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PC Case and General Cooling Concerns


yotsuba_420

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G'day everyone. I just wanted some advice from those of you with computing experience regarding what the best choice is between a set of cases. The cases in question are the:

 

  • Thermaltake Chaser A71
    • This case seems very nice, with 4 200mm fans (3 at the front and 1 on the side panel) and 1 120mm rear fan. However, the 3 fans at the front seem a bit too close to the HDDs, and it also doesn't look like you can move the HDD rack from the front to the back (which would have helped with cooling quite a bit), meaning the 3 front fans might not be too helpful with cooling the rest of the PC. Furthermore, the GPU sits smackbang in the middle of the case and appears to block air ventilation from the bottom of the case to the top of it where the exhaust fans are. This case is currently very unappealing.
  • Thermaltake Core V71
    • Similar to the Chaser, this case has 4 200mm fans, but they're placed more differently than the Chaser, with 2 200mm fans at the front and 2 200mm at the top as well as 3 120mm fans (2 at the bottom and 1 at the rear). You can move the HHD rack around in this case, and as far as I can tell from the pictures on their website, you can place the rack almost anywhere, which means you can move it somewhere where it doesn't block any of the intake or exhaust fans. The GPU still sits smackbang in the middle of the case (Thermaltake really likes their GPU to be nice and central, don't they?) but with the addition of the modular HDD rack, you're able to move the HDDs to somewhere where the air flow can still pass by the GPU. This case looks quite nice indeed.
  • Thermaltake Chaser A71 LCS
    • This is almost exactly the same as the original Chaser A71, but it includes a built-in liquid cooling system - the infamous Bigwater 850 GT - another one of Thermaltake's liquid cooling solutions that has received numerous terrible ratings and reviews due to the fact that it's radiator is made of aluminium ('nuff said). I can't vouch for this cooler since I have no personal experience with it, but I haven't seen a single person say a single good thing about it. The case still has the same problems as the original A71, so it seems this one is the one to avoid at all costs. Keep away.
  • CoolerMaster 690 III
    • The cheapest case on here, and the most normal looking one. Has 1 200mm fan at the front, but you can swap this out for 2 120mm fans. It has a sidepanel that you can swap out for a sidepanel with fan (I'm not sure what type of fan comes in this sidepanel, sorry!). The theme with this case seems to be 120/140mm fans, as it has a space for 2 120mm fans at the top of the case, 1 rear exhasut 120mm fan and space for what looks like 2 120mm fans, meaning all in all this case can possibly hold 7 120mm fans. It has a HDD rack at the front of the case, but you can remove this for more room for your fans or even a water-cooling radiator to maximise cooling efficiency. This case also looks quite nice indeed.

Overall, all of these cases are appealing (except for the Chaser A71 LCS, which everyone has told me includes the Bigwater 850 GT which is apparently garbage) and all have their pros and cons. Currently, my favourite is the Thermaltake Core V71, but the CoolerMaster 690 III also looks very good. If you have any experience or knowledge with any of these cases, please let me know, and tell me which case you think looks the best!

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My older brother and I modified his Dell XPS 410 a while back. Short version, customizing it bent the casing.

 

Here is what Computer I'm talking about. NOTE: This is what the stock model looks like, not our customized version.

 

xps-410-gzv-800.jpg

 

 

Long version We put the Samsung 840 EVO 250 GB SSD, 7 Custom Blue LED Fans, a new PowerSupply, a Blu-Ray Drive, a new Graphics and Sound card, 8 GB of more RAM, and some other things I can't remember right now. We also did a fresh install of Windows 8.1 64 bit. The problem was all these things are not meant to be put on this old of a computer. It was not designed for them, and Dell uses proprietary components. So the case is kinda sticking out and warped on the left side. Not to bad, but it is noticeable. 

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