Project Radster - Case Labs S8

Seen it ages ago, but I don't think I'll buy it.
Its 50£ I can spend on something else. Another hdd for example.
Or Edifier speakers. There are other ways to make angles :D Beer bottle comes to mind.
 
Colin, I didn't order white case :D
And thank you for kind words, Dave :D

By the way, any of you could advice me on something?
S8 have a space of up to 2 x 3.5' hdd or 4 ssd under motherboard plate but I am a bit worried about heat. See, there is a cutout just around the CPU area and there is no way to put any ventilation around there. I was planning to get mSATA card as OS drive and to put 2 3TB HDDs under the motherboard, but now I am unsure. I didn't use 3.5' hdd for ages so don't know how much heat it can generate. Any ideas? Is it going to have any negative impact on CPU temps?
 
I think there may be an option, but need to see, when I get the case.
S8 comes with 1 hdd cage for up to 4 3.5' hdd, but it originally is mounted in the left, where I will have fans/rad. I could try putting it in front, so it gets some air from intake fans but the I would be blocking most of the air coming from there.
I'll see what optiins I have when I have the case assembled on Tuesday.
 
Hello guys

At last, after long time of waiting, my S8 finally arrived at my place :)
It was about 3 hours ago and first thing I did was instantly drop everything else and start assembling - my patience was tested to much in the last 2 weeks so don't blame me :D

First thing, the size of S8.
I forgot about numbers and just looked at the case on the CaseLabs site and it looked not so big at all, at least smaller than Corsair 540 which I had before. When I joined together the first 2 panels, it started to grow :D


Out of the whole hype I forgot to make pictures along the way.
So you have to forgive me that I will only show the case already at this stage:




But first thing I did, was finding the panels painted in primer gray color and spraying them in MTN Intense Red. They are still drying, so you will have to be patient.

I will post more pictures when the case is dry and fully assembled.
 
First impressions, huh.

In the last few years I mostly used Corsair and BitFenix cases, so mostly good quality cases. I won't try comparing, because there is no comparison.
Jumping from a mass product to completely customizable product, that should tell you a lot :D

What I can tell you is that this case is very well designed.
I didn't find a single thing I would put somewhere else (and it happened a few times with other cases i had).
Powder coat is very good, also the primer was great. I was planning to paint each part twice, but after first layer I checked and it looks great as it is.
One minor flaw I found is with the accessory I bought with the case.
It was a left side rad mount. It works fine with radiator screws but I tried to instal fans with Akasa rubber pins and didn't work - to big holes. So I tried to use the screws supplied with fans - to small holes :D Irony.
So I left the mount for later, maybe if I ever decide to go tri sli, then it will be useful.

The rubber feet supplied with the case could use some love.
They weren't the best quality (well, finish wasn't, had to use scissors to remove some bits of rubber).

Motherboard plate is great, also other features are also very well thought.

I mentioned the powder coat is great, I am very happy with the dark gray color I chose. It looks much better with red and also would fit green build, maybe yellow or blue as well. I think it is much better than black.

All holes were perfectly aligned, so there was no problems with mounting panels. Screws are very good quality and there is plenty to instal everything.
Plus you get spares.

So I have to say, I am satisfied with this case and I can't wait to start putting stuff inside :D

ps. Yes, worth it. Every penny :D
 
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I have few more pictures for you guys :)
Few parts dried so I installed them right away, also installed few fans and they sure look sexy :)

1. 140mm Exhaust fan fitted:


2. Front intake fans (left):


3. Front intake fans on rad mount, intake (right):


4. Power/reset buttons:


5. Inside doesn't look so pretty, have to do something with these cables :)


6. Managed to mount those fans on left side after all:



More pics soon :)
 
Thanks :D

I jumped the gun and moved the whole system from old case to this one.
Took me few hours but it made me really happy.

I almost gave up when I had to move it from table I was building it on, to my desk. It looked like I may need some serious muscles to move it. But it was just an illusion, case is very light.
Unfortunately my camera can't make good pictures without natural light, so I have only one more for you today.


