P180 or similar

megatron

megatron

megatron

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I want to know what my options are for a case while Ive got my eye on the Antec p180.

Ive got my own priorities:

1) Dont care what it looks like Im not going to ask it out anyhow. ;)

2) Dont care about build quality (much) as long as its not making noise due to a poor fit. Although if it has good build quality I wont mark it down.

3) Has to have 120mm fans (dont mind one 80mm aslong as its an option), and has to be quiet. How quiet Im not sure, my previous case was unbelieveably noisy out of the box. OcUK "tornado" (I belieive the shell was an Antec), now has holes in it from past watercooling setups. Its going behind a wall in a cupboard (which cuts 90% of the noise from my 5 7v 80mm + 7v 120mm (1 120mm psu fan)+ 2 * 40mm fans. Strangely dont hear it now but when I first installed a diamondmax 10 I got whinny high pitched noise, but atm my monitor mains hum is the most noticeable noise.

4) I dont want to pay over £100

5) I need to install an eheim 1250, 80mm rad in it. The reason I say 80mm rad is cause its largest outside dimention is 125mm and I was planning to fit it into the lower p180 chamber (fanless with a 120mm>80mm to guide airflow through it).

6) If there is a good place to put a 120mm in the antec (without chopping it up and losing its accoustic properties or having to lose hard drive bays) let me know plz.

7) Open to suggestion of other cases besides p180 (hence this post), and the watercooling system only has to cool a x800gto@16 and later an x1900 (have the mounting kit already), possibly stretching to a x1900 mosfet cooler.
 
1. Lian Li PC7+ - This has 2x120mm and 1x 80mm on the top, so a lot of opportunities, plus its discreet.

But, it aint very quiet. (Next to the P180)

2. CoolerMaster Centurion 532 Aluminum & Side Window - An all round good case, 2x 120mm and no space for 80mm but I reccomend it.

But, its made of steel and the build quality aint as good as the Lian Li's.

3. Antec P180 (as you said) - Great cooling and sound proofing. Good design.

But, theres a lot of issues with it (panels sometimes peeling off (rare) Door not shutting properly (apparently sorted now) and tabs on side panel break of easily too.

4.Akasa Eclipse-62 Aluminum Case- Loads of space and 2x120mm, no 80mm but you can definatly mount a rad SOMEWHERE in here :)

But, it has a plastic front (boo) and some think its ugly.

My reccomendation-

- P180

- Akasa Eclipse.
 
Reading a couple of reviews on the Akasa, thx for recommending it. :) There are a bewilding number of cases out there and google is turning into a price comparison site when searching for computer components.

I could yet be swayed by it, what is it like for noise? What is ** opinion on the Silverstone Temjin TJ05S and Antec superlanboy (has hard drive mounts like p180), for suitability to my requirements?
 
Antec Superlanboy is not quiet, it has thin aluminium which lets noise out easily. Although, it is light, small and a great overall case.

I dont like the Silverstone case myself, just something there that repels me from it.
 
Late addage to the thread but in response to the Eclipse.

Can be made very very quiet, as can the PC7+, the case does not dampen that much noise, they do not make THAT much of a difference.

For me out of the cases listed it would be the PC7+ for the looks.

But if you do not mind the plastic front, the the Eclipse for cooling is by far the best listed here, and not much can touch it.
 
have a look in the newwest CPC mag. they do a heat test using a thermal camera and the P180 (out of the few cases they tested) was by far the best in terms of cooling.

I would go for the Eclipse, loads of room and good case.
 
I went with the p180, I was a bit concerned with space in the main part for an eheim 1250 but I guess Ill have to make it fit now. Im putting an 80mm radiator in the lower chamber in place of the hard drive rack.

The akasa does seem to have a popular heritage, and it used to cost 3 times as much in 2001, but I was afraid it would be noisier with a more annoying tone; and noise is the only reason driving me to upgrade my case and monitor.

Only problem the numpties left an 80mm>120mm fan convertor off my order from another site. I find it shocking that they cant just read how I changed my order and instead ring me up and ask me to recite it off the top of my head (while the have the frikin email in front of em). Also offered to cancel and make a new order to save confusion.

They overcharged me £20 according to what they actually sent me (not what I ordered, that was only £10 roughly).
 
DaveMac said:
Wouldn't recommend an 80 rad, a single 120 rad is 125mm on its side, so should fit OK and will perform much better at lower noise levels.
Click to expand...
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1031441
The idea was to mount a pa160 but after I found out u have to hack half the drive bays out to do it, I changed my mind. Ive got a 80mm rad going in lower chamber but it will use 120mm fans ofcourse, thats why I need the 80mm to 120mm fan convertor.

Edit: Just read the 2nd half of ** sentance (lol), and checked out the thermochill dimentions:
http://www.thermochill.com/guides/PA120-1.pdf
Its 172 - may still fit but the 125mm will more likely fit. It was £15 so not a disaster if I want to replace it. I am only cooling a single gpu though.
 
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Good luck on the case :)

Dont expect it to be a easy ride though, the P180 is a air cooling case, it is not designed to accomadate watercooling, so some mods will have to be done.

I still think an AKASA ECLIPSE or PC7+ would have been a better choice for accomadating watercooling.

But, I also think being different is good, so good luck mate and post up some pics.
 
The PA should be OK on its side (126mm)

HE80.1 are good for dissapating ~100w with a high powered fan, against ~250w for the HE120.1, the PA series are 10% better with high powered fans and 40% better with low powered fans.

The 80.1 should perform OK-ish with only the X800, but the X1900 will overpower it.
 
Not to highly when compared to the P180 and Eclipse / PC7.

It is a very basic case, and a lot of money considering the quality it offers, or lack of it.
 
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