ANTEC P180 available ( silver only)

[mooncancook]

Major: There's an entire duct system to direct outside air at the video card, however, this would be very easy to either (a) filter, (b) block off entirely, or (c) turn into an exhaust port by mounting an 80mm fan in it backwards

hmm i guess i've never considered it as an intake port... The rear of the exhaust is usually for exhaust only so i never consider to draw air from the back

 

[imported_falcon]

Originally posted by: MJGunn
Are the two front air inlets that are covered by the dust filters the only way for air to get into the case? I'm looking for a case that can really keep the dust out (I live with 2 smokers).

No, the area above the PCI cards is also an intake and is unfilterd! If you install the optional 80mm video card cooling fan with the recommended inward airflow it would make matters worse. It seems like a design oversight to go to the trouble of installing filters in the front and then leave a BIG unfiltered hole open in the back. It seems to me that this intake in back would also limit the amount of front to back airflow the case gets. I suppose you could install the video cooling fan with outward airflow but the manual recommends it be inward. Adding another outward fan would increase the noise level.

I think I'm going to cover up the rear opening. I don't need the extra cooling on the video card because I installed a very quiet artic-cooler silencer on my X700. I can then remove the plastic duct altogether since it is a pain to install/remove (6 phillips screws).

Also, it looks like a lot of unfiltered air could leak past the CD-ROM drive as well.

 

[MJGunn]

Thanks, dust prevention sounds about as good as any case out there, and from what everyone says its definetly quiet. Hows the airflow/temperatures of your components in there? Do you need to run a front fan to achieve good temps?

 

[Capt Caveman]

fyi - New Review of the P180 at SPCR
Silient PC Review of P180

 

[milleron]

Originally posted by: MJGunn
Thanks, dust prevention sounds about as good as any case out there, and from what everyone says its definetly quiet. Hows the airflow/temperatures of your components in there? Do you need to run a front fan to achieve good temps?

That's very difficult because all systems are different. The components in my case are all different from my last computer so I have no basis for comparisos. I can tell you, however, that I constructed my system on the bench before putting it in the case. There, my CPU was about 5-6° warmer than room air. Now, it's about 10° warmer. I think that's evidence of pretty fair ventilation. I could get it cooler, but that would require turning up the fans and creating noise. I'm very happy with a CPU temp of 37° for my Athlon 64 3500+, so I'm leaving them the fans the way they are. I did install a front fan but that was because I have the rear fans running slowly. Two 120mm fans running slowly are quieter than one running at medium speed and definitely quieter than one running at high speed.
I think the case provides great ventilation, especially since it isolates all the heat from the PSU and keeps it OUT of the motherboard compartment. That means you don't even need as much air coming through the upper compartment as you would in a conventional case.

Ron