Micro ATX case recommendations

Enclosures and acoustic damping to help quiet them.

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~El~Jefe~
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Post by ~El~Jefe~ » Tue Aug 31, 2010 2:04 pm

I am NOT convinced that a portable 341 has any way of safely mounting the HD. I know this isnt my area of specialty, so I will still believe people. I know though that it must be movement free. Sorbothane looks kinda cool.

However.... where does one put it??? I am reading a lot of articles... I just dont sorta see it. I am not looking for 100% isolation, like 60%. I rather have a cold HD vs. covered one as well.

I am split between Lan Gear Da Box 100 and CoolerMaster 341. I know it's a big difference, but really, after looking at many, there are only a few. The lian-li isnt bad either.

I think I shall put up a vote, because I deserve one and I have a nice ass. Go vote!

(or continue this informative Micro-atx discussion!)

quest_for_silence
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Post by quest_for_silence » Wed Sep 01, 2010 12:06 am

~El~Jefe~ wrote:The lian-li isnt bad either.

It's already pointed out in my other thread, but if it's enough large for you, there's also the smaller PC-A03, and having the PSU at the top could be better with a passive unit.

Regards,
Luca

Solo
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Post by Solo » Wed Sep 01, 2010 1:47 am

~El~Jefe~ wrote:I am NOT convinced that a portable 341 has any way of safely mounting the HD. I know this isnt my area of specialty, so I will still believe people. I know though that it must be movement free. Sorbothane looks kinda cool.
I reckon that if you didn't have a long graphics card (and possibly no front fan?) that you could vertically mount 1-2 HDDs in the front area of the thing, ie. with the rear facing directly upwards. That's speculation on my part though! You'd need some fancy system to mount the things; I like MikeC's suspension in the link but I'd want it to be secured in all 3 dimensions.
speedkar9 wrote:
Solo wrote:That's a pretty good way of doing it, most of the others I've seen are just slipped in with the twisted cord / drive slipped in the middle method, gripped only by friction and cord tension.
You could reduce HD noise if you drilled out the mounting holes a bit bigger and used some thin rubber grommets between the screw and HD cage. It did wonders to reducing seek noise when I had a thin metal generic case 4 years ago...
Call me a mod weenie, but I'm a little wary of metal modifications to the case itself these days, not least because I don't want to take the computer out of it and all. If I got a new computer, though, an empty case is fine to work on.
speedkar9 wrote:
Solo wrote:I've got a Coolermaster Elite 341 now.
Contrary to your username... :lol:
Ha, a Mini P180 would be more like it, if anything..

~El~Jefe~
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Post by ~El~Jefe~ » Thu Sep 02, 2010 6:38 am

well. I keep searching.

It seems that the issue is that most case designers figure on removing gfx card heat or psu heat.

The cpu actually is the least issue. I mean, it's really easy to cool a cpu. Any cooler is fine, even stock which is free!!

I keep seeing these isolated pockets of air where the gfx card is. hm. A top blow hole and a bottom mounted psu might be best idea for a reverse styled motherboard orientation. Otherwise, standard install where the front 120's or 92's are blowing across and nailing the gfx card area. I am sure the 5770 pulls more watts, more often than than a 1090T would.

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Post by quest_for_silence » Thu Sep 02, 2010 7:44 am

~El~Jefe~ wrote:I am sure the 5770 pulls more watts, more often than than a 1090T would.

Are you ironical?

Regards,
Luca

~El~Jefe~
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Post by ~El~Jefe~ » Thu Sep 02, 2010 5:23 pm

the 5770 maxed out is said to pull over 100 watts.

1090T is a cpu and well, cpu's have an almost impossible time in windows to be maxed out. GPU's can be pinned to the max on many modern games.

Still havent found solutions yet! I called one guy for that lian-li case. He had the case but not the top 140 blow hole in stock at the moment. I really think that's needed actually. I could self mod, yes, but I never did that before and dont want to make it look like crap. (plus the tools would cost more than the 140mm blow hole top accessory)

~El~Jefe~
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Post by ~El~Jefe~ » Tue Sep 07, 2010 8:28 pm

I still have yet to find a case....

what is with people???? no one makes a good case???

quest_for_silence
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Post by quest_for_silence » Tue Sep 07, 2010 11:57 pm

~El~Jefe~ wrote:1090T is a cpu and well, cpu's have an almost impossible time in windows to be maxed out. GPU's can be pinned to the max on many modern games.

