Upgrade or mod case for GTX670

[ravolox]

I'd like some opinions on whether it's worth upgrading my case when I get a GTX670. I really like the appearance of my Thermaltake Tsunami (yeah, 8yr old case), but I know it doesn't provide the kind of air cooling I can get with the current designs. The only non-reference 670 I can fit inside is the Asus DCU2, but it will extend the entire length of the slot to the hard drive and restrict air flow even more than my 560Ti Hawk. This is what leads to my dilemma. My current case temp is running about 41C, and my CPU on stock cooling jumps to 84C running Prime95.

I'm interested in either the Corsair 550D or 650D. I prefer the 550D for its minimalistic design, noise dampening and the ability to increase air flow if needed. I would also likely get the H100 cooler to squeeze out more life from my X58/i7 920 setup. My primary utilization is gaming at max settings, so it's really the heat from OC'ing the GPU that's the concern.

My other option is to mod my side case panel (non-windowed) to install either a 140 or 200mm fan. I might also get the H80 cooler to replace the stock hs/fan if it doesn't interfere with the graphics card.

Hmmm...Decisions, decisions.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Modding would be cheaper.

 

[Nizzzlle]

If the rig is heating up to the point where you're just going to keep throwing fans at it, you should probably upgrade. Cases last forever, think of it as an investment.

 

[ravolox]

I think I've nudged myself into buying a new case after looking at pics of people's rigs (and then looking at mine) and seeing how the cable management will make working on it so much more pleasant. I have so many cables obstructing air flow in addition to my graphic card, I see why my temps are at least 10C above where they ought to be.

The Asus TOP finally arrived at Newegg, so I guess I'll treat it proper by marking the occasion and upgrading my case. I'll see how well my temps improve before I commit to the H100. Looks to be an awesome liquid cooler, but it's only a year old so I'm somewhat leery of its longevity.

You say cases last forever, eh? I remember when I bought the Tsunami, comments like "two huge 120mm fans" were common. Now it's not so huge, and todays cards make mincemeat of them.

 

[Arcanedeath]

the TT Tsunami was one of my favorite cases of all time, my brother is still using my old one for his I7 920 / GTX 260 build and it's fine as long as you have good 120mm fans he has an SSD so we just took out the HDD cage and you can put huge cards in with no trouble. a modular PSU does help as it has no cable management.

 

[ravolox]

I upgraded to the Corsair 550D case, and I'm impressed with the near silence it provides. My temps didn't drop much (if at all), though, even with the upper cover removed. Of course, my 920 is o/c to 3.5GHz on air and I have three standard hard drives so I guess I can't expect miraculous results. Oddly enough, with the upper cover off, the case was drawing in air from the top as opposed to exhausting air. What I've noticed is the hard drive cages block intake airflow with the 90deg mount; I suppose I'll remove the empty bays.

I do have a modular PSU, but the SATA & PCI cables were additional culprits in obstructing airflow. I like that the new case allows all cables to be routed behind the mainboard. Interesting, I didn't see a way to remove the center HDD cage, only the bottom, which would not help me with video card clearance.

 

[Rvenger]

I upgraded to the Corsair 550D case, and I'm impressed with the near silence it provides. My temps didn't drop much (if at all), though, even with the upper cover removed. Of course, my 920 is o/c to 3.5GHz on air and I have three standard hard drives so I guess I can't expect miraculous results. Oddly enough, with the upper cover off, the case was drawing in air from the top as opposed to exhausting air. What I've noticed is the hard drive cages block intake airflow with the 90deg mount; I suppose I'll remove the empty bays.

I do have a modular PSU, but the SATA & PCI cables were additional culprits in obstructing airflow. I like that the new case allows all cables to be routed behind the mainboard. Interesting, I didn't see a way to remove the center HDD cage, only the bottom, which would not help me with video card clearance.

550D wasn't designed for cooling in mind, it was designed for silence. My suggestion to you is to get the top fans to exhaust. See if you can remove a drive cage so it can provide better airflow in the front. A side panel fan can help with GPU temps immensely.

 

[ravolox]

550D wasn't designed for cooling in mind, it was designed for silence. My suggestion to you is to get the top fans to exhaust. See if you can remove a drive cage so it can provide better airflow in the front. A side panel fan can help with GPU temps immensely.

True, it's designed for silence. But as I stated earlier, depending on the desired result, one can forego the silence and opt for airflow for cooling. I think adding the side intake fan(s) would help in lowering the case temp and create the flow needed to naturally exhaust from the top. If not, then I'll try side-in/top-out. Hopefully I can get away with only one fan, otherwise I'll be buying two so they'll be matched (I'm kinda OCD that way).

 

[neilsabo]

i've been going back and forth for months on what case to get, and I'm leaning toward the 550D... the only thing I don't like is the price, lol

seems like with the 550d, you can set it up however you want... made to be a silent case, but with enough fan mounts that you could uncover all the vents and throw in a bunch of fans if you need to... probably won't ever be the coolest case, but at least you have the option to throw a bunch of fans in there

 

[ravolox]

i've been going back and forth for months on what case to get, and I'm leaning toward the 550D... the only thing I don't like is the price, lol

seems like with the 550d, you can set it up however you want... made to be a silent case, but with enough fan mounts that you could uncover all the vents and throw in a bunch of fans if you need to... probably won't ever be the coolest case, but at least you have the option to throw a bunch of fans in there

This is most expensive case I've ever bought considering it's without a PSU. I think my Tsunami was around $125 with a 400W. There are cheaper alternatives, but I felt the design was worth the price. The only thing I've heard Corsair is cheap with are their fans. Otherwise, it's a solid build and it's 1/3 lighter than the 650D (according to newegg). My one issue is the connector block for the front panel can get unplugged when you install a 5.25" drive in the top bay. The one thing I'm iffy about are the dust filters - they're just perforated rubber with what look to be .5mm holes. Time will tell if they do their job, but they should be easy to add a proper filter lining to.

I'm also thinking of getting the NZXT Sentry 2 fan controller. I want a second source of temp data besides the MSI O/C Center. Kinda crap s/w, IMO. I only get data on 2 of the 3 std system fans.

 

[Zap]

Moot issue now, but I personally would have just modded the Tsunami case. I would start by cutting out the fan grills, which are quite restrictive. Like Arcanedeath's brother did, I would remove the HDD rack. That still leaves you with 4x5¼ and 2x3½ drive bays. Plenty, considering the proliferation of SSDs and with HDD capacities already hitting 4TB on a SINGLE drive. I would then use an aftermarket CPU cooler, as 84ºC in Prime95 on a slightly overclocked Nehalem CPU isn't going to get much better when using the stock cooler.