meh, get some cheap(er) placstic and pay about the same to have it machined into something decent, and get a decent PSU which won't ultimately fry your machine (it may be efficient but it still fluctuates like there's not future for it)
Bluephoenix, I have no fluctuation problems with the PSU. I have not measured it, but I do trust the manufacturer's claims of conformance to the 80plus standard.
I have recommended the case to 2 students of mine (4 months ago) and they have reported zero problems. In fact they are both amazed at how silent it is.
I'm just shocked you'd choose to watercool and spend money on such a nasty feeling and plastic case, despite other problems. If I had the cash to watercool I'd be looking to do it a much better case. A Cosmos or a Stacker for instance.
"Nasty feeling" and most of your review is purely a point of view. But noise, power efficiency and temperatures are not. You didn't measure noise and power efficiency (statements like "quiet, but" or "we had a PSU engineer in last week and he laughed at it" are not substitutes for measurements).
You did measure temperatures though.
Specifically you found that at 22 degrees ambient the CPU stresses up to 60 degrees. On the Cosmos case that you recommend here, at 23 degrees ambient, the CPU stresses up to 45 degrees. That's a delta of 16 degrees in favor of the Cosmos.
But to measure a delta of 16 degrees on an *actively* cooled component is impossible, unless one blocks all air vents in a case. Or unless one is mistaken.
It's interesting how, when I read a bad review on a component I know and have tested extensively, it enables me to judge not the component - but the reviewer.
I have used two of the previous model of these cases (with 370W 85%+ efficient PSU) for two years with zero issues. They are still in daily use, one in a studio, one in a front room. I know from personal experience that almost all the comments of the reviewer are poorly informed or based in simple ignorance, this either technical, practical or thermo-dynamic.
It makes me doubt the authenticity of the site as a whole.
It annoyed me enough to sign up just to be able to post this comment.
Now, farewell. I'll look for somewhere where I can respect the reviews.
Comments 26 to 32 of 32
this is taken 5 months ago, before I decided to go with the 2x90 radiator.
I have recommended the case to 2 students of mine (4 months ago) and they have reported zero problems. In fact they are both amazed at how silent it is.
You did measure temperatures though.
Specifically you found that at 22 degrees ambient the CPU stresses up to 60 degrees. On the Cosmos case that you recommend here, at 23 degrees ambient, the CPU stresses up to 45 degrees. That's a delta of 16 degrees in favor of the Cosmos.
Such a variation of temperatures is very difficult to achieve on passively cooled components; for example, this comparison http://www.anandtech.com/casecooling/showdoc.aspx?i=2336&p=18 shows how small the variations can be.
But to measure a delta of 16 degrees on an *actively* cooled component is impossible, unless one blocks all air vents in a case. Or unless one is mistaken.
I have used two of the previous model of these cases (with 370W 85%+ efficient PSU) for two years with zero issues. They are still in daily use, one in a studio, one in a front room. I know from personal experience that almost all the comments of the reviewer are poorly informed or based in simple ignorance, this either technical, practical or thermo-dynamic.
It makes me doubt the authenticity of the site as a whole.
It annoyed me enough to sign up just to be able to post this comment.
Now, farewell. I'll look for somewhere where I can respect the reviews.