Arctic Cooling Silentium T2 Eco 80 - bit-tech.net Forums

Tim S · 16th Mar 2008, 08:24

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...um_t2_eco_80/1

We've all heard of green PCs - but what about a green case? Claiming excellent noise reduction and an innovative thermal management system, the Silentium T2 Eco 80 is a case which seems to have it all - but appearances can be deceiving...

The_Pope · 16th Mar 2008, 08:43

Oh, boy

badders · 16th Mar 2008, 09:31

Riff-Dribble didn't work under vista?
Hmmm, seems to work okay here.

As soon as I saw the picture with the door opened, I cowered in Horror.
It also sounds like Arctic cooling are going back to the Ghetto with their Hard drive mounting ideas. What's wrong with a normal HDD cage suspended on rubber nipples or similar?
Even Krikkit didn't take to velcro-ing his hard drive in.

Jipa · 16th Mar 2008, 10:09

Even though I sense deep hatred towards the case, I'd still like to know how powerful the powersupply is. I don't know if the amount of drive bays tells anything about a computer being ultra super fast or not, either, but I guess that's just me. I wouldn't mind seeing a picture of the insides with hardware installed, just to see how crowded it actually gets in there.

Shame it turned out so bad, I actually like the outlooks.

Tim S · 16th Mar 2008, 10:15

Sorry, I thought Joe had mentioned the power rating in the article - it's 500W, but curiously called the 550F...

Primoz · 16th Mar 2008, 10:32

I actually like this case very much. It could be very good - with some modding ofcourse. I see it as a great LAN case, with the PSU in it's normal position, two 80 mil fans by the mobo (instead of that duct), a 240 rad in the bottom with the plastic stand modded to have intakes in the ribbed section and a different HDD mounting.

CardJoe · 16th Mar 2008, 10:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by badders

Riff-Dribble didn't work under vista?
Hmmm, seems to work okay here.

It works for me at home too, but for some reason all I was getting was a "Generic Application Error", which wasn't very helpful for diagnosing the problem. I check that the GPU was actually working and that the drivers were correct, but still no luck. In the end, upgrading the GPU test needed to be done anyway. I think it's probably just a small error in the registry or something.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Primoz

I actually like this case very much. It could be very good - with some modding ofcourse. I see it as a great LAN case, with the PSU in it's normal position, two 80 mil fans by the mobo (instead of that duct), a 240 rad in the bottom with the plastic stand modded to have intakes in the ribbed section and a different HDD mounting.

I'm not sure if that's all possible - it seems very cramped in there and you'd have to move the expansion slots etc. Also, bear in mind that the PSU and it's plastic housing seem to be secured in place.

Primoz · 16th Mar 2008, 10:40

I still think it's nothing a little dremel work and some new metal plates (if really neccessary) can't fix

karx11erx · 16th Mar 2008, 11:14

First of all the reviewer has by no means understood who this case has been designed for. It's not for the enthusiast who wants to put a ton of highest end hardware in it. It is for the office worker or casual gamer who just needs standard equipment.

Second, placing the PSU at the front bottom of the case has something to do with the overall thermal design. The plastic stand of the case has openings through which cold air is sucked into the case by the PSU and the other case fans (I don't know why Card Joe would want to mod them into the stand - the stand's entire purpose is to allow air to be sucked in the case through its ribs).

Third, if you want the case to be near to silent, you will have to use the proper coolers for the CPU and GPU as well. I am having the previous of this case both at home and at work, 64 bit CPUs and Radeon X800/850s inside. The CPUs are cooled with an Arctic Cooling heatpipe cooler (many people don't seem to like them, but I never had any problems with them). Actually the loudest component is the Arctic Cooling VGA silencer in one of the systems. My workplace system just cannot be heard - I have to look under my desk to see whether its working.

My cases also don't have that awkward fastening system for harddrives, but a solid aluminium casing where you drop the harddrive in. There's only space for one harddrive, but given who the case is intended for, and looking at the prices of 500 GB HDs, that shouldn't be a problem. The fixing system for addon cards is screwless and works nicely.

The case costs less than 100 Euros including a decent PSU and low noise case cooling. For that price I can live with a little black plastic. Personally I like the look of the case. I am preferring very sleek, elegant cases anyway over all that prebuilt modding fuzz (like the Lian Li Armor). My favorite case would be the Antec P182 with chrome finish. Apart from the probably justified criticism of the reviewed case's harddrive attachment system I have to say that the review apparently has been made with a strong elitist attitide that far and wide misses the point and the qualities of this case.

m4r71n · 16th Mar 2008, 11:55

i was really hoping that was gonna be a good case, as its a nice low price too.. not realy worth it if you have to modify it to make it any good

Jonagon · 16th Mar 2008, 12:34

What's the problem with the case temp being a few degrees above ambient at idle? Surely that's fairly normal.. certinaly my case behaves like that.

I mean.. heat is being produced in the case and unless your cooling system for extracting it is 100% efficent, it's always gonna be a little bit hotter inside isn't it?

..Or am I missing something obvious? :P

Bluephoenix · 16th Mar 2008, 12:35

trash is trash is trash, unless a dremel is applied.

I expected that result, as you can only lower the price so much without some parts of the case having issues.

for cheap cases best one I ever used that had an enviro-freindly rating on it was the cooler-master elite 330. cost me $40, yet has good build quality.

Slink · 16th Mar 2008, 12:49

Cant pollish a turd.

I had one of the older models and i was proper disapointed with it, everything would overheat, the "Cool" drive cage was placed right next to the PSU which didnt help, and it was a bit out of the way for wires. No matter how much tidying you got done inside the case it was still so tight in there for such a big case.
The no screws drive rails were a pain the in the arse as well.
The plastic on the bottom that held the case up turned brittle and broke to bits.

Loops now has the case. She can probably vouch for the build quality.

Although saying that, this new one looks ok to look at, but i can just sense the internals and build will be just as bad.

Slink · 16th Mar 2008, 12:53

to be fair now i come to think of it. out of all the cases i've had and worked with, the antec lanboy 1st gen) has got to be the best i've used.

Nature · 16th Mar 2008, 12:58

Yeah no one likes those rotwillers. Funky peice of goose this case be.

Why don't you Bit-Tech-ians make a mid tower case that represents your company? I think it be an interesting think tank with all the brains contributing tword an image of your work and philosophies.

China has stoped youtube!!! HorrorS!!!!!!! The Madness!!

DXR_13KE · 16th Mar 2008, 13:40

Nature, on that idea, i would very much like the bit-tech to design the ultimate computer case..... or computer case line, from small to big and from wide to large.....

CardJoe · 16th Mar 2008, 15:36

Temperature differences at idle aren't a huge thing - but a 5 degrees difference when NOTHING is going on is a bad sign. Your computer isn't doing anything, the fans are going full pelt, and it's still 5 degrees about the ambient. That's only going to get worse when load builds. Compare it to some other cases in the price range to see what sort of cooling performance you can get with a more standard set-up. The 690, though it comes without a PSU, is about the same price and a good example of this:

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...aster_cm_690/4

sub routine · 16th Mar 2008, 16:21

hehe the name? What on earth is silentium something has to be done about that before anything else.

Jipa · 16th Mar 2008, 17:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by CardJoe

The 690, though it comes without a PSU, is about the same price and a good example of this:

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...aster_cm_690/4

Very impressive indeed, it actually cools the ambient air .5 degrees

Just nit picking, isn't it lovely when it's 2008 and they still can't make accurate sensors for reasonable price. Personally I've been owned by the instruments as I claimed a case to be lighter with a PSU or something

tranc3 · 16th Mar 2008, 17:32

So if they made hybrids that looked that good, more ppl would be driving them.

