Antec NSK2400 Media PC Case

cmcquistion · Post by **cmcquistion** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 11:05 am

The parts just came in (everything except the Thermalright SI-120, ordered from a different distributor). I had an unused Zalman CNPS7700AlCu, on hand, so I did a fan swap on it, with one of the low speed Scythe 120mm FDB fans (800 RPM) that I just ordered.

I put the system together with the modified Zalman 7700 and another Scythe 120mm FDB fan (800 RPM) in the exhaust position. The other 120mm fan was removed and blocking plate put it. I swapped the power supply with a Seasonic S12-330.

Fired everything up and WOW!!! These fans are QUIET!!! I have them running at 12V, hooked up to the motherboard headers and I cannot hear them running, unless I stick my ear within about an inch.

This is in my office, though, where I have 9 other computers running. All of the computers are nearly silent and built with SPCR-approved methods

, including Seasonic S12-330 power supplies all around, quite a few fanless heatsinks, and most hard drives suspended or at least grommet-mounted. With all these computers running, it is NOT a perfectly silent environment, but it is as quiet as I can make it...

This is a link to the fan that I'm referring to. Very, very impressive. Once I get Windows installed on this system, I'll play with Speedfan and see if I can control fan speeds from Windows. This motherboard (MSI K8NGM2-FID) has limited control in the BIOS, over CPU Fan speed, but no Vcore control (I'll use a software program, for that, from Windows), and no control over other fan speeds (for me, the exhaust fan.)

*EDIT* This Scythe fan moves VERY little air. It is incredibly quiet, even at 12V, but at the expense of airflow. I think for my project, it will probably be fine, but if you want something with a bit more airflow, and you're willing to use a fan controller to dial in the amount of air that you need, one of the higher-rated versions of this fan is probably the way to go.

Post by **MikeC** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 11:32 am

rage wrote:Was there any consideration that, in addition or instead of the air intake on the left side of the case, to put intake vents on the underside of the power supply chamber similar to what was done for the hard drive chamber?

Not really, mainly because it was clear the left side vents were more than adequate for the vast majority of conditions. It's true the optical drives might benefit somewhat -- but only if the side vents were closed up. It would be simple enough for anyone with a drill or other metal cutting tools to do exactly what you ask about. I doubt there would be much benefit in most conditions.

cmcquistion · Post by **cmcquistion** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 12:25 pm

cmcquistion wrote:Once I get Windows installed on this system, I'll play with Speedfan and see if I can control fan speeds from Windows. This motherboard (MSI K8NGM2-FID) has limited control in the BIOS, over CPU Fan speed, but no Vcore control (I'll use a software program, for that, from Windows), and no control over other fan speeds (for me, the exhaust fan.)

Well, Speedfan can't read or control anything on this motherboard, except the hard drive temp.

RMClock can read and control Vcore, which is very good, because I can use this software program to undervolt the CPU.

MSI Live Monitor 4 can read temps and voltages, successfully, but doesn't offer any controlling options, like Speedfan. The RPM's are so low that Live Monitor can't read them. Many software programs have this problem, unfortunately.

*EDIT* Ran Prime95 on this computer, over night. Completely stable and CPU temp hasn't gone over 40C. (I'm running stock speed, but undervolted to 1.1V, using RMClock.) I blocked off the top air intake and all rear air intakes, in order to get it to pull more air from the front, going over the hard drive, because the hard drive was running about 44C. This lowered my hard drive temp to 40C. I'm using a Samsung 80 GB, PATA. This seems a bit high, but I haven't used this drive in another system, so I'm not sure how it is calibrated and whether this is abnormally high, or not. The Scythe exhaust fan is so low airflow that this might be about the best I can get with my system.

nick705 · Post by **nick705** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 2:21 pm

Not sure if this is really the right thread to ask this, but about the Fusion...

Page 1 of the review states:

A second product based on the same design as the NSK2400 is planned for release later in the year. Called the Fusion, it is aimed at the high end, with a real brushed aluminum front panel, integrated VFD and remote control, and other extra features.

I haven't seen any mention elsewhere of a remote control shipping with the Fusion - the product manual has some details about the VFD, but no reference to an IR sensor or a handset. Could Mike or anyone else confirm for definite that it will integrate an IR sensor, and if so will it be compatible with a MCE remote (unlike the iMon hardware that Silverstone persist in using)?

I don't want to have to use the MCE USB receiver... I hate dangling dongles...

Ackelind · Post by **Ackelind** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 3:43 am

In the PSU review:

"This review assumes, naturally, that the SH380 PSU will be used in the NSK2400 case."

Is it not supposed to be SU380, or did i miss something out?

