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Thread: My Ultimate Case

  1. #17
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    Re: My Ultimate Case

    Thanks for the extra ideas.

    Currently investigating this Lian Li case:
    http://www.******.net/news_story/lia...r_chassis.html
    (that's vor tez, the forum doesn't like it?)

    Brand new design, doesn't look like it has quite made it to the UK yet, but US pricing suggests around £83.

    The other Lian-Li I like is the B10:
    http://imperialprice.com/index.php?r...duct_id=554198
    http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product...s_index=62&g=f

    Twice the price at £166 and I can't find it at any reliable retailers.
    But I do so love cases with doors, although I find it stupid that the power button is hidden behind the door... No other manufacturer does this, Fractal, Corsair, BitFenix, Cooler Master, Antec all very sensibly put the power button where you can get to it without opening the door.

    I kinda like the 120mm mount in the 5.25" bays, I presume you could take this out and put whatever you like in there, although really I'd be happier with 2x 140mm fans and only 2 external bays. This would also free up space inside the chassis for longer graphics cards, although really 290mm is fine for everything except some 7970s.
    Last edited by Willzzz; 19-04-2013 at 12:36 PM.

  2. #18
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    Re: My Ultimate Case

    Actually power button behind the door is very common on any case with a lockable door.
    It's a legacy hang on from servers and always on pc's, you have a lock on the door so you can stop people from accidentally tuning it off.

    Must admit I'm not a big fan of the flat black block look, the Corsair 550D just gets away with it for me (only one of the obsidian series I could put up with), the few touches that break it up.
    I like the PC-8FI http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product...25&ss_index=62 the rounded edges on the bezel and the vent slots breaks it up.
    Same way I like the old Armorsuit PC-P50 and PC-B25 they where angled but it still breaks up the rectangular box look.

  3. #19
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    Re: My Ultimate Case

    Another possibility:
    http://www.scan.co.uk/products/lian-...usb-30-w-o-psu

    It's on sale, so not too expensive, looks pretty, but is micro ATX.

    Techpowerup have a long list of complaints though:

    Pricey (on sale)
    Fragile USB 3.0 to 2.0 adapter (so what?)
    Using a large CPU cooler may force you to remove the top fan
    No possibility to install a fan in the rear
    No 3.5" bracket for external device included (so what?)
    No anti-vibration measures for the 3.5" hard drives (yes there is..)
    No way to tie down cables behind mainboard tray
    Very limited cable management options
    Side panel behind mainboard tray will pop off if you do route too many cables behind the tray
    No openings for water cooling (don't think I care)

    I mean cabling is going to be tricky in a smaller case, but it doesn't look that bad and they seem to have a peculiar motherboard:
    http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/L...s/install1.jpg

    The CPU cooler is the more interesting bit, I'm guessing a Freezer 13 should fit which is a reasonably capable little cooler.
    With a top exhaust instead of a rear exhaust would you be able to mount the cooler facing the exhaust and would the cooler intake be obstructed by the GPU?

    Or maybe I should stop being fussy and just get a Define R4

  4. #20
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    Re: My Ultimate Case

    Nice looking case.

    Overall cooling might not be too good with the lack of air vents, why lian li didn't put a 92mm fan vent n the back is odd, could be modded in, but spending over £100 on a case do you want to then have to cut holes in it?

    Hard drive rails . . . they are correct in the lack of vibration damping, you could replace the rails with the normal lian li grommeted screws, http://www.specialtech.co.uk/spshop/...pid-11594.html but at over £100 why do you have to spend the extra to get screws it should of included.
    there are grommeted screws for a 2.5", but SSD's don't need any vibration damping as they have no moving parts? what where they smoking when they came up with these choices?
    EDIT: ahh I see they are using sata back plates for hot swappable, probably have the plastic rails instead of grommets as they would be more robust with multiple drive removal & reinsertion, also back plates add a lot to the cost, I cannot remember who holds the license on hotswap sata back plates but they always cost a lot. it's just a pcb and a couple of connectors and capacitors but they cost around £15-20 per drive

    if you're open to mATX have you considered the silvertone TJ08-e http://www.scan.co.uk/products/silve...m-steel-with-u and fractal design ARC mini http://www.scan.co.uk/products/fract...-psu-(std-atx)

    just spotted scan still have the pc-b25 in stock http://www.scan.co.uk/products/lian-...-usb30-w-o-psu

