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Hi,

It's only early stages, but I am thinking about getting a new 'funky'
case for my PC ~ I have no need to change, other than the fact that I
am getting bored with my standard & plain beige one !

If I do get one is their anything I need to be concerned about?

Regarding transfering the componants from the old to the new ~ is it
simply out & back in the same order or is their more skill &
knowledge needed ~ for my own piece of mind I will take some photos
first !!

Would anything need to be re-configured or should it just come back
into life.

Hope you can help

:D

If any one out there is interested I have found a great site ~ cases
starting from under £10 with free shipping !

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=4165553500&action=c3BlY2lhbHM=&special_uid=126&_LOC=UK
 
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Assuming you are going from an ATX to ATX case, and the power supply in the
new case is of ample size, most things should go easily. The front ports may
differ, like front usb and firewire. If you don't have them on the old and
do on the new, you'll have to find the headers on the board and know which
pinouts are which
"foster" <aano6@tiscali.co-dot-uk.no-spam.invalid> wrote in message
news:41d540f6$1_1@alt.athenanews.com...
> Hi,
>
> It's only early stages, but I am thinking about getting a new 'funky'
> case for my PC ~ I have no need to change, other than the fact that I
> am getting bored with my standard & plain beige one !
>
> If I do get one is their anything I need to be concerned about?
>
> Regarding transfering the componants from the old to the new ~ is it
> simply out & back in the same order or is their more skill &
> knowledge needed ~ for my own piece of mind I will take some photos
> first !!
>
> Would anything need to be re-configured or should it just come back
> into life.
>
> Hope you can help
>
> :D
>
> If any one out there is interested I have found a great site ~ cases
> starting from under £10 with free shipping !
>
> http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=4165553500&action=c3BlY2lhbHM=&special_uid=126&_LOC=UK
>
 
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On 31 Dec 2004 07:07:18 -0500,
aano6@tiscali.co-dot-uk.no-spam.invalid (foster) wrote:

>Hi,
>
>It's only early stages, but I am thinking about getting a new 'funky'
>case for my PC ~ I have no need to change, other than the fact that I
>am getting bored with my standard & plain beige one !
>
>If I do get one is their anything I need to be concerned about?


you should be concered about £10 cases. If they were decent
cases it seems unlikely the higher priced alternatives would
sell very well. Most likely such a case would be a
downgrade. In particular they're often thin metal, less
structurally sound (flexing circuit boards) and allowing
more noise to escape and/or vibrating plastic parts. Also
they may have inferior airflow, though inferior to what,
exactly, depends on what you're comparing to of course.
While a thick-walled old and/or poorly ventilated case can
have some metal cutout, a new fan hole or removing
perforated stamped-in-metal grill over fan mounts, the
thin-walled cases may depend on practically ALL of the metal
to provide structural support and cutting out larger holes
could make a bad situation even worse.

I won't even get into power supplies, presumable your
current one is working fine and can be reused.

>
>Regarding transfering the componants from the old to the new ~ is it
>simply out & back in the same order or is their more skill &
>knowledge needed ~ for my own piece of mind I will take some photos
>first !!

Watch out for standoffs and alignment of the board and
cards. Sometimes a cases may even be off-spec a little bit
and while it looks like components are the only way they
could be mounted, due to case being off-spec the parts may
not seem to fit as well.

Front-panel USB, LEDs, audio, etc, may or may not be
compatible with your existing pin-headers or dongles, you
might find you need to swap a few wires around or make
adapters and/or extension cables... it varies per system.

>
>Would anything need to be re-configured or should it just come back
>into life.
>

It'll just come back to life, though you should observe safe
handling with regards to not flexing circuit boards, and
avoiding ESD.
 
G

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Guest
Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

> It's only early stages, but I am thinking about getting a new 'funky'
> case for my PC ~ I have no need to change, other than the fact that I
> am getting bored with my standard & plain beige one !
>
> If I do get one is their anything I need to be concerned about?

Don't get a case with a door. The last thing anybody needs to be
fiddling with is opening and closing a little door to get at their
CD player and DVD burner. Don't get one with a fan in the side,
either -- you'll have to be disconnecting the damn fan wire each
time you open it up. And don't get a case with a clear plastic
panel -- it's a dust magnet, and when it gets dirty and scuffed up
it will look like hell.

Come to think of it, you're far better off with a nice, roomy,
solid, plain beige box.
 
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Al Smith wrote:
>> It's only early stages, but I am thinking about getting a new 'funky'
>> case for my PC ~ I have no need to change, other than the fact that I
>> am getting bored with my standard & plain beige one !
>>
>> If I do get one is their anything I need to be concerned about?
>
>
> Don't get a case with a door. The last thing anybody needs to be
> fiddling with is opening and closing a little door to get at their CD
> player and DVD burner.

Before you jump so fast into declaring 'the last thing anybody needs', I
know a fair number of parents who'd love a case with a front door covering
the CD players, and the reset/power switches, and lockable as well.

'The last thing' daddy needs are cookies and jelly sandwiches mounted in
the CD tray and junior playing with the reset/power buttons.

> Don't get one with a fan in the side, either --
> you'll have to be disconnecting the damn fan wire each time you open it
> up. And don't get a case with a clear plastic panel -- it's a dust
> magnet, and when it gets dirty and scuffed up it will look like hell.
>
> Come to think of it, you're far better off with a nice, roomy, solid,
> plain beige box.
 
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foster wrote:
> Hi,
>
> It's only early stages, but I am thinking about getting a new 'funky'
> case for my PC ~ I have no need to change, other than the fact that I
> am getting bored with my standard & plain beige one !
>
> If I do get one is their anything I need to be concerned about?
>
> Regarding transfering the componants from the old to the new ~ is it
> simply out & back in the same order or is their more skill &
> knowledge needed ~ for my own piece of mind I will take some photos
> first !!
>
> Would anything need to be re-configured or should it just come back
> into life.
>
> Hope you can help
>
> :D
>
> If any one out there is interested I have found a great site ~ cases
> starting from under £10 with free shipping !
>
> http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=4165553500&action=c3BlY2lhbHM=&special_uid=126&_LOC=UK
>
Just bought a Silverstone TJ06 case silver steel aluminum. Great case
with superb air flow. droped my temps by an average of 9 degrees on cpu
and motherboard.
 