I need natural light, otherwise this red either turns orange or some other weird color.

One thing about the fans.
They are fantastic.
Right now the loudest part of my PC is my GPU, which is barely audible, maybe around 20 dba max. I can't hear those Enermax fans at all (and they are running at their max, around 850 rpm). You'd think that 8 120mm fans and one 140mm fan should do some noise, right?
Nope, nada, null, zero :D
Unfortunately they are no good for rads.
They keep ambient temp in the case low but the one I put on my Megahalems is struggling a bit.
I will have to buy a different model for rads, the PWM Enermax fans are faster and with better static pressure.

Still, temps on motherboard show 26 C ambient inside the case and Core Temp shows 23-26 C idle / 41-44 C under load on CPU.
I guess that's good enough for air cooling.

Next updates are going to come next week.
Change of plan a bit, have to prioritize buying new keyboard because the one I have is dying. I will be also buying a bigger HDD, new ram and sound card / speakers. Maybe few more bits, some cable management stuff probably.

That's it for now :)

Appreciate your comments
 
It is not as bright to be honest :)
Check the earlier photos of fans, that's the exact same red.
When I made this picture it was already getting dark.

Yes, day was fun indeed.
I was lucky. I called FedEx in the morning because their hub is 5 minutes walk from me and asked if I can pick up the parcel myself. They said it's due to be delivered sometime later and that it was already processed and in the car, so they couldn't do anything. But they called the driver and asked if he was still in town - and he was. So I got the case earlier than I thought ('Estimated delivery was by 6pm today).
 
My S8 Cost me 350£ including delivery.
In UK you have to pay import taxes when value of the product exceeds 390£, so I was lucky - didn't have to pay anything :D

btw, I tested sound chip on this motherboard and it's great. Much better than Recon which you get on Gigabyte motherboards.
So I decided I won't be buying that Sound Blaster card after all, there is no need. It was almost 100£ and I can spend it on something else.
Maybe mechanical keyboard instead of just back-lit.
 
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As far as I know that's how it works.
Before ordering the case I needed to see how much I will have to spend on it, so I went to HMRC site and checked the import tax/fee's.
So apparently some goods gets taxed always, some when the certain value is exceeded. I think you always pay the tax for electronics and stuff like that.
These cases are basically aluminum plates and some acrylic - if you opted for a window - and only parts that could come under 'electronics' are power and reset cables worth 10£.
So you can buy the case from CaseLabs without paying import taxes, as long as the value (without shipment) does not exceed 390£. At 390£ the import taxes kick in and you need to pay (not sure how much, I guess it is around as much as VAT on consumer products). Just be aware of currency exchange, because the item value will be calculated when it gets to destination country.
I paid 350£ and when the case came to UK,l it was worth 360£.
So if you paid 389£ thinking it will be ok, you'd end up paying the tax because USD gained some value. So don't get to close to the limit :D
 
whyscotty said:
You'll get the import bill in around 10 days - anything over £30 approx is liable

It's normally around 20% of the amount paid inc shipping plus Fedex charge of around a tenner
Click to expand...

Are you sure?
To be honest, I am not exactly sure what I wrote above was true but I read the HMRC site and thats what it was in FAQ (with the 390£ limit thingy).
We'll see in a few days anyway :)
And even if I have to pay some extra, it was worth it.
I will never have to buy a case again :D

ps. I bought from US before and it was worth over 50£ and didn't get charged a penny, so just wondering...
 
whyscotty, thanks for the info.

colin, sometime next week and mostly smaller things like peripherals, bigger hdd, fan controller etc
I will post some pictures of how it looks like sometime tomorrow.

Trying to figure out cable management.
Fans are great but dont have sleeved cables, only some thin silver ones, so I am thinking of sleeving them myself or at least I may need to use something to cover them.
Another thing, trying to figure out where to put some extra lighting.
I found 2 red cold cathodes from one of my older rigs and planning to re-use them here.
So a lot of planning, drawing, calculating :D
 
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