Cosmos 1010 vs Cosmos 1000 vs Stacker 830 Evo

[Death224]

Hey everyone, I was looking over some cases for my new system build and I narrowed it down to 3 contenders: Cosmos 1000, Cosmos 1010 ESA, or Stacker 830 Evo. So, which do you prefer on these bases:

1. Cooling
2. Air Flow
3. Wire Management and Internal Design
4. Aesthetics

If I forgot something, just add it in your responses. Thanks.

 

[boner]

Cosmos 1010

 

[qwertyrules]

Hey there, I'm also looking for a new case. I was wondering why you don't have Cosmos S in your list ?

 

[Death224]

Hey there, I'm also looking for a new case. I was wondering why you don't have Cosmos S in your list ?

I looked into the Cosmos S, but from what I found out, it doesnt cool as efficiently or as quietly as the other Cosmos cases

 

[GeoMan]

I'd go for the 830 Evo on all counts, best cooling and airflow, wire management isn't a problem, there's just so much space and I really love the way it looks.

When I say I’d go for the 830 what I should have said is I did go for the 830 Evo, it's sitting right next to me now, purring away and generally looking awesome. And seriously for cooling and airflow there is absolutely nothing on the marked that even comes close to the 830's.

 

[hellzlegend]

+1 for 830 evo

 

[eklipz330]

got me a evo right next to me, my first full tower, never dissappointed with it, especially cause its extremely customizable

 

[GeoMan]

Hehe, it looks like people who stare at cases at the local hardware den like the looks of Cosmos, but when it comes to putting your money where your mouth is people actually buy the 830.

 

[Death224]

Thanks for the replies guys! One question I wanted to ask is the Stacker 830 Evo loud, especially with all the side fans? And does it still have good cooling w/out the side fans? (I might make an acrylic window so I can see my hardware better. Paying alot for this, might as well enjoy the lightshow

 

[GeoMan]

Depends what fans you stick in, and how you manage them, I’ve got 9 in at the moment, all going around 800-1200RPM and it's not particularly loud. If you stick a couple cold cathode tubes in the case you won’t need to put an acrylic window in, you can see through the mesh pretty well if the insides are well lit, so far green cathodes and blue fans is my favourite combination.

The case can be very loud if you have even a few fans going full out, so my solution is to have lots of fan's going quietly, I get the same cooling for much less noise. One thing that took me a while to figure out is that it's really worth it trying to find a quiet CPU cooler and possibly go for some quiet after market cooling for your graphics, which really made a difference to me.

 

[Death224]

Depends what fans you stick in, and how you manage them, I’ve got 9 in at the moment, all going around 800-1200RPM and it's not particularly loud. If you stick a couple cold cathode tubes in the case you won’t need to put an acrylic window in, you can see through the mesh pretty well if the insides are well lit, so far green cathodes and blue fans is my favourite combination.

The case can be very loud if you have even a few fans going full out, so my solution is to have lots of fan's going quietly, I get the same cooling for much less noise. One thing that took me a while to figure out is that it's really worth it trying to find a quiet CPU cooler and possibly go for some quiet after market cooling for your graphics, which really made a difference to me.

Thanks alot for the reply. Was wondering how loud that gets. Im surprised you can still see through the mesh and 4 fans going. As for CPU cooling, Im going for the Zalman CNPS9700, heard its cool and really quiet. If it gets too hot, I guess I can lap it or something. As for gpu cooling, Im thinking of going for the T-Rad2 from thermalright when it comes out in September. What would you recommmend as a good and quiet case fan? Right now im choosing between a few fans: Noctua NF-S12-?? ; Nexus Real Silent Case; Scythe S-Flex SFF21E; Scythe Kama Flow. As for some blue LEDs, there are a couple im considering: I honestly dont know - seems like im sacrificing either noise or air flow for lighting...do you know any good LED fans? BTW, how do you use cold cathode lighting? Thanks for the help so far

 

[GeoMan]