Also, i noticed on the "Fusion" product sheet that it had a 430W PSU. Is the PSU different from the one in the NSK2400, except for the wattage rating?

Edit: One other thing came to mind. What was the brand of the fan used in the SU380 PSU? How was it attatched to the fan controller of the PSU, and does anyone know of any good 80mm fans that would suit as a replacement? It is hard to find a fan that is quiet but also starts reliable with only 4.4V.

cmcquistion · Post by **cmcquistion** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 5:06 am

Ackelind wrote:Edit: One other thing came to mind. What was the brand of the fan used in the SU380 PSU? How was it attatched to the fan controller of the PSU, and does anyone know of any good 80mm fans that would suit as a replacement? It is hard to find a fan that is quiet but also starts reliable with only 4.4V.

It is an Antec-branded fan. There are no markings for model number, voltage, amps, etc. It does not have an RPM lead. That's all I know about it, looking at it. I haven't used it, yet.

Post by **MikeC** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 5:29 am

Ackelind wrote:Is it not supposed to be SU380, or did i miss something out?

Also, i noticed on the "Fusion" product sheet that it had a 430W PSU. Is the PSU different from the one in the NSK2400, except for the wattage rating?

....does anyone know of any good 80mm fans that would suit as a replacement? It is hard to find a fan that is quiet but also starts reliable with only 4.4V.

Typo.

Right that's probably going to be called.... SU430.

I used to just use Panaflo 80L or 80M in Seasonic PSUs a few years ago. The fan would not start right away, but the PSU would warm up a bit & in a few minutes the fan would start spinning. Once it started, it would not stop even when the voltage went back down. AFAIK, the PSUs never got hurt with this. It can't really get that hot beofre the fan starts, and once it start, in a case like the NSK2400, Fusion or P180, the PSU will stay very cool.

Devonavar · Post by **Devonavar** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 2:26 pm

The fan in the PSU is an Adda branded fan. If I am interpreting the model number correctly, it is a high speed, ball bearing model. I would imagine it is a close cousin to the one in the NeoHE, but a higher speed model.

Ackelind · Post by **Ackelind** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 2:44 pm

If one could match or close to match the maximum RPM of the fan with a new sleeve-bearing fan, it would seem like a perfect replacement.

Swapping it for a Nexus 80mm seems like not too got idea to me.

Devonavar · Post by **Devonavar** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 3:15 pm

I think you'd be fine swapping it for a lower speed fan. There's lots of thermal overhead; the SU380 is very cool in its stock configuration. I would agree that a Nexus might not be the best idea, but I do think there's some room to compromise.

cmcquistion · Post by **cmcquistion** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 5:29 pm

cmcquistion wrote:I've ordered an NSK2400, a MSI K8NGM2-FID (mATX Nvidia Geforce 6150 MB with onboard video), a Scythe 120mm FDB fan (lowest speed), and a Thermalright SI-120. I already have an Athlon 3200+ and Seasonic S12-330.

I'm going to throw these together and see if the SI-120 can passively cool my 3200+, using only a Scythe 120mm fan (@ 5-6V), as the exhaust fan. I have high hopes, as this would create an AWESOME home theater PC, if it all works out.

I will report back, after I've got everything together.

The SI-120 heatsink finally came in, today. I set it up in the computer with no fan on it, but the Scythe 120mm FDB fan (800 RPM) running at 12V in the exhaust position, exactly as it was with the previous heatsink (modified Zalman 7700). The top air intake and rear air intakes are still blocked off, from my experiments, yesterday, to lower the hard drive temps. As before, the exhaust fan is EXTREMELY quiet (even at 12V) and moves very little air.

The SI-120 is passively cooling my Athlon 64 3000+ (Venice), which is overclocked to 2232 MHz (max stable overclock with this CPU, MB, and RAM), while undervolted to 1.325 Vcore (using RMClock). This was the same setting as the previous heatsink. Stability testing was done, with both heatsinks, using 3DMark2001, running 10 loops with setting cranked up, while Prime95 ran a torture test during and after the test, for a few hours. I was concerned about stability, while running 3D applications, since this motherboard uses integrated Nvidia 6150 graphics. The Zalman 7700 had the benefit of pushing a little air past the northridge, but this fanless SI-120 doesn't do this. Fortunately, I encounted no stability or graphics problems.

The result? The SI-120 cools the same CPU at the same speed and Vcore, about 4 degrees worse than the modified Zalman 7700 (51C vs 47C, at full load.) I'm sure that with some additional airflow tweaking, I could probably close that gap a bit. If I put in two exhaust fans, the cooling would probably be better, even at lower speeds. The rear exhaust fan is sucking air across approximately 2/3 of the heatsink fins. If another fan were put in, the airflow would be more equalized across the fins.