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Al Smith wrote:
>> It's only early stages, but I am thinking about getting a new 'funky'
>> case for my PC ~ I have no need to change, other than the fact that I
>> am getting bored with my standard & plain beige one !
>>
>> If I do get one is their anything I need to be concerned about?
>
>
> Don't get a case with a door. The last thing anybody needs to be
> fiddling with is opening and closing a little door to get at their CD
> player and DVD burner. Don't get one with a fan in the side, either --
> you'll have to be disconnecting the damn fan wire each time you open it
> up. And don't get a case with a clear plastic panel -- it's a dust
> magnet, and when it gets dirty and scuffed up it will look like hell.
>
> Come to think of it, you're far better off with a nice, roomy, solid,
> plain beige box.
I have an Antec Sonata (Piano Black). Would you like two blue
"headlights" brightening the room. I think it is cool! But you have to
think about those things when buying a funky case.

I like the door to the CD because if you happen to have a beige CDROM
drive lying around you can stick it in without worrying about the
colour. I leave the door slightly ajar just in case the CD drive
suddenly pops out. I kinda like the door feature though. Makes it look
clean and sleek.

BTW, the Antec Sonata has a TruePower 380W PSU which I really like.

Ron
 
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foster wrote:

> Hi,
>
> It's only early stages, but I am thinking about getting a new 'funky'
> case for my PC ~ I have no need to change, other than the fact that I
> am getting bored with my standard & plain beige one !
>
> If I do get one is their anything I need to be concerned about?

Power supplies. Most funky cases come with cheap power supplies. If you
really want funky, either mod it yourself, make sure you get a good quality
brand that'll likely have a good quality power supplies, or get the case
and power supplies separately. The last is your best option, since your
current one is sufficient enough, and you could save a few bucks by using
the old one.

> Regarding transfering the componants from the old to the new ~ is it
> simply out & back in the same order or is their more skill &
> knowledge needed ~ for my own piece of mind I will take some photos
> first !!

Put motherboard in first, wire the case, add all cards, then drives.

> Would anything need to be re-configured or should it just come back
> into life.

I'm not definite, but if you have RAID 0, you might lose everything on your
hard drives because the stripe might get broken when moving the drives
over. Again, I'm not definite about that. If so, the stripe needs recreated
and restored from backup.

Personally, money not being an object, this is the case I'd get. I really
like the blue and the yellow one.

http://www.coolermaster-europe.com/eng/products/chassis/wavemaster/wavemaster.asp
 
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>> I found that when the door was left hanging open, it was always in the way of my leg.
>
>
> Well, you could cut your leg off. LOL

Sure, why not? Anything to be stylish.
 
G

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On Sun, 02 Jan 2005 19:57:10 -0500, Bryan Hoover
<bhoover@wecs.com> wrote:


>I got a nice Chenming case for around 50 bucks. Nice price for an extended
>atx. It has a door, but one of the fasteners (top) was broken, so though it
>stays on when closed... Kind of a pain. Anyone knows how to get a
>replacement, please let me know -- probably out of warrentee now -- should have
>followed up on it sooner.
>

A Chen Ming here has the studs on the front bezel and holes
in the door. If yours is similar, take a knife blade and
cut the remainer of the stud (if any of it is left) so that
it's flush with the surface. Next drill a hole barely
smaller than the stud was. Finally, take a bolt and thread
into the hole you drilled, while the door is reinstalled &
open. Another alternative would be to cut the head of the
bolt off, take the front bezel off, thread the headless bolt
up into the bezel and squirt some epoxy in around it.
 
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kony wrote:

> On Sun, 02 Jan 2005 19:57:10 -0500, Bryan Hoover
> <bhoover@wecs.com> wrote:
>
> >I got a nice Chenming case for around 50 bucks. Nice price for an extended
> >atx. It has a door, but one of the fasteners (top) was broken, so though it
> >stays on when closed... Kind of a pain. Anyone knows how to get a
> >replacement, please let me know -- probably out of warrentee now -- should have
> >followed up on it sooner.
> >
>
> A Chen Ming here has the studs on the front bezel and holes
> in the door. If yours is similar, take a knife blade and
> cut the remainer of the stud (if any of it is left) so that
> it's flush with the surface. Next drill a hole barely
> smaller than the stud was. Finally, take a bolt and thread
> into the hole you drilled, while the door is reinstalled &
> open. Another alternative would be to cut the head of the
> bolt off, take the front bezel off, thread the headless bolt
> up into the bezel and squirt some epoxy in around it.

That's a good idea.

But it's not the stud that's broken -- it's the hole in the top of the door into
which the stud goes.

It must have been broken in shipping. It was packed okay, but the box was in pretty
bad shape -- looked like it'd been through a war zone. Eventhough it was packed
okay, I wouldn't be surprised if it was broken by shear shock, and impact.

The box reminded me -- was it Jim Carrey -- where the delivery guy was drop kicking
the package around. There was no other damage though. And the case doesn't vibrate
or anything despite having 2 cpu's with up to 7000rpm fans.

I was thinking maybe get some plastic, and try and do a melt job on it, but I don't
know. Seems to me I remember destroying one or two things like trying something
like that years ago, so may not such a good idea. Maybe if I had a sodering iron...

