Cooler Master Elite 340, Fun Build.

[TheBlueChanell]

I was browsing the forums today, and I stumbled across the Cooler Master Elite 340. $40 is a steal for this case, considering it's cooling potential with only some minor modification. I may just have to put my Qmicra v1 away for a while until it sells, and pick-up the Elite 340 as a filler until I can get my Qmicra v2. Anyways, I'm looking to do the following.


The Swap:

Qmicra v1 w/ Enzotech Ultra-X/Zalman 9500.
4x 80MM Arctic 8025 Fans

For:

CM Elite 340 w/ Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme
4x Noctua 120mm SSO Fans


Modifications:

Case:
1. Intake Mod
2. Interior Sleeving

Motherboard:
1. Replacing the NB/SB Heatsinks w/ Forged Copper Enzotechs.
2. Vdroop Mod
3. Replace stock TIM with Arctic MX-2

System:
1. E4400 --> Q9450
2. 8800gts G92 --> 9800GTX


Questions:

1. How well is the E-340 built? Qmicra is very high quality and I'm afraid I may hate this case.
2. Does the E-340 fit in the Sugopack?
3. Will my 2 HDD's fit in this case w/ the Intake Mod?
4. TRue doesn't fit in the Qmicra v2 but the Ultima-90 does, would it be worth it just to go with the Ultima-90 so I don't have to fork over another $50 for a heatsink when I get my Qv2?
5. What kind of Temperatures do you think I'm gonna be seeing with the Quad with the Ultra-120 Extreme/Ultima 90.


Thank you for reading those that do, I'm really excited to embark on a first real case mod. I absolutely love my Qmicra, and I would recommend either model of it to anyone. All of the modifications to my motherboard/system were going to be done for my Qmicra but the Case, Fans and Heatsink are only going to cost me about $150, so I'm only going to lose about $40 on the case when I switch to a Qv2, and I feel this is a good project until l can get my hands on a Qv2. Maybe I could even sell the modified case to a friend for like $60 when I get a Qv2...hmmmm. -Matt.

 

[TheBlueChanell]

Does anyone know if I can fit two hard drives in there without having to worry about heat?

I'm looking to throw my Raptor and my 500GB storage drive in there.

 

[setscrew]

Go with something like this bay or a couple of these and go with an external optical.

 

[Nicksterr]

I just tried out this case. It's very small and you REALLY have to work at cables/connectors to get everything in there. It's just too small for my stuff.

 

[win32asmguy]

I have used this case with my system up until a few days ago. I got it when CompUSA was doing their clearance sales for $20. I like the fact that the motherboard tray is removeable but I do not like how cable clearance is very small - as a previous poster mentioned. Mine also did not come with a front firewire port, even though it had a space for it. I did get fairly good temperatures. My E2140 ran great even overclocked for many weeks at a time, no stability issues. The intake mod would also probably help temperature even more, all that I had was a 120mm on the front and the back of the case, along with a side air duct for the CPU.