Not happy with the p180

T

Teecee

Gawd
Joined
May 31, 2005
Messages
948
I just spent the past few hours taking everything out of my p160 case to install it into my p180 case and I must say that I am not happy. My GPU is 15C hotter. My chispet is not at 58ish idle!!! Even my cpu is up a few degrees. I have four 120 mm fans in this case atm. Everything was running much cooler with my P160. Looks like I may go back to it....Nice waste of my time.
 
man i hate to hear this
this case looked so good, and had a great concept behind it

and then i hear "it sucks" basically

im dissapointed :(
 
I'm looking at buying this case tomorrow or tuesday! Surely you are doing something wrong! Is your airflow ok?
 
Specs in sig, my CPU idle temp is about 30c, MB 32c, video card 42c.

I only added one 120mm fan in front of the upper HDD cage and used the other 3 120mm that it came with, all fans are set on medium speeds. The cables take a while to route to clear out the airflow path but there's also plenty of space here and there to hide cables. Overall I think this is a great case but generally take a lot longer than your average case to put together.
 
sakurakana1003 said:
Specs in sig, my CPU idle temp is about 30c, MB 32c, video card 42c.

I only added one 120mm fan in front of the upper HDD cage and used the other 3 120mm that it came with, all fans are set on medium speeds. The cables take a while to route to clear out the airflow path but there's also plenty of space here and there to hide cables. Overall I think this is a great case but generally take a lot longer than your average case to put together.
Click to expand...

*wipes sweat from forehead*

thats good, there's still hope for p180
 
Well for one thng the install is harder because of the location of the PSU. my seasonic 600w doesnt have 30 foot cables so I wasnt able to put some of my cables out of the way like I wanted. I am going to move my hdd to the lower chamber where the PSU is and take out the middle hdd enclosure to allow more airflow from my 120mm fan in the front of the case. Ill get back with you guys. I still have the p160 and as of right now the p160 is the best case i have ever owned.
 
Well after moving the hdd to the lwoer chamber and removing the middle hdd tray. My gpu temps are at 61C idle. Now my CPU is 50C and chipset is 54C with prime95 going. That is better but still not better than my p160. I have the back and top case fans set to M. I have a 120mm fan on my xp120 and a 120mm fan in the front of the case pulling air in. I did remove the GPU air duct because i do not have any fans that are that small.

Anyone know if there are any power cable extensions for the 24 pin PSUs? It is a very snug fit at the moment, and if I had some more length I could take care of some air flow interference. If I cannot fix this soon, back to newegg it goes. I'll just order another p160 cause that thing owns.
 
Teecee said:
Well after moving the hdd to the lwoer chamber and removing the middle hdd tray. My gpu temps are at 61C idle. Now my CPU is 50C and chipset is 54C with prime95 going. That is better but still not better than my p160. I have the back and top case fans set to M. I have a 120mm fan on my xp120 and a 120mm fan in the front of the case pulling air in. I did remove the GPU air duct because i do not have any fans that are that small.

Anyone know if there are any power cable extensions for the 24 pin PSUs? It is a very snug fit at the moment, and if I had some more length I could take care of some air flow interference. If I cannot fix this soon, back to newegg it goes. I'll just order another p160 cause that thing owns.
Click to expand...

Even if you got cables all over the place, those temps are still abnormal. I don't understand why you are getting such high temps either. :confused:

Here's a shot of my configuration if it is any help (stock CPU HSF has been replaced by XP-90C with medium speed panaflow 92mm, was idling at 34c):

 
Teecee said:
If I cannot fix this soon, back to newegg it goes. I'll just order another p160 cause that thing owns.
Click to expand...

They'll charge you a 15% restocking fee, plus whatever shipping costs to return it. I'd be willing to bet you could turn around and sell it on here for more than that. That case is in heavy demand right now, and should be treated like gold.
 
Just to point something out, nothing has been changed in the hardware, right? Just the case. Did you add more fans in? I think you might have too much air going in and that's your problem. You see, a case should always have a few more CFM going out then going in, otherwise hot air gets trapped inside. Check your fan set-up.
 