Bryan
 
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On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 02:51:10 -0500, Bryan Hoover
<bhoover@wecs.com> wrote:


>> A Chen Ming here has the studs on the front bezel and holes
>> in the door. If yours is similar, take a knife blade and
>> cut the remainer of the stud (if any of it is left) so that
>> it's flush with the surface. Next drill a hole barely
>> smaller than the stud was. Finally, take a bolt and thread
>> into the hole you drilled, while the door is reinstalled &
>> open. Another alternative would be to cut the head of the
>> bolt off, take the front bezel off, thread the headless bolt
>> up into the bezel and squirt some epoxy in around it.
>
>That's a good idea.
>
>But it's not the stud that's broken -- it's the hole in the top of the door into
>which the stud goes.
>
>It must have been broken in shipping. It was packed okay, but the box was in pretty
>bad shape -- looked like it'd been through a war zone. Eventhough it was packed
>okay, I wouldn't be surprised if it was broken by shear shock, and impact.
>
>The box reminded me -- was it Jim Carrey -- where the delivery guy was drop kicking
>the package around. There was no other damage though. And the case doesn't vibrate
>or anything despite having 2 cpu's with up to 7000rpm fans.

Might've even broken on the boat-ride into the country, or
prior to shipping. I've received cases like that, pieces
broken off but the package from the vendor was well sealed,
there would be no way the pieces could fall out yet they
weren't even in the package.... had to happen before they
packed it but they still shipped it regardless!


>
>I was thinking maybe get some plastic, and try and do a melt job on it, but I don't
>know. Seems to me I remember destroying one or two things like trying something
>like that years ago, so may not such a good idea. Maybe if I had a sodering iron...
>


So you have the entirety of the door (hole), no missing
pieces? Melting isn't usually so great for visable parts,
perhaps super-glue or PVC cement, or just a touch of
acetone. You have to be careful with the solvents though if
yours isn't painted the same color as the plastic... IIRC,
mine has very dark blue(ish-grey) plastic but painted
silver.

Then there's epoxy... Just about anything can be build with
it if you have some fiberglass matting for support, or
patience and practice. Main issue with that approach is
that it'd be much more easily seen patch-job with the door
open.

It wouldn't be too hard to attach small hinges to the sides
of the door and bezel, thinking hinges like found at a craft
or hardware store, though you might have to paint them to
match if desired.
 
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On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 04:24:48 -0600, David Maynard
<dNOTmayn@ev1.net> wrote:

<snip>

>Or, want a window?
>
>http://www.directron.com/aspx02.html
>
>Shoot, for the cost of a window I just as soon slap a pinup on the side
>
><snip>

WOW!
$25 plus S/H ON SALE!

Talk about robbery.
Newegg cleared out a bunch of their Chieftec side-panels,
ironically enough it was exactly a year ago to this day I
bought one for $2 plus $5 S/H, $7 total... should've bought
a dozen of them.
 
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kony wrote:

> On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 04:24:48 -0600, David Maynard
> <dNOTmayn@ev1.net> wrote:
>
> <snip>
>
>>Or, want a window?
>>
>>http://www.directron.com/aspx02.html
>>
>>Shoot, for the cost of a window I just as soon slap a pinup on the side
>>
>><snip>
>
>
> WOW!
> $25 plus S/H ON SALE!

Hehe. Yeah. My thoughts exactly.

But then, I spend so much time inside these things that being able to still
see the guts after I've got the case buttoned back up holds absolutely no
appeal whatsoever for me.

> Talk about robbery.
> Newegg cleared out a bunch of their Chieftec side-panels,
> ironically enough it was exactly a year ago to this day I
> bought one for $2 plus $5 S/H, $7 total... should've bought
> a dozen of them.

I remember that deal. Don't remember what I was looking for at the time but
I remember seeing the panels for sale.
 
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David Maynard wrote:

<snipleopholous>

> > I got a nice Chenming case for around 50 bucks. Nice price for an extended
> > atx. It has a door, but one of the fasteners (top) was broken, so though it
> > stays on when closed... Kind of a pain. Anyone knows how to get a
> > replacement, please let me know -- probably out of warrentee now -- should have
> > followed up on it sooner.
>
> Not sure which Chenming you've got but the Antec cases used to be the same
> ones (Uneec makes them for Chietec, Chenming, and Antec) so see if these
> look similar.

Great leads.

These pics are dark, but maybe you can tell:

http://www.wecs.com/case1.jpg

http://www.wecs.com/chenming2.jpg

http://www.wecs.com/chenming3.jpg

>
> http://www.antec-inc.com/Search.bok?category=Spare+Parts

Close, but not sure. Perfect otherwise though. I'd go for it if I was more certain
it would fit.

> www.directron.com sells entire front bezels for them.
>
> http://www.directron.com/paneldragon.html (the case style mine is)

Yep. I think that's the one. Price is not too bad. Mine has four screws in each
corner of that middle pannel there (the panel that contains the place in the middle
for the branding sticker), and I don't think I see screws on this one. Otherwise, I
can't really see a difference.

Bryan

> If that doesn't look like yours other models can be found here.
>
> http://www.directron.com/panel.html
>
> Side panels too, if that's of any interest.
>
> http://www.directron.com/1240sp.html
> http://www.directron.com/1030sp.html
>
> Or, want a window?
>
> http://www.directron.com/aspx02.html
>
> Shoot, for the cost of a window I just as soon slap a pinup on the side
>
> <snip>
 
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kony wrote:

> On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 02:51:10 -0500, Bryan Hoover
> <bhoover@wecs.com> wrote:
>
> >> A Chen Ming here has the studs on the front bezel and holes
> >> in the door. If yours is similar, take a knife blade and
> >> cut the remainer of the stud (if any of it is left) so that
> >> it's flush with the surface. Next drill a hole barely
> >> smaller than the stud was. Finally, take a bolt and thread
> >> into the hole you drilled, while the door is reinstalled &
> >> open. Another alternative would be to cut the head of the
> >> bolt off, take the front bezel off, thread the headless bolt
> >> up into the bezel and squirt some epoxy in around it.
> >
> >That's a good idea.
> >
> >But it's not the stud that's broken -- it's the hole in the top of the door into
> >which the stud goes.
> >
> >It must have been broken in shipping. It was packed okay, but the box was in pretty
> >bad shape -- looked like it'd been through a war zone. Eventhough it was packed
> >okay, I wouldn't be surprised if it was broken by shear shock, and impact.
> >
> >The box reminded me -- was it Jim Carrey -- where the delivery guy was drop kicking
> >the package around. There was no other damage though. And the case doesn't vibrate
> >or anything despite having 2 cpu's with up to 7000rpm fans.
>
> Might've even broken on the boat-ride into the country, or
> prior to shipping. I've received cases like that, pieces
> broken off but the package from the vendor was well sealed,
> there would be no way the pieces could fall out yet they
> weren't even in the package.... had to happen before they
> packed it but they still shipped it regardless!
>
> >
> >I was thinking maybe get some plastic, and try and do a melt job on it, but I don't
> >know. Seems to me I remember destroying one or two things like trying something
> >like that years ago, so may not such a good idea. Maybe if I had a sodering iron...
> >
>
> So you have the entirety of the door (hole), no missing
> pieces? Melting isn't usually so great for visable parts,

The hole is missing :). That is, a piece of plastic closing the hole is broken, so there
is, effectively, no hole, or in other words, a hole that needs closing. Like C as
opposed to O.