From what I’ve seen the CNPS9700 is good, but check on what type of connector your mobo has for the CPU cooler, if its PWM (4 pins instead of 3, although it will accept the normal 3 pin fan connector) I’d go for the CPNS9700NT. Otherwise it'll always be going full out instead of having its RPM adjusted according to your CPU temperature. As for fans I’m horribly limited by where I live so all I can really get hold of are the Cooler Master silent LED fans, so for those I’d recommend goggling reviews. I only have the bottom 2 side fans mounted to cool my graphics, so you can see most of the mobo that way, and I have a fan on the front for airflow through to the CPU cooler. Cathodes are best for lighting, they're just little neon light bulbs designed for the inside of computers with Molex power connectors, you can stick them in the case with double sided tape or sticky backed Velcro.

 

[Death224]

Thanks for all the help GeOMan! Really appreciate it. As for the fans, I have a few in mind and have a couple of LEDs im looking at. As for cathodes, ill get a couple of gree ones (as per your recommendation lol), theyre not expensive anyway. Im using the Asus Rampage Formula (or will rather) and I think it has a 4pin connection, but, form what I read, the NT version doesnt cool as well as the LED version. Do you have either? Do you know how loud they get at full speed? Thanks the help.

 

[GeoMan]

I don't have either, but from their reviews at full speed they pretty average in terms of noise, but u got to push your system pretty hard for the temperatures to get high enough to get the fan spinning at full speed. Toms has a couple CPU cooler reviews that give a good breakdown of the good, the bad and ugly of cooling, you should give those a read before committing.

 

[Death224]

I don't have either, but from their reviews at full speed they pretty average in terms of noise, but u got to push your system pretty hard for the temperatures to get high enough to get the fan spinning at full speed. Toms has a couple CPU cooler reviews that give a good breakdown of the good, the bad and ugly of cooling, you should give those a read before committing.

I did some reading, and Im going with the Ultra 120 eExtreme. Beats both zalmans and I can pick whatever fan I want too Btw, if a fan is originally 3-pin, but comes with a 4-pin adaptor (or adoptor w/e), will it still work as a PWM? And if it does, can I mess with its speed settings in BIOS? Thanks for the help, and sorry about the constant questions.

 

[Grimmy]

Hmmm.. not seeing that much of a difference for the COSMOS 1000 vs 1010, except price.

Edit:

Unless its the side fan, and how the side mounts. :lol:

 

[GeoMan]

I've also read some really good things about the Ultra 120, pity I ca't get hold of one in the 3rd world. Best I can do with the 3/PWM modes is say read up on the website of the company that makes that particular fan. And I'm afraid it's the same advice as I'm going to give u about CPU fan speed. I can either enable or disable variable fan speed in my bios, but not change how it manages variable speed, this may be different for your mobo and bios, best advise I can give is download the manual from the ASUS website, this will also let you know what other bios settings you can play with and if u even like the bios setup. I quite like my bios setup, all except that ASUS seems intent on changing some common terms into ASUS jargon and not explaining these adequately in the manual, which means a bit of Googling to find out exactly what they do.

P.S. Grimmy i love the way those COSMOS cases look, but i'm to obsessed with cooling to actually buy one, maybe i'll just get one to stand on my desk and just stand there looking all cool. Possibly I would stroke it occasionally, hmmm, COSMOS.

 

[Death224]

Yeah the case in the top picture does look pretty awesome. Still, stacker for me Actually Im going with the Stacker SE/1000W PSU combo. The reviews on that particular PSU show that its actually really good, unlike most PSUs that come with a case. GeOMan, thanks again for all the help, you cleared up alot of things for me. I did download the mobo manual, but only to look at hardware specifications and what ram is best (still going with Dominators - hopefully with Micron's D9). I stopped short of BIOS and have been researching sound options (auzen Prelude 7.1 and Logitech Z-5500 FTW!). Really appreciate all the help. If you dont mind, do you want to discuss the lighting of the case: what cathodes are good and such? Also some pics of you case would be great (Im picturing yours in my mind and its looking awesome lol, but pics are always cool). Thanks again for the help.