16th Mar 2008, 08:24	#1
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	Arctic Cooling Silentium T2 Eco 80 http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...um_t2_eco_80/1 We've all heard of green PCs - but what about a green case? Claiming excellent noise reduction and an innovative thermal management system, the Silentium T2 Eco 80 is a case which seems to have it all - but appearances can be deceiving... __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

16th Mar 2008, 10:09	#4
Jipa Licenced idiot. Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Tampere, Finland Posts: 3,062	Even though I sense deep hatred towards the case, I'd still like to know how powerful the powersupply is. I don't know if the amount of drive bays tells anything about a computer being ultra super fast or not, either, but I guess that's just me. I wouldn't mind seeing a picture of the insides with hardware installed, just to see how crowded it actually gets in there. Shame it turned out so bad, I actually like the outlooks. __________________ Abit IP35 - E6750 - 8800GT 1024 MB - 2 GB 800 MHz - enough HDDs - 750 W Silverstone - CM Storm Sniper Asus P5Q-VM - Q9450 - 4 GB - 400 W Silverstone - Fortress FT01 AllTheMods - MetkuMods - LedCalc

16th Mar 2008, 10:15	#5
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	Sorry, I thought Joe had mentioned the power rating in the article - it's 500W, but curiously called the 550F... __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

16th Mar 2008, 11:14	#9
karx11erx Multimodder Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Germany Posts: 83	First of all the reviewer has by no means understood who this case has been designed for. It's not for the enthusiast who wants to put a ton of highest end hardware in it. It is for the office worker or casual gamer who just needs standard equipment. Second, placing the PSU at the front bottom of the case has something to do with the overall thermal design. The plastic stand of the case has openings through which cold air is sucked into the case by the PSU and the other case fans (I don't know why Card Joe would want to mod them into the stand - the stand's entire purpose is to allow air to be sucked in the case through its ribs). Third, if you want the case to be near to silent, you will have to use the proper coolers for the CPU and GPU as well. I am having the previous of this case both at home and at work, 64 bit CPUs and Radeon X800/850s inside. The CPUs are cooled with an Arctic Cooling heatpipe cooler (many people don't seem to like them, but I never had any problems with them). Actually the loudest component is the Arctic Cooling VGA silencer in one of the systems. My workplace system just cannot be heard - I have to look under my desk to see whether its working. My cases also don't have that awkward fastening system for harddrives, but a solid aluminium casing where you drop the harddrive in. There's only space for one harddrive, but given who the case is intended for, and looking at the prices of 500 GB HDs, that shouldn't be a problem. The fixing system for addon cards is screwless and works nicely. The case costs less than 100 Euros including a decent PSU and low noise case cooling. For that price I can live with a little black plastic. Personally I like the look of the case. I am preferring very sleek, elegant cases anyway over all that prebuilt modding fuzz (like the Lian Li Armor). My favorite case would be the Antec P182 with chrome finish. Apart from the probably justified criticism of the reviewed case's harddrive attachment system I have to say that the review apparently has been made with a strong elitist attitide that far and wide misses the point and the qualities of this case. __________________ Descent Site, Fine Arts.

16th Mar 2008, 12:49	#13
Slink B7 Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Middlesbrough - UK Posts: 3,459	Cant pollish a turd. I had one of the older models and i was proper disapointed with it, everything would overheat, the "Cool" drive cage was placed right next to the PSU which didnt help, and it was a bit out of the way for wires. No matter how much tidying you got done inside the case it was still so tight in there for such a big case. The no screws drive rails were a pain the in the arse as well. The plastic on the bottom that held the case up turned brittle and broke to bits. Loops now has the case. She can probably vouch for the build quality. Although saying that, this new one looks ok to look at, but i can just sense the internals and build will be just as bad. __________________ lul

16th Mar 2008, 08:43	#2
The_Pope Geoff Richards Moderator Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: UK Posts: 2,089	Oh, boy

16th Mar 2008, 10:32	#6
Primoz Minimodder Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 40	I actually like this case very much. It could be very good - with some modding ofcourse. I see it as a great LAN case, with the PSU in it's normal position, two 80 mil fans by the mobo (instead of that duct), a 240 rad in the bottom with the plastic stand modded to have intakes in the ribbed section and a different HDD mounting.

