Got a P180 yesterday and was all transplanted in around an hour.
This is the first case I've paid more than 30quid for so I was kinda hoping for something good.
So? - 1st off here's what's in it (nothing to stress the air cooling but that's not why I bought the case).
Athlon 3000+ (std) - using Artic Ultra 64 TC fan
ASUS A8N-SLI Premuim
ASUS 7800GTX
1GB (from Apple G5)
300 GB Maxtor SATA
160 GB Seagate SATA
coming soon: 300 GB Maxtor SATA (from Apple G5)
Tagan 480-U01
uhm.. After I ordered the case I checked the msgs on here and had a minor panic attack regarding the 4pin 12v cable length, but as the manual says the cable is 50cm so I wasn't that worried.
First off why did I buy the case? - For quietness [1]; cooler running hard drives, easier hard drive installs [2]; the ability to have more than 2 internal HDs and 1 Optical Drive [3] and to be ready for a Dual Core Athlon once the prices drop or at least match the dollar pricing.
Disclaimer this is the 2nd PC I've built in 5 years (been building PCs since the mid-80s).
The mobo slotted in nicely (though mastermind here didn't wire up the front ports and power switches at this point, big mistake).
In went the Tagan PSU, 1st thing you discover is why a modular PSU is such a good idea! What a mess.. The worry over the 4 pin 12v cable length [4] is only a worry if you need: tidy wiring and/or the VGA duct.
In went the hard drives, this lower 4 drive 3.5 inch bay is great, no resonance from the drives at all, easy to add/remove drives.. like this.
In went the 5.25 optical drive, easy enough.
Then the WIFI card and the 7800 GTX [5], having the 7800 means the VGA duct really isn't needed plus that darned 4pin 12v power cable runs over the top of the 7800 so the duct can't go in back in.
That was it, the internals are a complete mess though, but that's why we have cases right
(bar the clear ones).
Good Points:
Screw/bits box inside the case (its the simple/small things)
Drive rails on the VGA duct (ditto)
small Blue power LED.
Doesn't look like a fridge! - I guess all the pictures of the P180 used flash, it's actually a duller and flat colour. (would prefer black but I can't wait until that version comes out).
Much cooler harddrives
the PSU in now the in right place, at the bottom!!
Pently of expansion room (for moi)
All round much quieter than before
Temps (system & cpu) down from the low 40's to the high 30s (ok so we're talking std settings here, but my days of OC'g stopped with graphite pencils).
Bad Points:
The fan in the lower drive bay is too noisy (HELP: what's the best fan to replace this with?)
Front door needs some extra weight and another magnet at the bottom.
Like most things, the case is expensive it should really be priced around 50quid, I'd love to know the manufacturing cost for each case!
Overall, pretty impressed with the case, not fanatastic (lower fan esp) though, but my recent case experiences are much narrower than nearly everyone here!
Cheers..
John.
[1] owning an Apple PowerMac G5 Dual 2GHZ you learn all about noisy fans
[2] owning an Apple PowerMac G5 Dual 2GHZ you learn all about ease of use
[3] owning an Apple PowerMac G5 Dual 2GHZ you learn all about such limitations
[4] ok, can someone please let me know where to get an extender from? - erm.. 1min search: found 'em for 2.99
[5] yeap , coz they're quiet, cool and fast.
