Question for P182 owners...

[BoomAM]

Hi.
Am i correct in thnking that i cant have HDDs installed in the upper bay thing if i want an intake fan there?
Its a little confusing as pictures of P182s show that a fan on the upper HDD cage sits on the 'inside' edge of it, preventing HDDs from being installed, but the 99% identical P180, shows the fan as being mounted on the case edge, right at the front, allowing a fan and the HDDs to be installed.

So which is it?

Oh, and im getting a Corsair HX 620W as well; If i want to route cables round the back, will i need an extender?
Ive already budgeted for a Akaka 20/24pin extension cable.

Thanks in advance all. .

 

[nightic]

Hi.
Am i correct in thnking that i cant have HDDs installed in the upper bay thing if i want an intake fan there?
Its a little confusing as pictures of P182s show that a fan on the upper HDD cage sits on the 'inside' edge of it, preventing HDDs from being installed, but the 99% identical P180, shows the fan as being mounted on the case edge, right at the front, allowing a fan and the HDDs to be installed.

So which is it?

Oh, and im getting a Corsair HX 620W as well; If i want to route cables round the back, will i need an extender?
Ive already budgeted for a Akaka 20/24pin extension cable.

No, with both the P182 and P180 a fan can be fitted (and is in fact already fitted when purchased) in front of the upper HDD cage without affecting HDD mounting. This is by means of the black plastic fan bracket.
This bracket can also be removed allowing you to use fan screws/anti-vibration mounts via the pre-drilled holes if you wish.
The P182 as well as later revisions of the P180 also allow for the fitting of a fan at the rear of the upper HDD cage (at what would be the HDD 'socket end') by using wire clips which are included with the case. However this is not possible if drives are fitted in this cage.

WRT to the HX620 - it depends on your motherboard's placement of the 20/24-pin & 8/4-pin power sockets but with many recent motherboards (with 20/24-pin plug placement in the upper right of the board and 8/4-pin plug placement in the upper left) you'll only require a 8/4-pin extender cable if you want to run behind the mobo tray.

 

[yipyipboo]

Agree with nightic, I have a P182, HX620 and an Abit IP35 Pro and will need a 8 pin extender cable (for ATX12V1) if I want to route this lead behind the mobo......which I do

 

[BoomAM]

Thanks guys/gals.
So i can have a 120mm at the front of the upper cage and still have HDDs mounted?
Am i correct in thinking i'll need two 120mm fans to 'max out' the fans on the P182?

Agree with nightic, I have a P182, HX620 and an Abit IP35 Pro and will need a 8 pin extender cable (for ATX12V1) if I want to route this lead behind the mobo......which I do

Thats the exact combo im going for, the P182/HX620/IP35-pro.
Do OCUK sell the 8 pin extender cable? (Cant find it).
So i wont need the 20/24pin extender at all?

Thanks in advance everyone. .

##EDIT##
Is this what i'll need: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CB-022-AK&groupid=701&catid=48&subcat=
Doesnt look like 'just' an extender. .

 

[yipyipboo]

I think thats the one, its the one I was gonna order today

 

[slipd]

Hey guys,

Still looking to get the P182 in the very near future, but after reading this thread I have more questions that I'd like answered

To re-cap: The x4 drive cage at the bottom of the case can have 1x 120mm fan located at the front of the case whilst 4x HD are installed? I notice there is another fan nearer the PSU bay, but I presume that is unaffected by the cage/drives?

Is that correct, thus far

Now, this is the bit I need confirming... The upper cage in the case: it has a fan mount at the front of it, nearer the front of the case, which can only have a fan installed if there are no drives present? Is that correct

Cheers,

SW.

 

[Cotti]

without modding the case (like i have) you can have 1x120mm fan at the bottom of the case inbetween the hdd's and the psu (2 if you mod the front). In the middle section you can have 1x120mm fan at the front and still install drives but you need that bay to be empty if you want to install 2 fans.

 

[nightic]

A) NOT POSSIBLE if HDDs fitted to upper cage.
Mounting is via wire clips (included with case).

B) POSSIBLE if HDDs fitted to upper cage.
This is the default mounting (via the plastic bracket).
Bracket can be removed for direct fitting to the case using screws/other fan mounts.

