Opinions on the Corsair 380T?

[plundh]

My current rig is housed in a FT02 by recommendation from SPCR, and I am overall real happy with it. It is however really big, really heavy, and a real hassle to carry. Opening the top cover every time I need to access ports is also a bit inconvenient.

I'm ready for something fresh and something smaller, so for my next system upgrade I'm interested in the Corsair 380T. It looks cool, seems practical and has decent cooling potential. I could put in a big 200mm in front and a 120mm in the back. The only part I'm unsure about is noise. I wonder if the mesh side panels will be a step down compared to the FT02. Anyone have experience with this case? My existing system is quiet, and I'm hoping to avoid compromises in this area.

I'm sticking in a i7-6700k with some beefy tower cooler, and most likely a EVGA GTX 980 Ti Hybrid. It's either the Hybrid of the ASUS Strix - which one is quieter?

Any thoughts? Thanks!

[CA_Steve]

Welcome to SPCR.

The components you want to fit in this case won't fit.
- Max CPU cooler height is 150mm. So, most tower coolers won't fit. You could use the Thermalright TRUE Spirit 120M BW Rev A (145mm). Decent performance, but may not cut it if you plan to OC a lot.
- Max gfx card length is 11.4" - noth cards listed are longer.

[plundh]

Thanks,

The EVGA Hybrid is 266.7mm/10.47in according to their website so that should be fine, but you're right that the Strix won't fit, so I guess that settles that dilemma.
And thanks for pointing out the cooler height, I guess I'll have figure out the optimal solution here. I don't really plan to OC much if at all, so the True Sprit looks like a good choice.

The 380T still looks really appeling to me, unless it's considerably noisier than the FT02. I'm really not sure how much the door material influences things.

[CA_Steve]

I haven't come across any comparables for noise. It'll be both noisier and run considerably warmer than the FT02. It's the nature of the beast (cramming considerable wattage and parts in a small enclosure). Looks like it runs hotter than the Fractal Define Node 304.

Haven't seen any reviews of the 980 Ti Hybrid. Depending on pump noise, my guess is louder at idle (no passive mode) than the Strix and possibly similar at load. Upside is cooler temps.

[plundh]

Yeah, you're probably right. In the test you link they suggest the lackluster CPU temps are because the heatsink competes with the case fan in their particular setup, which seems makes sense cause other reviews I found got great cooling results. However, the only comparison I found for noise levels indeed states that it's louder than a comparable case: http://techreport.com/review/26944/cors ... reviewed/4

Unless I find some first-hand accounts of running it real quiet, I guess I'll stick with the trusty old FT02. Too bad, I really like the look and feel of it otherwise. And I guess I'll still go with the 980 Hybrid, since vertical orientation isn't supposed to work well with heatpipes.

Thanks for the advice.

[CA_Steve]

And I guess I'll still go with the 980 Hybrid, since vertical orientation isn't supposed to work well with heatpipes.

Vertical orientation can work well with heatpipes...you just have to be careful of the heatpipe layout. Silverstone has a FAQ on this in their Q&A section. Take a look at Abula's FT05 thread.

[plundh]

Vertical orientation can work well with heatpipes...you just have to be careful of the heatpipe layout. Silverstone has a FAQ on this in their Q&A section. Take a look at Abula's FT05 thread.

Nice! That's a way clearer explanation than the inconsistent reports I've read previously.