> perhaps super-glue or PVC cement, or just a touch of
> acetone. You have to be careful with the solvents though if
> yours isn't painted the same color as the plastic... IIRC,
> mine has very dark blue(ish-grey) plastic but painted
> silver.
>
> Then there's epoxy... Just about anything can be build with
> it if you have some fiberglass matting for support, or
> patience and practice. Main issue with that approach is
> that it'd be much more easily seen patch-job with the door
> open.

Yeah, some kind of glue, preferably something that would fuse/melt the pieces of plastic
together, might do.

I don't think it'd show at all.

Bryan

> It wouldn't be too hard to attach small hinges to the sides
> of the door and bezel, thinking hinges like found at a craft
> or hardware store, though you might have to paint them to
> match if desired.
 
G

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Bryan Hoover wrote:
> David Maynard wrote:
>
> <snipleopholous>
>
>>>I got a nice Chenming case for around 50 bucks. Nice price for an extended
>>>atx. It has a door, but one of the fasteners (top) was broken, so though it
>>>stays on when closed... Kind of a pain. Anyone knows how to get a
>>>replacement, please let me know -- probably out of warrentee now -- should have
>>>followed up on it sooner.
>>
>>Not sure which Chenming you've got but the Antec cases used to be the same
>>ones (Uneec makes them for Chietec, Chenming, and Antec) so see if these
>>look similar.
>
>
> Great leads.
>
> These pics are dark, but maybe you can tell:
>
> http://www.wecs.com/case1.jpg
>
> http://www.wecs.com/chenming2.jpg
>
> http://www.wecs.com/chenming3.jpg
>
>
>>http://www.antec-inc.com/Search.bok?category=Spare+Parts
>
>
> Close, but not sure. Perfect otherwise though. I'd go for it if I was more certain
> it would fit.

I looked more closely this time and they seem to be a different trim. I
mean, the door middle trim section comes further to the sides than in the
Chenming Dragon case. Whether there are any other differences I can't
really tell.

>
>>www.directron.com sells entire front bezels for them.
>>
>>http://www.directron.com/paneldragon.html (the case style mine is)
>
>
> Yep. I think that's the one. Price is not too bad. Mine has four screws in each
> corner of that middle pannel there (the panel that contains the place in the middle
> for the branding sticker), and I don't think I see screws on this one. Otherwise, I
> can't really see a difference.

Yes. I noticed that. Mine doesn't have the screws either nor what appears
to be, on yours, 4 'catches' inside that, I'm guessing, hold the middle
panel in the door.

But I also notice yours has the front USB port access panel on the bottom
half and mine is the older version before they added that and perhaps the
'changeable' middle door trim (and the screws, which don't seem to have any
purpose other than decoration) was another modification around the same time.

Other than that, your case looks the same as mine (inside and out).

Near as I can tell the directron bezel should fit perfectly fine on your
case and you just wouldn't have 4 fake screws on the front anymore. In
fact, all of the others should fit too (except the full tower); they're
just a different 'look'. That's not unusual. All the various 'style series'
from case manufacturers are the same internal frame with simply different
bezels snapped on.

At least with the entire front bezel, rather than buying just a door, you
know the door mates up with it.

> Bryan
>
>
>>If that doesn't look like yours other models can be found here.
>>
>>http://www.directron.com/panel.html
>>
>>Side panels too, if that's of any interest.
>>
>>http://www.directron.com/1240sp.html
>>http://www.directron.com/1030sp.html
>>
>>Or, want a window?
>>
>>http://www.directron.com/aspx02.html
>>
>>Shoot, for the cost of a window I just as soon slap a pinup on the side
>>
>><snip>
>
>
 
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David Maynard wrote:

> Bryan Hoover wrote:
> > David Maynard wrote:
> >
> > <snipleopholous>
> >
> >>>I got a nice Chenming case for around 50 bucks. Nice price for an extended
> >>>atx. It has a door, but one of the fasteners (top) was broken, so though it
> >>>stays on when closed... Kind of a pain. Anyone knows how to get a
> >>>replacement, please let me know -- probably out of warrentee now -- should have
> >>>followed up on it sooner.
> >>
> >>Not sure which Chenming you've got but the Antec cases used to be the same
> >>ones (Uneec makes them for Chietec, Chenming, and Antec) so see if these
> >>look similar.
> >
> >
> > Great leads.
> >
> > These pics are dark, but maybe you can tell:
> >
> > http://www.wecs.com/case1.jpg
> >
> > http://www.wecs.com/chenming2.jpg
> >
> > http://www.wecs.com/chenming3.jpg
> >
> >
> >>http://www.antec-inc.com/Search.bok?category=Spare+Parts
> >
> >
> > Close, but not sure. Perfect otherwise though. I'd go for it if I was more certain
> > it would fit.
>
> I looked more closely this time and they seem to be a different trim. I
> mean, the door middle trim section comes further to the sides than in the
> Chenming Dragon case. Whether there are any other differences I can't
> really tell.

I noticed the led lenses are in the wrong place -- down at the bottom and below the lock,
instead of above. So it's wrong in at least that regard. I can't tell otherwise, but
either way, I'd rather have the led's lined up right.