I don't think so: actually they are taxed exactly the same, typically around 80W (sources: lostcircuits & atomicmpc) when loaded as you may like the more.

Obviously, according by your own usage pattern, YMMV.

Regards,
Luca
Last edited by quest_for_silence on Wed Sep 08, 2010 12:04 am, edited 1 time in total.

quest_for_silence
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Post by quest_for_silence » Wed Sep 08, 2010 12:02 am

~El~Jefe~ wrote:I still have yet to find a case

Go with the venerable Antec NSK3480: it has separated upper PSU chamber (good for the Nightjar that's separated, good for the system that being up your Nightjar won't heat up the whole system itself), it may accomodate big heatsinks and rather long video cards (even if the 5770 isn't that long), it's reasonably compact and decently styled. Obviously a pita to build up.

Regards,
Luca

speedkar9
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Post by speedkar9 » Wed Sep 08, 2010 7:15 pm

~El~Jefe~ wrote:what is with people???? no one makes a good case???
Welcome to the world of case modding. :D

Tephras
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Post by Tephras » Wed Sep 08, 2010 7:44 pm

How about this Lian-Li PC-V354 that's not released yet?

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Post by Modo » Wed Sep 08, 2010 10:34 pm

~El~Jefe~ wrote:I still have yet to find a case....

what is with people???? no one makes a good case???
Short answer: No, not with these expectations. You'll probably have to strike a balance between size and silence. Putting hot things closely together makes it hard to cool them quietly, and that problem won't go away no matter which way you turn the PSU or whatnot.

If you can accept a bigger size, I'd look at Antec's NSK2480 or Fusion. The layout is pretty good for silencing.

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Post by MikeC » Thu Sep 09, 2010 6:01 am

Tephras wrote:How about this Lian-Li PC-V354 that's not released yet?
It's oddly sized but seems promising. We have a sample.

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Post by ~El~Jefe~ » Thu Sep 09, 2010 11:49 am

I just bought a mid-tower from SunbeamTech

Pure Acrylic

Tall, heavy, not as heavy as steel cases though by 5-6lbs it's lighter.

I will conquer the universe of silence with my teenage style and pock faced wrath!!


FEAR THE CLEAR (and cold cathodes, bubble lights and 5 fans)

quest_for_silence
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Post by quest_for_silence » Thu Sep 09, 2010 9:46 pm

OMG

bobov
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How about Antec Mini P180?

Post by bobov » Fri Sep 10, 2010 12:32 am

~El~Jefe~ wrote: EDIT: I looked at the review for Antec Mini p180 case. The PSU area is blocked off from the case..... sucks for fanless psu's who use air being drawn into the case to cool them! I would have to put a FAN on my FANLESS psu.... if you ever used a fanless psu like me for 5 years, you know you never want to go with a fanned psu or like putting a fan on it...

cost like 160 dollars to get it fanless!
Just let you know that I'm using Antec Mini P180 with Seasonic X-750 PSU. The fan in X-750 doesn't spin (so it's fanless) unless in heavy load, and the PSU is very cool to touch. Maybe it isn't a problem with FANLESS PSU in Mini P180. :)

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Post by BlackWhizz » Fri Sep 10, 2010 1:19 am

Tephras wrote:How about this Lian-Li PC-V354 that's not released yet?
You cant put a PSU in there and have a graphics card with a wide cooler like an accelero or Scythe Setsugen.

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Post by faugusztin » Fri Sep 10, 2010 1:58 am

Accelero is a problem, but there are lots of coolers which doesn't extend over the graphics card that much or at all. MK-13 or T-Rad2 for example.

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Post by ~El~Jefe~ » Fri Sep 10, 2010 8:52 am

quest_for_silence wrote:OMG
haha :)

Yeah. I realized that I couldnt really build what I need to build. The lian li was the only option, a good option, but really.... I needed more air in and out.

I needed 2x120mm blowing in with a very wide opening to keep Silence. My 120mm nexus on my current SLK3000 at 12volts blowing out the rear was blowing out hot air at a PATHETIC rate. Man, 120mm nexus fans are only good for certain things. I would imagine they work best if you cut all the blow holes out for 0 impedance.

