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Starting slow upgrade for next year...

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by tintin, 21 Apr 2006.

  1. tintin

    tintin What's a Dremel?

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    I'm starting to 'compile' my new pc in the next few months with a view to completing it after Christmas with vista, Conroe et all available.
    I'm just looking at cases now but i'm wondering is there any particular thing I should be looking out for with Conroe, vista, directx10 even a RAID array setup that I'll need in the case? In other words, i was looking at the new Antec Sonata II case, which looks nice but only has a 450W generic PSU inbuilt. Can anyone offer any good cases I am not really interested in water-cooling but a good quietish case with good cooling?

    sorry for the long windedness of the post
     
    Last edited: 21 Apr 2006
  2. ashikamlani

    ashikamlani What's a Dremel?

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    antec p180?
     
  3. McKaamos

    McKaamos What's a Dremel?

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    Definately an Antec P180, or a Coolermaster Stacker.
     
  4. tintin

    tintin What's a Dremel?

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    yeah i was actually looking at this - seems to be getting good reviews once your not looking for water cooling - which i'm not but apparently there can be issues wire management with the motherboard facing upwards i.e. away from the PSU

    Does anyone have any experience with the antec P180 or the Coolermaster stacker?
     
    Last edited: 21 Apr 2006
  5. ashikamlani

    ashikamlani What's a Dremel?

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    all i know is that the p180 has a realy wierd layout to help with cooling, so if u are an inexperienced builder then you should stay away from it.
     
  6. tintin

    tintin What's a Dremel?

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    i am fairly inexperienced alright built one in college a few years ago but it was a basic system...i wouldnt mind if i t took me a while to find my way around the case but as you said it could be more hassle than its worth.
    If there are better options elsewhere i'm looking for advise!!!

    p.s. the coolermaster stacker doesnt look like it would fit in my house haha!!
     
  7. MiNiMaL_FuSS

    MiNiMaL_FuSS ƬӇЄƦЄ ƁЄ ƇƠƜƧ ӇЄƦЄ.

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    p180 is the best case there is IMO, beatifully quiet.

    Couple if with a decent silent cpu cooler and a silent gpu cooler and u got a silent system (fans provided for the case are very good, and as long as u dont buy a maxtor hdd u wont hear a thing).

    The only problem with it is with some PSUs with shorter wires as the psu is at the bottom of the case...but as ur buying a nu system i imagine u'll be getting a decent brand psu anyway, most of which are unaffected by such problems.
     
  8. hitman012

    hitman012 Minimodder

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    It won't be generic - Antec only package their own quality supplies with their cases. That particular unit will be more than enough to power most systems.

    Don't you mean a WD? ;)
     
  9. tintin

    tintin What's a Dremel?

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    point taken about the 450W antec but i'm steering towards the P180 now that way i'm can go with a major PSU that 'should' last me a few upgrades.
    any opinions on the P180 or similar cases?
     
  10. nimbu

    nimbu Multimodder

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    I have the P180, and other then the stupid vga / pci cooler thingy, its an awesome case.

    Wiring can take a little while to get sorted hence I would def recommend a modular power supply. Also as stated with the PSU being under the board some of the cables may not read, but they are easily extendable.

    CM Stackers are ok, but having to buy the extra 3.5" rails for disks can be a little off putting, alsi I find the front bay covers a royal pain to get aligned up. On little bang and I found they often fell back in.

    Hope that helps,

    Nims
     
  11. tintin

    tintin What's a Dremel?

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    pardon my ignorance but whats a 'modular' power supply? is it when the cables arent attached to the PSU?
    actually what psu are you using with yours? do you have an issues with the built-in fans? i heard they can get a bit noisy at times
     
  12. ashikamlani

    ashikamlani What's a Dremel?

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    yes, a modular psu is one where you can disconnect the cables that are not currectly being used from the psu box itself. This saves space and makes cable tidying much easier and more simple. You do not have to hide unused cables, you can just remove them :D
     
  13. tintin

    tintin What's a Dremel?

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    seeing good review for the Enermax Liberty 620W modular but people seem to have a few issues with other modular psu's for whatever reason
     
  14. ashikamlani

    ashikamlani What's a Dremel?

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    i myself have never heard of issues with just modular psu's. Btw, the enermax is a very good psu, if not a bit pricey.
     
  15. nimbu

    nimbu Multimodder

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    "!pardon my ignorance but whats a 'modular' power supply? is it when the cables arent attached to the PSU?!

    Spot on

    I have the Antec Newpower modular PSU. I did read somewhere about this psu having some issues with certain asus motherboards, but so far has been working fine with the following spec.

    Opt 146 @2.7Ghz, Asus A8N SLI Delux, 6800 Gt, 2x WD 37GB raptors, 400GB HD and Optical Drive.

    As for cabling the rig, I got all the bits into the case with the wires just there. Got windows up and running hows i like it. Then stripped out the cabling and tidied it all up.

    "i heard they can get a bit noisy at times"

    Thats personal preference, with them all on at low I can still here my chipset fan over them.
     
  16. tintin

    tintin What's a Dremel?

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    are all of the antec PSU's modular? What is the different between the truepower and smartpower models?

    p.s. what WATT is your Antec Newpower modular PSU?

    thanks for the reply
     
  17. holiver

    holiver What's a Dremel?

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    I just moved all my bits and bobs from an Antec SLK 3000B to a Gigabyte Aurora. The Antec is a fantastic case for the price if you want quietness along with good cooling but I moved to the Gigabyte to improve on both of these and for more style. The only criticism I have of the Gigabyte is that because it is lighter it makes the hard drive seeks and reading louder but apart from that it's much better.
     
  18. nimbu

    nimbu Multimodder

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    As far as I know not all antecs are modular.

    http://www.antec.com/uk/productDetails.php?ProdID=05481

    thats the psu I have.
     

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