This case has only two fans in it; the Seasonic S-12 330 fan (running about 790 RPM and does not vary with system load) and the Scythe 120mm FDB fan (low speed), running at 835 RPM. I could hook the exhaust fan to the CPU fan header and use the BIOS fan control to lower it, dependent on temperature. I didn't want to do this for the initial tests, since I wanted to get an apples to apples comparison. This exhaust fan was running at 12V in the testing of the previous heatsink, so I ran it at 12V, again.

*EDIT* At idle (with RMClock lowering multiplier to 5X and Vcore to 1.1V) the CPU temp drops to 37C.
37 -> 51C isn't bad for a fanless heatsink in a HTPC-friendly case, a standard (inexpensive) desktop CPU, and only two fans, both nearly inaudible.

eternizer · Post by **eternizer** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 1:19 pm

Excellent report! Thanks, cmcquistion!!!
I'm ordering SI-120 now!
Mine is A64 3000+ (venice) too, so I'll also try to remove one of the exhaust fans of NSK2400~

ultrachrome · Post by **ultrachrome** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 8:14 am

cmcquisition,
How did your SI-120 mount? Did you lose access to DIMM slots? I have the MSI board with the XP-120 in the NSK and lost my first two DIMMs due to clearance issue with the capacitors.

I have a Samsung SpinPoint SP2504C and it is running at about 40C. However, I don't remember if that was the temp with one or two fans. Will need to check.

cmcquistion · Post by **cmcquistion** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 10:06 am

ultrachrome wrote:cmcquisition,
How did your SI-120 mount? Did you lose access to DIMM slots? I have the MSI board with the XP-120 in the NSK and lost my first two DIMMs due to clearance issue with the capacitors.

I have a Samsung SpinPoint SP2504C and it is running at about 40C. However, I don't remember if that was the temp with one or two fans. Will need to check.

The SI-120 can mount in one of two directions. When I initially put in on the motherboard, I oriented the heatpipes toward the back of the computer. I noticed that one of them was firmly touching one of the capacitors (it would mount, though) and I was concerned about it heating up that capacitor, so I switched it around, the other way, so the heatpipes were on the same side as the memory DIMMs. I had no clearance issues and I was able to put memory in all four DIMM slots, even after the heatsink was installed. My memory is not particularly tall, like some Corsair RAM that I've had. If it were, I would probably need to insert it into the first slot, before mounting the heatsink.

By the way, the best hard drive temp I was able to achieve with my 3 1/2" Samsung drive was 40C. I tried several different airflow configurations. Some of them helped with CPU, case, or hard drive temps, but none of them yielded a better hard drive temp than 40C. I think my extremely low airflow exhaust fan is to blame.

My ultimate plan for this computer was to put a Samsung laptop hard drive in it, so I didn't sweat those temps, too much. I put the Samsung MP0402H in, today, and its temp at full system load is only 34C. I have it suspended, where the 3 1/2" drive used to be.

PGPfan · Post by **PGPfan** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 3:17 pm

MikeC wrote:
alphabetbackward wrote:Would the NEC 3550 DVD-burner look okay? The silver one that is. For that matter, would the ASUS one? Basically, the few silver DVD-burners on Newegg.
You'd have to have them side by side with the case to tell, and it might change with different lighting. Ask Ralf Hutter about using dyes to custom color match optical drive bezels.

FWIW, I found the perfect spray paint to match the front panel of the NSK2400. I bought several different 'silver' paints and tried them all only to find one that worked. It's pretty much exactly the same as the front panel (both the color and the 'sheen') and it is: Krylon 'Metallics' with the description "1403 Dull Aluminum". I bought this in the local Ace Hardware in Idaho.

I hope this helps anyone looking to make your drives look good in this most excellent case.

-PGPfan

cmcquistion · Post by **cmcquistion** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 3:38 pm

PGPfan wrote:
MikeC wrote:
alphabetbackward wrote:Would the NEC 3550 DVD-burner look okay? The silver one that is. For that matter, would the ASUS one? Basically, the few silver DVD-burners on Newegg.
You'd have to have them side by side with the case to tell, and it might change with different lighting. Ask Ralf Hutter about using dyes to custom color match optical drive bezels.
FWIW, I found the perfect spray paint to match the front panel of the NSK2400. I bought several different 'silver' paints and tried them all only to find one that worked. It's pretty much exactly the same as the front panel (both the color and the 'sheen') and it is: Krylon 'Metallics' with the description "1403 Dull Aluminum". I bought this in the local Ace Hardware in Idaho.

I hope this helps anyone looking to make your drives look good in this most excellent case.