The new case is going to be a Positive Pressure build:
3x120mm blowing in
1x120 blowing out the rear.
80mm hole on top center - no fan there, 80mm fan is probably useless in a positive pressure case
My fanless psu is going to have to be an exit instead of an in breather. I duno if that will work. shrug. So far, in breathing works better than out, but I guess it will change once I put the pressure on.

5x1900 rpm Kama Flow 2's pumping. yeah mofo's... yeah....

One of them is mounted internally on a movable verticle plane

hans007
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Post by hans007 » Tue Sep 21, 2010 1:48 am

i have this case...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product


i've had a nsk3480 and well this case is just better built (it is a server case i guess), i think with better features. doesn't have a 120mm fan, but thats about all i could see as a negative.

the one i have doesnt have the card reader, but you can get it at superbiiz.com with their constant 15% off coupons for about $85 which is less than a nsk-3480 also.

plus i think its nicer looking than the nsk-3480, but that sjust my personal opinion

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Post by quest_for_silence » Tue Sep 21, 2010 2:10 am

hans007 wrote:well this case is just better built (it is a server case i guess), i think with better features. doesn't have a 120mm fan, but thats about all i could see as a negative.

It seems clearly aimed at server market: about quality I cannot say anything, but it's deeper and wouldn't accomodate any longer videocard than NSK3480, it's less wide and it cannot accomodate higher/equally high performance heatsinks while loosing some cooling power with the 90mm fan, and sports a less powerful and more probably that not less quiet PSU.

See what I mean:

Image

Surely the SS 731 has far better HDD mountings than NSK3480.

Regards,
Luca

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Post by m0002a » Tue Sep 21, 2010 6:16 am

MikeC wrote:It's oddly sized but seems promising. We have a sample.
Looks like it would be used as a true "desktop" machine rather than under the desk like a tower or even mini-tower. The front panel controls and I/O would inconveniently low to the ground if used under the desk.

tvih
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Post by tvih » Tue Sep 21, 2010 11:43 am

quest_for_silence wrote: See what I mean:
Hehe, now that's a monster cooler.

By the way, do you know if the silver part of front can be detached? I'm thinking for painting it, mostly, the silver faceplate is a bit of an eyesore for me in an otherwise black case. In case my SG03 doesn't live up to my plans... having to put tons of tape everywhere on the case to paint it while attached doesn't seem optimal.

Fëanor
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Post by Fëanor » Wed Sep 29, 2010 7:11 pm

MikeC wrote:
tim851 wrote:
Fëanor wrote:My plan is to use the SG03-F with one of the new Seasonic fanless 460W PSU's that are coming, and a Dynatron G618 2U fanless CPU cooler on a 130W CPU. There will also be a fanless HD5750.
Never! ;)

The video card is not a problem, because the front intake fan is close by to blow air across the passive cooler.

But a 130w CPU with this passive cooler - Never!
Agreed. Dynatron G618 is called fanless only because a 2U case design does not allow room for a fan on the HS. In a 2U case that this HS is designed for, there are usually 4~6 super high speed 40~60mm fans all in a row across the width of the case, blowing air with lots of pressure across the mobo/cpu from the front to the back. A 2U "fanless" heatsink and a Thermalright HR-01 are totally different animals -- like comparing a poodle to a rottweiler and saying they're both canines. lol!
I'm working 12+ hour days so no promises, but I'll try to return to this thread and post how it goes.

By my estimation the distance between the motherboard and power supply in the SG03 means that the CPU cooler is sandwiched in a space not much more than 2U anyway. The main difference is that I want to use lower RPM fans. However my tolerance for temperature is also higher than that of a server. As long as I'm well within operating temperatures for the processor I'm not too worried if I don't see the <30° C temps of my HR-01 on a 65W CPU.

What can I say? I need the 130W CPU for it's 8 magical threads of processing goodness so that I can run 3-4 VM's and still have enough resources to play SC2, work in AutoCAD, or play in Photoshop. The SG03 is the cleanest, smallest mATX case I've seen for my planned setup. I hate lugging my P182 and other PC's around so something small is a requirement.

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