 

[PsyKhiqZero]

Hey Grimmy, pics are a bit odd. I have the cosmos 1000 and my door opens toward the floor like your pic of the rc1010. I'll add here though the cosmos 1000 cases are quiet. cable management is decent. Airflow is kept a minimum, with a decent air cooler you'll be able to keep a decent OC but you temps may be up to 10c on a hot day compared to what they would be in the evo.

 

[GeoMan]

I'll see what I can do about the pictures this weekend, but I may be stuck in a lab shooting rocks with high power lasers so no promises. Sadly one of my cathodes blew the other day so it's not looking quite as awesome as it could, and again unfortunately I’m pretty limited on what cathodes I can get by where I live, but in my experience one cathode is as good as the next. Having said that the little adapter box that comes with the Vantc's is pretty nice, having the switch on the box instead of attached to a panel that takes a switch on the back panel of the computer with excessive wiring.

I really don't think it's possible to go wrong with Corsair unless you try force DDR3 into a DDR2 socket or something, and then you deserve everything you get. Those Z-5500's make me drool, but since I have neighbours just outside my window I’ve got to make do with headphones, but it's not all bad with pair of Sennheise HD555's and an Asus Xonar DX

No worries with the help, I'm always happy to help people who are friendly and polite, and whatever you do don’t take everything I say as being correct, I'm way more human than I’d like to admit, and I do get stuff wrong.

For lighting I’ll add some notes to the pictures on some things I've discovered work quite well.

 

[Death224]

I'll see what I can do about the pictures this weekend, but I may be stuck in a lab shooting rocks with high power lasers so no promises. Sadly one of my cathodes blew the other day so it's not looking quite as awesome as it could, and again unfortunately I%u2019m pretty limited on what cathodes I can get by where I live, but in my experience one cathode is as good as the next. Having said that the little adapter box that comes with the Vantc's is pretty nice, having the switch on the box instead of attached to a panel that takes a switch on the back panel of the computer with excessive wiring.

I really don't think it's possible to go wrong with Corsair unless you try force DDR3 into a DDR2 socket or something, and then you deserve everything you get. Those Z-5500's make me drool, but since I have neighbours just outside my window I%u2019ve got to make do with headphones, but it's not all bad with pair of Sennheise HD555's and an Asus Xonar DX

No worries with the help, I'm always happy to help people who are friendly and polite, and whatever you do don%u2019t take everything I say as being correct, I'm way more human than I%u2019d like to admit, and I do get stuff wrong.

For lighting I%u2019ll add some notes to the pictures on some things I've discovered work quite well.

Great, looking forward to it One thing: im not sure what you mean by adapter box, is it for lighting or cooling? Since were talking about systems here (thread topics changed a bit huh lol) Im going to post up my future rig:

case: Stacker 830 Evo
PSU: Real Power Pro (1000w or 850w)
mobo: Asus Rampage Formula
CPU: Either E8500 E0 or E8600 E0 w/ Ultra 120 eExtreme + Scythe Fan
RAM: Corsair Dominators 2x2GB 1066 SDIMMS
VC: Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 (either 512mb - I think (for a 22" monitor) the 512mb version should be fine, right? or 1GB) + Thermalright T-rd2 (comes out in September last I heard)
SC: Auzen Prelude 7.1
Sound System: Logitech Z-5500
Fan Controller/Temp Monitor: Scythe Kaze Master 5.25" (anyone know any better ones? Preferably ones that control at least 4 fans and monitor at least 4 temp areas. Showing how much W the pSU is drawing would also be good. I know the zalman one has this, but I heard some meh and bad reviews on it.)
HDD: WD Caviar 750GB (Blue or Black depending; Black has a 32mb buffer instead of a 16mb on Blue. Same RPMs. Does the buffer make a big difference in anything? Is it worth paying almost twice as much for it?)
Optical Drive: Lite On 20x (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106229&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-CD/DVD+Burners+(RW+Drives)-_-Lite-On-_-27106229) This looks like a great product for the price $26 dollars! Anyone have any comment on it?
Monitor: Asus VK222H Black 22" (check out this link - this monitor looks crazy! Only problem is that theres like no reviews out there for it yet: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236043&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-Monitors+-+LCD+Flat+Panel-_-ASUS-_-24236043)
Mouse: Logitech G5 (the new one with 2 side buttons)
Couple of Green Cathodes
A few fans (have no idea which yet - ill update the list one I decide the best LED and non-LEDs around)

