P180 hard drive rack?

[Nocturnal]

Is the very bottom piece that sits toward the front of the case a hard drive rack? It looks like you could put four hard drives in there. What would cool those hard drives though? Can you fit a 120mm fan in front of that rack?

 

[Fallengod]

Yes its a hd rack. I dont think you can put a fan infront of it, but there is a mount in the middle(between the PSU and Hd racks) for a fan to pull air.

 

[nealh]

Originally posted by: modempower
Yes its a hd rack. I dont think you can put a fan infront of it, but there is a mount in the middle(between the PSU and Hd racks) for a fan to pull air.

I sanded down a YL fan and cut out the grill infront and I now a 120mm YL sitting in front of my HDD

 

[EagleEye]

Originally posted by: nealh

Originally posted by: modempower
Yes its a hd rack. I dont think you can put a fan infront of it, but there is a mount in the middle(between the PSU and Hd racks) for a fan to pull air.

I sanded down a YL fan and cut out the grill infront and I now a 120mm YL sitting in front of my HDD

I have a 92 mm ziptied to the hd rack blowing air over the only hd i have in it.

 

[Dman877]

PSU fan(s) are usually adequate for cooling hd's. I suppose if you have 4 hot ones down there you might want the fan in the middle but I found that middle fan really makes running the psu cables to the top compartment a pita.

 

[nealh]

Originally posted by: Dman877
PSU fan(s) are usually adequate for cooling hd's. I suppose if you have 4 hot ones down there you might want the fan in the middle but I found that middle fan really makes running the psu cables to the top compartment a pita.

In the lower chanber all a PSU can do is suck air out..does not work well IMHO in this case

the lower fan is not possible since I own an OCZ powerstream..too long a psu

I used a 92mm fan prior to the 120mm fan..did good..I get a 5C or more cooler HDD with 120mm fan

I love my P180 but is is pure crap for air flow...trying living in FL...those vents that allow air suck....when I switched to WC my temps were horrible becasue the 120mm fan in front of the RAdiator that I placed in place of the floppy drive and HDD slots was choked for air with the small and large door closed....by opening the door and removing the small one...my load temps dropped 7-10C

http://img146.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img3017large1td.jpg

cut away all the tabs so clean open look for the fan
http://img80.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img3025large7rn.jpg

 

[0roo0roo]

well the problem was putting a radiator inside that case. it works fine when theres no radiator. you need push pull fan setup for low rpm when trying to force air through dense radiators. these kinds of fans have low static pressure they won't push through obstructions well. that or try higher rpm single fan,but u don't want that in or out of a p180 because of the racket. you don't put a low flow radiator setup where air is restricted, it should have gone outside the case soemwhere or in a custom mount/vent. if it was a single 120mm radiator then thats even worse, u need more than that. atleast 2-3x 120mm type radiator atleaste. and why would u set it up so your radiator fan is sucking the hot air through your case or fighting against the other case fans anyways? not optimal

recently a british pc magazine used thermal cameras on cases during tests. the p180 was tops. its cooling is very good.

 

[nealh]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
well the problem was putting a radiator inside that case. it works fine when theres no radiator. you need push pull fan setup for low rpm when trying to force air through dense radiators. these kinds of fans have low static pressure they won't push through obstructions well. that or try higher rpm single fan,but u don't want that in or out of a p180 because of the racket. you don't put a low flow radiator setup where air is restricted, it should have gone outside the case soemwhere or in a custom mount/vent. if it was a single 120mm radiator then thats even worse, u need more than that. atleast 2-3x 120mm type radiator atleaste. and why would u set it up so your radiator fan is sucking the hot air through your case or fighting against the other case fans anyways? not optimal

recently a british pc magazine used thermal cameras on cases during tests. the p180 was tops. its cooling is very good.

I appreciate your thoughts but

first..Used air cooling for a yr withis case..I had front intake 120mm..2 rear 120mm fans(set in numerous different configurations)..fan blowing on PWMIC..in FL where ambients are higher..mine run between 76-78F in my office and hotter during the day...temps just sucked..noise was ok...

