Palette Swap said:
I really like the look of the stuff but wouldn't things heat up considerably in there? Or does the aluminium case actually prevent that?
I just ran a sim and it looks like I could fit a 2500K with a Noctua NH-U12P and that nice MSI gtx 560. What kind of PSU and additionnal cooling would be needed in there, considering I'll probably use all 3 HDD bays?
Yeah, I've been running in circles for 2 weeks now. :]
All three of the cases I mentioned have good stock cooling, and come as positive pressure airflow set-ups in stock form. Depending on your preferences/needs, and mix of components, you can change that to negative pressure, or balanced pressure. The SilverStones have the benefit of 3 fans, against 2 for that Lian Li, though all three have a range of configuration options.
If you're going to go with the Lian Li, and intend to run a discreet GPU, I'd add at least one more 120mm fan. That way, you'd have the option to slow down the fans for quietness, while maintaining airflow that's equal to, or better than, stock.
All three use standard ATX PSUs, but will also take SFX PSUs with an adapter.
Here's the PC-C50 with a Noctua NH-C14, quad core, and 6870:
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5122/5343138380_351079de2c_b.jpg
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5283/5342535303_9a1cc980f1_b.jpg
Chittagong said:
thanks feist and mrklaw, really good suggestions. I'm definitely going with one of those. Love the AV form factor.
Wondering about building it myself. I'm pretty sure I would be capable of ordering all the right parts (aside from extra cooling needs and correct motherboard, maybe), and if I got lucky even showing them to the case, but then... how does it work? Will it just recognize all the components and boot up? My nightmare scenario is not being able to figure out how to get it wake up.
Building it yourself is a really good idea. That way you know everything that's in there, and how all of it connects/relates to each component.
When you're ready to buy, just select your components and post them here for feedback. Once you have the final component list, and watched the build videos (here and elsewhere), take your time going through each step, double-checking as you go along (fitment and connections). If you have any issues, we should be able to help you trouble-shoot.
BTW, just noticed that my last
post with the SilverStone GD06 and Lian Li PC-C50, had an incorrect link for the SilverStone GD05. Here's the GD06 alternative:
http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/p_contents.php?pno=GD05&area=
mkenyon said:
Ah! Thanks for the correction. Must be that old (1366/1156/AM3) boards retrofitted don't have the headers. Would be interesting to find out which cases have their front USB 3.0 ports with the correct header. I know the last couple I've seen (HAF X, various Lian Li) do not.
Currently, only high-end cases (or cases from higher-end brands) have them, and even then, it's just a handful.
For instance, the
SilverStone Milo ML03 is one of the few to have an internal USB 3.0 option.
ASRock's P55 Extreme4 is one of the few motherboards (the first one, IIRC) to have a connection, or adapter included (along with the P67 Asus models).