Cathodes in an Antec 900?

jas07

jas07

jas07

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29 Mar 2007
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I should have a couple of Cathodes coming tomorrow for my 900, so i was wondering where people have put them? I'd ideally like them out of sight and just the glow from them lighting the case. If anyone has some pics / could get some pics, that would be really helpful!

Also as this will be my first cathodes, how big are the inverters? easy to hide?

Thanks
Jas
 
for starters:

inverters are relatively small and can be put out of sight in say a empty hd cage or attached to the side of your case using some adheisive pads.

On my apevia x cruiser i have one cathode (which is now attached to my side panel as my 120mm exhaust fan is blocking it) attached using the pads going up on the left side of the window and so is giving off light to most of my case :)

My other cathode is at the bottom of my case lying flat and which allows light to cover areas such as the graphics card which my other cathode cannot reach.

to try and make it a little easier to understand a diagram/picture
red lines indicate cathodes which are hidden (well unless you were like face on with the case and could see that area of the case
green arrows show where my inverters are. one is located behind the harddrive bay and operates the bottom cathode. this is also attached using a cable tie and works pretty well as its invisiable entirely. the other is located as far towards and under the window as possible and operates the left side cathode .

i would have used just one inverter but the wire from cathode to inverter just wasnt long enough. or at least in my case.
dsc02144cathodeyf7.jpg
 
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Thats great, thanks for going to all the trouble of the diagram and everything, a question though, if they're attached to the side panel, what about when you want to open the case? Can you easily unplug them or something? (not sarcastic, ive just never used them so i dont know)

Thanks
Jas
 
jas07 said:
Thats great, thanks for going to all the trouble of the diagram and everything, a question though, if they're attached to the side panel, what about when you want to open the case? Can you easily unplug them or something? (not sarcastic, ive just never used them so i dont know)

Thanks
Jas
Click to expand...

ive only just started using it this way recently and to be honest (since ive had the cathodes a while and ive had the adhesive pads a while. i can just take it off and lay it next to the bottom one and then put it back on when done. you can unplug them from the inverter quite easily if needed

also just to clarify the light is bright but not as bright as it may seem in that photo. its hard to explain but if you were looking at it like i am everything is very clear and you dont have to squint or anything.

camera seems to make it glow really bright but honestly you can see everything perfectly.

EDIT: Put up some picks when you get your cathodes up and running. Thinking about using a 900 for next build.
And what colours did you get ? akasa from ocuk cause mine are. Not sure about other makes like sharkoon (?) and such.

Oh and before i forget. when i first got mine i intended to have one on the bottom and one on the top but this didnt work out after the cathode fell down numerous times so i wouldnt recommend it if your going to stick to using the pads. i dont think it gives off as much light either well in my case.
 
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I had 2x4" ones bluetacked onto the rear of the case and the top under the tray. They burnt out though, so i got rid. Never got round to buying new ones.
 
Blackhawk47 said:
ive only just started using it this way recently and to be honest (since ive had the cathodes a while and ive had the adhesive pads a while. i can just take it off and lay it next to the bottom one and then put it back on when done. you can unplug them from the inverter quite easily if needed

also just to clarify the light is bright but not as bright as it may seem in that photo. its hard to explain but if you were looking at it like i am everything is very clear and you dont have to squint or anything.

camera seems to make it glow really bright but honestly you can see everything perfectly.

EDIT: Put up some picks when you get your cathodes up and running. Thinking about using a 900 for next build.
And what colours did you get ? akasa from ocuk cause mine are. Not sure about other makes like sharkoon (?) and such.

Oh and before i forget. when i first got mine i intended to have one on the bottom and one on the top but this didnt work out after the cathode fell down numerous times so i wouldnt recommend it if your going to stick to using the pads. i dont think it gives off as much light either well in my case.
Click to expand...

Well thanks for that because i was gonna put one on top and one at the bottom! I think ill go for the L shape like you've done, like you say, would give off better light anyway i think.

As soon as ive got em in mate ill get you some pics up! Ive been really pleased with the 900, air flow is superb if you sort the cables nicely.

Looks are down to personal choice obv but i think it just looks stunning, with the cathodes in place (hopefully tomorrow) i think it will look the dogs dangles. Very very quiet fans as well when they are on low, but you still manage to get a lot of air flow which is always good.
On max, you could power the Airbus A380 with it!!! :D
 
jas07 said:
Well thanks for that because i was gonna put one on top and one at the bottom! I think ill go for the L shape like you've done, like you say, would give off better light anyway i think.

As soon as ive got em in mate ill get you some pics up! Ive been really pleased with the 900, air flow is superb if you sort the cables nicely.

Looks are down to personal choice obv but i think it just looks stunning, with the cathodes in place (hopefully tomorrow) i think it will look the dogs dangles. Very very quiet fans as well when they are on low, but you still manage to get a lot of air flow which is always good.
On max, you could power the Airbus A380 with it!!! :D
Click to expand...

Great !

I love my current case but as cooling is ok with the 120mm exhaust fan,80mm top fan and 2x80mm front intake fans and temps are pretty normal. its also fairly un common and seems unique. (which is a good thing)

but the antec would have much better cooling and lower temps and seems a great at the price.

anyway good luck with it and if you encounter any problems dont hesitate to ask. cant wait to see pics as most 900s i see have only the led fans and no more.
 
Yeh ive not seen many with any cathodes in, i think it needs it just to finish the look off, its almost there with the LED's but not quite.

Thanks for all your help tonight mate, much appriciated!
 
jas07 said:
Yeh ive not seen many with any cathodes in, i think it needs it just to finish the look off, its almost there with the LED's but not quite.

Thanks for all your help tonight mate, much appriciated!
Click to expand...

yep leds have never done it for me and neither has that neon string though i havent tried either. i think they look a bit tacky if you ask me. :rolleyes:
 
Yep i agree, i dont do tacky! I cant imagine that the string stuff could give off much of an effect light wise either though.

Just hoping the cothodes come tomorrow now though :p First Class post and being sent from about 10/15 miles away so i would have thought they'd be here.
A massive plus for me with the cathodes is the switch to turn em off. Its already a bit of a nightmare trying to sleep next to the LEDs!
 
yeh its a great feature though i wish mine were like some i have seem in which you dont have to take off the side panel to get to the power switch (or to be honest a button for me) and instead there is a pci bracket so you can flip the switch from out side of the case.

by the way what make/brand did you get ?

EDIT: nah i dont like those sound ones . to distracting for me.

heres my pc so:

also dont look at my youtube age it is totally wrong lol im actually 16 !?!?
 
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Dont know about the make of mine, they were off the bay :p Nice videos matey. My Cathodes are apparently sound compatible.... dont suppose you know what else i need to buy to make it work do you?
 
as far as i know you dont need anything else but have you got a sound card ?

dont hold me to it or anything but there must be some kind of connection. I think you have to plug it in to it ... similar to the vu meter on my case which is attached to the front headphone port apparantly. but thats never worked properly so. im sure it should say on the box or something.
 
after having a google, it seems theres a Mic on the Inverter on some of them. Should be interesting to see what arrives tomorrow! lol Ive emailed the guy and asked him so just waiting on a reply. Gotta say i do like the sound bit :p may get irritating after a while though like you say
 
Yeh they arrived but one was broke on arrival, new one came today. Ive got one across the top which looks super but the second one ive put down the left hand side as far back as i can but it still shows through the window.

I think thats about my only option though as the cable to the cathode from the inverter wont reach anywhere else. Ill get some pics up as soon as i can find my camera! lol
 
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