowholes coming too.. and hopefully with new MB my AX-478 will fit.

EP

[MAB]

would a 6800GT fit inside an aria?

[MrE]

Hey MAB,

The Aria isn't the issue, the issue is what mobo do you plan to use? As long as the motherboard doesn't have any cables or caps a few inches in front of the AGP slot you are good to go. The 6800GT is a longer card than ATI's cards.

Regards,

-E

[MAB]

im still deciding whether to go with this mobo: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-128-244&depa=1

or this: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-130-459&depa=1


what do you think of this one?: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-136-143&depa=1

[MrE]

Good choices and you won't go wrong with either. The MSI is a good board, and the Gigabyte with the new SIS looks pretty good as well. The 6800GT should fit both of these without issue.

Regards,

-E

[computerfan]

Good choices and you won't go wrong with either. The MSI is a good board, and the Gigabyte with the new SIS looks pretty good as well. The 6800GT should fit both of these without issue.

Regards,

-E

Does anyone know how picky that particular MSI mobo is with RAM. Would it take 2 512MB sticks of Corsair Value Select without any issues? Or what about any value/'no name' memory?
Thanks

[ra-odin]

Anyone know how the MSI overclocks, if at all?

I read a review on the Gigabyte that said it was a pretty poor overclocker, but I can't find anything on the MSI.

I'm not looking for anything really hardcore, just a 100-200mhz or so.

[MrE]

Got my MSI board in today. Here comes the weekend project of converting from the SN85 to the Aria setup. I'll let you know what the BIOS overclock options are once it is up and running (aka stable).

-E

[computerfan]

Got my MSI board in today. Here comes the weekend project of converting from the SN85 to the Aria setup. I'll let you know what the BIOS overclock options are once it is up and running (aka stable).

-E

Sweet, I'm really looking forward to what you have to say. If you give a good review of the board I'll buy one withing the next few days.

[MrE]

Welp, ran into my first set of problems. First, the MSI board doesn't come with the K8 retention bracket for mounting the heatsink to the motherboard. No problem, right? Well it turns out that most of the "low profile" heatsinks don't include this as well. I bought an Artec Cooling unit when I placed my order with NewEgg and it doesn't fit under the PSU (misses by 1/16" for clearance). So, off to the store to pick up the Zalman Copper cooler. This sucker actually does include the bracket, but I might have to modify the bottom bracket (the one that runs on the bottom of the motherboard) as it's a bit oversized and looks to make contact along a couple of traces on the board. :(

The case is pretty much done. The back 120mm fan grill is cut out. Why Antec has both a guard on the fan and the Case fan grill as well ( a bit overkill) but that is fixed). Next, I sleaved all the power connectors and doing the same to the front of the case for the USB/1394/Cardreader connectors. Even with that, I don't see a good way of cable management in this case. I should be able to mount everything either Friday or Saturday. Will keep you posted.

-E

[Col_Hogan]

Cool..Keep us updated..I want to see some Pics..and as far as Cable Management in an Aria..Yeah..GL with that...I tried..and failed..

[computerfan]

First, the MSI board doesn't come with the K8 retention bracket for mounting the heatsink to the motherboard. No problem, right? Well it turns out that most of the "low profile" heatsinks don't include this as well.

If I used the stock HSF that comes with the A64 3200+ would that include the retention bracket?

[not_the_pope]

Mine didnt. Bought the same MB and stock HSF thinking I would be covered. Nope. Called AMD tech support and they overnighted me a retention bracket free of charge.

[Royal]

Been following this thread and I have to say I am liking the box but I have to ask two questions
1) How cramped would it be I fi slapped my 3 HDD and a DVDRW along with a water cooling system in there ( would it all fit) ??
2) Can anyone recommend a board that will fit in the box and take a 2.4 Intel proc??

still a noob to the sff scene so I need a little help with da info stuff

Thanks
R

[MrE]

Will it all fit? Good question. The three hard disks and DVD/RW will fit, but the water cooler would depend on which one you went with, size of hoses, size of Radiator, etc...

Wish I could help on board recommendations, but one thing I've run into building Aria boxes (the AMD64 will be my third box) is that finding m-ATX motherboards that have a full feature set (SATA/1394/1GB NIC) is tough. Even the MSI has only a 10/100, and most don't come with 1394 or 1Gb NIC for the A64 platform. You have to make some consessions besides only 3 PCI slots and two ram slots. This board looks good: GIGABYTE GA-8IG1000MK (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-128-222&depa=0)

-E

[Royal]

okay so I am not relagated to one of those uber small MoBos with only one agp and one pci. That helps alot thanks :) as for the one GigE and the SATA I could careless all it needs is the space for all my parts if I remember right I got an older waterchill setup. SO I'll most likely be putting the rad outsiode the case no biggie.

