Nexus iStyle vs. Chieftec dragon... which is the better buy?

Boomerang Rapido · Post by **Boomerang Rapido** » Tue Mar 04, 2003 12:00 am

Well I'm putting together a new system and I'm torn between the Nexus iStyle case and the chieftec dragon

Chieftec:
- Somewhat good looking
- Comes with a 340 W PSU
- Fairly cheap
- Room for 4 case fans (should I need it)

iStyle:
- Cost about 40$ more than the chieftec
- Comes with a 300 W PSU
- Apparently no screws which is a bonus
- and ...it just looks THAT much cooler

So my question is... I guess. Will a 300 W PSU be sufficient for a P4 2.4 GHz, GF4 ti4200 graphic card (possibly with a zalman heatpipe system), 2 seagates and a CD-rom drive? Or would I be better off with the 340 Watt?

Do I actually need the extra ventilation options the chieftec allows with the extra fans?

And most importantly, which of the two would be better for keeping the noise level down?

GamingGod · Post by **GamingGod** » Tue Mar 04, 2003 8:40 am

First off, its all a matter of personal preference, what do you want your case to look like. The 340w power supply that comes with the chieftec is probably complete crap. I belive the iStyle comes with a nexus? If so that is the quietest fan power supply around right now. 300w should be plenty, see this thread if your still worried :
http://forums.silentpcreview.com//viewtopic.php?t=3075
There are lots of nice cases, it just depends on what your looking for in a case. I really dont mind having everything screwed down as it gives me piece of mind that nothing is going to break free.

Boomerang Rapido · Post by **Boomerang Rapido** » Tue Mar 04, 2003 12:23 pm

looks like some people are running more hardware of a 300 Watt PSU than I will ever own... well that's at least good to know!

Guess then my only concern is whether I will need to run a couple intake/exhaust fans. On the iStyle there is room for a 90mm exhaust fan in the back, but the intake fan seems to be placed in a way that renders it completely useless!

GamingGod · Post by **GamingGod** » Tue Mar 04, 2003 12:42 pm

What I would do is go look at www.newegg.com which by the way is one of the best online retailers around. And look through their cases for one that you like. They have lots without power supplies and you can always buy a seasonic power supply from there also which isnt as quiet as a nexus but is much much cheaper. Also if you still think the seasonic is too loud(which I doubt you will) then you can put a quieter fan in it. What are the other components in your system, just to give me a basis of what you plan to do ect.

Boomerang Rapido · Post by **Boomerang Rapido** » Tue Mar 04, 2003 1:31 pm

GamingGod wrote:What are the other components in your system, just to give me a basis of what you plan to do ect.

Well I'm pretty much building a completely new system, and what I plan to get is:

- P4 2.4 GHz
(For starters I'll be running the stock HS+Fan)
- MSI 845PE MAX2 or Asus P4PE motherboard
(the Asus board uses passive cooling for the chipset)
- Sapphire Radeon 9500 PRO
(I'll very likely be looking for a more quiet cooling solution for this one)
- 512 MB whatever RAM
- 60 GB Seagate Barracuda IV HD
- 36X noname CD-ROM
(which I'll never get rid off, this thing doesn't make one sound

)

LAN and sound won't exactly be contributing to noise generation so I'll leave those out.

And basically I just want to keep my machine as quiet as possible (within reason).

And now I'll hop on over to that newegg site and see what they have

B · Post by B » Tue Mar 04, 2003 1:32 pm

Can say that the Chieftec midi dragon server case has too much ventilation. Ended up sealing the 2 rear fan slots and the lower front one (the one not in front of HD). Temps are CPU:45C Case:37C overnight on Sandra.

Details of my rig on the other chieftec case thread

GamingGod · Post by **GamingGod** » Tue Mar 04, 2003 2:24 pm

Yea thats the same as the system im going to build. Although im getting an albatron 845pe because it seems really good, and its only $85 shipped from newegg. And im also getting 512mb ddr2700 either samsung, crucial, kingston, or corsair. Im going to try the 60gb IBM 180gxp most likely (quiet as a barracuda but faster). Cases with 120mm fans are nice if you have a way to run the fan at lower voltage because a 120mm fan will push more air than a 80mm fan at the same db's. But 120mm fans are $15+ while 80mm fans can be had for $6. Again you can slow down the fans by 5v them or by using some other method. You might consider getting a case with 1 or 2 80mm exhaust fans (panaflo) and you can always 5v the fans. In general I think most people on this forum are against side intakes as they let noise escape. It also would be good for the intake fan to flow over the hardrive to keep it cool also. I would recommend a seasonic hardrive because they are cheaper than the nexus and almost as quiet. Pick a case that you think looks good, and you can always mod it if it doesnt have the cooling ability that you need.

Boomerang Rapido · Post by **Boomerang Rapido** » Wed Mar 05, 2003 12:29 am

Thanks for the input to all.... think I have something to work with now

Let me just run this one by you guys just for the h*** of it.....

