Antec P110 or something else

[PhilGQ]

I was originally planning to get a new case and cooler with the next Intel refresh but now I am thinking of getting one now.

The Antec P110 looks like a good option, the P7 look ok too but I worry if will be flimsy at that price.

A couple of questions, firstly is there any other case i should be considering?

Also, I like the vertical gpu option but I have Powercolor Red Devil. It's got the normal double back plate but is almost 3 widths, was wondering if anyone knew if it will fit in the vertical slots with enough space for air flow. It's not a deal breaker.

Cooler wise i was thinking Be quiet dark pro 4 or MSI core frozr XL (i have msi gaming motherboard to match)

Current case is Fortress FT01 cooler is h50

Thanks

 

[orbitalwalsh]

Get the Dark Pro over MSI cooler for sure !

H500i looks cool ?

 

[Ace Modder]

A 3 slot card will struggle to fit in our P110 in the vertical position. Mind you every chassis with a v-mount will have the same space issues. If you really want to vertical mount a 3 slot card I would recommend you look at the aftermarket universal kits to mount in the standard PCI slots.

The P110 is excellent build quality you will not regret it if you go for that.

 

[PhilGQ]

Ace: I worried that might be the case situation, verticle mount would be nice but really am not overly bothered. (Maybe I can find a nice looking network card or something else pointless to go in the verticle position.)

Orbitalwalsh: thanks that is a nice looking cas but think I prefer the Antec.

I was thinking again about the cooler, is the cost of those two cooler (£80+) worth is premium over some of the others. Happy to spend the money if it is. Also a quite PC has become a bigger priorty for me so I would sacrafice some heat performance for lower noise if if needed.

 

[Ace Modder]

@PhilGQ what did you go for in the end?

 

[PhilGQ]

I haven't pulled the trigger yet. I get paid tuesday and going to book the following week off work. So will probably get for then.

I am going to get the P110. I have also found some Antec RGB fans i like (overclock don't sell them so will have to source elsewhere). Just not settled on the cooler now.

The Dark Pro 4 looks a bit large and not overly attractive so was thinking something else. Since your here, the Antec c400, is the fan on it a standard case fan. Can I just buy an extra RGB fan and use that. Blue isn't really going to work I don't think.

 

[Ace Modder]

Yes, the C400 uses a standard mount 120mm fan, so you can swap it out for an alternative 120mm fan


Here is a quick watercooling system I built for my wife a few months ago.

 

[PhilGQ]

Thats a nice build.

Good about the fan. I can buy 5 of them then and use the 2 that come with it in the top.

All around it looks like a good balance of size space aranged quite nicely. It will be my first case without a 5.25 bay so that will be novel for me.

 

[PhilGQ]

Ok, ordered case and cooler just now so should get Monday.

Fans are coming Sunday.

I also ordered a riser. Rx580 may not fit verticle but I might try my old R9 280 to see what it looks like. I probably need to get a capture card soon so will probaly install that verticaly when the time comes.

 

[PhilGQ]

Ace wasn't kidding about not being disappointed. The difference between this and by fortress is massive at least in build quality.

The fans i ordered are only 3 pin but the motherboard has all 4 pin headers. It's no different to now as my case is a lot older than my motherboard. However in terms of the cpu heatsink fan, I was going to change it for one of the RUB fans but I am wondering if this is a mistake if it's only 3 pin when existing blue fan is 4.

 

[Ace Modder]

I assume you ordered the Antec Rainbow fan? This is a 3 pin fan only, and doesn't have PWM, but they are quiet fans which honestly do not really need a PWM speed control as they are quiet even at full power/speed. Realistically they are a case fan though, it could be used on a CPU heatsink, but isn't designed for that as it is more of an airflow fan ( case fan) as apposed to a high static pressure fan (heatsink/radiator fan)
You could try the fan on your heatsink and just keep an eye on your temps, if it gets a bit too hot then the fan isnt up to the job, but that may depend a lot on what CPU cooler you are using.

 

[PhilGQ]

I discovered they where 3 pin yesterday when I was transfering over. My motherboard is all 4 pin but it does seem to have some support in the BIOS for the fans, seem to be just high and low.

I don't have enough headers so I did the best I could with the old splitters I had at hand (some are 2 pin). Started with the CPU fan plugged into a sys fan header but I think it confused it so have rearranged, looks a bit messy but have ordered some 4 way splitters which take power from the PSU. I will put the three ins on one and 3 outs on the other.

CPU wise, I am just leaving the blue fan on the C400 for now. It might do once I set up an RGB theme but it looks odd with all red (GPU and motherboard LEDs are red). I therfore have a spare rainbow fan, so I might get another and repalce the two fans that came with the case (currenlty in the top).

I would like to set up push pull on the CPU fan, I would be greatfull for any fan suggestion there (PWM and correct type etc).


Other matters:

I think the 3 Width card will fit in the vertical position but there will be little to no space between the glass and fans. When I have more time I will see how tight it is.

I discovered my H50 on the old case has for a very long time been in pull/pull, how its managed for so long I don't know.


Overall I have found this case excelent, better than I would expect for the money, especally as my old case (Fortress FT01) with a plastic window still sells for more. I think I am a newly converted Antec fan boy.

 

[PhilGQ]

Still got some cable management to deal with

 

[Bailey]

Antec P110 is a decent case for the price point

Like it

Bailey

 

[Ace Modder]

Nice build, but I would suggest you unscrew the cable management bar, and slide it towards your motherboard and screw it back down, once your cable management is done of course. It will finish of the tidying up nicely.