C) POSSIBLE if HDDs fitted to lower cage.
This is the default mounting (via the plastic bracket).
Bracket can be removed for direct fitting to the case using screws/other fan mounts.

D) POSSIBLE if HDDs fitted to lower cage (though HDD cables will be close to fan. Recommend using a wire fan grill/guard).
The pre-fitted bracket must be removed allowing for direct fitting to the case using screws/other fan mounts.
[NOTE - If you require fans in both the C AND D locations then some case modification is required.]

E) POSSIBLE if HDDs fitted to lower cage.
Case must be modified to accommodate fan mounting here.

 

[wuyanxu]

wow, very nice picture. thank you.

does 8800GTS fit into the case with a fan at location A?

surely, with a PSU installed, you don't need a fan at the C, D or E. as hard drives are not extremely hot, the PSU should be able to do all the work.

is it possible to reverse the HDD's at bottom cage? eg, have SATA/power wire running from fan location E, and mount a fan at location D

 

[nightic]

Does 8800GTS fit into the case with a fan at location A?

Yes, this should be possible as when HDDs are fitted in the upper cage they project outwards (towards the motherboard) about 25-30mm (i.e. standard 120x25mm fan thickness).
Given that an 8800GTS fits with HDDs fitted in the upper cage then it should also be fine with a fan in the A location.

Surely, with a PSU installed, you don't need a fan at the C, D or E. as hard drives are not extremely hot, the PSU should be able to do all the work.

It depends on which HDDs you're using and how much work they're doing.
Personally I would not run multiple modern, fast, large HDDs in this case without a fan in the C (preferably), D, or, with modification, E positions unless special care is made with drive & PSU selection.

Is it possible to reverse the HDDs at bottom cage? eg, have SATA/power wire running from fan location E, and mount a fan at location D

Not without modifying the case in front of the lower HDD cage as by reversing the normal HDD mounting the drives will project out of the cage (towards the front of the case) thereby stopping it from slotting in to the case.

 

[wuyanxu]

thank you very much. extremely helpful answers.

i will be picking up the p182 from OCuk when im heading back from holiday in Scotland, in about 2 weeks time.

because i only plan to buy 1 Weston Digital HDD, so it should be okay to move the fan either to location A or B?

reading on other forums, they say having 2 fans at A and B makes a "wind tunnel" that blows into the graphics card, will it help a lot compared to just 1 fan at location A?
so what is the best fan placements, for both good chipset cooling and good graphics card cooling?

 

[nightic]

Because I only plan to buy 1 Weston Digital HDD, so it should be okay to move the fan either to location A or B?

Yes, with just one drive (fitted in the lower HDD cage) then a fan at A (typically with the upper cage removed) or B (requiring the upper cage to remain in place) is fine.
If you intend to fit the sole HDD in the upper cage then you'll only be able to fit a fan in location A.

Reading on other forums, they say having 2 fans at A and B makes a "wind tunnel" that blows into the graphics card, will it help a lot compared to just 1 fan at location A?

I can't say with any qualification though I'm not sure the effect will necessarily be worth the extra fan noise unless you're heavily OCing the GFX card and are having overheating issues with it or are not fussed by increased noise levels.
(I would prefer to upgrade the stock 8800GTX cooler to something like a Thermalright HR-03 Plus first though.)

So what is the best fan placements, for both good chipset cooling and good graphics card cooling?

Personally, as I have HDDs fitted in the upper cage, (and therefore cannot fit a fan at location B even if I wanted to) I have a fan in location A and have then improvised a fairly neat solution to provide for chipset & RAM cooling.
I've Velcro-ed (with a short strip of industrial strength, mushroom-head "3M Dual Lock" stuff) to the motherboard tray a 120mm fan in the location illustrated below.
(Although unlike the photo suggests, the fan does not critically interfere with cables from a SATA DVDRW drive located in the upper 5 1/4" drive slot nor with the 24pin ATX cable which runs behind the motherboard tray and emerges through the notch located on the right hand side of the tray.)

 

[wuyanxu]

cool! you are superb. thank you sooo much.