Well that should sum it all up (about a month's worth of dedicated research into components and overclocking). The sound right now is a bad idea mostly because the drivers for the Prelude are very early and buggy. The EAX function works, but the driver doesnt apply the DDL/DTS function yet (which is one of the main feature that attracted me to this product). Also the Z-5500 is so expensive! Ill probably buy the whole sound system at Christmas.
As for the monitor: well, its a bit expensive but the specs look well worth the price. I might not end up getting it at all depending on how low I can find the other components.
Decided to buy the case and PSU separately, because the SE edition of Stacker doesnt come with the standard mesh sidewindow and many had problems with it (newegg reviwers)
Ill be buying most of this in like 2 weeks or so.

One question Id like to know is: I need to buy a CPU fan to math the thermalright HS im getting (a 120mm compliant) and the recommended one is scythe S-Flex, but its a 3-pin connection (comes with a 4-pin adaptor), but my mobo has a PWM connection (4-pin). Does the adaptor make the fan work as a PWM, or is it just going to spin around at max speed? Thanks for the help everyone bear with me please (these are the final things I need to know before I buy). Sorry for the huge read guys :/

 

[Death224]

Just on update on the good fans part we were talking about:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=170224

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=193125

Read these 2 threads all the way to the end, and youll know which fans are best. I know you can get the zalman fans in an LED version, but dont know if its the same performance. The problem I have with them is that theyre sleeve bearing.

The san ace is nowhere to be found right now (even checked ebay), so ill probably go with the scythe S-Flex F series for the Ultra 120 eExtreme and ill connect it to the Kaze Master fan controller.

Good LED: After a bit of digging, i found the better LEDs around (these are all blue, btw, dont know if they come in other colors):

Yate Loon D12SM-12, Yate Loon D12SL12 (slower, less air), Aerocool Turbine 3000 LED, Hiper 120mm Blue LED, ZM-F3BL

Id recommend, as an LED, the YL D12SM-12 (with a fan controller): these things can really push abit of air, and the fan controller is needed to keep them quiet, but theyre the best here b/c of price. Buy from petra if you can find them there (Petra tends to have better YL fans).

If price is no object, go for the aerocool or zalman: heard good things from both, but theyre twice as much as the YL.

For airflow, Ill have high CFM fans as exhaust at the top and back and lower/quieter cfm fans in front and on the sides. That should hopefully work.

 

[GeoMan]

Sorry I haven't had a chance to get some new photo's of my rig, been rather busy in the lab the last couple weeks, I do however have a couple old pix of the rig which I guess would do. Things look a bit different now with CorssFire and water cooling on the graphics, but these should give you an idea.

Depending on your temperature's you can get away with ought the side fans all together and be able to see nicely into your case through just the mesh, this might need a couple 80mm fans inside the case just to direct air a little. I hope the NB on your mobo runs cooler than mine, I've had rather a hard time of getting the X38 cool, but I think I've eventually figured it out.

I'll see if I can get some more pix up later this week if I find the time.

 

[LAN_deRf_HA]

With the 830 you can make a nice duct out of cardboard (black preferably) that runs from the bottom mesh to the graphics intake, puts the card on a closed air system.

 

[eklipz330]

honestly, i doubt the duct idea would actually make an improvement.