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Matthias K.

Matthias K.

Joined on 03/23/11

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 6
Most Favorable Review

good performance case

Corsair Carbide Series 500R Arctic White Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Gaming Case
Corsair Carbide Series 500R Arctic White Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Gaming Case

Pros: Lots of space for all your components, plenty of drives, even up to 3 GPUs (full length performance GPUs no problem). Lots of fan mounts, dedicated space for double radiator. decent stock fans, very quiet for a performance case.

Cons: You really need to think about your airflow. If you're serious about performance and you install a double radiator like the h100, the only space to mount that beast is in the top shelf ... for optimal CPU cooling you need to mount its fans as intake fans (otherwise you're trying to cool your CPU with hot GPU air)... but the top shelf is the natural place for exhaust (simple physics: hot air rises). So that only leaves you with one exhaust in back which is hopelessly underpowered against the 3 stock intake fans (one of them being a 200mm with 90cfm). If you use more than one GPU, heat mgmt and airflow issues will arise. I suggest upgrading the back exhaust (e.g. 140mm PWM BItFenix with 120cfm) and go from there. This is a really big case for a mid.

10/19/2013
Most Critical Review

appears to be a pro card, is not

GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UP5 TH LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with Dual Thunderbolt
GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UP5 TH LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with Dual Thunderbolt

Pros: lots of connectors, but physical architecture prevents usage of all of them.

Cons: despite being advertised, it is impossible to mount a 3rd graphics card that takes 2 slot because the board connectors are immediately below the 3rd PCi Express slot. On removing the 2nd gfx card from its slot, the cheap plastic on the rear of the slot broke, including a very flimsy metal connector on the very back of the slot. Card in that slot no longer works.

12/13/2013

great mini ITX board

GIGABYTE GA-H61N-USB3 LGA 1155 Intel H61 HDMI USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-H61N-USB3 LGA 1155 Intel H61 HDMI USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard

Pros: this is a great pick for a mini ITX board if you want to build a HTPC or a Hackintosh mini (recommended by TonyMac86).

Cons: none really

10/19/2013

solid HTPC case

APEX MI Series MI-008 Black Steel Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case 250W Power Supply
APEX MI Series MI-008 Black Steel Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case 250W Power Supply

Pros: This case is a good choice for a HTPC or a small workstation without dedicated GPU. With included PSU the price make this a really attractive offer. Good choice for a mini-ITX system.

Cons: As so many others have written, the PSU and CPU fans are directly opposed which makes this a heat nightmare for all components (plus not all CPU fans will fit). Expect your drives top 40c, an i3 idles around 50c ... unacceptable. This case has no fan mounts but with some ingenuity you can fit 2x 120mm fans (one left next to the drives, one right in the vertical HD slot) which lowers your temps by 15+ degrees centigrade. Otherwise your HDs will die. Even low rpm fans will do, so you can still use it as HTPC without too much noise ... you just need to establish airflow. Theoretically you can fit a dedicated GPU, but you'd loose all hope of managing your airflow. For the same reason don't mount it vertically ... you loose half your openings. This also goes for the vertical HDD slot, but an intake fan here instead.

10/19/2013

best cpu cooler

CORSAIR Hydro Series H100i Extreme Performance Water/Liquid CPU Cooler. 240mm
CORSAIR Hydro Series H100i Extreme Performance Water/Liquid CPU Cooler. 240mm

Pros: if you're overclocking and running high cpu load, this is the best cpu cooler you can get. never breaking 40c with my 3770k.

Cons: this beast needs a lot of space and not all cases are made equal. you will want to measure the case in question. installation can also be tricky depending on case and/or mobo.

Overall Review: If you don't overclock your CPU, the h100 is overkill.

10/19/2013

solid quiet case

Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply
Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply

Pros: This case is a solid choice if you want to build a small server or a non-performance workstation. It is really quiet by the overall design as well as little details like the rubber hard drive mounts. Lots of space for drives. The integrated PSU will cover everything you'll mount (with the exception listed under con)

Cons: if your rig builds a lot of heat, it gets very difficult to get the heat out of the case. There is really only space for one exhaust fan (where you have to mount your radiator if you use one) ... there is one more mount for an intake fan, but it's not up front but behind the 3,5" mounts (not sure what they were thinking), so getting cool air is not that easy. Plus if you have a high end GPU, it will take the whole length of the slot and prevent you from using that fan mount.

Overall Review: If you're not looking to build a performance rig, this is a perfect case.

10/19/2013