*going to buy a 120mm fan for mounting at your indicated location*

*and going to put the lower cage fan into location A for cheap VGA cooling*

 

[SoiL]

can someone with this case get abit of string, and mesure from the psu to just below the top fan? also also from the PSU to the middle right of the motherboard.

im wanting this case but woundering if ill need an extender for my PSU cables.

 

[BlastRadius]

reading on other forums, they say having 2 fans at A and B makes a "wind tunnel" that blows into the graphics card, will it help a lot compared to just 1 fan at location A?
so what is the best fan placements, for both good chipset cooling and good graphics card cooling?

Yes this does make a wind tunnel effect as stated; no extra noise noted. Keeps my 8800GTS under 50C idle and max I have seen through NVmonitor is 65C opposed to 70C + with just B. The power cable for my 8800GTS sits against the middle non moving part of A and is fine.

Having the fans at A and B also drops my NB h/s by 10C under load (passive h/s) @400FSB and 1.5something NB volts I think. Means that I can touch it and is just barely warm instead of egg frying territory.

I have 120mm fans at A / B / C plus the rear extraction and top extraction.

I also mounted my Artic 7 Pro out of the top extractor which knocks a good 5C off load compared to the rear.

Can't comment on the length of install cables, don't wanna open mine again. But mine all reached with plenty of flex left in my spec in sig. Four pin PSU cable straight up the back and over the top, 24pin cable up and to the side at rear and then just pokes around the mobo - easy!

Enjoy the case, I think it is very well crafted and thoughtfully planned.

 

[BoomAM]

nightic, excellent posts.
Much appricaited, and sure to help out a lot of people.

Ive just put in my order for my parts, including a P182, and im hoping that the choice of two silent video cards (passive), 2 Scythe 1200rpms, a Scythe Ninja & my fan controller will give me a quiet quad core rig.

 

[nightic]

Can someone with this case measure from the psu to just below the top fan?

See updated photo above - you should then be able to extrapolate approximations of the other relevant measurements.

 

[slipd]

Okay, I now I’m think I’m ready to order…

But before I do I’ve still have a few tiny doubts in my mind that need settling

1. I’ve noticed that, looking at the case head on, the 3.5” bay cover doesn’t appear to be completely square - if you put a floppy here, would there be two gaps either side once it was fitted?

2. My PSU (A relatively new Enermax) has a 120mm fan on it – but being positioned at the base of the P182 in that little chamber would sort of make it redundant wouldn’t it? I suppose that’s why the middle fan is there (Position C) for PSU cooling?

3. Can someone confirm I’ve read this right: Without modification, you cannot have a fan fitted a position E whilst drives are installed?

Only silly little things, but I would like to be sure before I hit buy

Cheers,

SW.

 

[nightic]

1. I’ve noticed that, looking at the case head on, the 3.5” bay cover doesn’t appear to be completely square - if you put a floppy here, would there be two gaps either side once it was fitted?

All drives (4x 5 1/4" and 1x 3 1/2") are fitted in to the case by means of 'rails'.
When the drives are fully inserted the rails lock them in place by means of a sprung tab of metal. It's this which fills the small notched areas that you see on either side of all of the drive bays.

2. My PSU (A relatively new Enermax) has a 120mm fan on it – but being positioned at the base of the P182 in that little chamber would sort of make it redundant wouldn’t it? I suppose that’s why the middle fan is there (Position C) for PSU cooling?

The lower chamber of the case is designed to be a separate channel from that containing the hotter running components above.
The middle fan (by default in location C) acts to pull air in to the lower chamber from the front, which will then pass over the hard drives and be exhausted via the holes at the back as well as through the PSU.
The PSU's fan is not restricted in any way as there is ~30mm of space above and below its mounting area.

3. Can someone confirm I’ve read this right: Without modification, you cannot have a fan fitted a position E whilst drives are installed?

Correct. There is a 'frame' of metal in front of the lower HDD cage which physically restricts the mounting of a fan there (unless i.e. you removed the entire lower HDD cage and mounted the fan in its place).
To mount a fan in front of the lower cage (in location E) you have to remove all/most of the aforementioned 'frame'.

 

[slipd]

Amazing.

Thanks mate - great photos/explanations!

Case = Sold

Cheers,

SW.