Mr. K6 said:
Just to point something out, nothing has been changed in the hardware, right? Just the case. Did you add more fans in? I think you might have too much air going in and that's your problem. You see, a case should always have a few more CFM going out then going in, otherwise hot air gets trapped inside. Check your fan set-up.
Click to expand...

I only have a single 120mm fan pulling air in. The other two 120mm case fans are sucking air out. The top and back fans suck air out. The fan in the front I leave at like 800 RPMS. I have a fan controller. 800 RPMS to keep things silent, but I did this in my 160 case too.

No changes. 120mm fan in back, 120mm fan on top, 120mm fan on xp-120, 120mm fan in front. No additional hardware. Idle temps are 32c cpu which is normal and 52c chipset which is a bit warmer than my p160 but the gfx cards are much hotter. 60C when they were 51C in the p160. I do have a zalman 700 I could throw on one of the cards if you guys think it might help.

I need to get some more cable extensions and do some cable management. My main power cable is in front of the fan that is pulling air in from the front and I cannot move it do to the distance from the psu to the plug in my board. Also I do not have the fan in that is i the lower chamber. I couldnt because of my soundcard wouldnt allow me to bring the cables in through that first slot. DFI lan partes built in sound card hits the stock p180 fan in the back. Ill take picks tonight and show you the cable management.

I have also been thinking about going water cooling or one of those nice vaporchill external units. I just cant stand fan noise. I want super quiet, no, I want silent.
 
SarverSystems said:
They'll charge you a 15% restocking fee, plus whatever shipping costs to return it. I'd be willing to bet you could turn around and sell it on here for more than that. That case is in heavy demand right now, and should be treated like gold.
Click to expand...

You can usually finagle them out of the restocking charge if the item your ordering instead of it is of equal or lesser value. Ive returned DOZENS of items to newegg and only payed a restocking fee once, for a CPU.
 
I don't think the case is explaining your high GPU temps. My X800XL (with an Arctic Cooling Silencer ATI 5 Rev. 2) idles at 29 C, even when I lower the fan speed to 30%. While playing the Battlefield 2 Demo, it got to ~42 C.

My setup was:
Replaced all Tricool fans with 120 mm Nexus 'Real Silent' Fans. Thermalright XP-120 with a Tricool on low or medium (this fan is temporary).

Your GPU temps are very hot. Maybe there's something inefficient with the cooler? Maybe get an Arctic Cooling Silencer on that thing...
 
Dillusion said:
You can usually finagle them out of the restocking charge if the item your ordering instead of it is of equal or lesser value. Ive returned DOZENS of items to newegg and only payed a restocking fee once, for a CPU.
Click to expand...


I have ordered about $15,000 worth of stuff in the past month or two from them. I use newegg for work and personal stuff. The restocking fees wont be a prob. I just want to make this case work because it is quiet.
 
jermaink said:
I don't think the case is explaining your high GPU temps. My X800XL (with an Arctic Cooling Silencer ATI 5 Rev. 2) idles at 29 C, even when I lower the fan speed to 30%. While playing the Battlefield 2 Demo, it got to ~42 C.

My setup was:
Replaced all Tricool fans with 120 mm Nexus 'Real Silent' Fans. Thermalright XP-120 with a Tricool on low or medium (this fan is temporary).

Your GPU temps are very hot. Maybe there's something inefficient with the cooler? Maybe get an Arctic Cooling Silencer on that thing...
Click to expand...

Silencers work on 7800gtx SLI? Will they fit? The exact same setup in my p160 was 9 degrees cooler. I will replace the antec fans. Any idea where to buy those nexus ones? Currently I have the Thermaltake A2108 120mm fans
Here. I control them with this .