> >
> >>www.directron.com sells entire front bezels for them.
> >>
> >>http://www.directron.com/paneldragon.html (the case style mine is)
> >
> >
> > Yep. I think that's the one. Price is not too bad. Mine has four screws in each
> > corner of that middle pannel there (the panel that contains the place in the middle
> > for the branding sticker), and I don't think I see screws on this one. Otherwise, I
> > can't really see a difference.
>
> Yes. I noticed that. Mine doesn't have the screws either nor what appears
> to be, on yours, 4 'catches' inside that, I'm guessing, hold the middle
> panel in the door.
>
> But I also notice yours has the front USB port access panel on the bottom
> half and mine is the older version before they added that and perhaps the
> 'changeable' middle door trim (and the screws, which don't seem to have any
> purpose other than decoration) was another modification around the same time.
>
> Other than that, your case looks the same as mine (inside and out).
>
> Near as I can tell the directron bezel should fit perfectly fine on your
> case and you just wouldn't have 4 fake screws on the front anymore. In
> fact, all of the others should fit too (except the full tower); they're
> just a different 'look'. That's not unusual. All the various 'style series'
> from case manufacturers are the same internal frame with simply different
> bezels snapped on.
>
> At least with the entire front bezel, rather than buying just a door, you
> know the door mates up with it.

Yeah, this would definately do the trick. I'm not really worried about the screws.

Bryan

> > Bryan
> >
> >
> >>If that doesn't look like yours other models can be found here.
> >>
> >>http://www.directron.com/panel.html
> >>
> >>Side panels too, if that's of any interest.
> >>
> >>http://www.directron.com/1240sp.html
> >>http://www.directron.com/1030sp.html
> >>
> >>Or, want a window?
> >>
> >>http://www.directron.com/aspx02.html
> >>
> >>Shoot, for the cost of a window I just as soon slap a pinup on the side
> >>
> >><snip>
> >
> >
 
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On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 20:37:56 -0500, Bryan Hoover
<bhoover@wecs.com> wrote:


>> So you have the entirety of the door (hole), no missing
>> pieces? Melting isn't usually so great for visable parts,
>
>The hole is missing :). That is, a piece of plastic closing the hole is broken, so there
>is, effectively, no hole, or in other words, a hole that needs closing. Like C as
>opposed to O.
>


Well in that case what _I_ would do is take a piece of
aluminum sheeting, cut out the shape I wanted with a hole in
an extended corner, and either screw or epoxy it onto the
top of the case door, after removing the rest of the "C",
and maybe even slightly more, perhaps 2-3 mm more of the
door so the aluminum can be bent up in a Z-shape to end up
parallel to the plane of the top of the door.

I just don't think building a new hole would be easy via
melting plastic, nor very sturdy. Might work better to use
fiberglass matting and epoxy rather than melting ____ to it.
 
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David Maynard wrote:

> Bryan Hoover wrote:
> > David Maynard wrote:
> >
> > <snipleopholous>
> >
> >>>I got a nice Chenming case for around 50 bucks. Nice price for an extended
> >>>atx. It has a door, but one of the fasteners (top) was broken, so though it
> >>>stays on when closed... Kind of a pain. Anyone knows how to get a
> >>>replacement, please let me know -- probably out of warrentee now -- should have
> >>>followed up on it sooner.
> >>
> >>Not sure which Chenming you've got but the Antec cases used to be the same
> >>ones (Uneec makes them for Chietec, Chenming, and Antec) so see if these
> >>look similar.
> >
> >
> > Great leads.
> >
> > These pics are dark, but maybe you can tell:
> >
> > http://www.wecs.com/case1.jpg
> >
> > http://www.wecs.com/chenming2.jpg
> >
> > http://www.wecs.com/chenming3.jpg
> >
> >
> >>http://www.antec-inc.com/Search.bok?category=Spare+Parts
> >
> >
> > Close, but not sure. Perfect otherwise though. I'd go for it if I was more certain
> > it would fit.
>
> I looked more closely this time and they seem to be a different trim. I
> mean, the door middle trim section comes further to the sides than in the
> Chenming Dragon case. Whether there are any other differences I can't
> really tell.
>
> >
> >>www.directron.com sells entire front bezels for them.
> >>
> >>http://www.directron.com/paneldragon.html (the case style mine is)

Hey, since you've got this case too, thought I'd ask you (and anyone else)...

What do you think about moding this case so as to move the harddrive cages down so they
start where the front intake fan would otherwise go? This would make room for an intake
fan to blow air across closer to the chipset, cpu's, memory, and VRM's. I just finding
that I'm not getting a whole heck of a lot of benefit with the intake down there at the
bottom of the case. OTH, my VRM's get rather hot, could definately use some cooling -- if
I open the case, I'm getting an average of 5 degrees lower temp (down from hovering
between 56-59, and high as 61) on VRM2 (this is Tyan s2462). AMD's documentation
recommends the bottom intake fan, but that's not what my experience is showing me.

I have not looked closly so see whether such a mod might be doable. Might have to take
things apart to get a good look anyway. So, thought I'd see if anyone else had any
experience with doing such.

Aside from that, might have to go with a blow hole on the side panel.

Bryan

> >
> >
> > Yep. I think that's the one. Price is not too bad. Mine has four screws in each
> > corner of that middle pannel there (the panel that contains the place in the middle
> > for the branding sticker), and I don't think I see screws on this one. Otherwise, I
> > can't really see a difference.
>
> Yes. I noticed that. Mine doesn't have the screws either nor what appears
> to be, on yours, 4 'catches' inside that, I'm guessing, hold the middle
> panel in the door.
>
> But I also notice yours has the front USB port access panel on the bottom
> half and mine is the older version before they added that and perhaps the
> 'changeable' middle door trim (and the screws, which don't seem to have any
> purpose other than decoration) was another modification around the same time.
>
> Other than that, your case looks the same as mine (inside and out).
>
> Near as I can tell the directron bezel should fit perfectly fine on your
> case and you just wouldn't have 4 fake screws on the front anymore. In
> fact, all of the others should fit too (except the full tower); they're
> just a different 'look'. That's not unusual. All the various 'style series'
> from case manufacturers are the same internal frame with simply different
> bezels snapped on.
>
> At least with the entire front bezel, rather than buying just a door, you
> know the door mates up with it.
>
> > Bryan
> >
> >
> >>If that doesn't look like yours other models can be found here.
> >>
> >>http://www.directron.com/panel.html
> >>
> >>Side panels too, if that's of any interest.
> >>
> >>http://www.directron.com/1240sp.html
> >>http://www.directron.com/1030sp.html
> >>
> >>Or, want a window?
> >>
> >>http://www.directron.com/aspx02.html
> >>
> >>Shoot, for the cost of a window I just as soon slap a pinup on the side
> >>
> >><snip>
> >
> >
 
