P183 interior dimensions?

[PrinceofWands]

Putting together a new system for myself (I'm still using the system I built when the Sempron debuted) and it's time to pick the case.

I'm big on quiet, and dislike lights/windows/etc. I was fairly impressed by the P180 when it came out and I used it for my nephew, but I'm not sure if it will hold my gtx260s (those things are like 10 1/2-11" long) well. Also not sure if I'll have to do after-market cooling.

Anybody know how much room there is for cards in a P183, and about the cooling/noise tradeoffs? Any other recommendations if it doesn't look like it would work?

 

[mentalcrisis00]

Hey there

Excellent choice of case, I just bought an Antec p180 case from the forums and I couldn't be happier. The p180 and p183 are virtually identical except for a few upgrades and parts that have been moved around. I installed an ATI 4870 in mine and I was able to install the hard drive cage in front of it with about 3/4 of an inch to spare. However if it doesn't fit with the hard drive cage installed you can remove it, and that would give you plenty of space. Take a look at the internal pictures from the link below and you'll see what i mean. The box in the middle towards the front of the case is the hard drive cage I'm talking about. Theres a hard drive cage on the bottom of the case that holds 4 anyhow, so if you don't have more than 4 hard drives removing the upper cage will work for you.

I haven't measured but i'm pretty sure the 4870 and GTX 260 are about the same length, so it should squeak by. I can tell you right now that you won't regret getting the antec p183, the entire p-series line is grade A.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ImageG...omputer%20Case

 

[Deinonych]

The GTX260 will fit in the P183, no problem. I have a GTX285 (which is longer than the 260), and it fits just fine. You may have to remove the upper drive cage, as the poster above mentioned.

[edit] I should mention that I have the P180, but the internal dimensions are the same as the P183.

 

[PrinceofWands]

That's awesome news, thanks much! On a related note, are you guys using stock cooling for those cards, or should I look into something special? I don't OC, but I do run a lot of stuff in there, pretty much 24/7.

 

[mentalcrisis00]

I'm running the stock cooler, generally it's the best thing to do in my opinion because the coolers on these larger cards are specially designed. They're meant to cool the gpu die, memory, and mosfets which generally get hotter than the lower end cards. Most of the stock coolers in this class of card blow the hot air out the back of the case instead of recycling it inside.

I'd suggest keeping your card the way it is unless you have heat or noise problems. The cheapest after market cooler for the GTX series it $50 and up. I linked a few below if you decide that you're interested in replacing it, first 2 are thermalrights and last is arctic cooling. Read some reviews on them, if you find the temperatures aren't drastically improved then just keep your card as it is. You shouldn't have a problem with heat in the P183 case at any rate, all my temps went down 3 to 5 degrees across the board when I started using the p180.

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=26027

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=24735

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=25708

 

[Deinonych]

I'm using the stock cooler...temps are reasonable and the card is pretty quiet when it's not under load.