New Case

[ares1214]

I still can decide on a case right now, ive narrowed it down to about 4 contenders:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146062

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119216

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119196

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119194

now, the CM 690 II advanced has 3 stock fans. I am planning on adding 2 side 120mm fans, and 1 more top 140 mm fan, which brings it to the same cost as the CM Storm Sniper. With the Storm i was planning on adding 2 120 mm side fans for a total of about 100$. The Sniper and Tempest Evo are pretty full of fans, so i dont think there are many places i can make for a good fan spot. Right now, with the fan additions, im wondering what case is the best value, what case is going to get the best airflow, and so on. I dont want the HAF 922/932, so its basically down to these 4.

 

[AMW1011]

Why no the Lian Li PC-k62? It had great cooling on par with those other cases, the only truly working tool-less design, super clean looks like the 690, and is made by Lian Li so you know the design and quality is there?

Or you can get the PC-k56 and this for extra fan spots:
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=130_158_714&products_id=27197

I'm just saying, for under $200 there isn't another case in my opinion.

 

[ares1214]

that was my #5 choice. its an amazing case, believe me, i know. however, it was a tad small, a bit more expensive, and id REALLY like to have a fan or 2 on the side, which u did give the side panel to fix, but all the others it come standard. its a possibility, but its more or less down to these 4.

 

[AMW1011]

The great thing about Lian Li's Lancool series is that there is a lot of room for customization:
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=130_158_714&zenid=4d4c1e5be2ae2ac83d99b02829ee2b6b

More to choose from.

The problem with side fans is that they really don't give much extra performance.

You see, optimally the air is taken in from the front and exhausted out the rear and the top so that the cool air is blown over all components and the now warm is is exhausted quickly. The best way to do this is with extreme negative pressure. You have a lot of fans exhausting air so that more air is taken in from the holes and cracks in the case, IE the mesh on the front in the case of the Lian Li. This is the most efficient way of cooling a case because it is the least likely to cause "deadzones" where warm air gets trapped and heats up the case. It also creates a very linear path for the air to travel, which increases the speed of the heat dissipation.

Adding a side fan disrupts this and creates "deadzones" where warm air can accumulate. Most of the time, this negates most of the benefit of the extra fan, and sometimes it actually increases temperatures. If you are having GPU heat problems, then the most efficient way of fixing this is to take off the PCIe slot bracket underneath your GPU, or between your GPUs and have a fan pushing air straight through the gaps from the front of the case to the rear, causing a separate path of airflow without the "deadzones".

This is why I strongly suggest ignoring side fans, and looking at the flow of air and the internal pressure of airflow.

 

[AMW1011]

If you are set on having side fans, then I recommend the NZXT tempest if on a budget, as it comes with all the fans. The 692 probably gets my nod for looks between the four, though.

I also recommend getting this and getting some good fans with the money saved:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147144

 

[ares1214]

but i was also considering price and features. after im done with them all, they will all end up costing around 150$ with fans, mods, and fan controller. So price isnt exactly a big thing, obviously lower is better though. The Sniper is by far the biggest of all of them, and might have the best stock airflow, but it also could be the Tempest Evo. What about quality and features?

 

[AMW1011]

Quality and features obviously goes to the PC-k62, but I don't think you can go wrong with the other ones either in that department.

 

[ares1214]

quality, yeah probably, although all but the NZXT are pretty much going to definitely be high quality, and the NZXT is goood and gets good reviews. features though, i would think that would go to the Sniper or 692. whats so special about the k62 in features?

 

[AMW1011]

PC-K62:
-Thumb screw mount motherboard design (Why doesn't every case have this?)
-Metal tool-less PCI bracket design (the only one that works)
-Tool-less bay design
-Intake dust filters, even on the mesh 5.25" bay covers
-PSU intake dust filter (An awesome idea, I hate the idea of dust in my PSU)
-8 expansion slots for 3 GPUs
-Tool-less strap PSU mount
-Removable top and front covers
-Large CPU backplate opening (Many are too small, especially Silverstone's)
-PSU wire management bracket

The CM 692 is a close contender for features too.