    Actually the fractal design ARC mid is also well worth a look http://www.scan.co.uk/products/fract...e-case-w-o-psu granted it's not an aluminium bezel just a solid ABS plastic textured to look like brushed metal still not cheap and flimsy

  5. #21
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    Re: My Ultimate Case

    Maybe it doesn't matter that the exhaust is top instead of rear, after all heat rises. As long as the temps are OK that's all that matters:
    http://www.hardwareheaven.com/review...rformance.html
    They decline to directly compare with other cases which is annoying, "good for this class of case" is a bit vague.. and it only has a 2500T in it.

    I'm sure it does have vibration damping the Lian Li website says it does, I think techpowerup just used the wrong screws.

    I do like the TJ08 as I mentioned in the OP, I love the layout for cooling, but I have a few nitpicks about the front of the case.
    The gap between the top and the drivebays is too thin, it is out of proportion, I'd really prefer the Power/IO to be on the top, or at least higher up, and what is that on the bottom? A 3.5" bay or what?

    I really am being picky

    A PC-B25 looks OK, but the only versions on sale seem to be the ones with an ugly lump plonked on the top of the case for no good reason.
    Why ruin a perfectly nice case?

  6. #22
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    Re: My Ultimate Case

    The thing that worries me is not that it's a top vent but in that it's the only vent, I would of liked to of seen a rear 92mm fan vent as well as the 140mm top vent.

    To me personally I like the thin space at the top of the tj08-e because it shows they are cutting down the size of the case and not wasting space, why would optical disk drives need 15mm of empty space above them and make the case taller for no reason other than looks? Ok granted pure looks is actually a reasonable reason but here they've gone for function in trying to keep the case size down over looks, you could argue making the case narrower to even out the bezel around the 5.25" bays but then you are impacting function in the space for cpu cooler and cableing.
    A similar thing goes for the psu and top vent position, I've heard people say they don't like the fact that it's offset and not in the middle, but offsetting the psu allows for space beside it to hide cables.

    And yes that is an external 3.5" bay at the bottom, in the original prototype it wasn't there, just an internal 2.5" drive mount under the internal 3.5" drive cage, but an external 3.5" was requested as people still use them.
    A matter of trying to appeal to the largest range of people.

    Have you looked at the precision 07 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/silve...icro-atx-black same internals as the tj08e but different bezel, ABS plastic, 2x120mm instead of 1x180mm, a door and no 3.5" external mount.

    The "lump" on the PC-B25 is a air duct, the idea is to channel noise away from the user to make it sound quieter (same as the "lump" on the back) same as the one used on the old antec p180&182
    I do agree with you, it's a bit ugly, I was never a big fan of the B25 looks, I preferred the armorsuit P50 and lancool k58 for looks, but the p50 internal layout was not that good, the K58 was better but the b25 has the best internal layout of the 3

    EDIT:
    Quote Originally Posted by Willzzz View Post
    I'm sure it does have vibration damping the Lian Li website says it does, I think techpowerup just used the wrong screws.
    Not that I can see, it mentions anti-vibration on the psu mount not the hard drives.
    The manual says "install the screws to the HDD with anti-vibration rubber rings." but the picture clearly shows the rails not the grommets and as the techpowerup review clearly says they are a plastic not a soft rubber, granted they could be a hard rubber but it's still not going to be as good.
    However on the other hand you could use the grommets from the 2.5" drives instead, I think here it's a simple case of lian-li going for a more robust material which will handle more insertion&removal cycles combined with the fact you've got back plates, which would transfer vibrations anyway and soft rubber would allow more flex putting stress on the ridged back plane connectors.
    It's the hot swap back planes that make sense as to why they've gone for rails over their normal grommets, it will depend on how much vibration your drives make to how much of a potential issue this could be.
    Makes me think they where aiming this case more at the mini-server market, still think it's a good case by the looks of it and I do like the side panels, personally it's the price that puts me off.

    If cost wasn't an option for an mATX case personally I'd be looking at the fortress ft03 having seen the gumetal (silverstone call it Titanium) coloured one in the flesh it's a lovely sleek looking case.
    However cost is always an issue as the money saved on a case can be put into better hardware esp when something £50 less is just as good function wise, even if you have all the hardware £50 could be used to buy an extra hard drive or some other additions.
    Which in turn is why I've not put forward something like the core 1000, that's even cheaper but the case is just not as good in the terms of cable space/management and cpu cooler options.

