replacing antec p180, need help choosing a lian li

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rfadream

Limp Gawd
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Feb 26, 2006
Messages
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i recently started going to LAN parties for the first time and i realized how friggin heavy the p180 is. 30lbs empty?!

and i've narrowed it down to these 2 groups, the PC-V1xxxB's and the PC-A0xB's



these are the things i'm looking for in order of priority

1. portable and compatible with this case carry bag http://www.xoxide.com/sunbeam-lan-party-bag-black.html (has anyone used this bags on any of these cases?)
2. good cooling (will be using all scythe s-flex hi speed 1600rpm fans with sunbeam rheobus fan controller)
3. quiet while using all scythe s-flex case fans with sunbeam rheobus fan controller. (i gotta sleep next to this so i'd prefer no rattling or vibration noises from hdd and whatnot)

i will be running the rig in my sig.
i'd appreciate any input about your experiences with these cases.
 
A05B is a good case if you have a workaround to the heat pocket in the expansion slot area. You can either a) mod it (dremel) with fans or a radgrill and fans, b) buy a PlusII side panel from PPCs.com and the cooling kit, or c) buy a PCI slot cooler.

I liked mine, I modded mine...and ended up selling mine for the case I wanted to begin with...a V1000BW PlusII. ;)

If you want a SMALL LL case, I'd go with a 7B PlusII which uses 120mm fans and has a (upper) mid-case "vent" that I believe you can add an 80mm fan to if you'd like. I would say the 7B PlusII is the best small case LL makes over an A05B (again, if you can't get over the heat pocket).

I love my V1000BW PlusII, but it's definitely a mid tower compared to an A05. I don't know if it would work in that case carry bag; even if it did I would rather put an arm around it and lug it the old fashioned way. :) V1000 IS smaller than a P180; I have no idea what type of rock that Antec was smoking but "super mid tower" on the P18x cases is a hilarious misnomer; those cases are by no means "mid tower". They are definitely a whole lot larger than any "mid tower" that I've ever seen. I did also own a P182 briefly, and I agree with you on the weight...those things are nightmares in the 'bulk' category. I'd estimate a decently loaded one is 50lbs if not more. (mine was probably around that)
 
I actually own two of those cases :
PC-V1000 Plus II - very good case, missing some holes for better cable management behind motherboard tray. It's quiet when you turn fans down, but not silent. It depends on you, but i wouldn't be able to sleep with this computer running (i have 5 fans in it : intake at disks - 12cm Nexus, intake at drive bay - Scythe Kama Bay, outtake at back - 12cm Nexus, CPU fan - 12 Nexus PWM, fan on Accelero S1 - 12cm Nexus). They are all running around 700-900RPM. Beware that there can be some problems with bigger PSU's, which can be solved by removing the divider and one of the HDD cages. I was able to install Corsair HX620 with it's modular cables without removing the divider, but with removing the first HDD cage, but it was a very hard task :).

PC-A09 - internally nearly the same as PC-7B, actually it's same without floppy drive bay and with removable disk cage. I had bad results with this case - vibrations from disks are present everywhere (disks are WD RE series), you can feel the vibrations when you touch case. That wouldn't be so bad, but for unknown reasons i have a deep bass sound coming from that upper tunel. It's not noisy, but that sound disturbs me a lot. Put drives into some silencer box and you are probably fine. There is only a minor size difference between two, it's actually only the wheels on PC-V1000 which make it higher.

For other cases :
PC-V1200 - i think i can say same for this case as for PC-V1000, it's just a little bit longer.
 
how come both of you guys chose the v1000 over the v1200?
was it just the price at the time you bought it?

cuz right now i could get the 1200 for pretty much the same cost of a 1000.
is there any drawback or reason to go with the v1000 besides cost?

also check out this picture of the v1000 with the window mod
http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/directron_1992_52021757

they've cut out that vent and intake fan on the side/back/top.
how important is that aspect of the case?
 
Ive got the v1200 and its a kick ass case. Its longer to acomindate longer psus and i think it made it easier to water cool mine.

Theres no way the case is 19lbs. Thing is a feather, especially with the side panels off.
 
i've been reading up on neweggs customer reviews for the v1200.

some are saying that you cant replace the side intake fan with another 120mm fan.
and that you also cant reverse the fan to be an intake. is that true?

also i have a asus p5b deluxe wifi + e6400 + scythe ninja rev b, i've heard that some aftermarket cpu coolers cannot work with the v1000, v1200.
anyone know if the scythe ninja, TRUE, tuniq tower 120 work with this case?

can anyone tell me how the v1000, v1200 compares to the p180 in terms of silence and cooling?
 
rfadream said:
i've been reading up on neweggs customer reviews for the v1200.

some are saying that you cant replace the side intake fan with another 120mm fan.
and that you also cant reverse the fan to be an intake. is that true?

also i have a asus p5b deluxe wifi + e6400 + scythe ninja rev b, i've heard that some aftermarket cpu coolers cannot work with the v1000, v1200.
anyone know if the scythe ninja, TRUE, tuniq tower 120 work with this case?

can anyone tell me how the v1000, v1200 compares to the p180 in terms of silence and cooling?
Click to expand...
The true fits sideways but not the way its supposed to but i cant say anything about the tuniq or ninja.

The side intake fan can probally be replaced but it will take work as the thumb screws screw into metal threads witch are in the fan so you would have to pop them out and switch them, or do it the creative way and just double side tape a diff fan to the mesh.

I cant really say about temps but when i switched from a centurion 5 modded with more fans my temps dropped quite a bit switching to the lian li. I cant say so now as im water cooled but if your planning to water cool in the future the v1200 is ur case.

If you want you can wait for the upgrade to get the new one with the standard atx tray so you can fit bigger heatsinks but i perfer the reversed atx so i can see the hot ek water block through the mesh.
 
rfadream said:
how come both of you guys chose the v1000 over the v1200?
was it just the price at the time you bought it?

cuz right now i could get the 1200 for pretty much the same cost of a 1000.
is there any drawback or reason to go with the v1000 besides cost?
Click to expand...

Nearly $50 difference between them here in Slovakia ($410 for v1200 vs $361 for v1000).

rfadream said:
some are saying that you cant replace the side intake fan with another 120mm fan.
and that you also cant reverse the fan to be an intake. is that true?

also i have a asus p5b deluxe wifi + e6400 + scythe ninja rev b, i've heard that some aftermarket cpu coolers cannot work with the v1000, v1200.
anyone know if the scythe ninja, TRUE, tuniq tower 120 work with this case?
Click to expand...

Just one picture as answer to your questions :
p1000231pp1.jpg


It's the TRUE 120 here (so it fits like this, but not on boards with NV chipsets), i have nexus fans everywhere (which means you can replace and of course this means you can also reverse fans).
 
I would second the recommendation for the PC-7 Plus II.

It's the perfect size for the carry case you posted and would easily hold your components. It's super-light and one of the cheapest LL cases, but still great quality. I got mine from Performance-PC's with the window side panel for $99.

DE
 
i've decided to go with the PC-A05B. just love the looks. if a top blowhole is needed i've decided i'll buy my first dremel kit and do it myself.
and since i only have 3 hard drives and don't plan on adding any more the extra room on the v1200 would be wasted on me.
plus for the same price i could buy an A05B + a swiftech cpu water cooling kit.
http://www.petrastechshop.com/swh2cocpulic.html

a05_guts.jpg


user reports he gets temps of 31 Idle / 40 Load on his C2D e6600.
would love to get a setup like that
 
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