 

[ares1214]

PC-K62:
-Thumb screw mount motherboard design (Why doesn't every case have this?)
-Metal tool-less PCI bracket design (the only one that works)
-Tool-less bay design
-Intake dust filters, even on the mesh 5.25" bay covers
-PSU intake dust filter (An awesome idea, I hate the idea of dust in my PSU)
-8 expansion slots for 3 GPUs
-Tool-less strap PSU mount
-Removable top and front covers
-Large CPU backplate opening (Many are too small, especially Silverstone's)
-PSU wire management bracket

The CM 692 is a close contender for features too.

i think for almost everything you said, the sniper or 692 is the same. dont get me wrong, its a great case, but considering the cooling possibility of the 692, the lower price, the bigger size, and the similar features, are you sure the 692 isnt the only case under 200$?

 

[AMW1011]

i think for almost everything you said, the sniper or 692 is the same. dont get me wrong, its a great case, but considering the cooling possibility of the 692, the lower price, the bigger size, and the similar features, are you sure the 692 isnt the only case under 200$?

No other case has the level of tool-less design as these new Lian Li cases, and by that I mean it actually works.

The 692 can hold a lot of fans, but they won't make it cool any better. As I stated earlier, the optimal path of airflow is front to back/top. The side fans won't help much or at all, the top one being completely useless as it will disrupt the exhausting flow and increase temperatures. The bottom fan is nice and should help a bit, but will be extremely difficult not to cover with wires. The fan placement on the other side will cool the hard drives even more, but that is all. For reference, I have a stock 25 CFM Silverstone fan blowing air onto my Samsung F1 500GB and it is usually between 17c-19c depending on ambient room temperature. The fan behind the motherboard likely won't do much either.

So for optimal airflow for the 692 you would have 1-2 intaking fans on the front and 2 top fans and 1 rear fan. Does that sound familiar? Note that the PC-k62 comes with both top fans already, good 140mm fans too. You can add a bottom fan if you have the space, but it won't add much as you are already intaking cool air from that area. You could also add the fan for extra HDD cooling, but that would just be redundant.

As you can see more fans =/= better cooling necessarily.

The 692 advanced is $10 cheaper than the PC-k62, but comes with one less fan, so that isn't much of a difference or any at all.

The 692 is less than an inch longer, and about as tall (most of the difference is the large rubber feat on the bottom of the 692). So they are basically equal in that regard.

The 692 doesn't offer the same ease of installation as the PC-k62, but does have eSATA so they are pretty close. Then again I prefer to have all my USB and such ports on the rear as the cables hanging from the front or top of the case looks too messy to me.

 

[AMW1011]

Do note that the CM 690 was the budget case of choice to me before the Tempest, and then PC-K62 came out.

 

[ares1214]

a side fan does nothing? i have a hard time believing that, considering when my side 250 mm fan broke, my ambient temps went up 5-10 C and my cpu up about 5 C.

 

[AMW1011]

a side fan does nothing? i have a hard time believing that, considering when my side 250 mm fan broke, my ambient temps went up 5-10 C and my cpu up about 5 C.

Ah but the difference is that your case was designed around a side fan. They use different airflow dynamics than the cases you are looking at. The HAF 932 is designed to push a lot of air onto the motherboard with the large fan. The 250mm fan pushes a lot of air, but over a large surface area. This guards against "deadzones" as there isn't much air being pushed on any specific part. A 120mm fan or two won't act like this, they will push a larger amount of air on specific areas. Also the temperature difference should not be that high, it means you have obstructed airflow through the natural path.

 

[ares1214]

no, cable managment is clean as can be, so i doubt obstruction. In any event, a side fan can only help, and 1 or 2 would be nice. a big one like on the sniper would be really nice too, eh?

