What case can satisfy my needs?

[granulf]

I've had a Lian Li PC7 for a short year now, which works just fine. But now I got a dual radiator and lots more in it, so it's filling up you can say the least.

Anyhow, I'm on the look for a new case, and it needs to have these features:

-Can fit a triple radiator(3x120mm) with no problems, which means that it can be "hidden" away internally. Right now the dual radiator has to be removed before I can remove the mobo... Not very practical.
-Lots of space to "hang up" hdds and water pump. I will be using some "rubber rings" for that purpose.
-SILENT! That's important :banana: . Dampen vibrations nicely, and perhaps be easy to install some sort of noise reducing material(what ever that may be?).


What would you guys recommend me? I'd like to know my options :) . Also pics of some of yours cases would be appreciated :fact: :toast:

[[XC] moddolicous]

If price is no concern, then something like the silverstone TJ07 or some of the bigger lian li's (V2000, G70, etc) could be perfect. For cheaper you could get the stacker TC01 (what I was originally gonna recommend) or 810. Those two are both nice cases.

[Istasi]

Or the Mountain Mods U2-UFO. You can do anything with that case.

[Shift]

Lian Li G70 sounds perfect.

Check this thread out
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=113409

[Alchemy1]

The MM U2-UFO is a good choice. You can bolt a thermochill rad right up to the fan slots with no mods and you can just drill a few holes to mount your pump and you are set. If you are using a DDC and alphacool top you could even mount the pump in a 3.5" HDD slot. The other cases are good too, but they require some cutting which isn't a bad thing if you don't mind.

[Makubex_GB]

Mountain Mods for you.

[EsaT]

Lian Li G70 sounds perfect.
Check this thread out
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=113409
What I measured same should be possible with Stacker STC-T01 (or 810) which has 11 5.25" bays.
Also inner part of CM's HD rack is rubber dampened from its outer "casing" so depending on noisiness of HDs those might work. (one 4HD rack takes three 5.25" bays)

Actually you could fit three 120mm fan radiator to Stacker without drilling any holes:
http://www.netikka.net/anninajathomas.laine/watercooling.htm
Using same idea you might be able to put also your current dual 120mm fan radiator into Stacker 810 because it has PSU on bottom and two 120mm fans on back.
(with small decrease in effective area, there's little space between fans (http://www.caseking.de/shop/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=29_90_548&products_id=4747))

Then again aluminium is way more easier/softer to work with than steel if you end up modding... but also has its downsides:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=113037

[granulf]

Thanks for replies :)

Hmm, both the G70 and Stacker 810 looks nice. I've already built one computer for a friend with the Stacker, but only with aircooling. I like the idea to have the triple radiator in front, but where do I hang hard drives then? :confused:

The G70 is a bit more expensive, but I could live with it. But I reckon the Stacker would dampen vibrations better? Am I right? The UFO thing really isn't an option :p:

And btw, I am going to mod it for quite a long time before installing any hardware. ;)

EDIT: I have a MCP655 water pump which I'm planning to hang up in some rubber rings I have got, need some space for that too :)


Ohh, and I'm considering this sweet baby too, oh yeah!

http://www.microplex.no/productimages/pc343b/pc343b_org.jpg


Slightly more than the G70, but the thing is huge though :p:

[Shift]

How expensive is that Lian-Li cube case?

It's been around for a while, but I haven't seen any retailers carry it. It might be slightly cheaper than a UFO case.

[Fir3^StorM]

What do you think about the lian-li pc-201?
very good and well constructed case, and you'll have enough space for any WC setup.
http://www.overclockercafe.com/Reviews/cases/Lian_Li_PC-201/pics/1011.JPG
the bottom is great for watercooling
you can put the pump, rad and res down there easily.

[granulf]

How expensive is that Lian-Li cube case?

It's been around for a while, but I haven't seen any retailers carry it. It might be slightly cheaper than a UFO case.

I live in Norway, but directly converted from NOK to USD it would be just over 290$ :stick:
The G70 costs just under 260$, and the stacker at 180$. Not sure what I should buy really... :slapass:
The Lian Li cube is only available in Norway as far as I know, I think it's specially designed for this shop(although not the only e-tailer): http://www.microplex.no/product.aspx?pid=PC343B


Fir3^StorM: Looks fair enough, but frankly I do NOT want to have the radiator in the bottom, it's a vacuum cleaner the way it is now, sucking up lots of dust :p:

[Fir3^StorM]

You can put it anywhere you want.
I just gave an example.

[EsaT]

I've already built one computer for a friend with the Stacker, but only with aircooling. I like the idea to have the triple radiator in front, but where do I hang hard drives then? :confused:CoolerMaster's own HD rack fits still well behind radiator and fan, just scroll those pictures.
http://www.netikka.net/anninajathomas.laine/watercooling.htm
I would keep those racks to be enough for already quiet HDs.
But if you have noisier HDs/want to hang them to rubber strings there should be well enough space for improvising some kind rack to same place.

Here's very good pictures about HD rack:
http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?id=1121&cid=22&pg=6

[granulf]

It's a very noisy hard drive, and I'm fussy about noise... Can't stand it :p:

Ahh, the choices :stick: . The black stacker looks better than the silver though, I like it :)

Btw, would the stacker and a BIGT360 be nice together? I don't know what radiator I should buy either yet...

