The (new) Official PC building thread!

ZoSo why are you stalled?? You make more money than all of us combined. Good luck getting on the move again!!

Just for those that know I was getting this case (thermaltake VD1000SWA), it's not very user friendly and DOESN'T have the features that I thought it would. NOT a bad case per se but IF I keep it I'm gonna have to buy RIGHT angle SATA cables and maybe a thin 92mm fan for the side panel. In all honestly it's not built near as solidly as my Cooler Master Elite 340 micro case. That's one of Cooler Master's lower end cases and I'm afraid that Thermaltake's line of cases are all the same. I'm curious to find out if the upper end cases are better but I'm NOT gonna buy one to find out. lol. HIGH dollar buggers they are!!!

I've had excellent luck with Cooler Master cases and should have waited for another sale on one of their aluminum cases, BUT that's ok, the EGG will take it back I'm sure. Man I love the EGG!!!

BOOZER don't buy that case and if you already did I would refuse shipment, but of course let the EGG know first. lol.

....gm

 

The build quality of Coolermaster cases impresses me far more than Thermaltake ones, having seen them both in person.

 

GM,

sorry to hear about your dissatisfaction with the new thermaltake case. I've never owned one so can't offer any opinion. it's been only antec and CM for me and since I won't buy anything but all aluminum now, that means no more antecs. cooler master has won me over too.

problem is a good all aluminum construction case is going to cost you considerably more money.

 

lol greensman, I'm working overtime ( 3:30pm to 2:00am) so I'm lacking time plus the PC shop thats going to put it together for me is really busy right now. No i don't have time to do it myself right now. I may take it somewhere else

 

GM, the TT Armor is an amazing case. I wish I had gotten the one with the side fan but this was was really cheap(100 after rebates).

They are very well built cases. I don't know what info you are getting.

 

Morty it's not even close to the same case the CM-690 is!! I guess I should have done some more research but this is a case (pun not intended...lol) of reading those DANG reviews at the EGG!!! Those people are down right SILLY!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry for the yelling but they are, not like I didn't know it already....

Anyway I'm 99% for repacking it and sending it back to the EGG. NOT what I wanted and I wouldn't even use it later for a "lesser" build. Sorry for the Thermaltake bashing but it seems their cases may match their fans.... all LIES>..... lol. I'm being unfair and I apologize for that....

....gm

On another note I have that CM-690 sitting there waiting for some goodies to go in it... It's heavy but at least it works right!!! OK RANT over on to next topic!!

BTW I received my RMA authorization from PNY for my video card I've been talking about. I'll send it out tomorrow or maybe even today if I can break free. Yep tomorrow....

 

The Armor would be the first high quality thermaltake case I've come across - judging from the pictures that is actually the case (NPI), but as a general rule Gm is right, Thermaltake cases are nasty.

 

Well I have only had one Thermaltake case and it's the Armor. Honeslty, I wouldn't pick any CM case over this case when it has the 25cm fan.

 

With most cases due to poor design choices, large side fans are actually detrimental to temperatures. The Armor only makes use of them because the case is so lacking in airflow in normal use compared to the other designs.

 

How is the airflow bad in this case?

 

Sorry didn't mean to start a debate over cases. lol. Please keep it civil tho, as you seem to be doing.

Maybe the Armor is a well built case but the one that I'm looking at is NOT. The material is very thin and flimsy, the "tool-less" design for the ODD's is very lacking and difficult to install. The HDD "box" is ok but you have to remove the ENTIRE "box" to access the HDD's. ON top of that the HDD's are NOT "tool-less" in design, you have to screw the drives to the "box". I already posted some other negatives! Did you read them yet??

I could go on but it doesn't seem to be of any use. Simply put the case doesn't fit my needs and therefore isn't what I needed. I'll ship it back tomorrow or Monday. It seems my week has just gotten longer at work.

...gm

 

Seems like the Armor series is the only good cases they made. Oh well, I am just happy mine is good and it was pretty cheap.

 

All of those are reasons why I side with you on the debate against Thermaltake cases IN GENERAL, though neither of us have tried the Armor, and compared to the other Tt cases, the Armor is significantly better, I can see that. As for the comment about the airflow, as I understand it the Armor comes with two 120mm fans and two 92mm fans in a front rear top rear config, if you have the version minus the 25cm side fan. This is comparable to most higher-end cases but with the exception that they do have side fans, and believe me, the side fan makes a big difference in a lot of scenarios.

The Antec 900, for example has a 20cm top fan, and two front 120s as standard. It doesn't include a side fan but the vent is sufficiently designed to allow however much airflow is required based on the pressure difference, and the results are plain to see. I like the 900 less than I do the Armor for stupid design choices and non-existant silencing technologies but airflow wise, it's high up the scale.

The Lexa and Lexa Blackline cases I use have a pair of 120s and a pair of 80s, the second 80 of which is not supplied. The fact that a side 120 is provided, however, more than makes up for this.

The Coolermaster RC-690 is probably what I'd be recommending on the airflow front right now. Not only is it half the price of the Armor (disconsidering rebates), but it comes with a standard complement of three 120mm fans offering a better airflow/noise ratio and has space for two big 14cm fans on the top.

The Armor isn't really a very good case for airflow by comparison without the 25cm side fan. With it, however, it's a well-cooled case. As to how well it's built, you'll have to remain the judge. Let's just hope it's better than all the other Thermaltakes out there.

