Cases with oddball fan configurations.
Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 7:07 pm
I'm looking for a case with unique airflow possibilities for my next build. (Hah! I'm still working on my current build.)
Namely, cases dual top exhausts, dual rear exhausts, or side panel fans*.
*Similar to the Cooler Master Stacker series - Modularity is a good thing, because I'd be able to throw in good, quiet fans as opposed to being stuck with a vendor's mediocre proprietary fan. (Ref: Any case with a ludicrous 200mm~ fan grafted to its side.
I'm also interested in very wide cases - Something that could have a top exhaust of two 120mm fans widthwise in relation to the case.
Examples:
Lian Li PC-A71B - Two intake fans, two exhausts, two rather-strangely-placed mid-case fans right behind the intakes. Some odd design decisions, like the three 3.5" cages at the rear-top of the case.
Thermaltake SwordM - Two exhaust fans, one side fan, one intake. Has a good few fans, but as someone so eloquently put it, "I wouldn't put a Thermaltake rubber band in my case." It also looks totally moronic when you've opened it up. The insane $600 price tag doesn't help a bit.
Cooler Master Stacker RC-832 - One intake, one exhaust, four side fans. Not exactly designed with quiet in mind, and I figure that having six fans at equal speeds, if you have the front and rear fans working push-pull the side fans will either yield strong positive or negative pressure, either way overwhelming the rear fan.
Antec P190 - 120mm intake, 120mm bottom chamber intake, two 140mm exhausts, 200mm side fan. Shame about the 1200W dual-PSU configuration, but it should cool even better than the P182, as it's a bit bigger, has two top fans, plus the side fan. Unfortunately, there are few 140mm fans, and, dare I say, no [sensible] third-party 200mm fans. There are 140mm Yate Loons, though, and hey, I found a 200x200x70mm fan from Sofasco! Too bad it puts out 576 CFM @ 65 dBA and consumes 96 watts.
Silverstone's various TJ-* cases are somewhat of interest, too, except for the prices.
Anyhow, anyone who knows of a case with multiple top, rear or side fans, I'd appreciate having my list of cases expanded.
Namely, cases dual top exhausts, dual rear exhausts, or side panel fans*.
*Similar to the Cooler Master Stacker series - Modularity is a good thing, because I'd be able to throw in good, quiet fans as opposed to being stuck with a vendor's mediocre proprietary fan. (Ref: Any case with a ludicrous 200mm~ fan grafted to its side.
I'm also interested in very wide cases - Something that could have a top exhaust of two 120mm fans widthwise in relation to the case.
Examples:
Lian Li PC-A71B - Two intake fans, two exhausts, two rather-strangely-placed mid-case fans right behind the intakes. Some odd design decisions, like the three 3.5" cages at the rear-top of the case.
Thermaltake SwordM - Two exhaust fans, one side fan, one intake. Has a good few fans, but as someone so eloquently put it, "I wouldn't put a Thermaltake rubber band in my case." It also looks totally moronic when you've opened it up. The insane $600 price tag doesn't help a bit.
Cooler Master Stacker RC-832 - One intake, one exhaust, four side fans. Not exactly designed with quiet in mind, and I figure that having six fans at equal speeds, if you have the front and rear fans working push-pull the side fans will either yield strong positive or negative pressure, either way overwhelming the rear fan.
Antec P190 - 120mm intake, 120mm bottom chamber intake, two 140mm exhausts, 200mm side fan. Shame about the 1200W dual-PSU configuration, but it should cool even better than the P182, as it's a bit bigger, has two top fans, plus the side fan. Unfortunately, there are few 140mm fans, and, dare I say, no [sensible] third-party 200mm fans. There are 140mm Yate Loons, though, and hey, I found a 200x200x70mm fan from Sofasco! Too bad it puts out 576 CFM @ 65 dBA and consumes 96 watts.
Silverstone's various TJ-* cases are somewhat of interest, too, except for the prices.
Anyhow, anyone who knows of a case with multiple top, rear or side fans, I'd appreciate having my list of cases expanded.