I think I need a full-tower...

[Rob Williams]

So, I'm thinking I might be needing a full-tower sooner than later. Internet is conking out a lot, and I almost wonder if it's due to the discrete card overheating! (Might not be, but the inside of this chassis gets warm, that's for sure).



I don't particularly care for huge chassis, but I'm starting to think I have no choice!

Yes, I do need to clean this sucker out more often.

 

[DarkStarr]

Get a HAF X they are awesome. Then get an XSPC D5 Res, a D5 pump, a FC block for the 5970 and a CPU block, oh and a SR1 or any other decent 360 rad and another 230 mm fan to put up top. Run the top fans as exhaust for the rad and the front and side as intake. The temps ought to be pretty dang good, and you could always add a few fans pushing on the side of the rad inside if not. No really though get a HAF X.

 

[Rob Williams]

Get a HAF X they are awesome. Then get an XSPC D5 Res, a D5 pump, a FC block for the 5970 and a CPU block, oh and a SR1 or any other decent 360 rad and another 230 mm fan to put up top. Run the top fans as exhaust for the rad and the front and side as intake. The temps ought to be pretty dang good, and you could always add a few fans pushing on the side of the rad inside if not. No really though get a HAF X.

LOL, specific much?

A HAF X might be a good choice. I do use one for our GPU bench PC and like it. Odd thing with me though is I don't tend to ever actually look at the chassis I am building with, so I will look it over later and see if it'd fit the bill for a personal rig.

Corsair's chassis tempt me also though... I tend to go for a cleaner look over a gamer-esque one if I can help it. But with so much crap stuffed into this thing, good airflow is king.

 

[Psi*]

LOL ... ... tell what you really think DarkStarr

I would be interested in what you end up with & more how you get there.

 

[Optix]

Ahem...

http://www.fractal-design.com/?view=product&category=2&prod=54

 

[Doomsday]

Ahem...

http://www.fractal-design.com/?view=product&category=2&prod=54

Sweeeeeett!!

 

[THUMPer]

corsair obsidian.

 

[DarkStarr]

The Corsair 800D is really nice but its a bit expensive and it (AFAIK) is not the best (or very good at all) with air cooling. Any I have seen online were bought to do watercooling.

 

[Greg King]

Obsidian... though I can speak for the Fractal case. They make good gear.

 

[Optix]

http://www.peteredge.orconhosting.net.nz/casefan.html

 

[DarkStarr]

Bah forget the puny 80mm fans those are just so 2000. No go with MASSIVE 230mm fans!!! use 3 on the top and bottom 4 on each side and another 3 on the front and back for a total of 20! but at 110CFM each, thats no laughing matter, that's 2,200CFM flying around, you better tie everything down

 

[Optix]

I'd ride it to work...after I find a reeeeeeeeeeally long extension cord.

 

[Rob Williams]

So, after thinking about it for not long at all (there's not much thinking required in this 'case'), I've decided to go with Corsair's Obsidian 800D. This chassis has impressed me ever since I first saw it at Computex 2009, and it's about time I own one. I just re-built our CPU/motherboard testing machine with the 700D, and it convinced me that yes, I want an 800D for my main PC.

This all leads me to a couple of questions

Even though I have seen the 800D before, I can't remember it in and out, and since there are a couple of changes from the 700D, I can't go entirely off of that, either. Corsair's site states that both the 700D and 800D supported 3x 140mm (included) and 4x 120mm (not included), though for the life of me I can't spot where on earth the 4th 120mm location is. There are three up top, but after looking all over the 700D, I'm clueless. Unless Corsair is counting the 4th spot as where the back 140mm is pre-installed... which might be the case.

I'll be upgrading from the Intel stock 980X cooler to Corsair's H60, so the back 140mm will be replaced with the 120mm unit that comes with the cooler, but I am wondering about the fans up top... which 120mm models should I be looking at? I am looking for a perfect blend of good performance and modest noise levels, but I do suspect there will be the occasion when I want to crank fans up in order to handle an overclock (no more than 4.0GHz) when I am doing things like encoding videos.

Are there any other airflow considerations that I should bear in mind? Virtually the only thing I am not fond of with this chassis is that there is no room for a front fan, so that cool air could be sucked in from the front. But in the configuration I am thinking of, the H60 would suck air into the chassis and across the rad, and then the top three fans would do an ample job of getting rid of that warm air.

Suggestions and thoughts are welcome!

 

[Psi*]

Hmmm, I don't like how things are compartmentalized internally ... because of WC routing & even air flow. This Lian Li is very roomy & would be easy to work in. I wish I had 4 of those babies! But, grief $500 ... I will stick with the old beige boxes for a bit longer.

 

[Rob Williams]

I admit that water-cooling is just not a concern of mine, and though I think it'd be neat to have a good setup going, I just don't have the ambition. Every time I hear about people and their water-cooling, they talk about all of the different things they had to try in order to achieve maximum efficiency, including different parts and liquids, and to be honest, that tweaking doesn't interest me at all. I just want a well-built rig with a liquid-cooled all-in-one CPU cooler that I can overclock to 4GHz and forget about. I love the no-effort route

That's not to say I wouldn't consider water-cooling in the future, because I might, given that I'm not opposed to a multi-GPU setup and a much improved overclock. Judging by Corsair's stock photo though, the WC idea doesn't look too limiting.



As for the Lian Li, I like the extreme airflow that thing offers, but its aesthetics don't come close to the 800D for me.

 

[Psi*]

I do like the cable routing holes to help keep them out of the way. And the 3 140 mm fans

 

[Psi*]

Suddenly it is clear why I hang onto the old beige boxes ... I can't get outside of my comfort zone!!!!

I need guidance ... but I will be argumentative

 

[Psi*]

Sooooo you got an 800D?

I saw this in a Lian Li (slide 15) & it looks pretty appealing ... that m/b pan opening up. It looks like an easy system to work with ... after having just cleaned and vacuumed 4 machines.

 

[Rob Williams]

Sooooo you got an 800D?

I saw this in a Lian Li (slide 15) & it looks pretty appealing ... that m/b pan opening up. It looks like an easy system to work with ... after having just cleaned and vacuumed 4 machines.

Yes, I did end up getting an 800D, and I've been loving it I'll make a brief news post about it tomorrow to talk about my experiences of building with it (also upgraded to an H60 CPU cooler).

Trust me, the 800D is also rather easy to deal with install-wise. The only way it could be easier is if it was way larger (which that Lian Li looks to be). I admit, Lian Li's have never appealed to me, and that one is no different I can see why people would like it, though.

 

[DarkStarr]

The fourth 120mm is on the floor, next to the PSU, several people have setup 120 rads there.