Antec NSK 3480 Too Small for Normal/Big PSUs

[hbm]

Hey, hbm, here with a mess! My new desktop build hit a brick wall--well, metal--while the packing corn was still settling. NSK 3480 is not made for PSUs of any normal size.

One can barely squeeze an SATA/Molex line through the chamber access, which is mostly covered by the provided 380 Earthwatts PSU. This after the 24-pin and cpu power cables are stuffed through. The 600 watt OCZ I am exchanging with the Earthwatts is 3/4" longer and makes the access unusable.

It's a cute box and some sparks will fly--because I'm determined--but keep in mind:

NSK 3480 is only good for PSUs smaller than 15cm x 12cm (5-7/8" x 5-1/2"), which is the Antec Earthwatts 380W critical dimensions.

hbm

[quest_for_silence]

NSK 3480 is only good for PSUs smaller than 15cm x 12cm (5-7/8" x 5-1/2"), which is the Antec Earthwatts 380W critical dimensions.

The NSK3480 is enough JUST for ANY standard ATX PSU (so 150x140x86mm), as it's clearly pointed out by almost all of web's or user's reviews floatin' around: right for this cause, it's one of the shortest mini-tower available. If you use both the available 5.25 bays, then it might be messy to work it out.

At anyway, you might save a bit of space (1cm) with a somewhat long "Y" L-shaped SATA adapter cable, jointed to PSU's cables right outside the thermal chamber.

[flemeister]

A tight fit!, from Druneau's NSK3480 i5/HR-02 Build

[hbm]

Luca, I specifically searched the forums for NSK 3480 case information, besides the articles. Now, it all surfaces! It is still a cute case.

Flemeister, it's a *d-n* tight fit!! Druneau's image is grossly over size (on my monitor). There is maybe slightly over 1cm, under 1/2" space between psu and Lite-on blu-ray. I can make my OCZ psu and Lite-on Blu-ray fit, but must push hard to bend the cabling from psu before screwing in the DVD. Will really need to test run cabling before cutting any sheet metal. I need to keep the 3.5" bay. And, there will be an SSD + 3.5" HD. I don't think I can copy Krick's and Druneau's circle ports for cables.

I stick with my original advice. Most people don't buy cases to tear them apart.

[quest_for_silence]

I stick with my original advice. Most people don't buy cases to tear them apart.

I just pointed out that it's not exact to say "normal" PSU won't fit in it: standard ATX PSUs fit.

That said, it isn't a perfect case (as - just for example - I pointed out last March 2010 in the most recent thread - so I guess - here about it), it's just a perfectly decent unit for the price, if you need one of the most compact chassis able to fit a tower cooler with a 120mm fan and a long video card: with this respect, its standard PSU is perfectly able to feed a quad core with a VGA as powerful as a reference Radeon HD6950 (it's just noisy, but a fan swap may solve this issue).

[sweep]

I don't agree with that statement. They fit if you do your research and are willing to spend the time to make it fit without modifications.

I am using that case with this psu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product
It is tight and is a pain but it can work.

I am utlizing all available space in the case and am running:

Amd Phenom II 965 @ 3.7ghz
Arctic Cooling 13 heatsink
DFI Lanparty Jr. 790GX M3H5
Corsair 650w HX Modular
GSKILL 10600 4GB DDR3 8-8-8-21
Western Digital Caviar Black 750GB
2X5770's in CROSSFIRE
Lg dvd rom

I can post a pic if you would like.

[baconandeggs]

yea i found this problem too. i am resigned to using the factory Antec Earth Watts 380W, after giving up on trying to use my Corsair 520HX in this case.

my LG dvdrw drive is shorter than regular ones so that helps a tiny bit.

pics can be provided upon request

[Akbhar]

I replaced the factory EA 380W with a Nexus RealValue 430. No problems with the space, there is enough room to put an optical unit in front, but all those unused cables will be hard to accommodate under. I have made o hole in the back plate and routed the cables thru it.

I don't know why the Antec engineers haven't designed some cable management holes in this very nice case.

[hbm]

Just and update:

I'm still "building" this machine. I just got sidetracked by other, unrelated, issues. The 600 watt PSU and bluray can co-habit. It's like stretching a pair of cotton jeans to fit "more comfortably." Just fight them into position and let nature conform, eventually.

And, I don't like the SSD hot-glued to the back of the mobo (right) panel. There is too much opportunity to crunch the thing. It is bad enough to be dealing with a wad of cables between mobo shell and case panel. Also, the case is not configured for 2.5" SSD's. Or, 2.5" HDD's. I've been futzzing with drives more than I wanted.

Moving the SSD over to the left (access) side of the case requires finding a way to push another SATA cable into the hardware chamber. I need to do some more nibbling on the sheet metal. I hate the thought of stripping everything out of the case--especially the front 120mm case fan (sized for 90mm).

I'll get this thing running, sometime...