Windows 7: Time to upgrade my case

Maguscreed · 25 Sep 2012

I have this
OutletPC.com - NZXT Phantom Black ATX Full Tower PC Case

I haven't been this happy with a case since I got my old silverstone tj 07 which I still have and use for my other machine. I simply got this one because it's slightly more up to date and has spaces and attach points in it specifically for adding liquid cooling if you choose to do so later. My only real complaint about this case is that the 220mm fan on the side panel has to be purchased separately.

Anyhow here's a couple of pics from my smartphone back when I built it.
Sorry for the quality the flash on my phone is way over the top.
Have made changes to the graphics and ram since this was taken too, but you get the idea.
And to put things in perspective I am generally horrible with cable management.

Wordsworth · 25 Sep 2012

Quote: Originally Posted by TanyaC

Quote: Originally Posted by kbrady1979

Take a look at the Antec Eleven Hundred and the Antec P280. Removable dust filters under PSU and front intake, GOBS of room and the P280 is a quiet design case. The Eleven Hundred is $100US on Newegg and the P280 is $119US, I think.

Thanks for the suggestions. The P280 is not what I was looking for. The Antec 1100 I believe has similar design issues as the 900 which were the catalyst for the original decision to change.

Anyhoo.. I now have the HAF 932 up and running. It'q quote sad when I get to build a system and it works first shot..

Well, almost. One of the Noctua CPU fans won't respond to the speed controls. The ASRock tuning facility has one slider for both CPU fans, and CPU Fan 2 slows down, but not CPU Fan 1. It's still chugging away at 1870 RPM, whilst I have all others down under 1000.

Noise wise, it's a little louder than the Antec, but it may be because of this single fan. it's running around 3 degrees celcius cooler. I have so much spare space inside. I'll have to find something to fill it up

How do you have the Noctua CPU fans connected to the motherboard? You may have two CPU fans running at 1870 which would sound loud.

I have the wires from both fans connected to one motherboard header and so it acts like one fan and shows one in AIDA64 at around 1300 RPM, the middle setting in the BIOS which is where I have to set it. I don't have any utility installed to try adjusting the speeds in software and with one connection the software would still treat both fans as one anyway.

TanyaC · 25 Sep 2012

Quote: Originally Posted by Wordsworth

How do you have the Noctua CPU fans connected to the motherboard? You may have two CPU fans running at 1870 which would sound loud.

The ASRock Extreme 6 has two CPU fan headers. Each of the fans is connected to its own header. In the BIOS, and the ASRock tuning utility both have a single setting that controls both fans simultaneously. There is no way to independently control each CPU fan. I would have to move one of the CPU fans to a different header, but I ran out. The mobo has a total of 6, and they are all used.

But I have found a way. I have ordered a Lamptron Touch, which controls up to 6 fans independently, which I'm about to go and pick up.

Once I have everything installed I'll post some pics.

The one thing that is troublesome, is that the CPU fans run faster than the top fan, so they are blowing heat up that must surely being reflected back into the case.

I can't orient the CPU cooler front to back (The rear fan spins at 1100rpm, closer to the CPU fans), because the G-Skill memory profile is too high.

Wordsworth · 26 Sep 2012

With two CPU fan headers it's too bad ASRock didn't provide the software to independently control the fans, but you've a solution so all's well there. Perhaps you can hook the top fan to the new controller you're getting also and set its speed up to take any warm air out from the faster fans below. If the cable is long enough and you can manage it well to tuck it away.

Looking forward to the pics.

TanyaC · 26 Sep 2012

Quote: Originally Posted by Wordsworth

With two CPU fan headers it's too bad ASRock didn't provide the software to independently control the fans, but you've a solution so all's well there. Perhaps you can hook the top fan to the new controller you're getting also and set its speed up to take any warm air out from the faster fans below. If the cable is long enough and you can manage it well to tuck it away.

Looking forward to the pics.

I'll post the pics tomorrow. I've got the PC up and running. All six fans are connected to the touch controller. Plenty of length in the cables.

The CPU fans have to stay around the 1000 rpm to keep temp at 30c. The 230mm fans won't go over 700rpm at 12v. The rear fan is at 1000rpm. The only way I'm going to be able to change the cpu cooler around is to remove the heat spreaders from the memory sticks. But they are running at 2133 mhz so that might not be a good idea.

I'll start looking around for a cooler that fits within the 170mm height constraints of this case, and that has a higher profile that will fit over the memory.

Heat's not really a problem with this machine.. I'm just a damned perfectionist

linnemeyerhere · 26 Sep 2012

I would change out the current cooler for a H80 Corsair sealed water cooler and then upgrade to premium Corsair or other fans.....believe me you'll thank me. It will clean up the look and up the cooler performance all the while quieting your rig.

TanyaC · 27 Sep 2012

Quote: Originally Posted by linnemeyerhere

I would change out the current cooler for a H80 Corsair sealed water cooler and then upgrade to premium Corsair or other fans.....believe me you'll thank me. It will clean up the look and up the cooler performance all the while quieting your rig.

I've upgraded the case, so this thread is essentially resolved

However, I did take your advice and purchased a Corsair H100 liquid cooler.

I'm going to start a new thread for that because it it not working right.

Tanya

TanyaC · 27 Sep 2012

Quote: Originally Posted by Wordsworth

Looking forward to the pics.

Pics are here ... Show Us Your Rig [4]

linnemeyerhere · 27 Sep 2012

Tanya, have you been able to sort out the cooling on the H100? When you snugged the pumps plate down on the CPU did you tighten each side evenly and slowly. I also have found that the stock paste is a good paste but when you remove clean and apply a premium paste and after several on off cycles and heat it will spread and perform even better.

TanyaC · 27 Sep 2012

Sort of. The System is now running at the same temps as with the Noctua Cooler, but with more air flow space. The fans speeds are set low to keep the noise down, and it's fairly close to what I had with the Antec/Noctua combination.

I removed the pump and reseated it and did the screws again, in diagonal fashion as recommended. I'm pretty satisfied that it's correct.

The only bad thing with the HAF is the CPU cutout is too small and too high. I had to remove my motherboard to fit the bracket for the cooler.

lol, also had to rearrange my bedroom. The HAF doesn't fit in my desk cavity, so it's now on the side of my desk, which meant moving my entertainment stuff around..

Windows 7: Time to upgrade my case

Time to upgrade my case problems?