Micro Cube Case Advice

Heartless_King · 20 May 2006 at 22:39

Ok I'm currently building a second rig for myself.

It will be used for work and gaming, for relatives and friends when they come round etc. System will be built on an Asus A8N-VM CSM / 3500+ and eventually be running a 6600GT when my bro upgrades his card etc.

Any ways, looking advice for a cube case. Currently my fav is the Antec Aria. Mainly because with a antec PSU which will be more reliable than a generic from something like the Aspire.

Its only 300W, but it that should allow me to be able to run the on-board graphics. When my bro finally upgrades I would need the cube case to be able to take a Full ATX PSU etc.

Any sugguestions? Don't wanna spend to much if i can help it etc.

Cheers,
King

p4radox · 20 May 2006 at 23:52

Well I would say your choices are the Aria, the Sugo and the Aspire X-Qpack. The Sugo is easily the nicest in nearly every way, but the price of the Aria makes it quite attractive. The Aria's PSU cannot be upgraded though - it's a bespoke design.

Heartless_King · 21 May 2006 at 00:01

Which is a big downer for me. Not feeling the aspire cuz of the flakey psus. Sugo expencive though

p4radox · 21 May 2006 at 00:05

Heartless_King said:
Which is a big downer for me. Not feeling the aspire cuz of the flakey psus. Sugo expencive though

I agree completely. Even if the Sugo had been available when I bought my Aria I still would have gone for the Aria because of the price.

I hear the Aspire PSUs are ok now - there's a new version which improves massively on the 1st. The build quality is a bit suspect though, and they look ugly.

Heartless_King · 21 May 2006 at 00:56

I agree, they are ugly. How is that Aria PSU? Could it run the speak I mentioned above? Checking the motherboard manual, recommends at least 350W with 15A on the 12V rail etc.

p4radox · 21 May 2006 at 15:32

Heartless_King said:
I agree, they are ugly. How is that Aria PSU? Could it run the speak I mentioned above? Checking the motherboard manual, recommends at least 350W with 15A on the 12V rail etc.

It'll run it no problem. I'm running an Opty overclocked, and an X850XT on mine, with a HDD and a DVD Rom drive.

Heartless_King · 21 May 2006 at 15:37

Any idea of the rails on the psu?

Cheers

Heartless_King · 21 May 2006 at 22:17

Don't mean to be rude, but I was wondering if anyone else can confirm that the aria will run fine on the spec in my 1st post?

Thanks,
King

p4radox · 21 May 2006 at 22:26

Heartless_King said:
Don't mean to be rude, but I was wondering if anyone else can confirm that the aria will run fine on the spec in my 1st post?

Thanks,
King

Seriously it'll be fine!
Anyway, here are the major rails:

+5V: 26A
+12V: 18A
+3.3V: 27A

If you want to find out more about the Aria, this huge thread is a great place to start:
http://forums.pcapex.com/review_article_feedback/18056-review_antec_aria_micro_atx_cube.html

Heartless_King · 22 May 2006 at 00:12

Thanks bro, appreciate it!

Heartless_King · 22 May 2006 at 01:18

Quick final question, I read somewhere that the case contents comes with an accessories box. I was wondering whether this box comes with a card slot fan cooler?

I'm aware that this case doesn't have the best air cooler and was going to get one of these with it. Just wanted to check that antec don't throw one in for free?

Cheers,
King

WJA96 · 22 May 2006 at 06:48

Yes - you do get one for free. You need to be very honest with yourself about what's going in there though - the 120mm exhaust fan is the only case cooling and that means all the hot air from inside the case goes through the PSU which is a pretty crappy idea.

The Sugo runs at least 10 degrees cooler. And the PSU fan requires a free motherboard header to run.

And the Aria is the worst case I have ever come across to work on. The top PSU support is a complete beggar to remove - and you have to take it out to do any work on the motherboard. You have to remove 2 panels and undo 6 screws to install a PCI card. And you pretty much forget a full-size graphics card.

Heartless_King · 22 May 2006 at 14:00

Would a 6600GT fit?

Heartless_King · 22 May 2006 at 14:03

Man you experience kinda sucks, I'm leaning away from it now

WJA96 · 23 May 2006 at 06:10

The aria is not a good choice for a gaming rig. Anything much beyond a basic PC is going to be a squeeze. Even a relatively spacious case like the Sugo runs hot with a big graphics card in it.

If you just want a PC to run office then it's a fabulous stating foint for a good looking, silent, rig. But anything beyond that and you really ought to look at the Silverstone or the Aspire. The new PSU is said to be much better, but I haven't built a PC recently on that platform.

Heartless_King · 23 May 2006 at 12:40

Cheers guys, appreciate the feedback

p4radox · 23 May 2006 at 16:35

WJA96 said:
The aria is not a good choice for a gaming rig. Anything much beyond a basic PC is going to be a squeeze. Even a relatively spacious case like the Sugo runs hot with a big graphics card in it.

If you just want a PC to run office then it's a fabulous stating foint for a good looking, silent, rig. But anything beyond that and you really ought to look at the Silverstone or the Aspire. The new PSU is said to be much better, but I haven't built a PC recently on that platform.

I wouldn't quite go that far

. My Opty never goes above 46 degrees and my X850XT never above 70 on the stock cooler (although I did add an 80mm blowhole

). I know it's not a top of the range gaming rig, but it's fairly up-to-date.

But I would agree that the Sugo is a much much better choice if you can afford it!