My radiator is PA160(160mm radiator and can perform as good as 120.2 radiator in the correct setup)..designed for low flow cfm fans...my fan is blowing cool outside air on the radiator(FYI the fan is Panaflo 120x38 at 7v..this pushes 70cfm full speed)

I placed the radiator inside hoping to maintain a quiet setup....and to mount a radiator outside/or inside top would have required cutting holes I was not skilled to do

I do agree the P180 is not a good case for internal WC, unless you can do mods to place a 120mm radiator at the top...Performance-PC will mod the case to do this

It was the case I had and in the future will buy a new case with more pre-thought to WCing

But I still stand behind the P180 is crap for airflow....those front vents do not allow enough air in....in your ambients are better maybe it is ok...but not where I live....I love the case but hate the airflow

 

[0roo0roo]

hm still seems to be a lot to ask from a 160mm since you are cooling both cpu and video card. it might be able to do one, but not both. how about dual resorators hehehe

 

[nealh]

PA160 is an excellent radiator..I a mcooling a nX800..these do not run warm and its temps mimics the cpu....

If I had to do it over again..I would have tried to cut 120mm holes up top and mounted a dual rad with fans sucking air into the case...but still internal...

I prefer the clean look

In my case:

ambients that range from 24-26+
fan @7v..opty 170@2800 idles at 32/33C..load at 42/43C with dual prime95 large fft(10hrs)..delta is 9-10C
so it cools well...a big radiator and probably could lower the delta to 6-7C???

 

[Pens1566]

Originally posted by: nealh

Originally posted by: Dman877
PSU fan(s) are usually adequate for cooling hd's. I suppose if you have 4 hot ones down there you might want the fan in the middle but I found that middle fan really makes running the psu cables to the top compartment a pita.

In the lower chanber all a PSU can do is suck air out..does not work well IMHO in this case

the lower fan is not possible since I own an OCZ powerstream..too long a psu

I used a 92mm fan prior to the 120mm fan..did good..I get a 5C or more cooler HDD with 120mm fan

I love my P180 but is is pure crap for air flow...trying living in FL...those vents that allow air suck....when I switched to WC my temps were horrible becasue the 120mm fan in front of the RAdiator that I placed in place of the floppy drive and HDD slots was choked for air with the small and large door closed....by opening the door and removing the small one...my load temps dropped 7-10C

http://img146.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img3017large1td.jpg

cut away all the tabs so clean open look for the fan
http://img80.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img3025large7rn.jpg

You can fit a 120x25mm fan in the bottom chamber with a powerstrem 520. I did. It's close, but possible.

 

[nealh]

Originally posted by: Pens1566

Originally posted by: nealh

Originally posted by: Dman877
PSU fan(s) are usually adequate for cooling hd's. I suppose if you have 4 hot ones down there you might want the fan in the middle but I found that middle fan really makes running the psu cables to the top compartment a pita.

In the lower chanber all a PSU can do is suck air out..does not work well IMHO in this case

the lower fan is not possible since I own an OCZ powerstream..too long a psu

I used a 92mm fan prior to the 120mm fan..did good..I get a 5C or more cooler HDD with 120mm fan

I love my P180 but is is pure crap for air flow...trying living in FL...those vents that allow air suck....when I switched to WC my temps were horrible becasue the 120mm fan in front of the RAdiator that I placed in place of the floppy drive and HDD slots was choked for air with the small and large door closed....by opening the door and removing the small one...my load temps dropped 7-10C

http://img146.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img3017large1td.jpg

cut away all the tabs so clean open look for the fan
http://img80.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img3025large7rn.jpg

You can fit a 120x25mm fan in the bottom chamber with a powerstrem 520. I did. It's close, but possible.

but with all the cabling issue too much of a hassle for fan that does not below directly on the HDD, IMHO