Air cooling case

[quiksilver87]

Which custom made case has the best air cooling ??? I am now looking into the thermaltake xaser, which averages around 150$ but has quite an amount of fans in it and some are made of full aluminum. Is it worth it??

I know this is pretty noobish but like, I am a n00b here!!! :stick:

And one last question: has there ever been any overclocking done with Air cooling??

[felix88]

i really like my Lian Li PC60, but it doesn't come with a PSU. i believe Chenbro cases have very good airflow, but i think they're expensive. the Tt Xaser cases are basically rebadged Antec cases, and i personally don't like how they look.

as to your last question, yes, people overclock with aircooling. i'm running a XP2500 @ 2.3GHz using my SLK900 and a 67CFM fan.

[quiksilver87]

Yes i agree with the looks on the Tt cases...they do look a bit awkard. But they have lots of space for fans(around seven) and come in aluminum or partly aluminum. This comes for a relatively cheap price. That Lian li case looks pretty nice but it is expensive compared to others and it even doesnt come with a psu.

Btw what is what is the SLK900?(Sounds like some new mercedes or something lol)

[felix88]

yeah, before you buy that Tt case, check out Antec and Chieftec. they sell the same cases as Tt, but with less, uhm, "rice".

the SLK-900 is an all copper heatsink-
http://www.thermalright.com/a_page/main_product_slk900u.htm

[quiksilver87]

How much can you o/c with that heatsink?? Im sure it wont be a lot compared to liquid cooling or vapor.

Look at this case...Is it good for 160$ + 15$ shipping???

http://www.thermaltake.com/products/xaser3/v1000a.htm

[felix88]

i dunno, it really depends on the CPU and the fan you've got. i've got an older XP2500 that does 2.3GHz without too much extra voltage. 1.83GHz is stock btw.

[quiksilver87]

Look at this case...Is it good for 160$ + 15$ shipping???

http://www.thermaltake.com/products/xaser3/v1000a.htm

And does it make a lot of difference if the case is aluminum or 1.0mm SECC Steel??

[felix88]

no, the only way an aluminum case would help is if you have HORRABLE airflow. for the most part a steel case is just fine.

you should look at Chieftec (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=BROWSE&manufactory=1502&depa=0) they've got quite a few at newegg. even one with a 450W PSU and it's aluminum. it's basically the same case internally as the Tt you're looking at.

[chr]

get a lian-li pc60 and replace the stock 80mm fans with something beefier

[felix88]

Originally posted by chr
get a lian-li pc60 and replace the stock 80mm fans with something beefier

we've been over that. ;)

[quiksilver87]

yeah ur right....There is a huge price difference...between mine(xaser) and that one(chieftec)...and urs inclues a psu and aluminum and 3 fans. according to the price Do you think there would be a big difference between 7 fans and 3??? I dont think it would be worth the price right??

:confused:

And btw the lian-li pc 60 costs 189$
without the power supply....


http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/cas-03.html:confused: :confused: :confused:

[quiksilver87]

And also tell me what you think of this case

http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/cas-16.html

[quiksilver87]

And also tell me what you think of this case(sorry 4 the trouble)

and this ;)

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-144-007&depa=0

[felix88]

you could always add more fans later if you need them.

and the newegg one looks nice, but it's not much cheaper than the Tt ones you were looking at.

[quiksilver87]

What case do you have??now? Im leaning towards the Aspire case...But is it possible to add more fans to the chieftech case??
( THe ones that you showed me from newegg.com(2nd page 95$))

[felix88]

Originally posted by quiksilver87
What case do you have??now?

Originally posted by felix88
i really like my Lian Li PC60

;)

[quiksilver87]

hahah woooooops

btw i dont think you caught this i think i edited while you were answering

Im leaning towards the Aspire case...But is it possible to add more fans to the chieftech case??
( THe ones that you showed me from newegg.com(2nd page 95$))

[felix88]

this Chieftec? (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-125-224)

it looks like it comes with 2 fans in the back, one in the side, and 2 empty fan mounts up front. thats what it looks like in the pics.

[quiksilver87]

yeah thats what i thought i saw
I found the same aspire case for the same price of the chieftec.....the only difference is that it is 420 W....the more expensive one was 500W(which is too much)

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-144-034&depa=0

[felix88]

that looks like a good one too.

it's really just personal preference, but i wouldn't buy that case due to all the extra stuff it's got goin' on. i guess it just looks too "busy."

[quiksilver87]

lol what extra stuff??? and in ur opinion what case would you get....The Chieftec???

[felix88]

hmm, just all the different colors and lines on the front. thats why i went with a Lian Li PC60. it's got nice clean lines, and no extra junk to clutter up the look.

anyway, i like the Chieftec cases because they are basic. there are also a few nice Antec cases at newegg.