Just had a look at a review of the Armor, and while the outside seems less tacky than the Soprano/Tsunami/Mambo etc, the hard disk cage looks very cheap and naff. The tool-less PCI bracket system is still there, and that's not particularly nice. Having a storage tray in a 5.25" bay is neat though, I'll give them that.


I'll also use this opportunity to mention that Thermaltake fans are bunk. The 2000rpm Thunderblade I had pushed as much air as an Antec tricool on Medium, which in turn pushes barely more air than an SFF21E, let alone an SFF21F...


As for your comment about cheap, the Armor was cheap for you, doesn't necesarily mean it's cheap for everyone else. Unless the deal is replicable, you need to review a case based on how much it *should* cost. Over here the Armor is £100 plus. The RC-690 isn't even £50...

 

I'm just saying it was cheap for me so I'm happy with it.

 

Nonetheless though Abuzar, on several occasions you've recommended people products based on the price you paid, not what the price is for the average joe. Remember that before you yell about how 'amazing' things are.

 

ok boys. lets get along. I know abuzar really likes his TT armor and sam likes his NXZT cases. all that matters is that you both like what you have. I've seen abuzar bash all aluminum cases but also realize that he has never had a quality all aluminum case so therefor I just overlooked his bashing alltogather. all aluminum is all I will ever own again (GM is sold on quality all aluminum cases too now that he has owned one).

on the other hand, I really like my cm stacker 830 evo but I only paid $110 w/ free shipping. I doubt I would recommend it at full retail price ($250) and no free shipping. as with most cases it has it's pros and cons.

pros: sturdy all aluminum contruction, great ventilation, modular mobo tray, both side panels are tool-less, removable multi-purpose side fan panel (can hold up to 4 120mm fans), can house up to 8 case fans, roomy, 6 5.25 or 3.5 bays, multi directional (removable) front door.

cons: big, although all aluminum construction, it is still heavy when fully loaded, to add more than 4 hdd's or another front 120mm fan you have to buy an additional 4 in 3 device module, hdd mounting is not tool-less, only comes with 2 120mm case fans.

 

yup the CM RC-690 is a sweet case. but when loaded with 5 ODD 5HDD big Cooler and 7 fans(wink wink) it will be as heavy as a yugo..lol

gonna have my 2 side panels custom painted with metalic silver paint.

on another note. i havent seen many people talking about this mobo. anyone heard anything about it or know first hand about it??
GA-EP35-DS3P

 

All case manufacturers have good and some not so good cases for a variety of reasons. I'm chapped at cooler Master for discontinuing my cavalier case and then not offering anything like it. Every other case with a door either opens like the Mystique or are not reversible and opens from right to left which is not what I want or need. The Mystique has a full length contraption of a door that's the full height of the case, and while I don't know for sure, it looks to be a bit fragile and easy to break. I don't want to have to re-arrange my desktop, so I won't buy one. It just won't work for me. The Cavalier has a door latch mechanism second to none that won't break your optical drive if it ejects the tray with the door closed, as almost all others will. That's an ugly sound hearing the teeth and gears being chewed up because the poorly designed door latches won't allow the door to open on it's own from the push of the tray. No mechanical latch on the Cavalier, just 4 simple tiny magnets that allow it to open extremely easy, yet never rattles and closes snug!

As far as 25CM fans go, Xclio has a couple of models with 2 25CM fans with enough airflow to rip the fillings out of your teeth and they cool very poorly. It's all a question of where the airflow goes inside the case. You also have to remember that one fan's airfow can and does interfere with the airflow of the others in some ways, and it takes some fooling around with the fan speeds and direction to find what's best for your particular setup.

Hardware differences have a huge impact on cooling as well. The location of the CPU socket, NB, Video card slots and memory are not all the same on every motherboard. That's why the AMD cools so well as the Freezer 64 exhausts right almost dead center into the rear 92mm case fan, so it cools extremely well and only has the one case fan. Outstanding for a Mini Tower. That doesn't mean that if I switched to another MB that it would cool just as well. I just lucked out! LOL!! What size and type of CPU cooler matters too, as some are so huge that they actually interfere with other aspects of the case cooling. The trick is getting good airflow to all of these components, and eliminating dead air pockets. That's why we see cases with huge numbers of fans because some work fine with just 2 or three fans and others do poorly with 6 or 7! A lot of Window cases suck at cooling mainly because they often don't include any static venting. What suffers the most in that situation, the Video card and NB! It's always like trying to put a puzzle together with a couple of pieces missing! LOL!! I firmly believe that there should be some standard for the location of MB socket, NB, memory, Video card slots and to a degree the SB on motherboards. If there was a standard that everyone followed, case ventilation would improve tremendously! The way it is now with stuff being in different locations makes it just as hard for the manufacturers as it is for us as they have to make compromises to try and cover them all with the same model case! The way it is now maybe someone needs to invent Gooseneck fans that can be swiveled and moved a bit just to get some airflow to the right places and plug into sockets on the MB. Then we might not have so many cooling issues.

Best Regards,
Russ

 

@Russ and anyone else with the GA-P35-DS3R

there is a F12 beta bios that is out.
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/Motherboard/BIOS_DownloadFile.aspx?FileType=BIOS&FileID=13516

ive been talking with gigabyte and they told me to try this bios.

PS.
Russ you get my pm?

 

I am an unashamed fan of NZXT it's true, but I'm certainly open to other brands too - I probably recommend more coolermaster cases to people than NZXTs...
Theone: The NZXT Case doors open left to right... tease tease.