Ok... thinking of "downgrading" the TJ09... need some advice.

Richdog

Richdog

Richdog

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Well, after a good time of ownership, good enough to realise the ins and outs of it... I have decided I want rid of this TJ09. Reasons for this are:

  • It's huge... heavy... takes up WAY more floor space than I actually need.
  • Rattles like no-ones business... i've never been able to get rid of it and the noises drive me mad. Not what I expected from a £190 case.
  • The centre GPU fan is also very noisy... I wondered why I could still hear a lot of fan noise form my system even with everything else turned to minimum and then decided to test it with the centre fan disconnected and hey presto... near-silent PC. It's also a beeyatch to change, requiring much fiddling which I quite frankly can't be ringed to do.
  • Too many fans... a total of 5 120mm fans is just overkill, and the cooling benefits probably aren't a mile over a good 2x 120mm fan case with good airflow design.
  • It has bay slots, a drive cage, and oodles of space I will never use... so what's the point in having it.

So... with that in mind the time has come for me to downgrade in size and inconvenience... but not in terms of quality. My new case needs to have the following assets:

  • Black, because black is cool.
  • No front door. Front doors are gay.
  • Relatively small size but accept ATX mobos.
  • Decent airflow, not too many fans.
  • At least 2x 5.25" and 1x 3.5" slots at the front.
  • At least 3x HD capacity inside.
  • Can fit a large single graphics card.
  • Can fit a large CPU cooler (120 Extreme).

I've been looking at the following:

Lian-Li PC-A05B http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/77909585/m/319001496831

Looks like it pushes all my buttons... very sexy case... the only problem I can see being the top pocket of heat at the top of the case due to the way the fans are arranged (back is intake, front exhaust, both quite low down). However looks like an awesome design and really small yet conveneint to work with. If I could mod the top to accept a 120mm fan I think that would work wonders for it.

And er... that's the only one I can currently find which ticks the boxes. Any other suggestions guys? :)
 
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Yeah the PC7 also looks nice... but it is also quite a bit bigger from the looks of it.

Amazing how the A05 is £42 ($85) in the USA, and £75 ($150) in the UK... good old rip-off britain.

Any other suggestions before I commit to the A05 peeps? :)
 
Its always going to be your choice but i really believe you'll regret downgrading to such a small case especially as you mention it has to fit a large card.

For me its always going to be Lian Li unless Silverstone reduce their TJ07 price. I do worry that you would regret a smaller case due to the restrictions of space. If you ever decide to watercool or go SLI/Crossfire then you could then be looking at the expense of another case.

I know what you mean about doors, perhaps its supposed to remind them about the closet. Only Joking each to their own. You'l probably not like this but ever since i seen a copper anodised version of the Lian LI G70 on fleabay, I really liked the simple yet good looks of it. So much so i purchased one here yesterday. Next day delivery and its still not here Tsk Tsk OCUK:(
Although an old model it offers great build quality obviously, Space for 2 psu's, All aluminium finish and lots of space should i ever wish to watercool.

Its such a shame about the defects of your case. Isn't there any mods that can be done to save what is in my opinion one of the best cases you could buy?. At least you never bought the TJ10 which i think is a step back with regards aesthetics.
 
chris74 said:
Its always going to be your choice but i really believe you'll regret downgrading to such a small case especially as you mention it has to fit a large card.

For me its always going to be Lian Li unless Silverstone reduce their TJ07 price. I do worry that you would regret a smaller case due to the restrictions of space. If you ever decide to watercool or go SLI/Crossfire then you could then be looking at the expense of another case.
Click to expand...

I know for sure that:

a) I will not be going back to watercooling. Been there, done that, had a badass custom build... then switched back to air and never looked back.

b) I will not be going SLI or crossfire... mugs game imo... fast single card only is my philosophy.

I do understand what you're trying to say but I am genuinely sick of the size and noise my case generates... the reason I have decided on a smaller case is because i've assessed my needs and had a good long hard look at what I really need. With CPU's getting faster, cooler, and more efficient... not ot mention more overclockable on traditional cooling methods... there is simply no need for anything other than good air as far as i'm concerned. I've been in the hardware game a long time now... spent a lot of money on silly things that in the grand scheme of things made barely any difference to either my performance or my overclock... a lot of money for comparatively little gain.

I'm done with all the exotic and unecessary PC crap... from now on i'm going to have only what I need to have a fast, purely air-based rig. and not spend a penny more The desire to get rid of the TJ09 and get a sensible case is a result of that. Oh and as for fitting in a good GPU... the case fits 8800GTX and larger with no worries, so it'll be fine. Thanks for the thoughts though, I do get where you're coming form, I just think you're at a different stage of your PC-enthusiast career to me :)
 
The A05 is the best case I have ever owned - it is that good. It's the perfect size, excellent quality, and very easy to work with.

You've stumbled on the only only issue - the lack of airflow to the top of the case, but a blowhole in the top panel could remedy that if you can really be bothered. Mine's fine without, although I run a relatively dated system.

edit: have you looked at the Antec P180 mini? The looks are a little controversial, but I think it seems quite promising. The a05 still has the more efficient use of space however.
 
Have you considered the A06? It has a little more room than the A05 (and potentially better airflow) but still retains the sexeh factor.