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Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

On Wed, 05 Jan 2005 00:21:37 -0500, Bryan Hoover
<bhoover@wecs.com> wrote:


>
>Hey, since you've got this case too, thought I'd ask you (and anyone else)...
>
>What do you think about moding this case so as to move the harddrive cages down so they
>start where the front intake fan would otherwise go?

Doable, I added one to mine but kept the original too, so I
could put 2 drives per bay "module" and still have a lot of
room inbetween for air.


>This would make room for an intake
>fan to blow air across closer to the chipset, cpu's, memory, and VRM's. I just finding
>that I'm not getting a whole heck of a lot of benefit with the intake down there at the
>bottom of the case.

Do you have drives blocking all that area in the bay? I
wouldn't thought you'd still have some flow there otherwise.


>OTH, my VRM's get rather hot, could definately use some cooling -- if
>I open the case, I'm getting an average of 5 degrees lower temp (down from hovering
>between 56-59, and high as 61) on VRM2 (this is Tyan s2462). AMD's documentation
>recommends the bottom intake fan, but that's not what my experience is showing me.

Their recommendation is a "generic" one, as they can't
possibly test nor list every possible configuation. In your
case/components you probably would have a slight benefit
from moving the bay down. The bay locks in with a lever
latching onto the bay above it though, right? Otherwise
it's not the most secure mounting either unless the screws
are put through that "shelf" it sits on, so while you might
be able to move the shelf down and rerivet or bolt it on,
there'd still be no bay above to latch it in. Might be best
to find an alternate fixed bay instead.

When I mounted mine at the bottom I hadn't build a system in
the case yet, I used a step-drill to make 6 ~ 15 mm holes so
I could put a magnetic screwdriver through to screw in
drives from the right side.
 
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kony wrote:

> On Wed, 05 Jan 2005 00:21:37 -0500, Bryan Hoover
> <bhoover@wecs.com> wrote:
>
> >
> >Hey, since you've got this case too, thought I'd ask you (and anyone else)...
> >
> >What do you think about moding this case so as to move the harddrive cages down so they
> >start where the front intake fan would otherwise go?
>
> Doable, I added one to mine but kept the original too, so I
> could put 2 drives per bay "module" and still have a lot of
> room inbetween for air.
>
> >This would make room for an intake
> >fan to blow air across closer to the chipset, cpu's, memory, and VRM's. I just finding
> >that I'm not getting a whole heck of a lot of benefit with the intake down there at the
> >bottom of the case.
>
> Do you have drives blocking all that area in the bay? I
> wouldn't thought you'd still have some flow there otherwise.

I've got one drive, and a floppy in the top bay, and three scsi drives in the bottom. The
scsi drives are disconnected though -- I have 6 others external, and I was a little squimish
about running the ones inside off the PSU which is a 460W Enermax. Just being conservative,
and they were noisier in this case than the 6 external -- don't really need all 9 right
now. On this I'm being a little hedgy -- don't really want to give up the option to keep
those 3 drives inside.

And I should correct what said earlier a little bit -- when I wrote it, I'd just taken the
side panel off, noticed VRM1 (not vrm2 actually) temp drop, but hadn't tried running with
the front intake fan off. With front intake off, AGP, and DDR temps went up about 6 degrees
which is surprising because DDR at least, is so close to VRM1 I'd have expected VRM1 to be
effected if DDR was. But as I'd thought, this front intake fan on had no effect on VRM1
eventhough having taken the side panel off did lower VRM1 temp. It's like VRM1 is just
scrunched down hiding as best it can from any air flow.

So, it's looking more like cutting a hole in the side panel, because I don't know if there's
a better way to get more air moving around VRM1 otherwise.

But then, AGP, and DDR would probably still be getting air with the lowered bays approach.

> >OTH, my VRM's get rather hot, could definately use some cooling -- if
> >I open the case, I'm getting an average of 5 degrees lower temp (down from hovering
> >between 56-59, and high as 61) on VRM2 (this is Tyan s2462). AMD's documentation
> >recommends the bottom intake fan, but that's not what my experience is showing me.
>
> Their recommendation is a "generic" one, as they can't
> possibly test nor list every possible configuation. In your

One cool thing though, I found after I'd bought the case, this case is actually one of those
they used in testing, and gave results for. But yeah, I'd have to go back and look at it, I
dare say, they didn't have all the bays full -- may have only had one bay in the case.

> case/components you probably would have a slight benefit
> from moving the bay down. The bay locks in with a lever
> latching onto the bay above it though, right? Otherwise

The bay above it sits on it's own little shelf -- this shef is rivited to the metal framing
of the case. So top bay lever latches to stud in 5 inch bay cage above it, and bottom bay
lever latches to top bay shelf above it.

Looks like would just remove the top bay, and leave the shelf for what's now the bottom bay
to latch to, and then rivit in (or whatever) another shelf below what's now the top bay.
Uhg! Would mean getting another little shelf.

> it's not the most secure mounting either unless the screws
> are put through that "shelf" it sits on, so while you might
> be able to move the shelf down and rerivet or bolt it on,
> there'd still be no bay above to latch it in. Might be best
> to find an alternate fixed bay instead.

May be.

> When I mounted mine at the bottom I hadn't build a system in
> the case yet, I used a step-drill to make 6 ~ 15 mm holes so
> I could put a magnetic screwdriver through to screw in
> drives from the right side.