[MrE]

OK, new update: Transplant complete. Wow, what a friggen mess. Turns out the MSI board doesn't like my memory (Mushkin Blue Pack 2-3-3-7) and fubar'd my Windows Install (no way to repair and it deleted my Windows directory :mad: ). I kept getting "cannot copy file from CD" during the WinXP install. Removed one of the modules and then the problems went away. Seems if I run one module that I could get it to run. The SPD for BIOS pinned it at CAS3 (3-3-3-8) and even uping the voltage to 2.8 didn't help. Arg... So 6 hours later, its got a new install of XP running with the following:

Antec Aria SFF Case
AMD Athlon64 3400+ w/ Zalman CNPS7000A-Cu
MSI K8TM-ILSR w/ 1Gb Mushkin Blue Pack DDR (soon to be replaced)
BFG Tech Nvidia 6800GT OC 256Mb Video
36Gb WD Raptor 10K SATA
250Gb WD 7200RPM SATA
8x NEC 2500A DVD Burner flashed to support Dual Layer Media
Sound Blaster Audigy Gamer

The box runs much cooler (and quieter) than the SN85 that this replaces. Once I get my RAM issues nailed down on this board I will go through all of the overclocking features of the board. Just as a note, you can raise or lower the RAM voltage from 2.55 to 2.85 in the BIOS as well as change the FSB from 200 to 280. There are quite a few things I'd like to play with once the bugs are worked out.

Regards,

-E

[computerfan]

Antec Aria SFF Case
AMD Athlon64 3400+ w/ Zalman CNPS7000A-Cu
MSI K8TM-ILSR w/ 1Gb Mushkin Blue Pack DDR (soon to be replaced)
BFG Tech Nvidia 6800GT OC 256Mb Video
36Gb WD Raptor 10K SATA
250Gb WD 7200RPM SATA
8x NEC 2500A DVD Burner flashed to support Dual Layer Media
Sound Blaster Audigy Gamer

Wow, that sounds like a sweet set up. I'll be buying the rest of my parts(3400+, MSI mobo, ram) and building it tomorrow. I am planning on using some Corsair Value Select with it. Have you heard about any compatiblity issues with that ram?

[MrE]

I think the Corsair memory will be fine. I'm probably going either Corsair or Kingston this next round in regards to memory. Mushkin used to be very reliable (albiet not the most overclockable) memory around. Now with two motherboards showing similar issues running two sticks, I think its time to move to another brand of memory.

-E

[Bomber]

This board looks good: GIGABYTE GA-8IG1000MK (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-128-222&depa=0)

-E

I've got that board in my HTPC. It is pretty good. No voltage tweaks for the overclockers out there, but my 2.4c m0 still chugs along at 3.0 without issue.

[MrE]

Also as another note, the power supply connector on this board is right behind the CPU socket (under the PSU) which is a pain in the ass to hook up if you have sleaved the power connectors. Spent a good 10 minutes trying to re-route this around the Zalman cooler. Overall though I am very pleased with this motherboard. It does have some nice overclock features that I hope to exploit in the near future once the ram has been swapped for another brand.

-E

[computerfan]

Ok, I got my system set up now too.
Antec Aria SFF Case
AMD Athlon64 3200+ w/ stock HSF
MSI K8TM-ILSR w/ 1Gb Corsair Value Select at CAS 2.5
ATI A-I-W 9700pro
160Gb WD 7200RPM SATA
old DVD drive and SoundBlaster Value card from old machine.

So far I have had no problems with my system. The mobo came with the retention bracket installed and my Corsair memory works fine. The wiring is a bit messy and it will take a while to get it somewhat tidy. So far I've only ran it with the case panels and lid off (just got it up and running last night) and I find it extremely quiet. Even with the blower installed too. :D

[MrE]

Good choice on the box. Yes, cable management is all but impossible due to the varying cable lengths. I have some Corsair XMS Pro memory on its way to replace my Mushkin this week. Can't wait to play with the overclocking features of this board.

-E

[computerfan]

Ya, the OC options seem pretty good.
What is your CPU temp MrE? I was playing around with the BIOS setting last night and I noticed it was displaying the CPU temp at 65 degrees C. That seemed a little high to me. Is there any chance that the BIOS isn't listing the temp accurately?

[computerfan]

Ok I need some help.
How do you install WindowsXP when it doesn't recognize the SATA drives to install on. There is an included floppy that came with the MSI board but how does that help with an Aria that has no floppy drive?
I'm starting to think that I'm going to have to temporarily use my old floppy and just rest it beside my case for this. I have tried a few bios changes but I can't get it to recognize my SATA drive for installing windows.
Help is much appreciated.