:)
 
p4radox said:
The A05 is the best case I have ever owned - it is that good. It's the perfect size, excellent quality, and very easy to work with.

You've stumbled on the only only issue - the lack of airflow to the top of the case, but a blowhole in the top panel could remedy that if you can really be bothered. Mine's fine without, although I run a relatively dated system.

edit: have you looked at the Antec P180 mini? The looks are a little controversial, but I think it seems quite promising. The a05 still has the more efficient use of space however.
Click to expand...

The P180 mini doesn't take an ATX mobo, which makes it fall over at the first hurdle! Plus the 05 is oh soooo so sexy. :D

What are your temps like all-round mate, anc can you post a piccie? :)

Evangelion said:
Have you considered the A06? It has a little more room than the A05 (and potentially better airflow) but still retains the sexeh factor.

:)
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Got an 80mm fan though hasn't it? I looked at the 06 and 07, but the 05 was the only one out of the three which had all 120mm fans if I remember rightly.:(
 
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Richdog said:
The P180 mini doesn't take an ATX mobo, which makes it fall over at the first hurdle! Plus the 05 is oh soooo so sexy. :D

What are your temps like all-round mate, anc can you post a piccie? :)
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That's a damn good point, and one that I completely forgot!

Here's my original thread:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17778591&highlight=lian+username_p4radox

I now have a TR120E on the cpu, so the loudest thing is the vf900 at 5V.

I'll try and get soem temps later on, but I'm only using an X850 and an Opteron.:)
 
Silverstone TJ07. Simple. I've got one and it's an absolutely fantastic case and the build quality is incredible. Mines currently being powder coated!

RoEy
 
RoEy said:
Silverstone TJ07. Simple. I've got one and it's an absolutely fantastic case and the build quality is incredible. Mines currently being powder coated!

RoEy
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Can you please read the thread instead of making silly suggestions that are about as far form what i'm looking for as Saturn.:p
 
Before you start mouthing off, like people have already told you, what on earth is the point in downgrading a decent case to just updgrade again when you need more space? I dont know if you know this but most people build their PC's with future upgrades in mind, i.e., space.

Like I said, the Silverstone TJ07. Ok?

RoEy
 
Before I start mouthing off? I don't want more space that's whole point... and I explained it more than once in very clear detail. If you can't read an opening post and thread properly and tailor your reply to what has been explicitly stated then i'd rather you didn't respond... harsh as that may sound. If you had read all the info I went to length to provide in Post #1 and Post #5, while responding to people asking me why I didn't want to keep the space, then you wouldn't be making silly comments like "I dont know if you know this but most people build their PC's with future upgrades in mind, i.e., space". Give me strength.:D

EDIT - People are watercooling it fine anyway http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1149468&page=3
 
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The PC-A05 is a wonderful little case but I would look at the new A06 and the imminent A07 too before making a final decision
 
Hi Scotti I did look at those but the 80mm fan does put me off a bit... they will end up a bit whiney if you want any decent airflow out of them. However the removeable drive cage does appeal to me... but it's by no means a deal-breaker for the A05.

Meh i've realised the perfect case doesn't exist and sacrifices will always have to be made. I've also noticed OCUK don't stock the A05, any particular reason for that? :)
 
Richdog said:
Before I start mouthing off? I don't want more space that's whole point... and I explained it more than once in very clear detail. If you can't read an opening post and thread properly and tailor your reply to what has been explicitly stated then i'd rather you didn't respond... harsh as that may sound. If you had read all the info I went to length to provide in Post #1 and Post #5, while responding to people asking me why I didn't want to keep the space, then you wouldn't be making silly comments like "I dont know if you know this but most people build their PC's with future upgrades in mind, i.e., space". Give me strength.:D

EDIT - People are watercooling it fine anyway http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1149468&page=3
Click to expand...


I can almost guarantee you'll want more space in the near future. I've heard people like you time and time again saying I just want a normal sized case yet decide 6 months down the line that they do in fact want to upgrade and have no room. The beauty with a bigger case is that you know its future proof and in my mind that saves you money in the long run.

Yes I should have read your post properly and I admit I scanned it and just thought I was trying to help by suggesting the Silverstone TJ07. I wasn't expecting to receive an abrupt response. You could have just ignored my suggestion yet you somehow 'tried' to mock me. People on here should appreciate any type of positive responses regardless if it's entirely relevant or not. It seems to me you need all the help you can get.

RoEy
 
Richdog said:
p4radox... is there space at the top to add a 120mm blowhole, if I use a very thin 120mm fan? I think the potential problem may be that I have an X-Fi and also a PCI USB card for the extra ports.
Click to expand...

I reckon there would be room yeah. I only use an mATX board, but I do have a dual-slot cooler and an Audigy 2:

dsc06062mediumsx8.jpg



If you take a look through this huuuge thread:

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1133290

there are loads of people with 120.2 rads in the roof of the case, so I'm guessing a single 120mm blowhole woul be possible, even with a few PCI cards in place. Obviously it depends on your mobo layout, mine's a few years old now, so I'm guessing PCI slots are scarce these days...


edit: ignore the orientation of the TR120, as long as you don't use a 939 board, it will fit in the correct way around. :)
 
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