And now that I've looked it, hate to say it because it makes moving the bays a moot point,
my full sized scsi card wouldn't have anywhere to go with the bays moved down.

Ouch! Sorry. Nevertheless, moving the bays might be doable if there was no need for any
full sized cards. It's good to know what might be involved. As I'm looking closer at it
now, I see everything is rivits, which means I guess, would have to drill, which may mean
introducing rattles, etc. Thing's just not modular. Not really designed for moving the
bays.

It's looking more like I'm gonna have to cut a hole. Yee-haw! Cut a hole in the side. Pop
in yet another fan. Barring another alternative -- maybe something involving attaching a
fan from the top -- somehow, somewhere between the psu, and 5 inch drive bay, assuming this
does not mess up the exhaust flow. This should be what the psu fan is for, but it's just
not moving enough air.

Bryan
 
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Bryan Hoover wrote:

> kony wrote:
>
>
>>On Wed, 05 Jan 2005 00:21:37 -0500, Bryan Hoover
>><bhoover@wecs.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Hey, since you've got this case too, thought I'd ask you (and anyone else)...
>>>
>>>What do you think about moding this case so as to move the harddrive cages down so they
>>>start where the front intake fan would otherwise go?
>>
>>Doable, I added one to mine but kept the original too, so I
>>could put 2 drives per bay "module" and still have a lot of
>>room inbetween for air.
>>
>>
>>>This would make room for an intake
>>>fan to blow air across closer to the chipset, cpu's, memory, and VRM's. I just finding
>>>that I'm not getting a whole heck of a lot of benefit with the intake down there at the
>>>bottom of the case.
>>
>>Do you have drives blocking all that area in the bay? I
>>wouldn't thought you'd still have some flow there otherwise.
>
>
> I've got one drive, and a floppy in the top bay, and three scsi drives in the bottom. The
> scsi drives are disconnected though -- I have 6 others external, and I was a little squimish
> about running the ones inside off the PSU which is a 460W Enermax. Just being conservative,
> and they were noisier in this case than the 6 external -- don't really need all 9 right
> now. On this I'm being a little hedgy -- don't really want to give up the option to keep
> those 3 drives inside.
>
> And I should correct what said earlier a little bit -- when I wrote it, I'd just taken the
> side panel off, noticed VRM1 (not vrm2 actually) temp drop, but hadn't tried running with
> the front intake fan off. With front intake off, AGP, and DDR temps went up about 6 degrees
> which is surprising because DDR at least, is so close to VRM1 I'd have expected VRM1 to be
> effected if DDR was. But as I'd thought, this front intake fan on had no effect on VRM1
> eventhough having taken the side panel off did lower VRM1 temp. It's like VRM1 is just
> scrunched down hiding as best it can from any air flow.
>
> So, it's looking more like cutting a hole in the side panel, because I don't know if there's
> a better way to get more air moving around VRM1 otherwise.
>
> But then, AGP, and DDR would probably still be getting air with the lowered bays approach.
>
>
>>>OTH, my VRM's get rather hot, could definately use some cooling -- if
>>>I open the case, I'm getting an average of 5 degrees lower temp (down from hovering
>>>between 56-59, and high as 61) on VRM2 (this is Tyan s2462). AMD's documentation
>>>recommends the bottom intake fan, but that's not what my experience is showing me.
>>
>>Their recommendation is a "generic" one, as they can't
>>possibly test nor list every possible configuation. In your
>
>
> One cool thing though, I found after I'd bought the case, this case is actually one of those
> they used in testing, and gave results for. But yeah, I'd have to go back and look at it, I
> dare say, they didn't have all the bays full -- may have only had one bay in the case.
>
>
>>case/components you probably would have a slight benefit
>>from moving the bay down. The bay locks in with a lever
>>latching onto the bay above it though, right? Otherwise
>
>
> The bay above it sits on it's own little shelf -- this shef is rivited to the metal framing
> of the case. So top bay lever latches to stud in 5 inch bay cage above it, and bottom bay
> lever latches to top bay shelf above it.
>
> Looks like would just remove the top bay, and leave the shelf for what's now the bottom bay
> to latch to, and then rivit in (or whatever) another shelf below what's now the top bay.
> Uhg! Would mean getting another little shelf.
>
>
>>it's not the most secure mounting either unless the screws
>>are put through that "shelf" it sits on, so while you might
>>be able to move the shelf down and rerivet or bolt it on,
>>there'd still be no bay above to latch it in. Might be best
>>to find an alternate fixed bay instead.
>
>
> May be.
>
>
>>When I mounted mine at the bottom I hadn't build a system in
>>the case yet, I used a step-drill to make 6 ~ 15 mm holes so
>>I could put a magnetic screwdriver through to screw in
>>drives from the right side.
>
>
> And now that I've looked it, hate to say it because it makes moving the bays a moot point,
> my full sized scsi card wouldn't have anywhere to go with the bays moved down.
>
> Ouch! Sorry. Nevertheless, moving the bays might be doable if there was no need for any
> full sized cards. It's good to know what might be involved. As I'm looking closer at it
> now, I see everything is rivits, which means I guess, would have to drill, which may mean
> introducing rattles, etc. Thing's just not modular. Not really designed for moving the
> bays.
>
> It's looking more like I'm gonna have to cut a hole. Yee-haw! Cut a hole in the side. Pop
> in yet another fan. Barring another alternative -- maybe something involving attaching a
> fan from the top -- somehow, somewhere between the psu, and 5 inch drive bay, assuming this
> does not mess up the exhaust flow. This should be what the psu fan is for, but it's just
> not moving enough air.
>
> Bryan
>

Just to let you know I didn't ignore the message but it looks like you and
Kony have pretty much covered it.

Only comment I have at this point is drilling out rivets would necessitate
removing the guts to avoid the risk of metal shavings getting on things but
cutting a fan hole in the side panel could be done by simply removing the
panel to a safe location.

