P183 vs FT02 vs 650D vs 700D?

[chris719]

I'm looking to replace my old Antec Solo with something bigger that will help keep my temps down a bit more but I can't decide.

Right now I have a Core i7 930 @ 4.3 GHz with a Noctua NH-D14 which barely fits in the Solo, and a Radeon 6950 (with 6970 firmware) which didn't fit but does now after I used tin snips to cut pieces out of the drive cage. The biggest problem noise wise is the fan on the graphics card which runs fairly hot even idle in that case. I have an older Seasonic SS-550HT for PSU if I remember correctly.

I'm looking for something that is still relatively quiet or could be made that way.

The pros of the P183 are build quality, price, and ability to use the CP-850 power supply. I'm not sure how much better it will be regarding temperature though, especially for the GPU.

The FT-02 is almost perfect but it looks cramped for all it's size due to the orientation, and having the PSU on top may not be the best for CPU cooling. Costs more obviously.

The 650D / 700D look nice but not sure they are any better than the P183 for air cooling.

Anyone have any thoughts/recommendations?

Thanks!

[Ciril]

A vote fot FT02, mainly because I'm in the exact same situation and the FT02 seems just such an interesting upgrade. The only problem seems to be video card length, but I don't see why anyone would add a >11" vga card to a silent rig.

[m0002a]

If you remove the middle drive drawer from the P183 V3 (slides out after loosening thumbscrew), any length video card will fit. This leaves the bottom drive drawer (with vertical drive alignment) and the top 5.25" external drive bays to use for internal storage (adapter needed for 3.5" or SSD drives). The P183 V3 has 3 external 5.25" bays.

[systemlayers]

FT02B is a fantastic case but the fans need to be hooked up to a fan controller or undervolted to spin below 600rpm to be considered quiet. The default low just doesn't cut it.
@ 4-500rpm however they're just barely barely audible @ night with my cpu and gpu passively cooled. It's really quality and looks beautiful. In comparison the P183 doesn't look so nice I don't think but it is a true standard and probably can get closer to inaudible than the FT02B because the fortress is so 'open'. I use my 'old' p182 case with a couple 500rpm fans for HTPC it's effectively inaudible unless I put my ear up against it.
I don't think the 650D comes with a good (200mm I think it is) fan and it's not known to cool very effectively. However in every other respect (ease of build, layout, value) it's a true winner.

[johnniecache7]

Don't forget the Fractal Design Define XL it's maybe something you should look at as well.

http://www.fractal-design.com/?view=product&prod=54

[chris719]

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I'm going to go with the FT-02, now the only question is silver or black .

[Anatorax]

A word of re-assurance: go with FT02. Nothing else cools graphic cards like this. 5790 fits, so you card will fit too.