Let's assume I go with the iStyle (anyone see a pattern forming here

). That case has the most hopelessly placed intake fan I ever saw.... but suppose I get out the old Dremel and drill a series of holes in the bottom front of the case (pointing to the floor) and stick an intake fan on there!? I'd have a 90mm intake and 90mm exhaust.... that should give me sufficient airflow right!?

ow and PS: would it be better to simply cut a 90mm round hole in the bottom (as opposed to driling a lot of holes) and them put an airfilter on it? I mean if grills cause turbulence then so would a series of little holes right!?

RaffeS · Post by **RaffeS** » Wed Mar 05, 2003 10:49 am

Let's assume I go with the iStyle (anyone see a pattern forming here ). That case has the most hopelessly placed intake fan I ever saw.... but suppose I get out the old Dremel and drill a series of holes in the bottom front of the case (pointing to the floor) and stick an intake fan on there!? I'd have a 90mm intake and 90mm exhaust.... that should give me sufficient airflow right!?

that's just what i plan to do to my case. I'm an iStyle-owner.
Wait 2 weeks and you'll see the result on my homepage.

actually the ventilation on the iStyle sucks, of you don't make your own ventilation for the case.

Boomerang Rapido · Post by **Boomerang Rapido** » Wed Mar 05, 2003 11:02 am

I'll be sure to check in to see the results

Guess the bottom is basically the only place you can put a fan if you wanna mod the case. Any other place and you'd have to ruin the look of the case. Looking forward to seeing the result.

By the way, how are those locking mechanisms, for the drives, cards and motherboard? are things locked in tightly enough without screws?

GamingGod · Post by **GamingGod** » Wed Mar 05, 2003 11:18 am

LOL Im actually doing something similar to that with my case. Im going to have a 120mm fan that sucks from the bottom of the case and blows air up at an angle towards the top back corner. Im making a little metal shroud so that I can angle the fan

RaffeS · Post by **RaffeS** » Fri Mar 07, 2003 10:05 am

>Guess the bottom is basically the only place you can put a fan if you >wanna mod the case. Any other place and you'd have to ruin the look of >the case.

absolutely true.

By the way, how are those locking mechanisms, for the drives, cards and motherboard? are things locked in tightly enough without screws?

well, they are okay. they're locked on only one side of the case.
you can complete the locking mechanisms with screws if you want to, there are holes for that...

Benj · Post by **Benj** » Mon Jun 02, 2003 7:07 am

RaffeS, what is your homepage? It's not on your profile as far as I can see. Have you attempted that mod yet? I'd be interested to see it too.

RaffeS · Post by **RaffeS** » Mon Jun 02, 2003 8:54 am

Benj, my homepage is kind of down rigt now. =/

the mods i've made: 2 holes in the bottom of the case + 2 zalman fans.
1 zalman fan for output-air in the back of the case.
installed a nexus super-panel to adjust the processor-fan with.
made a fancontroller for the 3 zalman-fans (on and off + they're running at 5 volt).

maybe I'll fix the homepage, then I can get back to you.

goose_wh · Post by **goose_wh** » Mon Jun 02, 2003 9:05 am

because of the way the istyle has its drive cages, there isnt enough room to fit a 92mm anywhere at the front unless you remove the HDD/FDD cage completely.
I cut an 80mm hole inbetween the drive cage walls & cut away some plastic from the front of the case at the bottom (so its concealed) & sticking a panaflo on it.
not fired it up yet as im sticking acousti pack deluxe in it first but ill let you know how it goes. (btw no screws is a bit of a pain becasue it all has to be re-riveted when i eventually put the case back together.)

RaffeS · Post by **RaffeS** » Mon Jun 02, 2003 9:22 am

that's right. no room for fans in the front of the case. that's why I made 2 holes in the bottom of the case.

Benj · Post by **Benj** » Thu Jun 05, 2003 1:19 am

Do you get a decent amount of airflow through those bottom holes? Does that push any air over the HDDs?

cliche · Post by **cliche** » Mon Jul 07, 2003 5:01 pm

RaffeS wrote:Let's assume I go with the iStyle (anyone see a pattern forming here ). That case has the most hopelessly placed intake fan I ever saw.... but suppose I get out the old Dremel and drill a series of holes in the bottom front of the case (pointing to the floor) and stick an intake fan on there!? I'd have a 90mm intake and 90mm exhaust.... that should give me sufficient airflow right!?

that's just what i plan to do to my case. I'm an iStyle-owner.
Wait 2 weeks and you'll see the result on my homepage.
actually the ventilation on the iStyle sucks, of you don't make your own ventilation for the case.

I'm an Istyle owner and would love to see your results - any update ?

Roger Beckett · Post by **Roger Beckett** » Fri Jul 11, 2003 12:35 pm

I have that case. From what I can tell the intake is between the front plastic and the metal inner case. About 1/2 inch gap the whole width of the case. The air then goes up behind the front and through lots of holes that appear to be designed to cool the drives.

cliche · Post by **cliche** » Fri Jul 11, 2003 1:07 pm

Roger Beckett wrote:I have that case. From what I can tell the intake is between the front plastic and the metal inner case. About 1/2 inch gap the whole width of the case. The air then goes up behind the front and through lots of holes that appear to be designed to cool the drives.

maxtors at 53 and 45 degrees web surfing on my istyle

Nexus iStyle vs. Chieftec dragon... which is the better buy?

Nexus iStyle vs. Chieftec dragon... which is the better buy?

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