questions about the nsk3480

barbz · Post by **barbz** » Sun Apr 25, 2010 1:38 pm

Hi all,
looking to downsize from my p182 to a 3480.

I will keep my gtx 275 regardless of the case but the stock psu only has one pcie connector - so what power supplies have you replaced the stocker with?

And whats the max length video card that you can fit with keeping the 90mm fans upfront?

cheers
Paul

psyopper · Post by **psyopper** » Sun Apr 25, 2010 1:51 pm

Looks like 11" is the max card length - and that will butt you right up against the fan - if your PCIe plug comes off the back it won't fit.

Any ATX sized PSU will fit - the real question is how much space will there be between the PSU and optical drive.

victorhortalives · Post by **victorhortalives** » Sun Apr 25, 2010 10:50 pm

This is a very good case for a using a passive PSU.

The top grill to the case allows hot air to escape. Putting a fan based PSU in this case means that the fan has to vent upwards - AND - that's where the fan noise goes also.

I had a Corsair PSU in this case (a very quiet PSU) but I replaced it with a Silverstone Passive PSU. I put the Corsair back in a P182, where it remains and is quiet enough.

FYI I also have downsized from a P182 to a 3480. But my current mobo is mini-itx in size. I used to have a micro-atx in the 3480.
If you want to put a micro-atx in a 3480, then you need to be creative in placing the hard drives.
I now have a SSD, but when I had a 3.5in drive I mounted it vertically against the front (see forums posts by porkchop).
Then I put a 2.5in drive in a SmartBox and mounted it also against the front.

barbz · Post by **barbz** » Mon Apr 26, 2010 10:48 pm

Thanks for the help.

I have found that my video card will fit, and I cant use most psu's at the expense of the optical which I dont use.

The psu I am looking at is the hx650 which is 155mm long I beleive vs the ea380 at 150mm so that shouldnt be an issue.

Storage wise I run a ssd and a 3.5" sata disk and the rest of the storage is on a home server so I figure I can squeeze those into the optical bays.

Now, does anyone know how wide the case is from the top of the cpu? IE what 1156 or 1366 coolers will fit?

Cheers
Paul

barbz · Post by **barbz** » Mon Apr 26, 2010 11:37 pm

victorhortalives wrote:This is a very good case for a using a passive PSU.

Which silverstone PSU?

I think i Will be limited by the wattage running an i5 or i7 if the budget allows on a dfi mobo and the gtx275 video card then 2 hard drives and a few fans.

Cheers
Paul

victorhortalives · Post by **victorhortalives** » Tue Apr 27, 2010 4:29 am

The PSU is a SilverStone ST30NF. 300w or so in power.

If you can wait a few days, I'll be opening up the case to transfer stuff into a LianLi case.
I can measure the distance from the edge of the mobo to the bottom of the top compartment as well as the distance from the mobo surface to the case door.

Let me know EXACTLY which measurements you want.

Be careful about stuffing too much into the top compartment - the problem is fitting all the damn wires and connectors in there.
You'll be much better off putting some stuff at the bottom of the case (or against the door)
The best place to stuff extra cables etc in the lower compartment is the unused floppy drive cage.

PS if your PSU is TOO long, then you won't be able to run cables down to the lower compartment.
The slots are in the middle of the upper compartment - one in the floor, the other in one of the sides.

psyopper · Post by **psyopper** » Tue Apr 27, 2010 7:55 am

I highly recommend getting out a drill and a hole cutter and routing your cabling behind the motherboard tray. It makes life with the 3480 FAR easier than trying to live with it otherwise. There's enough space back there to tuck extra cables, route your wires or even hide an SSD or two.

quest_for_silence · Post by **quest_for_silence** » Tue Apr 27, 2010 8:59 am

barbz wrote:Storage wise I run a ssd and a 3.5" sata disk and the rest of the storage is on a home server so I figure I can squeeze those into the optical bays.

AFAIK the only (by design) way to mount a 3,5" into the two optical bays is in the inferior one, screwing it trought the horizontal grommets: in this way it may come too near to the PSU. You may use some adapting rails 5,25 to 3,5 but again you could have some clearance issue with the mating PSU.
If you use both the bays you may worsen these issues.

barbz wrote:does anyone know how wide the case is from the top of the cpu? IE what 1156 or 1366 coolers will fit?

I use a Scythe Kabuto which barely fits in: I have had to dismantle the CAG duct (as it touched the fan), but I guess that, doing so, every SPCR recommended heatsink will fit without too much hassle.

Regards,
Luca

psyopper · Post by **psyopper** » Tue Apr 27, 2010 9:38 am

I suspended my HDD in the lower bay.

I currently have a Scythe Mugen2 on a Gigabyte P55 motherboard - it fits either way without interference issues with the case, in fact it fits with clearance to spare. Around the RAM and/or the the top expansion slot is a different story though...

barbz · Post by **barbz** » Tue Apr 27, 2010 12:21 pm

Thanks for all the replies so far.

The holesaw will be coming to this case first to make routing behind the mobo tray possible and it will hide some of the length in my non oem power supply.

Im hoping to mount the two hard drives on top of one another but vertically and screwed to the inside of the optical drive cage - this should give me plenty of room to hide spare psu cabling if need be.

The duct on the side of the case will more than likely be lost when I open the box and I will just seal up that duct.

Victor - why are you changing and to what lianli? Just a measurement of the tallest cpu cooler I can fit in. I think most are around the 160-158mm mark.

Cheers
Paul

quest_for_silence · Post by **quest_for_silence** » Tue Apr 27, 2010 12:58 pm

barbz wrote:Just a measurement of the tallest cpu cooler I can fit in. I think most are around the 160-158mm mark.

The Prolimatech will fit.

The actual distance between the motherboard plane and the side panel is about 172mm (you have to subtract the socket's height).

Regards,
Luca

victorhortalives · Post by **victorhortalives** » Tue Apr 27, 2010 10:47 pm

barbz wrote:
Victor - why are you changing and to what lianli? Just a measurement of the tallest cpu cooler I can fit in. I think most are around the 160-158mm mark.

Cheers
Paul

See my other forum posting :

viewtopic.php?t=58606

Currently I have 3 PCs :

A powerful one in a P182 case but with 3 fans and a Samsung 1TB drive in a GrowUpJapan quiet box. Corsair PSU. ATX mobo with lots of add-in cards (Audio, Video, TV etc). This one remains untouched.

A general use PC in a P182 case but with only 1 fan and the Silverstone PSU. mATX mobo; SSD. This one I am moving back into the 3480 case and I will sell the P182 case.

Another general use PC in the 3480 case. 1 fan; Pico PSU; miniITX mobo. This one I will move into the LianLi Q07 case and see if I can run it fanless.
To get more space I'll put this PC ontop of the PC182. Both monitors are close together also.

Why make the changes ?

The extra P182 case just takes up too much space and is also too heavy.
I just want to try out the LianLi case and if it works fanless, then great.
If not, then I'll have to put it on the floor and risk back damage to turn it on. Should arrive in the post today !!