On the other hand, I'm not sure I'd worry too much about VRMs hitting 61C.
Their temp spec is a lot higher than 'ICs'.
 
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On Wed, 05 Jan 2005 04:03:47 -0600, David Maynard
<dNOTmayn@ev1.net> wrote:

>Bryan Hoover wrote:
>
>> kony wrote:
>>
>>
>>>On Wed, 05 Jan 2005 00:21:37 -0500, Bryan Hoover
>>><bhoover@wecs.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>Hey, since you've got this case too, thought I'd ask you (and anyone else)...
>>>>
>>>>What do you think about moding this case so as to move the harddrive cages down so they
>>>>start where the front intake fan would otherwise go?
>>>
>>>Doable, I added one to mine but kept the original too, so I
>>>could put 2 drives per bay "module" and still have a lot of
>>>room inbetween for air.
>>>
>>>
>>>>This would make room for an intake
>>>>fan to blow air across closer to the chipset, cpu's, memory, and VRM's. I just finding
>>>>that I'm not getting a whole heck of a lot of benefit with the intake down there at the
>>>>bottom of the case.
>>>
>>>Do you have drives blocking all that area in the bay? I
>>>wouldn't thought you'd still have some flow there otherwise.
>>
>>
>> I've got one drive, and a floppy in the top bay, and three scsi drives in the bottom. The
>> scsi drives are disconnected though -- I have 6 others external, and I was a little squimish
>> about running the ones inside off the PSU which is a 460W Enermax. Just being conservative,
>> and they were noisier in this case than the 6 external -- don't really need all 9 right
>> now. On this I'm being a little hedgy -- don't really want to give up the option to keep
>> those 3 drives inside.
>>
>> And I should correct what said earlier a little bit -- when I wrote it, I'd just taken the
>> side panel off, noticed VRM1 (not vrm2 actually) temp drop, but hadn't tried running with
>> the front intake fan off. With front intake off, AGP, and DDR temps went up about 6 degrees
>> which is surprising because DDR at least, is so close to VRM1 I'd have expected VRM1 to be
>> effected if DDR was. But as I'd thought, this front intake fan on had no effect on VRM1
>> eventhough having taken the side panel off did lower VRM1 temp. It's like VRM1 is just
>> scrunched down hiding as best it can from any air flow.
>>
>> So, it's looking more like cutting a hole in the side panel, because I don't know if there's
>> a better way to get more air moving around VRM1 otherwise.
>>
>> But then, AGP, and DDR would probably still be getting air with the lowered bays approach.
>>
>>
>>>>OTH, my VRM's get rather hot, could definately use some cooling -- if
>>>>I open the case, I'm getting an average of 5 degrees lower temp (down from hovering
>>>>between 56-59, and high as 61) on VRM2 (this is Tyan s2462). AMD's documentation
>>>>recommends the bottom intake fan, but that's not what my experience is showing me.
>>>
>>>Their recommendation is a "generic" one, as they can't
>>>possibly test nor list every possible configuation. In your
>>
>>
>> One cool thing though, I found after I'd bought the case, this case is actually one of those
>> they used in testing, and gave results for. But yeah, I'd have to go back and look at it, I
>> dare say, they didn't have all the bays full -- may have only had one bay in the case.
>>
>>
>>>case/components you probably would have a slight benefit
>>>from moving the bay down. The bay locks in with a lever
>>>latching onto the bay above it though, right? Otherwise
>>
>>
>> The bay above it sits on it's own little shelf -- this shef is rivited to the metal framing
>> of the case. So top bay lever latches to stud in 5 inch bay cage above it, and bottom bay
>> lever latches to top bay shelf above it.
>>
>> Looks like would just remove the top bay, and leave the shelf for what's now the bottom bay
>> to latch to, and then rivit in (or whatever) another shelf below what's now the top bay.
>> Uhg! Would mean getting another little shelf.
>>
>>
>>>it's not the most secure mounting either unless the screws
>>>are put through that "shelf" it sits on, so while you might
>>>be able to move the shelf down and rerivet or bolt it on,
>>>there'd still be no bay above to latch it in. Might be best
>>>to find an alternate fixed bay instead.
>>
>>
>> May be.
>>
>>
>>>When I mounted mine at the bottom I hadn't build a system in
>>>the case yet, I used a step-drill to make 6 ~ 15 mm holes so
>>>I could put a magnetic screwdriver through to screw in
>>>drives from the right side.
>>
>>
>> And now that I've looked it, hate to say it because it makes moving the bays a moot point,
>> my full sized scsi card wouldn't have anywhere to go with the bays moved down.
>>
>> Ouch! Sorry. Nevertheless, moving the bays might be doable if there was no need for any
>> full sized cards. It's good to know what might be involved. As I'm looking closer at it
>> now, I see everything is rivits, which means I guess, would have to drill, which may mean
>> introducing rattles, etc. Thing's just not modular. Not really designed for moving the
>> bays.
>>
>> It's looking more like I'm gonna have to cut a hole. Yee-haw! Cut a hole in the side. Pop
>> in yet another fan. Barring another alternative -- maybe something involving attaching a
>> fan from the top -- somehow, somewhere between the psu, and 5 inch drive bay, assuming this
>> does not mess up the exhaust flow. This should be what the psu fan is for, but it's just
>> not moving enough air.
>>
>> Bryan
>>
>
>Just to let you know I didn't ignore the message but it looks like you and
>Kony have pretty much covered it.
>
>Only comment I have at this point is drilling out rivets would necessitate
>removing the guts to avoid the risk of metal shavings getting on things but
>cutting a fan hole in the side panel could be done by simply removing the
>panel to a safe location.
>
>On the other hand, I'm not sure I'd worry too much about VRMs hitting 61C.
>Their temp spec is a lot higher than 'ICs'.
>
>


Usually it's that their 'sunk to the copper, which in
addition to the heated air in the immediate vicinity and the
high ripple on the caps, will wear out the caps faster.
Whether the caps will provide a good service life is subject
to high variability, on a Tyan Server board the odds are
good, but then again I've even compared two similar Asus
boards and found one should do much better than the other
long-term.