• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Torn Between Two Cases

P

Paragon54

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 14, 2003
Messages
136
I am planning to build a system within the next week or so consisting of the following components:

Processor: Intel 2500K
Motherboard: Asus Maximus Gene IV, Gen 3
Memory: 8 GB Corsair Vengance
Cooling: Corsair H60 or H80
SSD: 256 GB Crucial M4, Samsung 830, or Intel 510
HD: 1TB WD Black
Video: GTX560TI

Now for the hard part, I'm torn between the TJ08-E and the PC-A05 cases, each brinngs some very unique features to the table. Need some suggestions. TIA!
 
Both are great cases. the Lian Li A05 has one of the biggest threads of all time on this forum that's lasted over 5 years.

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1133290

That said, the A05 is not really a small form factor case. It's more of a fat mid-tower that's a little shorter in height than normal mid towers. If you want a small case, get the Silverstone TJ08-E. Also, the A05 is more restricted in terms of airflow in the front than the TJ08-E.
 
by PC-A05, I assume you mean the Lian Li full ATX chassis? If so, then consider an mATX chassis instead; that one isn't SFF in any way, it's just SFF-like.

As for the TJ08-E, the layout and general arrangement are very SFF, but the total dimensions of the chassis make it barely smaller than the PC-A05.

What are the goals for the system? Also, are you set on mATX over mITX? There are some distinctly-SFF mATX chassis from Silverstone, Antec, Lian Li, Fractal, etc.

It just sounds like you're making a slightly-smaller-than-usual desktop.
 
I'm an IT Professional that currently has two workstations one in a Corsair 650D and one in a Lian Li Full Tower. I'm ready to cut back to a simpler less cumbersome desk top not to mention cut back on the noise.
 
Don't get the A05. It's not really a SFF computer. It's comparable to many other mid towers only with slightly different dimensions due to the front mounted PSU making it shorter.
 
I just bought the TJ08-E. It's a very versatile case, well built, and with very good ventilation. The case is pretty compact regarding height and depth. However it is wider than I expected, it leaves a lot of room for routing cables.
If you have the case on the desk or relatively close to your face, you'll probably hear the front fan. I have it controlled by the motherboard, while I can hear it I don't consider it intrusive or annoying. Since I didn't install a DVD drive, I located both my SSD and 3.5 drive up top. That makes for a very clean installation.
 
TJ08E for sure. Much smaller footprint and completely optimized for mATX
 
having just built my new rig in the TJ08-E, I can say that I am very happy with it. Its not super small..but it is smaller than my last mid tower..and air flow is great, well built. Very satisfied.
 
Thanks for the great information guys, you sold me! Will a single fan H60 be adequate for cooling a 2500K, as I don't plan to overclock much at all? If so what fan do you recommend? The H80's I've seen in your pictures look a bit tight with two fans, but I want to coll this rig properly. Thanks again for all the help!
 
Im thinking about taking one fan out from my H80..Ill let ya know the temp differences when I do

And Im just using the stock Corsair fans..quiet enough for me with this case..

Im on a 2600k, oc to 4.2, idles at 32c.. IBT stressed at 60c, with the H80 on medium setting
 
Paragon54 said:
Thanks for the great information guys, you sold me! Will a single fan H60 be adequate for cooling a 2500K, as I don't plan to overclock much at all?
Click to expand...

Overkill. The 2500k doesn't produce a huge amount of heat unless you go crazy overclocking on it. I've run one overclocked to 4GHz with the STOCK cooler. The fan never ramped up in speed unless I was stability testing it. Regular web browsing, videos, etc. the fan was really quiet (enabled a fan profile in BIOS).
 
Zap said:
Overkill. The 2500k doesn't produce a huge amount of heat unless you go crazy overclocking on it. I've run one overclocked to 4GHz with the STOCK cooler. The fan never ramped up in speed unless I was stability testing it. Regular web browsing, videos, etc. the fan was really quiet (enabled a fan profile in BIOS).
Click to expand...

^^ This, you could probably still have some OC fun on a H60. Even with a Mild OC to 4.3-4.4Ghz it should be really quiet.

Oh and, your using a H60/H80, so you will have plenty of room to use the HDD bracket.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top