NSK3480 refresh?

[Terzo]

I've seen a few posts (over at SPCR) claiming that a refresh of the nsk3480 is in the works. However, I can't find anything on this anywhere else, or an original post for the rumors.
Per chance do any of you fellows know more about this, or should I just treat it as an unsubstantiated rumor for now?

 

[Zap]

I know nothing about it, but it would be of interest to me since my LAN party rig uses that case and I really like it, though it could use a couple tweaks such as being ½" longer and using a single 140mm fan in front instead of two 92mm.

 

[Antec_Rep]

I've seen a few posts (over at SPCR) claiming that a refresh of the nsk3480 is in the works. However, I can't find anything on this anywhere else, or an original post for the rumors.
Per chance do any of you fellows know more about this, or should I just treat it as an unsubstantiated rumor for now?

Hi Terzo,

As far as I know, we are not coming out with a new version of NSK3480.The newest upgrade/revision we have to our current cases are the Antec 200 and the P183. We are hoping to release three new cases this month (Lanboy Air, DF-30, and DF-85). Let me know if you have any other questions.

Regards,
Antec

 

[Antec_Rep]

I know nothing about it, but it would be of interest to me since my LAN party rig uses that case and I really like it, though it could use a couple tweaks such as being ½" longer and using a single 140mm fan in front instead of two 92mm.

Hi Mod!

I will definitely inform the product development team your suggestions. Hopefully, we will have a(n) upgrade/revision on the NSK3480 soon.

Regards,
Antec

 

[Terzo]

I know nothing about it, but it would be of interest to me since my LAN party rig uses that case and I really like it, though it could use a couple tweaks such as being ½" longer and using a single 140mm fan in front instead of two 92mm.

That sounds pretty similar to what I've heard in terms of requests; a little bit longer to make the power supply and dvd drive easier to work with, and larger fans. Though generally people mention 120's, not 140.
I want to switch to a matx setup and the 3480 seems like the highest quality option, but I would be willing to wait a few months for a revision. I have an opportunity to get a cheap display model but it is missing a side panel. Waiting to hear back from antec about how much a replacement would cost before I jump on it.

Hi Terzo,

As far as I know, we are not coming out with a new version of NSK3480.The newest upgrade/revision we have to our current cases are the Antec 200 and the P183. We are hoping to release three new cases this month (Lanboy Air, DF-30, and DF-85). Let me know if you have any other questions.

Regards,
Antec

Since you're here...what sort of release schedule does antec follow? Do you generally try and update or release ~3 cases a month, or is this an unusually big month?
Oh, and not a question but from the little I've seen a refresh would be well received. Are you sure there's no plans for it?!

 

[Zap]

Though generally people mention 120's, not 140.

Why not 140mm? The case is definately wide enough. However, I think it is not tall enough for two 120mm.

I want to switch to a matx setup and the 3480 seems like the highest quality option

It definately is. Mine feels very solid.

Since you're here...what sort of release schedule does antec follow? Do you generally try and update or release ~3 cases a month, or is this an unusually big month?

A new chassis design can take months to years to perfect. There were pictures of the Lanboy Air many months ago so it was in the planning stages for a while. Heck, wasn't the original Silverstone Raven shown at some trade show a year before it made retail?

 

[dmorton]

Hi Mod!

I will definitely inform the product development team your suggestions. Hopefully, we will have a(n) upgrade/revision on the NSK3480 soon.

Regards,
Antec

For me the key would be a 120mm fan at the front, positioned to mount the radiator from a corsair H50 cooler, with cool air blown over it from outside.

 

[Zap]

Hello, dmorton, and welcome to Anandtech Forums.

For me the key would be a 120mm fan at the front, positioned to mount the radiator from a corsair H50 cooler, with cool air blown over it from outside.

I know this is the recommended method of mounting the H50, but IMO I'd rather not have hot air being dumped into the case for the graphics card to suck up.

Also, it would be possible to have multiple sets of mounting holes so that both 120mm and 140mm fans can mount in the same spot.

 

[llee]

For me the key would be a 120mm fan at the front, positioned to mount the radiator from a corsair H50 cooler, with cool air blown over it from outside.

Also, the current version sports dual 120mm fan slots in the front. Therefore, mounting a 2x120mm radiator would also be an option provided you modded the 3.5 drive bay off for clearance.

 

[Zap]

Also, the current version sports dual 120mm fan slots in the front.

Are you talking about the NSK3480? I'm pretty sure it does two 92mm in front.

 

[cbn]

We are hoping to release three new cases this month (Lanboy Air, DF-30, and DF-85). Let me know if you have any other questions.

Regards,
Antec

I like your Gamer products a lot. Currently I am using your P160 case and Neo HE 550 PSU.