 

[ortoklaz]

Hey are 1214..i just got this thing and i love it dropt my temps. 7C

Gigabyte MA785GM-US2H,AMD Phenom IIx4 940 @ 3.6ghz,Zalman 9700NT
,4GB Corsair CM2X2048-6400C5,2xWD Black 500GB,XFX HD-577X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770,Corsair HX850W,Lite-On 22X,Win 7X64bit,Thermaltake Spedo

 

[ortoklaz]

sorry.:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4197077&Sku=T925-1278

 

[ares1214]

it also costs 200 bucks :lol: with the HAF X, nah.

 

[AMW1011]

no, cable managment is clean as can be, so i doubt obstruction. In any event, a side fan can only help, and 1 or 2 would be nice. a big one like on the sniper would be really nice too, eh?

Again the case would need to be designed for a side fan, which the sniper is. Otherwise, there won't be much benefit. Ask everyone with an Antec 900, the side fan increases case and CPU temp a good 3-5c and slightly lowers GPUs 1-2c (I had one and this was the best case scenerio with a 110 CFM fan, otherwise there would be no difference except a slight increase in case temp). Yeah the side fan helps cool the Sniper, but that is because it is designed for the side fan, it doesn't mean the Sniper cools better or worse than the other cases.

What case did you have? I assumed HAF 932, but the fans are 230mm not 250mm so that can't be it. Also it is known that even the HAF 932 cools about as well without the side fan as it does with it, and we are talking about a nice 230m fan.

 

[ares1214]

no not the HAF 932. but then fine, of all of them, what gives the best airflow?

 

[AMW1011]

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cases/2009/11/17/silverstone-raven-rv02-case-review/3

Notice the best performers. Notice how the PC-P50 (aluminum version of the PC-k62) gets some great rankings. Its all about the path of airflow, not the amount.

 

[AMW1011]

no not the HAF 932. but then fine, of all of them, what gives the best airflow?

I would have to give the nod to the Tempest. The problem is that the fans in it aren't the best, though not terrible either, and both the PC-k62 and 692 can be setup with the same placements of fans for a bit more money, but you will end up with better fans. But for stock cooling, the Tempest wins and will be very competitive with the PC-k62 and 692 with similar setups because of the Tempest's size.

 

[ares1214]

now, with the tempest, considering its the cheapest after fans, couldnt i just replace the stock fans with cooler master blue led fans:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103060&cm_re=120-_-35-103-060-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103063&cm_re=120-_-35-103-063-_-Product

btw, do the red ones really get 20 more cfm??? they seem the same, thats hard to believe, but a red tempest could look pretty cool. :lol: with the tempest, is there any certain airflow pattern i should be going for, such as adding or removing fans in certain places?

 

[AMW1011]

now, with the tempest, considering its the cheapest after fans, couldnt i just replace the stock fans with cooler master blue led fans:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103060&cm_re=120-_-35-103-060-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103063&cm_re=120-_-35-103-063-_-Product

btw, do the red ones really get 20 more cfm??? they seem the same, thats hard to believe, but a red tempest could look pretty cool. :lol: with the tempest, is there any certain airflow pattern i should be going for, such as adding or removing fans in certain places?

1st, if you replace the fans then you could use the 692 or the PC-k62 instead if you prefer them.

2nd, those CM fans are absolute junk, and are known to push well under 60 CFM.

These are really good red LED fans:
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/10269/fan-669/Yate_Loon_Clear_120mm_x_25mm_Red_LED_Fan_-_Medium_Speed_D12SM-12.html?tl=g36c331s518

I love the looks of red LED fans too.

Between the PC-k62, Tempest, and 692, I don't think you can go wrong.

 

[ares1214]

those fans look pretty loud? although with 6 fans, i suppose quiet fans are more important than highest cfm.