SPCR

Huge ATX cases, bleh.

How about a review of the many new Lian Li ITX cases heh.

I hear an optional cover for the top vent is coming out, but I think it needs a redesign rather than a patch for obvious reasons. Hopefully there's a Ghost 2 or something already next year.

Great article Lawrence, thanks!
The Fractal Design Define R3 and the NZXT H2 still seem like the silent kings of ATX towers at the moment; I wonder how the R4 will fare, as some reviews on the web concluded it was a bit inferior noise-wise.

Thanks for another quality review SPCr!



But,

Enzo_FX wrote:Huge ATX cases, bleh.

this.

I too, am sick of overly large cases. no matter how nice they are, i just cant see needing all that space. im also not a fan of having cables come out of the top, it alwasy looks funky and cluttered to have stuff plugged in directly on the top of a case.

I for one am pretty much only interested in ATX cases, so keep 'em coming! If I need a smaller form factor, I get a laptop. HTPC is kinda interesting, but it is a niche market. I'm sure that SPCR writes reviews largely on equipment that is made available to them for review, if you want to see something different reviewed you can always make a donation here: viewforum.php?f=32

I purchased one of these a couple weeks back from NCIX but sight unseen. They wouldn't bring one in for me to see; the salesman said I didn't buy it they'd have to sell it as an open box item. They consciously risk a Customer not buying anything at all if they can't see it before hand. What's the point of a store if it has no available inventory . (I thought it was quite bizarre )

So I bought it online after reading about 10 positive - or very positive reviews. I'm replacing an Antec P180 case on this new build (we called it the Fridge because of the insulated panels) which I've had for 5 years or so. I really like the Swapping bay on top, and quite impressed overall. I too was surprised by it's large size, but I didn't see anything smaller with the features I like. It's certainly worth the price I paid for it. A good Value.

-Jim- wrote:I purchased one of these a couple weeks back from NCIX but sight unseen. They wouldn't bring one in for me to see; the salesman said I didn't buy it they'd have to sell it as an open box item. They consciously risk a Customer not buying anything at all if they can't see it before hand. What's the point of a store if it has no available inventory . (I thought it was quite bizarre )

So I bought it online after reading about 10 positive - or very positive reviews. I'm replacing an Antec P180 case on this new build (we called it the Fridge because of the insulated panels) which I've had for 5 years or so. I really like the Swapping bay on top, and quite impressed overall. I too was surprised by it's large size, but I didn't see anything smaller with the features I like. It's certainly worth the price I paid for it. A good Value.

This may not be the proper place to ask so please correct me if so, but are you getting rid of your P180? I have the original P180, and until after some recent upgrades, had never had cooling issues. I'm in the process of modding some areas for better cable management and airflow but am trying to find the VGA duct that came with the 180B. I just installed a Gelid Icy Vision on my GTX 260 but it blows down and I'd like to use the VGA duct in an exhaust config since the rear 120mm fan in the P180 will not be pulling the heated air off the card and out the back. I have not seen it for sale or replacement on Antec but am trying to find anyone who had it and doesn't use/want it since the general consensus in the community was to remove and discard it.

Hi,

I'm not getting rid of the P180, just retiring it as my main Rig. It was a fabulous case in it's time. I had it for 5+ years but wanted USB3, a door that has hinges on the right, and the ability to mount a 240 mm water cooler easily. All things the P180 couldn't do. The quality of the P180 was second to none, but the Ghost is decent enough for my needs.

As for the VGA duct, I don't have it sorry. Good luck in your search.

jcsdkx51 wrote:I have the original P180, and until after some recent upgrades, had never had cooling issues. I'm in the process of modding some areas for better cable management and airflow but am trying to find the VGA duct that came with the 180B. I just installed a Gelid Icy Vision on my GTX 260 but it blows down and I'd like to use the VGA duct in an exhaust config since the rear 120mm fan in the P180 will not be pulling the heated air off the card and out the back. I have not seen it for sale or replacement on Antec but am trying to find anyone who had it and doesn't use/want it since the general consensus in the community was to remove and discard it.

I wouldn't bother with it IMO. I tried something similar with a Lian Li VGA duct for my P182, and it actually raised GPU temps rather than lowering them.

What I found to be more effective was to just let the GPU heat rise as it desired, and have two exhaust fans in place (one in the rear, one in the top). I then modified the top spoiler to have it block noise. The mesh in the spoiler comes off easily with its folded metal tabs, and then I inserted a piece of cardboard, and stuck a sheet of thin acoustic foam on the underside. Though thin and cheap, it made a big difference to the apparent level of noise coming out of the top vent.

See my thread here for more ideas: viewtopic.php?f=14&t=63926

The top spoiler mod is in the first post, and scroll down to the second post to see the VGA duct.