Do you suggest the nexus fans instead? These are very quiet when i turn them down to 800 RPM and I am happy with them. I could do without the lights though.
 
sakurakana1003 said:
Even if you got cables all over the place, those temps are still abnormal. I don't understand why you are getting such high temps either. :confused:

Here's a shot of my configuration if it is any help (stock CPU HSF has been replaced by XP-90C with medium speed panaflow 92mm, was idling at 34c):

Click to expand...

hey you have a similar setup as i do and imma get a p180 soon. How are the cable length for tthe TP2.0? Is it more than long enough (some slack) or close to the limit? Did you also tape the airholes around the PSU?

and how long did it take you to cable manage that
 
AznAnarchy99 said:
hey you have a similar setup as i do and imma get a p180 soon. How are the cable length for tthe TP2.0? Is it more than long enough (some slack) or close to the limit? Did you also tape the airholes around the PSU?

and how long did it take you to cable manage that
Click to expand...

The power supply cables are more than long enough to manage the P180, after all, they are the same company so it only makes sense.

I'm not sure what airholes you are talking about, sorry.

It took me about 7-8 hours total to put together everything from nothing (I received my motherboard and case first and everything else later so it's probably longer due to me messing around figuring everything out when I got the case.) But keep in mind that I went VERY SLOW on the installation, first reason was because I only slept for 4 hours that night so I had basically no energy at all. Second reason was because I wanted to do a perfect installation so I was extra careful when putting everything together.
 
psu_vents_blocked.jpg


thats the vents im talking about. Another thing, did you use the VGA duct?

And finally, how quiet is the case really? Is it audiable at medium and how audiable is it at loud?
 
my 7800GTX SLI is running 85C with BF2 going. WTF. I never got above 70 with the 160 case. What ya think? Get a couple silencers?
 
AznAnarchy99 said:
psu_vents_blocked.jpg


thats the vents im talking about. Another thing, did you use the VGA duct?

And finally, how quiet is the case really? Is it audiable at medium and how audiable is it at loud?
Click to expand...
yea i have this case too, its definetly silent, but lower case temp just seems harder to achieve. i think lowest i seen is 30c? my old antec case i would get 25c, but this case i get 37c, i need to buy another fan.

at first i blocked the psu side vents, but then i undid it cause i have 4 hd in the bottom chamber and figure heat would leave faster through the vents then going through my psu vent.

i didnt use the vga duct, i dont think many people do, but i bought a zalman 92mm bracket fan to blow air directly at my vid card and it works wonders.

sound wise, medium is still ok, but i kept it all on low, hence my high case temp. on medium the fan are louder than my hd, on low my hd is louder. on high, the fans are unbearable.
 
linjy2 said:
yea i have this case too, its definetly silent, but lower case temp just seems harder to achieve. i think lowest i seen is 30c? my old antec case i would get 25c, but this case i get 37c, i need to buy another fan.

at first i blocked the psu side vents, but then i undid it cause i have 4 hd in the bottom chamber and figure heat would leave faster through the vents then going through my psu vent.

i didnt use the vga duct, i dont think many people do, but i bought a zalman 92mm bracket fan to blow air directly at my vid card and it works wonders.

sound wise, medium is still ok, but i kept it all on low, hence my high case temp. on medium the fan are louder than my hd, on low my hd is louder. on high, the fans are unbearable.
Click to expand...


How much did it lower the temps on yoru video cards? I am thinking of either buying a nexus 80mm fan to install in the gpu air duct and maybe replacing the antec stock fans with some Nexus 120mm silent ones. Also did you add a 120mm fan in the front of the case? I think one of the causes for my higher gpu temps is the wire management. I simply have zero slack in my 24 pin cable. I cannot move it out of the way or anything. And it is directly in the way between the front 120mm fan and my video cards. I just got to get these video card temps down some how.
 
These are my temps...
Air Condition On - 77F in my room
Voltage on CPU set at 1.550V in BIOS

Idle - Fan Speed High (12v)
CPU-24-29C
System-34C
GPU-59C

Load - Fan Speed High (12v)
CPU-36-40C
System-35C
GPU-69C

Idle - Fan Speed Low (5v)
CPU-30-32C
System-36C
GPU-62C

All fan speeds were controlled by my new Sunbeam fan controller. I have all fans hooked up to it.