  7. #23
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    Re: My Ultimate Case

    I think I might just play safe and go for the Define R4, although the TJ-08 is still a possibility.

    I am very tempted to do a mini-ITX build in a FT03 Mini before too long, it is ever so cute and well designed.

    As I said earlier I'm annoyed that Silverstone don't revise their cases the way Fractal Design do. They say they took on board customer feedback from the FT03 when designing the Mini. So why isn't there a FT03 v2 if they acknowledge that there are improvements to be made?

    Maybe Silverstone will get it together with the FT04 which is essentially a larger TJ08. Although I'm not entirely taken with the curvy front door.

  8. #24
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    Re: My Ultimate Case

    OK, forget everything I just said, it's Corsair to the rescue:

    http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Cor...00D,22029.html

    It's a large mATX case with an attractive aluminium front, lots of pretty angles, hardly any drive bays, a sensible cooling layout and it should be nice and quiet as well.

    I knew someone would make me a nice case eventually

  9. #25
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    Re: My Ultimate Case

    What wrong with the ARC mini http://www.fractal-design.com/?view=...gory=2&prod=59

    350d looks good if nothing special, question is how much they'll charge for it?

    the new fortress & raven 04 look disappointing all told

  10. #26
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    Re: My Ultimate Case

    It apparently only costs $10 more than the Arc Mini, or $20 more with the window.

    The extra 45mm height sounds useful, I prefer the look and I prefer the dedicated SSD bays over the removable bays of the Arc Mini.

  11. #27
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    Re: My Ultimate Case

    Some more photo's here http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...e=3&permPage=1
    Does look good, the plastic ssd mounts look interesting, looks like individual holders that clip together.
    Looks like it would go on my list of good mATX cases, next to the ARC mini and TJ08e

    There's only rumoured prices on it as yet, we'll have to wait and see.
    Also US prices do not match UK prices,
    eg current prices
    arc mini $90 newegg, £60 scan
    carbide 300r $80 newegg, £61 scan
    Difference isn't that great but corsair cases are cheaper in the US
    eg2 Current rumour puts it at $100 to $110
    Current newegg Carbide 400r is $100 and C70 is $110
    Scan Carbine 400R is £83 and C70 is £109
    US release prices will only give you a very rough UK release price.

  12. #28
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    Re: My Ultimate Case

    Ooh, that's interesting, it has 5 expansion slots meaning you can SLI/CF with a gap between cards, normally not possible on mATX.

    Now to check for compatible motherboards..

  13. #29
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    Re: My Ultimate Case

    Well there's part of the extra height.
    There's a few mATX with a bottom pci-e x16 slot but they are all the same in that it only runs at pci-e 2.0 x4 speed.

  14. #30
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    Re: My Ultimate Case

    Interestingly on the Gigabyte boards it is the lower slot that is labelled as x8.
    http://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigab...hdmi-micro-atx

    I suspect a lot of people use these boards in mid towers.

    So you reckon £26 for a window Bit steep, but it is one of the nicest windows I've ever seen on a case.

    EDIT: oh and it lists the x8 slot as being PCIe 3.0 as well.

  15. #31
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    Re: My Ultimate Case

    http://www.overclock.net/t/1381705/c...350d-photos/70

    Can you fit a 2x 140mm fans in the front, not sure, but I like how the single 140mm fan blows straight through the gap between the drive bays directly onto the graphics card(s).

  16. #32
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    Re: My Ultimate Case

    as that post says looks like there are screw holes for two 140mm fans or for two 120mm, the fact the top 120mm holes are lower means it's probably been setup to take a 240rad in the front with the barbs at the top.

    and yes looks like on that board the bottom slot is the x8 3.0 slot, the one above is x4 2.0, nice spot, looks like it's the same on the sniper too http://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigab...hdmi-micro-atx
    looks like gigabyte has one up there on both ASRock and Asus, which both put the pci-e 3.0 x16/x8+x8 on the first and 3rd positions with the pci-e x4 2.0 on the 4th, although very few matx cases have 5 slots as they tend to be more space concious

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