My Dream Case!

[corvetteguy]

I have put some thought into modding this aerocool extreme engine 3t by cutting a hole in the top for a 120mm fan like on the antec p180.

aerocool

antec

Then i thought about what a cross between these two would be like, and i think it would be sweet!

Make the aerocool the size of the antec or maybe slightly smaller, and have same interior layout as antec. Take the looks of the aerocool and 25cm fan and make it high quality and silent and maybe a btx conversion kit just for kicks and i think that would be the ultimate mid-tower case. The armor is getting close but its huge and doesn't have the psu on the bottom(at least i don't think so).

So i'm just wondering what you would think of something like that, and since this is just an idea thread no flaming and tell me some ideas for a case you'd like to see.

 

[function9]

Personally I like my case to be unobtrusive as possible. So the minimalist look of the p180 fits very nicely, especially the black version. But size wise, it's not my absolute favorite.

The case I would love to see would have the aesthetics of the p180, the size of the Sonata and the layout/features of the p150.

 

[jorbor36]

I would Like to see a p180 with a side window (There is one, but costs $200+) and a side 250mm fan rotating slowly

So basically I mix between the new TT Armor and the p180

 

[306maxi]

I would Like to see a p180 with a side window (There is one, but costs $200+) and a side 250mm fan rotating slowly

So basically I mix between the new TT Armor and the p180

Yes but a side window does nothing for the noise damping abilities of the case. x

 

[casemods]

Side windows pwn.

 

[PaulWJones]

I guess I cannot begrudge someone that's spent a lot on a gamer system to want to be able to show off the internal components behind a window. Nothing wrong with that, really. I figure it's sort of like lifting the hood or not having one on a hot-rod. It's your money, you get to spend it however you like. I have built some pretty high speed systems myself, so whom am I to criticize. It's fun.

But I do also have to say, it would be nice to able to able to build a screamer that didn't actually physically scream. Having the latest/greatest is nice, but it is kind of inconvenient for others, they don't like the loud systems, and there is some fear of long term hearing loss, even from relatively low sound levels. Kind of a perspective and your-mileage-may-vary sort of thing. So I do wish that someone like Tom's would include more sound (SPL, DIN-weighted) information in its ratings. Tom's is probably doing more on rating current equipment in a reasonable fashion than anybody else. PC Magazine is a shell of its former self. Laptop Mag does OK, but it's simplistic, and only on laptops (where sound/heat do matter! and they neglect both). SPCR does well on sound, but it takes them forever to rate something. Maybe another web site beginning with "A" is the only real competitor. So Tom's, if it started to include SPL ratings in its case/CPU cooler/power supply reviews, would be just that much better.

Anyway, just as an observation:

1. Windows tend to be of transparent material, and the noise characteristics are not always the best. There's the potential of vibration, and side noise escaping.

2. Side fans, while they get to the problem more directly, can cause problems. The best way, really, to cool a CPU, is to match the fan with the cooler heat sink. Much bigger than that can have some benefits in terms of components around the CPU (particularly with the new heat-pipe boards), but mostly it's about air flow. Getting fresh air past the heat sinks. And with a side vent, you definitely introduce more noise, and the potential at least, to pull in hot air that's coming typically out the back. Side fans also get in the way of you being able to put multiple systems into a confined space. You have to have clearance on the fan for it to work properly. If you think about it, what you're trying to do is get clean air in. It's not going to come through the floor, if it pulls in via the back you get heat, if you pull in via the top probably more of the same (particularly on systems like the Antec P180 that have chimney fans or vents), so this kind of leaves the front, which kind of works. If you blow out the side instead, well, same problem really, where does the rest of the case pull in from.

________

I suppose with time, it will all go fluid-cooled anyway. Still, as someone that worked on some of the earlier fluid-cooled systems (back in 1977, before the PC), on up to the latest stuff, my observation there is you don't want to do it until you have to. Granted, it's getting close to a have to on CMOS, but after all those years of dripping coolers, blown junctions, fluid loss, connector failure and corrosion, etc., etc., the cost and trouble are not something you want to deal with until you're left with no other really viable engineering choice.

 

[DaBigHurt]

....But I do also have to say, it would be nice to able to able to build a screamer that didn't actually physically scream......

Thats true, I think thats the new trend now, cool, quiet, but def. a force to be reckoned with.

I think side windows grew so much in popularity so fast thats its now become a standard. You should see some of the shops that are around my house that have cases that cost about $55 (Garbage), but since it has a couple of LED's & a side window then these 15-yr olds are making their mothers pay $850 for a system that you can build for $500, makes me sick to my stomach. Suddenly my Aspire X-Navigator doesnt look so original, for $175 (when it was new) I've had to keep it through 3 upgrades. Except the PSU.

I think now more mature gamers are going for that "JamesBond" type look, kinda hidden in the background but rips through benchmarks. And the antec is the prefect example. Of course u gotta have some hardware to back it up.

corvetteguy, looks good man, hope to see you working on it soon, If you do, show us some pics. Happy modding. :!: