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Case Advice

R

Radio_Silence

n00b
Joined
Oct 29, 2005
Messages
12
I am in the process of building a new gaming rig and need advice on a case. Specs are as follows:

- AMD SanDiego 4000 (I know - should have bought the 3700)
- Zalman CNPS 9500 Cooler
- Asus A8N32 SLI mobo
- Cosair XMS 3500LLPRO (2GB)
- (2) eVGA 7800 GTX OCs
- Creative X-Fi Xtreme Music
- PC Power & Cooling 510 SLI PSU
- (4) Hitachi Deskstar 250GB SATA hard drives
- Plextor 716 AL/SW

I am currently using a Cooler Master ATC-110 in my existing system. I had planned on putting the new components in this case but was worried about the cooling, especially since I plan to OC. The ATC-110 only has four 80mm fans. Of particular concern is that there is only one 80mm rear exhaust fan.

Will this case provide adequate cooling if I replace the fans with something that produces more airflow or should I look at buying another case?

I had looked at the CM Stacker but despite the incredible cooling potential, I am very unimpressed with the asthetics and am worried about potential noise levels. Another option was the Silverstone TJ03 but that seems to be just an upgraded ATC-110 with an additional exhaust fan. I would love to have a TJ07 but it won't work with the heat pipe cooled Asus mobo.

In short, should I replace the ATC-110 and, if so, what case do you recommend?

Thanks for you input.
 
Coolermaster ATC 110.... :eek:
I love that case.

Id go with the stacker, or a Lian Li 1x00 series.
 
I've got 3 of those Hitachi drives in my P180 - doing nothing but tweaking and benching so far but those drives do heat up pretty good and I am very happy with how the P180 allows me to have them isolated in the bottom compartment where they do not contribute much heat to the CPU/GPU/memory.
 
RS, I'm putting together a very similar rig and I'm using the Antec P180. Great case, have it already, impressed with the quality. I'm a little concerned with the plastic hinges on the door, but then again, I've never had a door that lasted over 3 months so I guess I'll live when it breaks off.

The two-compartment configuration should work great for you - the deskstars can go in the bottom compartment with the PCP&C 510, keeping a lot of heat away from the mobo etc. A lot of people are running the P180 without the Tricool fan in the bottom chamber - just relying on the PSU fan. (If you do that, be sure to tape off any excess space around the PSU on the back panel. But given the size of the 510, I'm not sure there'll be any.) Although with 4 deskstars in the bottom, I'd probably try the Tricool, if only to see if there's a difference.

Some have had trouble with the length of the PSU cables in the P180 - cables don't always reach to the top of the mobo. But I understand that the P180 / PCP&C 510 / A8N-sli premium combination works fine. Given that the layout of the A8N32 is simlar to the A8N-sli premium, your setup should work fine too. I saw someone (either here or at silentpcreview) actually route some of the cables behind the mobo tray - looked really cool. (Please note I said behind the mobo tray, not between the mobo and tray - that would be bad for obvious reasons.)

Only other thought I have is that release of the A8N32-sli deluxe is delayed yet AGAIN. :( I've been waiting almost 2 months for it, and the earliest it will be available is November 17. I've talked to a couple of vendors about it, and they've told me they have no confidence in the 11/17 date. So I think that I'll probably go with the A8N-sli premium. It's got the heat pipe of the A8N32, and although it doesn't run x16 in sli mode, the x8 that it runs will really be more than enough for some time to come (certainly, for as long as I'll use this mobo). Other differences are small, such as the external I/O ports include a firewire port instead of external SATA, and no WIFI available on the A8n-sli premium. Well, one big difference - the A8n-sli premium is available!

Sorry so wordy - hope it helps.
 
N H O said:
you need to stop posting that case before you giv sumone a heart attack :p
Click to expand...

lol I thought the floral print was funny plus if you look at the specs its really pretty good for $35 aside from that dreadful print
 
LongShotHero said:
lol I thought the floral print was funny plus if you look at the specs its really pretty good for $35 aside from that dreadful print
Click to expand...
$35 after rebates....you gosta pay $80 first!
 
That's not a rebate on the flowery case - it's "Instant Savings" so it comes off right away. I know because I looked REAL close lol. I would have bought it if not for the $16 shipping. I'd definitely pay $35 for it tho...but not $51.
 
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