Case/Cooling Advice for an OC Rookie

[Garet Jax]

Hello all,

I am in the process of building a new system. I have been flip flopping over some of the pieces. Here is where I currently stand:

ASUS A7V133 MB (Not yet purchased)
AMD TBird 1.2 GHz (Not yet purchased)
Maxtor 20GB ATA100 HD (Purchased)
512 MB Crucial PC133 Cas 2 RAM (Purchased)
300W AMD Approved PS (Purchased)
ATI Radeon 32MB DDR Video Card (Not yet purchased)

The reason why I am posting here is because I want some advice on which case to buy to house this new computer.

In addition, I plan on OCing this computer so I want to make sure that it is cooled properly. What things should be cooled and what should I consider? How many case fans should I have? Other fans? Are there specific makes that I should look at?

Thanks in advance for all your time and advice.

 

[cdternie]

I'm not an expert by any means. I'm not even extremely experienced in cooling. But I figure since I just did all my research for my new system, I'd share what I learned.

Case: I looked at Antec, Fong Kai, Elan Vital, Inwin, and a few others. I went with the Fong Kai 320 because all the reviews talked about the excellent thermals and how sturdy it is. A bit more expensive, but it arrived today and it's incredible! (on top of that it looks amazing :])

CPU cooling: I looked at Alpha, Orbs, Globalwin, and a few others. I went with the Globalwin FOP32 because it was cheaper than the alphas and cools better than the orbs. You may have more options to consider since you have an Athlon. (I've read some good things about the Hedgehog if you're willing to spend some money)

Case fans: Panaflo seems to be the main contender in case fans. Quiet and good airflow. Expensive, though. I just went with a default additional front case fan that was offered when I ordered from directron.com.

Video card: I wasn't concerned with cooling my video card, but if you're going to OC that radeon much, you could consider it

I hope this gave you a few ideas

GOOD LUCK!

 

[Garet Jax]

dcternie,

Thanks it helps. It gives me some things to start looking into.

 

[GasX]

I will recommend the Enlight 7237 as a basic but excellent case. If you want to spend more than $70 shipped take a look at the Lian Li cases. Very cool looking, good for cooling, plenty of space, and east to get in and out of. Antecs are also widely regarded here

 

[Garet Jax]

How does Lian Li compare to Fong Kai in terms of quality. From looking at www.directron.com, Lian Li look to be more expensive.

 

[cdternie]

I don't know much about Lian Li, but I can truly vouch for my new Fong Kai. It's EXTREMELY well built and has some great fans (I added a 90mm in the front).

But do your research and pick which is best for you

good luck

 

[Goldfinger]

I just finished building my system and I went w/ the Antec Ks-188...great case! I Love it...glad I chose it.

 

[Mikewarrior2]

if you're getting a 1.2ghz chip, stay away from the orbs.


Mike

 

[Garet Jax]

Mike,

I'm sorry I didn't understand your reference to orbs.

 

[bigpow]

Guys,

I have Fongkai 320.

It's sturdy alright. And it's big. And it's loud!

Dunno about other FK320 owners, but the case fan in mine is extremely loud.

The good thing is, it's so loud.. I can't hear other fan noise.

 

[GAbOSv23]

Build one that suits your needs. Only you know what you need and what youre system will be able to handle. I bought a case w/300w in town fer 55$ and then ordered what I needed so that my setup would do what I wanted it to do.

 

[AncientPC]

I'd recommend the Antec SX1040 case. It's friggin' huge, heavy, more drive bays than you'll ever need, comes with 2 additional 90mm fans and rack mounts for 2 more 90mm fans.

 

[jsmonet]

isn't the lian li hella expensive? very very nice case, but way too much.

my vote goes for my case. antec sx1030b. It is just like the 1040, but black and only has a 300w power supply. the 1040's power supply packs a little more potency with about 400 watts?

if you pick up 2 more 80mm fans and put them in the holders in the front of the case, you'll have more than adequate cooling. the most convenient thing about the two front fan mounts is the one in the cage for the hard drives. my hd's have never been this cool front airflow is excellent as well.

for my secc2 p3 800 I'm using a vos32. that company makes very nice heatsinks, but their slot-based heat sinks are HUGE. you won't have to worry about that seeig as you are choosing a socket board, but you may have to fab. something to keep the big-ass heat sink straight on the chip. remember, you need very precise placement on AMD chips or they burn up before windows starts.

for fans...
I'm using:
2x antec 80mm's (came with the case)
1x antec 92mm (got it cheap from outpost, remember that deals? )-modded front for that
1x sunon 80mm in front for hd's.

alltogether I should optimally have about 70cfm of flow. My processor maxes out at about 51 degrees under full load. it IS kinda loud because I have those 4 fans plus two 60mm's on my heat sink, and the antec PS is a bit noisy.

 

[Garet Jax]

Thanks to everyone who has responded. So far, I like the Fong Kai 320 and the Antec 1030B (I've never had a black box before). Since I already have a top notch power supply, does anyone know of a place where either of these cases can be sold separately from the power supply.

Also, I recently moved to SF, California. I have been trying to find a store that stocks these cases so I can go and look at them before buying (maybe also save a little on the shipping). Anyone have suggestions?

Would the Robert Austin computer show have this quality of case?

Thanks again.

 

[UCBPride]

get antec 1080, or is it 1030... whatever... anyway this case allows SUPER DUPER AWESOME cooling. My TB 700 @800 is running at 16 degrees Farenheight with ALPHA Pal...35 heatsink

 

[jsmonet]

do you have a Fry's electronics anywhere in the area? the one down here in so cali carries the coolermaster and antec sx1030 cases.

another bump for the antec... my temps on and off idle went down by 10C when I switched to this case. I'm tempted to use a self-rounded dma33 cable I made myself (slitting between every fifth wire) on my cdrw (12x w/ burnproof) and dvd-rom in addition to my rounded floppy cable. I've managed to keep my scsi and ata66 cables flush against the back of the case.

one HUGE tip. get your cables out of the way. get them flush against the far side of the case (where the mobo mounts) or just out of the way. you don't want them blocking airflow from the fans. I'm looking into a rounded scsi cable as well. anyone know if I can just round it myself without any loss of data integrity? it's just running an ultraplex. it isn't ultrawide, just scsi II. wow.. that scsi cable was the biggest PITA to get out of the way, too.

you should be able to get a rounded floppy cable for 5 bucks at the computer show, or just make your own. I stripped my own floppy cable down to individual wires and bundled them, then removed the middle connector. of course I had purchased a professionally done cable first, but my girl will appreciate the extra cooling measure

remember that the smaller the interior volume, the less airflow your fans need to push to keep things cool. that works inversely as well. if you have a massive case, you need a bit more airflow to accomplish the same amount of cooling. if you don't understand why, check this out. you know canned air that you can use to blow out dust from systems and keyboards? take the little tube off of it, and spray. now put the tube back on and spray again. with the tube on the air comes out with a bit more force and it is more directed.

 

[cdternie]

On a side note, I got the FK320B, also their black version very cool.

All in all, each case has it's good points. The Antec SX1030 is larger than the FK320, and the FK is larger than most mid-towers. Suite your own needs