New HTPC in an Antec ISK 310-150
Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2012 8:39 pm
Really, just a PITA case to work in. You may notice I don't actually have a motherboard in it yet....the Intel H67 board has been backordered for several weeks now -.-
Case - Antec ISK 310-150
Mobo - Intel DH67CFB3
CPU - i3 3220
Ram - 8GB Corsair XMS3
Storage - OCZ Vertex 3 120GB SSD
PSU - Standard 150W Antec PSU
Graphics - HD2500 (IGPU)
ODD - Some random Teac DVD Rom
Cooling - Scythe Kozuti
Originally I was going to consider the Wesena ITX2/Streacom FC1, hence the Scythe Kozuti (as I wanted an optical drive, which prevented me from using a bigger sink like the Biug Shuriken), but then realized that the case, plus the PicoPSU would've cost a fortune (though not as much as the FC5 I recently did a build on). Spent some time looking and finally settled on ther Antec, which I admit does look nice, primarily due to the simple front which has absolutely no logos.
Per advice from other users, I opted to replace all the fans inside the case, including the PSU fan (which falls prey to an overly sensitive load sensor in the PSU), with Yate Loon's (yes, I'm aware they say 'Young Year', and that the model number printed on the label corresponds to a sleeve bearing model, instead of the 'Ball Bearing' claim printed below the brand) as they were the best ones I could find locally at a decent price (~$7 plus tax). I went and cut out the grill on the PSU as well, and will be creating a duct that will seal the exhaust fans to the exterior shell (there's around half an inch of dead space between the exhaust grill on the shell, and the actual fans which are mounted inside the chassis). All three fans will be undervolted externally via a 5V Molex adapters (I switched the Molex pins around on the PSU connector, the black Molex connector you see in the pictures is for the power LEDs, and yes they are designed for 5V so everything works out).
Cable-wise, everything is sort of tight, but not the worst I've seen. I don't know how Puget Systems and other review sites could make the case interior look so messy, as it really isn't that bad. A few zip ties here and there works wonders (I have not finalized the locations for the ties, will have to wait until I get the motherboard in before I can button everything up, for now it is just a mockup). I removed the now-useless bracket for the three speed controller on the Antec Tricool and plan to route the USB 3.0 header pass through cable to the back I/O panel, as my board doesn't have a USB 3.0 header. Should I keep the front panel USB connections 2.0 or 3.0?
Some pictures:
Pretty much an unobstructed path to the exhaust fans.
Brendan
Case - Antec ISK 310-150
Mobo - Intel DH67CFB3
CPU - i3 3220
Ram - 8GB Corsair XMS3
Storage - OCZ Vertex 3 120GB SSD
PSU - Standard 150W Antec PSU
Graphics - HD2500 (IGPU)
ODD - Some random Teac DVD Rom
Cooling - Scythe Kozuti
Originally I was going to consider the Wesena ITX2/Streacom FC1, hence the Scythe Kozuti (as I wanted an optical drive, which prevented me from using a bigger sink like the Biug Shuriken), but then realized that the case, plus the PicoPSU would've cost a fortune (though not as much as the FC5 I recently did a build on). Spent some time looking and finally settled on ther Antec, which I admit does look nice, primarily due to the simple front which has absolutely no logos.
Per advice from other users, I opted to replace all the fans inside the case, including the PSU fan (which falls prey to an overly sensitive load sensor in the PSU), with Yate Loon's (yes, I'm aware they say 'Young Year', and that the model number printed on the label corresponds to a sleeve bearing model, instead of the 'Ball Bearing' claim printed below the brand) as they were the best ones I could find locally at a decent price (~$7 plus tax). I went and cut out the grill on the PSU as well, and will be creating a duct that will seal the exhaust fans to the exterior shell (there's around half an inch of dead space between the exhaust grill on the shell, and the actual fans which are mounted inside the chassis). All three fans will be undervolted externally via a 5V Molex adapters (I switched the Molex pins around on the PSU connector, the black Molex connector you see in the pictures is for the power LEDs, and yes they are designed for 5V so everything works out).
Cable-wise, everything is sort of tight, but not the worst I've seen. I don't know how Puget Systems and other review sites could make the case interior look so messy, as it really isn't that bad. A few zip ties here and there works wonders (I have not finalized the locations for the ties, will have to wait until I get the motherboard in before I can button everything up, for now it is just a mockup). I removed the now-useless bracket for the three speed controller on the Antec Tricool and plan to route the USB 3.0 header pass through cable to the back I/O panel, as my board doesn't have a USB 3.0 header. Should I keep the front panel USB connections 2.0 or 3.0?
Some pictures:
Pretty much an unobstructed path to the exhaust fans.
Brendan