And here's 2 pics of my setup:
pic1.jpg

pic2.jpg


I'd say something is wrong with your setup, with those temps you are getting. There must be an error somewhere.
 
Very clean install. What PSU is that? I think I need to order a new one with longer cables. I love my seasonic but with this case it is just barely long enough. I noticed your GPU temps are high as well with a 6800 and a zalman 700 on it. Maybe this case just doesnt allow good airflow to the GPU like the 160 does.


ATM my temps

Load with all fans on low
CPU = 52C
Chipsent = 52C
GPU = 68C

Idle with all fans on low
CPU = 34C
Chipset = 52C
GPU = 57C

I added another 120mm fan that is blowing air into my SLI cards and chipset.

Replaced stock fans with what? Nexus? Is that quieter and cooler for you?
 
im coming form 4 tornados, so i think all of those fans on high is a major step down.

i dont know either to get panaflos or blue LEDS.

dynamiks, i saw ur earlier builds, why did you replace the cpu fan (they produce the same amount of noise)
 
Teecee said:
Very clean install. What PSU is that? I think I need to order a new one with longer cables. I love my seasonic but with this case it is just barely long enough. I noticed your GPU temps are high as well with a 6800 and a zalman 700 on it. Maybe this case just doesnt allow good airflow to the GPU like the 160 does.


ATM my temps

Load with all fans on low
CPU = 52C
Chipsent = 52C
GPU = 68C

Idle with all fans on low
CPU = 34C
Chipset = 52C
GPU = 57C

I added another 120mm fan that is blowing air into my SLI cards and chipset.

Replaced stock fans with what? Nexus? Is that quieter and cooler for you?
Click to expand...

My PSU is a Coolermaster Realpower 450. I swapped the blue LED fan inside, for a Yate Loon (orange) since its more quiet, and has no LED's.

My GPU temps aren't that high to me, they dropped alot once I installed the Zalman. I am running overclocked settings of 460/1200Mhz.... If I was running stock speeds, I'm sure the temps would be lower.
 
AznAnarchy99 said:
im coming form 4 tornados, so i think all of those fans on high is a major step down.

i dont know either to get panaflos or blue LEDS.

dynamiks, i saw ur earlier builds, why did you replace the cpu fan (they produce the same amount of noise)
Click to expand...

I replaced the heatsink with this one because I had both of them here at my house. When I first bought this Zalman, I had gotten the one with no LED's, then later on they released the one with the Blue LED and it matched the theme I had with my old Stacker, so I bought one, and I was gonna sell my non-LED 7000b, but I never got around to it, so its just been sitting here. When I got my P180, I decided to get rid of all the LED fans because at night, its really annoying trying to sleep with all those bright LED's shining. If the PC was in another room it wouldn't be a problem, but since I have to sleep with it, I decided to get rid of the LED's.

I even swapped the fan in my Coolermaster Realpower 450, with a Yate Loon (the orange fan) because it is more quiet, and has no LED's.
 
hmm i never thought about sleeping. I was planning to move my computer to my room when i get a p180.
 
i have this case as well and worked great for me.. on load my cpu temps never went above 40c usually stays around 36c gpu would linger in its mid 60c's and case temps are usually no different then my room temp 26c. on idle cpu 30-35c, gpu 42c to help cool off the vga i took off the vga duct and mounted a 92mm fan blowing in towards the gpu fan that lowered about 5c and for my hdds i put them in the lower chamber also instead of using the stock heatsink it would help to invest ~$30 and get a xp90
 
xdkimx said:
i have this case as well and worked great for me.. on load my cpu temps never went above 40c usually stays around 36c gpu would linger in its mid 60c's and case temps are usually no different then my room temp 26c. on idle cpu 30-35c, gpu 42c to help cool off the vga i took off the vga duct and mounted a 92mm fan blowing in towards the gpu fan that lowered about 5c and for my hdds i put them in the lower chamber also instead of using the stock heatsink it would help to invest ~$30 and get a xp90
Click to expand...

Can you post your specs and provide a pic or two?
 