[quiksilver87]

nyahhh...i dont really care about look on a case....that is the last of my concern....i just want cooling.

[felix88]

haha, ok.

all those Antec/Chieftec/Tt/Aspire cases are just about the same airflow wise, and they are all good choices.

[quiksilver87]

yeah but the aspire has 6 fans in it but the chieftec has like 3 and the Tt has like 7....and some arent made of aluminum.Doesnt that make a difference??

I have 2 off topic questions.....

why do people o/c low spped processors like p4 2.4ghz?? rather than a 3.2???does the 2.4 o/c better??

and how much can you o/c a processor with air cooling or a heatsink?? Is it as significant as watercooling?

[felix88]

an aluminum case will not affect cooling a noticeable amount. the extra fans in the Aspire will probably have better airflow than the Chieftec, and almost as good as the Tt.

people overclock low speed processors because they are less expensive and most of the time, they will overclock to nearly the same speeds that the higher speed processors do.

any overclocking depends on quite a few variables. you can get aircooling that cools just about as good as watercooling, but it's going to be pretty noisy. you can also have a watercooling setup that doesn't cool very well because it's not setup right or whatnot. you also have to factor in the fact that CPUs, even ones that are the same speed, will not overclock the same.

[quiksilver87]

... you cant o/c a 3.2 processor to a 4.2(using air cooling)??Some people o/c a 2.4 and get it to a 3.6(from signature i noticed)???How is that??
How much would a cpu fan/heatsink that could do that cost??

[DrunkMonkey]

Originally posted by quiksilver87
... Some people o/c a 2.4 and get it to a 3.6(from signature i noticed)???How is that??


Well, in a line of processors, they'll make a bunch and then test them for performance/ stability at stock voltage. The ones that can scale really high are labeled the 3.2GHz (for instance) and the ones that can't are labeled 2.4GHz (for instance). The thing is people often buy the lower end procs and to accomodate the demand they will sometimes relabel the high clocked procs as low clocked procs. Thats why some low clocked procs can oc like crazy, while others can't (I realize this is extremely simplified but essentially thats how it is).

[quiksilver87]

hmmmmm ok ok.... I get what ur saying

[Rhino]

quiksilver87

It is great to see someone plunge so headstrong into the realm of overclocking. I do think that you should spend a few hours reading through the many discussions in this forum, as well as
others. You will probably find the answers to a lot of you questions in other topics/posts.

Before you decide what cooling products to buy (ie. heatsinks, fans, etc.) You need to figure out what your goal is. Do you want to go Xtreme, or do just want an easy overclock?

The answer to that question will help you answer the next question...will air cooling be enough????

You need to know where you want to go, as well as what noise level you are willing to live with. Extreme air cooling is very noisy, but can be effective, whereas other methods of cooling are more expensive/labour intensive, but are much quieter/cooler.

I'd say pick a goal (ie. 4ghz) and then decide what you need to get you there.

Just remember, each processor type/speed has unique heat issues, so plan accordingly.

Rhino

[jtjuska]

well said rhino, i can't say i am an expert to the field of overclocking, but i know quite a few people that can hit 3.2 even 3.6 GHz with the "same" 2.0 GHz, while mine even with good ram and everything i can do to it won't last more than five minutes at 2.8-3.0 GHz, Hope this example helps!!

[quiksilver87]

Yes rhino i get what ur saying....And after all this talk about noise and stuff with air cooling i really dont want to get into that...I think ill go into water cooling, im looking into voodoo it seem tooooooo expensive with water cooling....so im thinkign of making my own system with water cooling and stuff... Yes i may be jumping too fast but im not gona do anything without complete knowledge about it. If i have a suggestion it doesnt mean im actually gonna do it..It means im looking into it.lol

[Rhino]

Don't get me wrong, if you want a decent overclock with air, and have it quiet, it can be done. I'm running my P4 2.4c @ 3.3, and it's pretty quiet. I have a Zalman 7000CU, 2 80mm stealth and 3 80mm panaflo fans for case cooling. Running @ 33C with two instances of DF running full time. If you were planning higher overclocks, then maybe quiet air cooling isn't an option. Like I said, your overclock goal will often dictate your cooling methods.

Rhino

[quiksilver87]

That is very good rhino....How much can you get with that on a fx-51??

[Rhino]

I will have to defer to someone else regarding cooling for a fx-51.
Have not used an AMD since the K6 days.

Rhino

[Arkangyl]

Surprised nobody mentioned this case;
http://www.mountainmods.com/cases_ufo_brushed.htm

Seems to be the ultimate air machine, just need alot of dough and a few fans..

[quiksilver87]

Dammmm those are a lot of fans on the but look at the price of it!! and they probably make a lot of noise