-PGPfan

Thanks! That is good to know. I have already ordered a Silver Asus DVD-ROM from Newegg for my current build, but on my next build, I might like to just re-use a drive I already have on hand. Also, the Asus silver may or may not really match this case, so I may end up spray painting it, any way.

alphabetbackward · Post by **alphabetbackward** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 7:01 pm

Thanks! That is good to know. I have already ordered a Silver Asus DVD-ROM from Newegg for my current build, but on my next build, I might like to just re-use a drive I already have on hand. Also, the Asus silver may or may not really match this case, so I may end up spray painting it, any way.

When you get the burner, can you post as to whether it matches. I'd like the optical drives to fit seamlessly as my current black case has black, beige, and silver colors... It's not very pretty. I'm not much into modding an original as I'm a big klutz. 2 black drives might look okay but the extra money for a black burner...

$h@d0w · Post by **$h@d0w** » Mon May 01, 2006 11:18 am

Does anyone know when the NSK2400 is available in Europe (UK)?

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Mon May 01, 2006 11:52 am

LambdaTek is apparently getting them on 14th June, Amakia.com will be getting them on 7th June.

$h@d0w · Post by **$h@d0w** » Mon May 01, 2006 12:16 pm

Â£60 is a very nice price for this case, but the 1 month wait is rubbish

buzzlightyear · Post by **buzzlightyear** » Fri May 05, 2006 2:16 pm

Looks like the price for Antec NSK2400 has gone up. Buy.com used to have it fot $80 including ship., now the shiping is $15+. SecureMart used to have it @ 60 + $17 ship, not the price has gone up to $63 + $17 ship. I am talking about the US market.

paulesko · Post by **paulesko** » Sat May 06, 2006 1:55 am

One of Antec distributors here in Spain told me that it will be ready to be sold on mid may.

p.d. excuse my under-used english

cmcquistion · Post by **cmcquistion** » Sun May 07, 2006 4:50 am

alphabetbackward wrote:
Thanks! That is good to know. I have already ordered a Silver Asus DVD-ROM from Newegg for my current build, but on my next build, I might like to just re-use a drive I already have on hand. Also, the Asus silver may or may not really match this case, so I may end up spray painting it, any way.

When you get the burner, can you post as to whether it matches. I'd like the optical drives to fit seamlessly as my current black case has black, beige, and silver colors... It's not very pretty. I'm not much into modding an original as I'm a big klutz. 2 black drives might look okay but the extra money for a black burner...

I received my Asus DVD-ROM (not a burner) on Friday and put it in the case. The color is a VERY close match. The texture is slightly different, but you really wouldn't notice unless you were examining the DVD-ROM and case from less than a foot away.

okay · Post by **okay** » Mon May 08, 2006 1:58 pm

Hi!

Great review!

however;

If you decide to use as 120mm fan PSU, it can be mounted upside down so that the fan faces upwards.

Can one use the included PSU with a 120mm fan? I can't figure out the meaning by the quoted sentence....

I would like the case to be as quiet as possible.... is it hard or risky changing the 80mm on the PSU?

Does Antec (like Cooler Master) sell optical "clip-ons" that match their colors?
Example from Cooler Master:

Post by **MikeC** » Mon May 08, 2006 2:18 pm

okay --

It should read "If you decide to use a 120mm fan PSU..."

okay · Post by **okay** » Mon May 08, 2006 11:23 pm

Ok..

Is it hard or risky to replace the PSU fan?

Strange they didn't make a stealt-bay; I've seen cheap cases with good solutions regarding this issue.

Techno Pride · Post by **Techno Pride** » Sat May 13, 2006 3:03 am

the casing is fully steel, right?

so will it fall apart should I, say, put a printer on top of it?

Ocmer · Post by **Ocmer** » Sat May 13, 2006 4:56 am

The NSK2400 does indeed look like a good candidate for a game rig. I would then want to put one of these in it, though, a Creative X-Fi 5.25" bay insert.

Would that just fit in the bottom optical drive bay? I can imagine the extended 'depth' of the Creative front (with volume knobs extending relatively far out) interfering with the mechanics of lowering the optical drive cage into the case.

Eddy · Post by **Eddy** » Mon May 15, 2006 11:01 am

I have read that it was not possible to easily install a third party VFD on one of the free 5"25 bay...
Does someone know if this is correct, ie what would prevent to install such a VFD panel ?
Thanks for the feedback

Eddy

ultrachrome · Post by **ultrachrome** » Mon May 15, 2006 2:18 pm

I have read that it was not possible to easily install a third party VFD on one of the free 5"25 bay...

It's a pretty standard 5.25" bay. It's only unique in that it's removable. I can't see any problem.