I tried to use the VGA duct but eventually took it out, with only the duct and no fan, my GPU was constantly idling at 46-48c and goes up to 80c under load, the video card fan would start running much faster after a while in game. Then I bought an 80x80x15mm fan since no 25mm fans would fit, running at 2800rpm that thing was way too loud for me, sounded like a little vacuuming machine, dropped GPU idle temp to 40c and load temp down to 70c. After that I gave up hope and just took out the duct completely, surprisingly idle temp only went up 2c and load temp 5c, the video card fan stays at the nice low speed even after playing for hours. Needless to say that was the best solution for me.

The case is quiet, well at least quiet enough to satisfy me, I can barely hear it running when browsing forums in a silent room at early hours in the morning, I'm impressed. My older rig is running with zalman on CPU and silencer on GPU if that tells you how much I hate noise.
 
here are my specs (sry don have n e pics :()

cpu: amd x2 4400 [heatsink/fan: xp90 + vantec tornado @2600rpm]
gpu: xfx oc 490/1300 7800gtx
psu: enermax noisetaker 600w
harddrive: wd raptor + seagate 7200.7

the temps were with the stock antec fans on high but im replacing them with these http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835129030 (still waiting for them to come) :p the reason is because i got one of these for the extra fan on the front they leave as optional and it worked great while the stock ones made rattling noises x_x
 
xdkimx said:
the temps were with the stock antec fans on high but im replacing them with these http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835129030 (still waiting for them to come) :p the reason is because i got one of these for the extra fan on the front they leave as optional and it worked great while the stock ones made rattling noises x_x
Click to expand...
no wonder your case temp was so low, you had it on high. guess it doesnt annoy you much.

Teecee - my x700 pro is 40c at idle with the zalman heatpipe and fan blowing. I dunno my stock idle temp.
 
hehe nope im use to the fan noise since my old comp had a very whiney 80mm cpu fan + i use good earbuds that completely block out the outside noise :p
 
Probably won't work but have you ever thought of blocking the air vent on the side of the case! Maybe the airflow is going straight out the back without flowing to the top of the case!
 
gazza_new said:
Probably won't work but have you ever thought of blocking the air vent on the side of the case! Maybe the airflow is going straight out the back without flowing to the top of the case!
Click to expand...

Are you talking about right above the expansion card slots on the back of the case?
 
Teecee said:
Are you talking about right above the expansion card slots on the back of the case?
Click to expand...

I was thinking of the side vents next to the expansion cards, where the GPU blower goes! Btw, why don't you send a picture of your case and we can see whats up?

You have 2x 24" widescreen LCD's? wow, i'd love to see a picture of them too!
 
As an FYI, you might want to make sure that your intake fan is actually spinning too. I noticed that things seemed a little warmer than expected at first and started checking around, then found out my intake fan wasn't spinning. I had it connected to a fan-only line off the PSU, and turned on the low setting. The combination of thise two things dropped my voltage at the fan enough that it couldn't turn over to start. Flipped the intake fan setting to high, and now the PSU regulates it down to a low setting , keeping it quiet anyway.

As far as temps, I am still letting the system stabilize and upping clocks along the way, but so far my 100% load high has been about 45C. I think I have some shots around that I can post up later if I remember.

Currently:
AMD64 3500+ @ 11x230
Asus A8N-SLI
1 GB (2x512) Corsair XMS4000
BFG 7800GTX
Antec NeoPower 480
Audigy Platinum
Seagate 250GB SATA
NEC 3540A
Lite-On 16x DVD

Oh, and Newegg carries both ATX and 4-pin 12Volt extensions. Or you can order a kit that has both made by Silverstone as well.


 
personally, I don't like the cases with the power supply on the bottom. they look like too much dead air space for my taste. coolest running case I ever owned was a generic with ONE front 80 and ONE rear 80, and that was it. I did cut the grille out for better air flow. Usually ran 25C. My Antec tower runs 37-38 C. Go figure. Next case will have two 120 and maybe a side fan for the GPU. Top blowholes are not necessary really.

just my 2c

:D
 
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