pretty much finished my MicroATX build

[y2kgtp]

Just some wire management I want to do, and put a window in the 1 side. Installed Vista Ultimate finally after playing with XP for a bit, and did not really see much if any performance difference in 3Dmark06. + I like the look of Vista.....

It seems to idle between 32-25C, and doing some video conversion that had the processors pegged for over an hour, up to low 50's

I like the Rosewill 120mm variable speed fans, and have yet to install the 80mm I bought as well, as unsure where it might be used due to possible window going in.

That exhaust fan and the cooler fins have about 1-2cm of clearance, but nothing touches. I decided to keep the low profile cooler in case I might switch to a lanbox in the future, and was really unsure how much room I was going to have to work with.

I'm thinking of moving the fan controls to the front of the case somehow (does someone make a front fan controller for these?) as it's a pain to reach around to the back to adjust.

for a 25$ case, I'm really happy with it. The front is all black, with the top 2 bays having the spring loaded doors that open when the DVD-ROM opens. And it's almost 14" high.....

Parts list:

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model LH-20A1L-05 - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106073
Rosewill R102-P-BK 120mm Fan MicroATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147111
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288
Acer AL2216Wbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor with HDCP support - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009094
EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130318
CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004
CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5 - Retail
GIGABYTE GA-G31M-S2L LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128078
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037
Rosewill RFX-80BL 80mm 2 Ball Bearing Blue LED Case Fan with Fan Controller Set - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835200027
Rosewill RFX-120BL 120mm 2 Ball Bearing Blue LED Case Fan with Fan Controller Set - Retail (x2)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835200028
ZALMAN CNPS 7500 Cu LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118036

 

[WR2]

Great picture of the clearance issue between the CPU cooler heatsink and the exhaust fan.
You might get some ideas for a fan controller unit or card reader/fan controller here: http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=11&name=Controller-Panels
Thanks for the After Action report! [:wr2]

 

[y2kgtp]

I really just need 2 fans to control, and these all seen real pricey for what they really do. My current fans have this
little bracket that mounts in a rear PCI slot backplate. I was going to drill a couple holes in the 3.5" blank front plate, and mount these from behind, so I just have the 2 knobs sticking threw on the front.

Or possibly mount them behind the 2nd spring down DVD door, so you still don't see anything on the front.

 

[geofelt]

In your case, would a larger vga card like a 9800GX2 fit? The higher powered ones are 10.5" long

 

[y2kgtp]

In your case, would a larger vga card like a 9800GX2 fit? The higher powered ones are 10.5" long

I'll measure it in a bit, and post back.....I have just under an inch of clearance before I hit the drive cage area with the 8800GT.....which, if you have a dremel is an easy fix to get even more space