[Shift]

I would still go with the G70, but that is my choice.

For a radiator, I would go with a Thermchill 120.3 rad.

[granulf]

Ok... I'll think about it :)

But I don't know where I can get thermochill in Norway... I'd have to import from UK or something I think...


Hmm, the black G70 looks bloody nice :D . But wouldn't the stacker be better at dampening noise? I prefer the wheel from the Stacker, but I can live with that

[EsaT]

It's a very noisy hard drive, and I'm fussy about noise... Can't stand it :p:Let me gues, Maxtors?
I've "seen" some Maxtors which keep horrible read/write noise which can be heard to other room with door closed.
(IMO only way for making those quiet would be casting them into chunk of concrete)

Hmm, the black G70 looks bloody nice :D . But wouldn't the stacker be better at dampening noise?Steel is definitely less prone for resonances and such because of lot higher density and higher sturdiness. (but harder steel in quality cases can be pain in the neck in modding)
Side panels of Stacker are aluminium (propably because without that weight would be well over 15kg) but I would still keep them somewhat better than side panels of generic steel cases. Also fitting sound absorption mat to them is quite easy. (I used BeQuiet which fits to whole side panels, some thick mats wouldn't do that)

Side panels are pushed from back to their places but with little modding you don't need to leave much naked surface to side panels back end, that tweaking shows in pics I took around carrying handle mod if you look precisely:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=102550&page=6

[granulf]

No, it's a 320gb pata WD disk... Should be ok when I hang them up in rubber rings though :)

I know steel is horrible to use with dremel in general, but with the stacker I don't think a lot of modding is needed, if any at all? One question:
Do you guys think I could fit this in the front: Triple radiator, the standard USB/sound connection thingy, DVD-rom and a fan controller?

[EsaT]

USB/sound connection thingy is unnecessary.
Stacker has six USB ports, IEE1394/Fireware, mic and headphone/speaker connectors in module with power buttons. (which is actually in twelfth 5.25" bay)


But basing to this pic looks like triple fan radiator leaves just one 5.25" bay free:
http://www.netikka.net/anninajathomas.laine/kuvat/watercooling/08.jpg
It's just that pipe connector part seems to be sticking little over 1cm too far.
So might be that without modding triple fan radiator to inside top of the case (810 would be better for that than STC-T01) fitting those would require some of the more exotic type cases.
(unless there's radiator which would be just enough shorter)

[granulf]

USB/sound connection thingy is unnecessary.
Stacker has six USB ports, IEE1394/Fireware, mic and headphone/speaker connectors in module with power buttons. (which is actually in twelfth 5.25" bay)

Yeah, I know. But you can move it around, or even remove it. That's why I stated I wanted it...

The fan controller doesn't take up much space, I think I could might fit it... I'll figure that out later :p:


Just a little OT question: If I bought a BIX III, does it come with any screws or anything for use with the fans?

[spacemanspliff]

UFO is pretty quiet w/ all those 120mm. U could make a custom soundproofed enclosure for the WC too.

[Shift]

UFO is pretty quiet w/ all those 120mm. U could make a custom soundproofed enclosure for the WC too.

He said this 13 posts above yours:).
The UFO thing really isn't an option :p:

[granulf]

As already stated, the UFO is not an option ^^

I'm still torn between the stacker and the G70 though... How is it to "soundproof" these two cases with some "foam" like material? I'm sure you guys understand :stick:

Not sure what radiator yet, looks like I might end up with a pa 120.3, although I'll have to import it... The G70 looks nice with the radiator in the top though, still got plenty of 5.25" bays I can use :banana:

[Shift]

Both are good cases. But I like the Lian-Li more because it is more balanced. Plenty of hard drives bays and 5.25 drive bays. If you want something cheaper then go for the Stacker.

Sound proofing foam can help the case, but you can always get fan controller to control the speeds of your fans, you can get quiter GPU and CPU coolers, and make sure your hard drives are secure so that they don't make any noise (hard drives hardly make any noice at all).

Here is a link I found about foaming
http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=982

[granulf]

I already got(and wrote it earlier) all the things you said there :p:
Fan controller, water cooling(obviously, why else would I have a radiator??), and hang up the hard drives in rubber rings.

Not sure if I will use foaming though, just a thought...

[EsaT]

Both are good cases. But I like the Lian-Li more because it is more balanced. Plenty of hard drives bays and 5.25 drive bays.Actually Chieftec Bravo (BA)/Mesh (CA) maxitower would be best for balanced (big) amount of both:
http://www.pcgamma.com/showthread.php?t=7471
In Lian-Li practical max amount of HDs for that rack of six would be four for retaining adequate cooling for them. Six densely packed HDs would produce such amount of heat that one, even, 12cm fan wouldn't keep them cool while in Chieftec there's space for 8 HD with cooling (6 with very good cooling) and there's 6 5.25" and 2 3.5" bays externally.
Those new Chieftecs wer one of primary candidates when I searched new case.



Not sure if I will use foaming though, just a thought...I think using absorbting mat with also heavy layer is better.

[granulf]

Lol, I thought the twin towers went away in 2001, turned out it came back as a computer case!? :slobber: I mean, that case is HUGE, way too big for me I think... The stacker looks tiny now :stick:

I'm not going to have many hard drives, only one to start with, may end up with three, but not more.