Does your company have plans to produce a copper 200mm radiator any time soon for the Antec Twelve hundred?

Or better yet, do you have plans to introduce a case with two 200mm fans up top along with a dual 200mm copper radiator?

 

[Terzo]

A new chassis design can take months to years to perfect. There were pictures of the Lanboy Air many months ago so it was in the planning stages for a while. Heck, wasn't the original Silverstone Raven shown at some trade show a year before it made retail?

Wouldn't this be different though, since it is a refresh rather than a whole new case?

Are you talking about the NSK3480? I'm pretty sure it does two 92mm in front.

Maybe he means you can mod in 120s? I don't actually own the case (yet) but all the specs I see say one 120 in the back and two 92s in the front.

 

[Zap]

I don't actually own the case (yet) but all the specs I see say one 120 in the back and two 92s in the front.

Well, I do own the case and that's exactly how it is provisioned for fan mounts.

This case has so much potential to be a small gaming case with just slight improvements to ventilation (though it is already decent), maybe spiffing up the looks and making it deep enough to hold a good PSU.

 

[Terzo]

Well, I do own the case and that's exactly how it is provisioned for fan mounts.

This case has so much potential to be a small gaming case with just slight improvements to ventilation (though it is already decent), maybe spiffing up the looks and making it deep enough to hold a good PSU.

Honestly I'm wary of sticking my 8800 gt in one. Or putting a hard drive in the top bay; combined with the dvd drive wouldn't that inhibit airflow to the power supply? Would it be possible to place a hard drive in that external 3.5 slot hanging below the top compartment? What components are you running in it?

I would drop my 2 hard drives in it and probably run on IGP for a while, then consider dropping in a video card after that. It doesn't seem like that would be a bad set up, but who knows.

 

[frostedflakes]

8800GT would probably run reasonably cool in the case. I have an HD4670 in mine (not quite as powerful and power hungry as the 8800GT, it uses about 30w less), but it stays pretty cool. I did add a side 120mm intake to the case, though, which probably helps quite a bit.

As far as power supply airflow, keep in mind that there is a large grill in the top panel right above the PSU. Its airflow comes from that, not the front of the case. But it would be a tight fit with both an optical drive and HDD up there, and the HDD would probably run pretty warm.

NSK-3480 is a nice little case, as long as you're aware of its limitations before you start building. You're obviously pretty limited on how many HDDs you can fit. Plus the case is pretty cramped and difficult to work in. If you're willing to do some cutting, there are a couple mods that can really improve the case (for example, adding holes to the PSU chamber and mobo tray for routing cables behind the mobo tray). There's a lot of room for improvement in the hypothetical next revision of the NSK-3480 (SPCR has had some great threads discussing possible improvements), a couple simple things like that could make a huge difference.

 

[Zap]

Honestly I'm wary of sticking my 8800 gt in one. Or putting a hard drive in the top bay; combined with the dvd drive wouldn't that inhibit airflow to the power supply? Would it be possible to place a hard drive in that external 3.5 slot hanging below the top compartment? What components are you running in it?

It'll all work fine.

Here's my current LAN party rig that I've been using for a while (soon to be upgraded to ... ???):

I'm running a Foxconn G45 chipset motherboard with a Xeon E3110 (basically a Core 2 Duo E8400) overclocked to 3.6GHz with a Thermalright Ultra 90 for CPU cooling. A SATA DVDRW is in the top 5¼" bay, with a Seagate 7200RPM 1.5TB drive just under that. PSU is an Enhance 500W (ENP-5150GH) with the fan facing up, sucking cool air through the top vents. The Primary HDD is at the bottom and is a 300GB VelociRaptor. No fans in the front 92mm mounts, and the stock Antec Tri Cool 120mm in the exhaust position set to medium speed (totally inaudible at LAN parties, I can attest to). The graphics card is a BFG GTX 285.

Sometimes LAN parties get pretty hot with all them bodies and computers packed into a room, but I've never had problems with my rig.

There's a lot of room for improvement in the hypothetical next revision of the NSK-3480 (SPCR has had some great threads discussing possible improvements)

Linky? ^_^

 

[frostedflakes]

Here's a list a member over on SPCR compiled. I don't like all the ideas, but most of them are good I think.

Well, if you are taking requests on the 3480....

Overall it's a fantastic case! It really just needs to be "modernized" rather than completely reworked:

1. Update front I/O to USB 3.0, eSata (versus current USB 2.0 and 1394)

2. Cable management slots to work cables behind the motherboard tray

3. Pre wire the front panel I/O and signals behind the side panel. The fp-audio line needs an extra 6 - 8".

4. Design the upper bay more like the Solo with the supporting rails, but add a removable plate that gives the owner the option of segregating (or not) the upper bay from the lower (much like it currently is). This also gives the owner the option to feed the PSU from either side; fresh air feed like the current setup, or flip the PSU over and vent the case with it like the Solo and remove the plate for direct access between the two sections..

