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Hey Fellow [H]'ers:
Haven't posted in awhile because I haven't done much with my computer recently. Used to upgrade almost every component in my system regularly but have been too busy with work and kids to play around much with my computer. The FT02 Limited Edition Red case shown below remains my favorite case of all time - but I've been using it for 2-3 (or more) years and it was time for some new blood.
This was my setup for the last couple of years:
Then I started seeing a lot of nice builds around the Corsair 540 so I picked one up at Fry's and did some quick ghetto "modding" (yes, I've got a thing for all things orange):
Reassembled everything, slapped in a few new parts (moved to a H100i from a H80i, an EVGA GTX780 Ti Classified from an Asus 7970, and a handful of SP120 fans) and ended up with the following:
And the completed setup:
Summary: The FT02 is a much nicer case in terms of build quality but the 540 is really easy to work with and very functional. The combination of moving to the H100i and the 540 dropped the idle temps on my OC'ed 3930k down to the low 30's from the low 40's *C in the FT02. This is really impressive considering that I've got all of the SP120's running at minimum speed through the Zalman fan controller - which also means that the fan noise is considerably lower than the FT02 was. The wires on the back (PSU) side on the 540 is a rat's nest but it doesn't matter since you never see it.
Overall, very happy with the move to the new case . . . just wish that Corsair will release a higher quality version of the 540 next time around. The frame and panels are all pretty thin and feel pretty flimsy; the case looks nice until/unless you inspect it up close. Crossing my fingers that I'll be able to buy a better build version next year!
Haven't posted in awhile because I haven't done much with my computer recently. Used to upgrade almost every component in my system regularly but have been too busy with work and kids to play around much with my computer. The FT02 Limited Edition Red case shown below remains my favorite case of all time - but I've been using it for 2-3 (or more) years and it was time for some new blood.
This was my setup for the last couple of years:
Then I started seeing a lot of nice builds around the Corsair 540 so I picked one up at Fry's and did some quick ghetto "modding" (yes, I've got a thing for all things orange):
Reassembled everything, slapped in a few new parts (moved to a H100i from a H80i, an EVGA GTX780 Ti Classified from an Asus 7970, and a handful of SP120 fans) and ended up with the following:
And the completed setup:
Summary: The FT02 is a much nicer case in terms of build quality but the 540 is really easy to work with and very functional. The combination of moving to the H100i and the 540 dropped the idle temps on my OC'ed 3930k down to the low 30's from the low 40's *C in the FT02. This is really impressive considering that I've got all of the SP120's running at minimum speed through the Zalman fan controller - which also means that the fan noise is considerably lower than the FT02 was. The wires on the back (PSU) side on the 540 is a rat's nest but it doesn't matter since you never see it.
Overall, very happy with the move to the new case . . . just wish that Corsair will release a higher quality version of the 540 next time around. The frame and panels are all pretty thin and feel pretty flimsy; the case looks nice until/unless you inspect it up close. Crossing my fingers that I'll be able to buy a better build version next year!
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