Thinking about P182 w/ Corsair 520 HX

[TemjinGold]

After some reviews, I'm sold on the P182 as I wanted to build a quiet PC. However, the part that worries me is the closed compartment for the PSU. Will the 120 mm fan on the PSU be a problem (or wasted)? Also, does anyone know if the ATX cable from the 520 HX will reach?

 

[MichaelD]

The P182 is as close to a "perfect case" as you can get. The improvements made to the P180 to turn it into the P182 really make it shine.

With the cable routing holes in the motherboard tray, you are assured that your ATX power connectors will easily reach anywhere on the board. This is not so w/the original P180 (which I have) which require extension cables with some MBs.

I have a Corsair 620HX in my P180 and before that I had an Antec TPII-550; both PSUs have downward-facing 120mm fans. This is not a problem as there is 3/4" of space underneath the PS mounting shelf specifically for this purpose. I have the HD/PS chamber fan in the case on LOW and you can still feel the air being sucked thru the front filter and pushed out the back of the PS.

I have a pretty hefty power draw in my rig (Q6600@3.0GHz, 8800GT, 6HDs, etc) and the air coming out of the PS is still fairly cool. No airflow/cooling probs w/this combo.

 

[MarcVenice]

No problem, the middle fan will also blow fairly cool air towards your PSU. My coolermaster 650w with a 120mm fan facing down or upwards * tried both * ran just fine, and pretty cool to both.

 

[TemjinGold]

Thanks guys. Now to camp a deal on this sucker!

Edit: Forgot to ask, what case fans would you guys recommend? Are the stock ones good or should I replace them? I will only use 1 high end gfx card and don't plan to OC. I'd like to keep things as frosty as possible for the least amount of noise. Price for fans is not an issue.

 

[MarcVenice]

Hmm, the antec tricools don't bother me at all when they are on low. With a overclocked x2 3800+ @ 2.6ghz in there, with an arctic freezer 7 pro, and a 8800gts 320mb, things stay plenty cool. I've put both HD's in the lower drive bay, so they don't add to the heat in the mobo compartment either. In reviews the antec tricools performed pretty good, not the best, no, but at low they are almost as good as the best fans, in terms of noise per amount of air that gets pushed. Since you're not overclocking and such, you should be good to go with all 3 of them on low. Btw, you should look for a good p180b or p182 deal. The p180b's are identical to p182's, and often cost a fair bit less.

 

[TemjinGold]

Thanks for the tip on the P180b. When you say "identical," how identical are we talking (i.e. why the different part number)?

 

[MichaelD]

The P180B and P182 are NOT identical. The differences are small but significant. They are the same size and hold the same amount of drives. But:

The 180B is just a 180 in black.

The 182 has the cable routing cutouts in the motherboard tray, fan speed selector switch on the back of the case and water cooling cutouts on the back of the case.

If it weren't for the fact that shipping kills me, I'd get a 182 to replace my 180.

 

[MarcVenice]

No, newer revs p180b's, 1.1 iirc, are in fact identical to p182's, with a cable routing, fan speed selectors and the water cooling cutouts as well as a improved door hinge/door. Last time I checked and someone ordered from newegg, all p180b's being sold were 1.1's and thus identical to the p182.

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
No, newer revs p180b's, 1.1 iirc, are in fact identical to p182's, with a cable routing, fan speed selectors and the water cooling cutouts as well as a improved door hinge/door. Last time I checked and someone ordered from newegg, all p180b's being sold were 1.1's and thus identical to the p182.

Really? OK, I may be wrong then. Newegg hasn't updated the pics on their site. Bad Newegg!

So, then WHAT IS the diff b/t a 182 and a 180b?

Provantage has both and the diff is $1.06.