[roc]

PC World had a look at it and then had little good to say...

http://www.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,115635,00.asp

"Look at all that room to move, I thought. Installation will be a snap. Well not quite. In fact, every time I fought through the mess of power cables, realigned the ports and screwed the motherboard back into the chassis, I realized that I would have to take it out again."

Maybe the dude is dumb... Maybe he'll save you a lot of hassle.

[computerfan]

PC World had a look at it and then had little good to say...

http://www.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,115635,00.asp

"Look at all that room to move, I thought. Installation will be a snap. Well not quite. In fact, every time I fought through the mess of power cables, realigned the ports and screwed the motherboard back into the chassis, I realized that I would have to take it out again."

Maybe the dude is dumb... Maybe he'll save you a lot of hassle.

Ok, true it's not the greatest at installation time. I had a few problems too when I installed mine. But I don't think he can complain because it sounds like he did nothing to prepare for the install. If he read this forum he probably could of cut that 2 hour install down to 1 hour. And no matter how bad the install is, the finished product more than makes up for it. It's a kick ass cass, and a kick ass system with the right components.

As for my problem (I couldn't recognize SATA drive on windows installation), I ended up hanging a floppy drive off the side and using my ATI 9700pro power conection to power it. This way I could insert the provided floppy (came with mobo) and add my SATA storage device to the list of possible install locations. I hope there is a better solution out there because that was a little annoying. Overall though, I am proud of the system, especially with the extra time and effort I put into it.

[MrE]

That's pretty much what I had to do as well. I hooked up a 4 pin molex connector to floppy adapter and tack on a floppy for the [F6] install during boot. Once complete, the floppy went bye bye. :) Since the OS won't allow for USB drives as a "source" drive, and trying to setup an OEM directory on the OS CD and slipstream this seemed to be a bit of a waste, this happens to be the only solution at the moment.

-E

[MrE]

Also, I fired up Speedfan and I'm seeing 49c for the CPU temps for idle, and running I hit 53c when playing a bit of Doom 3. I believe the Zalman cooler is way more effecient then the stock AMD cooler, and most review sites show a range of 7-10c difference between the pair. I also used AS5 when installing the CPU cooler.

Regards,

-E

[computerfan]

I also used AS5 when installing the CPU cooler.

I also used some AS5 thermal paste but I didn't want to add too much seeing as the stock HSF already had a thin film of it on the bottom. Maybe I should take off the HSF and add a little more AS5. Is it bad to mix thermal pastes? And is the temp reading from the BIOS accurate?

[computerfan]

oops, ignore this.

[ALYNCH75]

:) I have an Antec Aria case and purchased all my parts. If you send me a private mesage I can give you my model numbers and configuartion (ie motherboard and the such.) you can build one for less than what you are trying to spend. You will just have to purchase a monitor if you dont' already have one... Let me know and I can help... Just so you know I have build several of these and have been working on computers for the past 11 years I know what I am doing. I can send you part numbers and specs and you can build it yourself.. Best thing is I won't charge you for the advice....... Can someone say this is a FREE Consultation. I can even tell you where I purchased the items




Listen I know how you guys feel I have an old shuttle sn45G and I had the AMD 64 one you are discussing. Its horrible, I even cut 3 blowholes and installed 3 80mm fans it slowed down the fan due to the fact that the temps were okay but now with the 3 extra fans althouh more silent than the cpu fan the system is noisy. Well needless to say I gave that machine to my wife for her home office as she's not really into computers so I don't think she noticess a quiet pc. But I got an Antec Aria setup with the AMD 64 and it runs like a dream. I do alot of gaming so I had to cut one blowhole and then I cut another just to added an LED fan and it still runs quiet even under full load. I ran Far Cry for about 2 hours then I went online with my Star Wars game and it was great checked temps after and they were stable. You can try to take temps with a third party cpu themomert and digital ready works great my temps never went over 67 celcius. If you want my complete configuration let me know send me a private message and I will get it to you. I say everyone needs to ditch that shuttle and get an Antec Aria case build your own. More flexable more upgradeable and you can really put 3 hard drives this baby is grand. SOme people say they get high temps so If you send a private message I will send you the model numbers of all my specs. The noise level of my Antec Aria is only 22dBA I can get it down to about 19Dba

[MrE]

Best thing is I won't charge you for the advice....... Can someone say this is a FREE Consultation.

Um, thats kinda the point to these forums. Nobody asks for money when it comes to fixing/upgrading/modding. We all share this info. with little regard to asking a consulting fee.

BTW, added an 80mm fan to the video card side of the Aria. Dropped my temps another 6F, so it goes to show that the case benifits from the added intake fan.

-E