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Case & cooling advice please

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  • 28-04-2008 12:13pm
    #1
    TKK
    Closed Accounts Posts: 566 ✭✭✭


    I'm looking for a bit of advice here from the more experienced. There are basically two seperate but related queries here. Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to advise :D


    1: Case
    My current pc is very soon to be upgraded to a gaming machine which means that the psu, cpu, motherboard, ram & gfx are going to be replaced. Having wanted to set up a HTPC for a while this provides me with the ideal opportunity to utilise these components.

    My case is one of these. I need to figure out if this case is going to be suitable for my new gaming machine? I'm mainly wondering if the airflow will be sufficient for cooling?

    The basic idea is if this case is not suitable for the new machine then I will use it for the HTPC (As it's piano black it will look ok too). However if it is suitable then I intend to source a proper HTPC case with integrated IR and VFD as this will sit better with the rest of the entertainment setup.


    2: HTPC cooling
    The relevant components to go into the HTPC from the current pc are:
    Antec TruePower2.0 380Watt ATX12V
    ASUS K8v
    AMD Athlon 64 3200
    nVidia FX5700

    The stock cooler for the cpu and gfx are noisy buggers and will need to be changed before they can be used in a HTPC. Can these go to passive or will there be need for a low noise fan? Can anyone recommend me some products? As the case I end up using will have to be a full atx I don't see that there will be any size restrictions.

    Due to the noise of the cpu and gfx coolers I'm not certain if the power supply will be quiet enough. This leaves me with the option of either changing the fan in the psu or replacing the psu if it turns out to be too loud. As it is well out of warranty I'd happily enough change the fan intially to lower the noise. If this doesn't work then I'll replace with a quiet psu.

    Also I may need one or two case fans especially if I change to passive. Are scythe the way to go or are there better out there?


Comments

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    #2
    dingdong1234567
    Registered Users Posts: 828 ✭✭✭dingdong1234567


    Have been toying with the idea of using one of these for my HTPC build in will be doing in the coming months:

    http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=17488&agid=669

    Take the fan off this and it provides passive cooling. Gets good reviews in various tech forums namely: http://www.avforums.com/forums/view_introduction.htm

    I'm defo going with it, means you can scarp the OEM heat sink and put the spare cash towards the mini ninja.


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    #3
    TKK
    Closed Accounts Posts: 566 ✭✭✭TKK


    I had seen that and it's on my list of possibles alright along with this for the gfx.


  • Options
    #4
    TKK
    Closed Accounts Posts: 566 ✭✭✭TKK


    So does anyone have an opinion on the case and it's suitability for a gaming rig?


  • Options
    #5
    ricka05
    Registered Users Posts: 322 ✭✭ricka05


    LIAN LI OR Silverstone
    ............


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    #6
    Sqaull20
    Registered Users Posts: 2,044 ✭✭✭Sqaull20


    TKK wrote: »
    So does anyone have an opinion on the case and it's suitability for a gaming rig?

    This is my next buy, going to put about 6 fans in it, plus a 22cm akasa fan

    Coolermaster Dominator

    http://www2.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=18538&agid=631

    Lian Li and Silverstone are great too, especially Lian Li


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    #7
    TKK
    Closed Accounts Posts: 566 ✭✭✭TKK


    That's a decent case and should be very cool. Could be noisy with all those fans though? I know someone with the Antec P180 and it's a great case.

    I'm more interested in figuring out if my current pc case is useable for a gaming machine or should I use it for my HTPC?


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    #8
    Sqaull20
    Registered Users Posts: 2,044 ✭✭✭Sqaull20


    Your case is fine for a gaming pc, plenty of cooling and space..

    Couldnt recommend a noise free htpc, never bothered with one until now :)

    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055278463&page=3


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    #9
    TKK
    Closed Accounts Posts: 566 ✭✭✭TKK


    I thought the Sonata might be good enough alright though it's always better to seek advice from the experienced. I have just remembered too that there's an extra fan mounting point on the front for an intake that I had completely forgotten about which means there should definitely be enough of an airflow even with a serious upgrade.

    I'm going to start investigating HTPC cases now so. I reckon that a decent cpu heatsink and gfx heatsink combined with some quiet case fans to generate a good airflow will work just fine and the HTPC won't be audible. I suppose I'll have to get the other half to give an opinion on the aesthetics too.


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