A Positive Look at the Antec Nine Hundred (900) Case

[CyberCrist]

So I found this thread and it's been super helpful. I have a few more questions though :P

I have several of those Military type switches that I want to change the LED from Blue to Red. Any idea how to open these suckers and change the LED. It can be done, they do it here: http://www.frozencpu.com/produ.....html?tl=g4
but I don't want to buy new switches.

Second, when extending fan wires, is it better to use 18AWG or 22AWG wire, or does it matter?

Finally, what's you opinion on fan filters? If using negative pressure within the case to keep it cool, it's going to suck in dust and dirt from the cracks anyway, should I even bother?

Thanks in advance!

[Brian MP5T]

You might have to buy new ones...

Seriously....

The size of the wire depends on the wattage and the length.

I believe that you should run 18 AWG,

I clean my computer with air almost weekly..

Keep your House clean and the computer off the floor..

[javaman]

I just bought one of the cases a week ago and did my first water cooling project. Now after reading this thread, it seems like there is much more to be done with a 900 case. Plus newegg has them on sale for $60 now.

[smsmasters]

What's the best way to reduce the amount of dust in this case? Mine gets dusty inside after a week. I have all fans on high.

[Moe_Szyslak]

What's the best way to reduce the amount of dust in this case? Mine gets dusty inside after a week. I have all fans on high.

Dust filters. However, they do increase resistance which means the airflow slows down.

[Brian MP5T]

You could turn the fans down and clean the environment that the PC is in.

[CyberDruid]

What's the best way to reduce the amount of dust in this case? Mine gets dusty inside after a week. I have all fans on high.

Sell your pets..


JK

I have a double-coated hound and it is impossible. I remove 1/8" pelts from my filters on a 3 day regimen...

[Power5]

I am working on my case now. Wonderful wife got me one for Christmas. Looking to do a bit better with wires than my last case:




I am thinking of putting the HDD on the bottom, and the DVD just above it. Move my Fans up to the top spots. Do they make like a 6" Sata cable? Would be a close run from the board to my single HDD. Wish I had spent the extra couple bucks for a sata DVD drive now, much easier to hide a sata cable than the IDE.

What size hole are you guys cutting for the CPU 8 pin? Also, how are you guys running the front panel wires behind the tray? Do you have a hole in the top right of the tray for that? I was thinking a 1" hole for the CPU power and a 1" hole for the front panel. Only other holes I have cut are a 4.5" for the PSU and a 2" for the power cables. After I cut the last two holes, I can finish painting the inside flat black. Have done the cages already.

[timber715]

Xope_Poquar,
that is a nice mod that you have,,, congrats bro, job very well done...

[Xope_Poquar]

Thanks! I appreciate it. With the nice new airflow I was able to get my Q6600 over 4GHz on air! SuperPi was 12 seconds but it wasn't stable enough for 3dMark. I was able to run that at 3.96GHz though, and scored 14,411 with a measly 8800GTS 640MB!

[Power5]

Alright, got all the metal in the case painted flat black. Now just have to wait till its dry and start reinstalling my parts. Will be glad to put this '98 Compaq Presario 5140 back into hibernation in the basement. Would post some pictures but I obviously dont have Photoshop on this computer to resize the images.

[mad_skills]

Thanks! I appreciate it. With the nice new airflow I was able to get my Q6600 over 4GHz on air! SuperPi was 12 seconds but it wasn't stable enough for 3dMark. I was able to run that at 3.96GHz though, and scored 14,411 with a measly 8800GTS 640MB!

Q6600 at nearly ~4GHz stable on air? That's impressive man , can you keep him on 3.96GHz for everyday use?

[Xope_Poquar]

Maybe if I kept all 3 of my Ultra Kazes on full but each one is 46db (133cfm), and my computer rivals many vacuum cleaners. I still have to lap my heat sink. I've done the IHS but was too lazy to get the Tuniq Tower. Might help lower the temp a degree or two.

[Power5]

How do you mount a fan in the center bracket? The holes provided are not big enough for the screws that came with the fan. Do the screws go through the fan first or through the bracket first?

[Xope_Poquar]

There are no screws required for the inside mounted fan, the brace just snaps in.

[Dawgdoc]

Q6600 at nearly ~4GHz stable on air? That's impressive man , can you keep him on 3.96GHz for everyday use?

I typically bench my Q6600 at 4150 on a P5K premium/TRUE 120, and its stable for ALL tests and benches.

Certainly not stable like that for 24/7 use or P95/orthos yada yada though....

@ 3700 P95 small fft stable for 18 hours, but I typically run 24/7 at 3600 since I can significantly reduce my voltages for 3600 vs 3700.

FWIW......

[Brian MP5T]

There are no screws required for the inside mounted fan, the brace just snaps in.

The rear fan requires screws...
The Door Fan Does Not
The Front Fans Do Not
The Extra Fan Sits in the black plastic and snaps in.

[Moe_Szyslak]

Thanks! I appreciate it. With the nice new airflow I was able to get my Q6600 over 4GHz on air! SuperPi was 12 seconds but it wasn't stable enough for 3dMark. I was able to run that at 3.96GHz though, and scored 14,411 with a measly 8800GTS 640MB!

Temps plz. Can't imagine it's very safe on air. And at what Voltage?

[Brian MP5T]

^^ Agreed, Sounds like GPU CPU Death

[Xope_Poquar]

Temps plz. Can't imagine it's very safe on air. And at what Voltage?

It wasn't exactly Prime stable, but stable enough to bench. Recommend a good temp monitoring program because nTune only monitors my GPU.

CPU voltage: 1.472 (1.5 in BIOS)
PLL: 1.7
FSB: Auto

FSB @ 440MHz

GPU: no voltage changes
Core: 692MHz (stock 513)
Shaders: 1602MHz (stock 1188)
Memory: 1100MHz (stock 792)

The GPU hit 60 degrees once or twice but mostly stayed around 57~58.

Compare link:
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=4281094

[MetalRush]

.........Would post some pictures but I obviously dont have Photoshop on this computer to resize the images.

Pssst... XP powertoys
Take a look at Image Resizer

[Xope_Poquar]

MS Paint can do it...

Image > Stretch/Skew > put in like 50% for both horizontal and vertical.

[iceman51]

Heres a couple of pics of my modd, turned out good and a lot cooler. Replaced all the fans with scythes ( back one has been replaced since pic) way quieter and still good air flow.

[Moe_Szyslak]

Are you sure that that's the best way to position your CPU cooler? Wouldn't it be more efficient when you turn it 90 degrees?

[iceman51]

I'm putting another scythe fan on when it gets here, so it will have the push pull effect, had it the other way but this seem better for some reason. Remember the 900 has a 200mm fan in the top so its pulling the air strait out.