16th Mar 2008, 10:40	#8
Primoz Minimodder Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 40	I still think it's nothing a little dremel work and some new metal plates (if really neccessary) can't fix

16th Mar 2008, 11:55	#10
m4r71n What's a Dremel? Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 2	i was really hoping that was gonna be a good case, as its a nice low price too.. not realy worth it if you have to modify it to make it any good

16th Mar 2008, 12:34	#11
Jonagon What's a Dremel? Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: UK Posts: 12	What's the problem with the case temp being a few degrees above ambient at idle? Surely that's fairly normal.. certinaly my case behaves like that. I mean.. heat is being produced in the case and unless your cooling system for extracting it is 100% efficent, it's always gonna be a little bit hotter inside isn't it? ..Or am I missing something obvious? :P

16th Mar 2008, 12:35	#12
Bluephoenix Spoon? What spoon? Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Daytona Beach, FL Posts: 936	trash is trash is trash, unless a dremel is applied. I expected that result, as you can only lower the price so much without some parts of the case having issues. for cheap cases best one I ever used that had an enviro-freindly rating on it was the cooler-master elite 330. cost me $40, yet has good build quality.

16th Mar 2008, 12:53	#14
Slink B7 Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Middlesbrough - UK Posts: 3,459	to be fair now i come to think of it. out of all the cases i've had and worked with, the antec lanboy 1st gen) has got to be the best i've used. __________________ lul

16th Mar 2008, 12:58	#15
Nature Supermodder Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Jinan, China Posts: 417	Yeah no one likes those rotwillers. Funky peice of goose this case be. Why don't you Bit-Tech-ians make a mid tower case that represents your company? I think it be an interesting think tank with all the brains contributing tword an image of your work and philosophies. China has stoped youtube!!! HorrorS!!!!!!! The Madness!! __________________ Peace, Love, Empathy, Respect, Generosity, Smiles, and Hugs

16th Mar 2008, 13:40	#16
DXR_13KE Madeira's banana is the best!!! Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Madeira ; Portugal Posts: 6,469	Nature, on that idea, i would very much like the bit-tech to design the ultimate computer case..... or computer case line, from small to big and from wide to large..... __________________ *Renegade X - 0.40 Release!* <---- CLICK!

16th Mar 2008, 15:36	#17
CardJoe Player Character bit-tech Staff Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 7,968	Temperature differences at idle aren't a huge thing - but a 5 degrees difference when NOTHING is going on is a bad sign. Your computer isn't doing anything, the fans are going full pelt, and it's still 5 degrees about the ambient. That's only going to get worse when load builds. Compare it to some other cases in the price range to see what sort of cooling performance you can get with a more standard set-up. The 690, though it comes without a PSU, is about the same price and a good example of this: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...aster_cm_690/4 __________________ this is joe's non-bit-tech blog

16th Mar 2008, 16:21	#18
sub routine Archie Gemel Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 150	hehe the name? What on earth is silentium something has to be done about that before anything else.

16th Mar 2008, 17:32	#20
tranc3 It's a series of tubes!! Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: VA, USA Posts: 1,393	So if they made hybrids that looked that good, more ppl would be driving them. __________________ Project: Cool Master Centurion 267 [AMD Kuma 7750 2.77 \|Asus M3N78-EM\|mushkin 4x1GB DDR800 \|WD Caviar 500GB\|GeForce EVGA GTS 250 512MB\|OCZ StealthXStream 600]