5. 1" of extra depth (front face to rear I/O) to better accommodate an ATX PSU and standard sized optical drive in the upper bay.

6. Integrated HDD suspension from Solo

7. 2x 120mm Fan slot instead of 2x 92 mm fan slots on the front panel.

8. Cut out for cpu cooling backplate swaps on the backplane.

9. Ditch the external 3.5" bay. Allot space for 2 HDD's in that same space to be actively cooled by one of the 120mm fans.

10. Accomodations on the backplane for a SSD to be mounted flat to it in the vicinity of the expansion slots/ lower fan slot.

11. Sell it without a PSU, but with these updates, for the same price as it currently retails for with the Earthwatts 380.

Don't for the life of you change the aesthetics of the case one single bit. It is a beautiful case and continues to be good looking even, what, 5 years later? It's a classic, leave the good looks alone.

Imagine a mATX version of the Solo (which it nearly already is) with the modernizations of the P183 Rev.B. Really it's not that much of a change from what it currently is.

 

[Zap]

I found the SPCR thread! Thanks for the Easter egg hunt. Here are my thoughts:

1. Update front I/O to USB 3.0, eSata (versus current USB 2.0 and 1394)
That's pretty simple. I don't think it is a deal breaker though. This update would just piss off people who have Firewire peripherals (video camera, HDD).

2. Cable management slots to work cables behind the motherboard tray
Only if it doesn't make the case any wider.

3. Pre wire the front panel I/O and signals behind the side panel. The fp-audio line needs an extra 6 - 8".
This is a good idea. Maybe also use more flat cables for easier routing.

4. Design the upper bay more like the Solo with the supporting rails
Good idea and easily implemented. I think I would trade-off the PSU sucking in warm air for a top w/o vents.

5. 1" of extra depth (front face to rear I/O) to better accommodate an ATX PSU and standard sized optical drive in the upper bay.
YES YES YES!!!

6. Integrated HDD suspension from Solo
IMO not necessary. The HDD suspension takes up a lot of room which this small of a case may not have. Also, the bungee cords in my Solo started getting loose and less stretchy after a while, so HDDs would slide themselves out. I know this is good for silence, but if you absolutely want silence you will get an SSD.

7. 2x 120mm Fan slot instead of 2x 92 mm fan slots on the front panel.
That, or a single 140mm, whichever fits w/o changing dimensions too much.

8. Cut out for cpu cooling backplate swaps on the backplane.
Easy to do, and a reasonable idea even though the PSU is so close that a big cooler may not fit anyways.

9. Ditch the external 3.5" bay. Allot space for 2 HDD's in that same space to be actively cooled by one of the 120mm fans.
Okay, I see where the 2x120mm idea is going. Great idea until someone wants a built-in card reader. That's just being devil's advocate because another HDD bay is what I would do.

10. Accomodations on the backplane for a SSD to be mounted flat to it in the vicinity of the expansion slots/ lower fan slot.
Easy, just a couple mounting holes.

11. Sell it without a PSU, but with these updates, for the same price as it currently retails for with the Earthwatts 380.
I'd want it cheaper, LOL. That Earthwatts wasn't bad until you needed more than one PCIe 6-pin for a higher powered graphics card. If a PSU had to be included, then I'd go for one with enough power for a 6-pin and 8-pin PCIe power plugs. The best thing about including a PSU is that wiring can be customized for the case. I believe that the EA380 in the NSK3480 was indeed customized for the case to some extent because there was a single long SATA power plug for the bottom HDD bay.

 

[Antec_Rep]

That sounds pretty similar to what I've heard in terms of requests; a little bit longer to make the power supply and dvd drive easier to work with, and larger fans. Though generally people mention 120's, not 140.
I want to switch to a matx setup and the 3480 seems like the highest quality option, but I would be willing to wait a few months for a revision. I have an opportunity to get a cheap display model but it is missing a side panel. Waiting to hear back from antec about how much a replacement would cost before I jump on it.


Since you're here...what sort of release schedule does antec follow? Do you generally try and update or release ~3 cases a month, or is this an unusually big month?
Oh, and not a question but from the little I've seen a refresh would be well received. Are you sure there's no plans for it?!

Hi Terzo,

Its just just an unusually big month. We announced the Dark Fleet and Lanboy air cases back in January (at CES). There are no plans so far for an upgrade or revision of the NSK3480. Again, this sort of thing is up to product development. What I could do is let them know that people love the NSK3480 and would love to see an upgrade to it. I would definitely pass on the suggestions you guys have mentioned to product development team.

Regards,
Antec