New Mini P180 build

booq · Post by **booq** » Thu Aug 21, 2008 3:22 pm

Hi! I am about to order an Antec Mini P180. Good idea?

A few questions,

Will a full size Ninja fit? (if not just a mini?)

Will the Accelero S1 / S2 card coolers fit?

What are the "must have" things to get for this case?

I started a quest for a silent SFF box, and then moved to HTPC, like the nsk-2480, but now I think that a good all around tower will work, as I can't make up my mind about components. The mini ninja is a must have for the 2480, but what are the crucial things to have / do for the mini p180 ? I have searched, and there does not seem to be very many mini 180s here, (It is also hard to search with terms like "mini" and "180" - popular items, those)

I'm going to buy in hte next 10 hours, based on recommendations here.

Cheers!

bonestonne · Post by **bonestonne** » Thu Aug 21, 2008 5:07 pm

Ninja, yes. Full sized Ninja, yes.

Accelero S1, you may have to remove some plastic, but you should be able to. S2, i would assume so.

Must haves? SlipStream fans. 800RPM? 1200RPM? your choice, but if not those, the S-Flex.

the Mini P180 isn't necessarily the most common case, but its not so scarce as immediately thought.

i would go as far as to say a modular PSU, but you may want something that can open up the front 5.25" bays to allow airflow to pass through. i would suggest blocking the upper fan which is on top, the 220mm, because it will disrupt the airflow. HOWEVER, if your case is going to be near a cabinet where the rear will have obstructed airflow, you need to block off the rear, and make the upper fan the exhaust (as well as position the fan so that it will cool the CPU blowing upwards towards it. fanless is also a possibility.

you need to have unobstructed airflow behind the case, or the PSU will get very hot, ramp up, and will become problematic.

if the case is near a wall, you also need to bind and also condense all the cabling so that it doesn't turn into a rats nest (which will obstruct airflow from the PSU, as it's in the bottom of the case).

booq · Post by **booq** » Thu Aug 21, 2008 6:04 pm

Is the case prone to obstructed airflow? Why open up the 5.25 bays?

I say a post removing front grills, but it seems that specific mods and more importantly (to a new spc'r like me) pictures and "known" setups are not as frequent here. Why? Is this case unpopular for some reason?

This will be my first silent tower build, necessitated by my laptop hdd making that "dying hamster in a wheel" sound. Rushed a backup, decided to build a proper machine, and move away from using laptops for development at home. This laptop has turned into yet another appliance. Dying hdd, loud ear piercing fan.

I don't think I need a huge case like the 182, and the designer / 500 series seems nice, but the mini 180 struck me as a good middle ground. Still have room for a good raid setup, and dual graphics in the future for a cheap antialiasing boost. I haven't been gaming on pc except for tribes 2, but ETQW has struck my fancy as a good linux game.....

Anyway, enough ramble. full size ninja - check. passive graphics - check. What about two graphics cards? ambitious?
Just getting a full picture before pulling the trigger...

bonestonne · Post by **bonestonne** » Thu Aug 21, 2008 6:30 pm

those are the front fan areas on the case. those are also the only places air will enter the front of the case. if you'll look at the bottom of the front of the case, you'll notice the PSU is separated in a chamber with seemingly no intake. maybe a mesh cover for that? i've had a PSU ramp up because of a piece of paper was overhanging the back of my case preventing heat from rising.

a Crossfire or SLI is quite ambitious, that will get very toasty, and you'll also have cooling issues for that. not mentioning where a RAID card would fit unless you go for onboard RAID.

what hardware are you thinking of getting?

booq · Post by **booq** » Thu Aug 21, 2008 7:11 pm

Thanks for the pictures, that is an angle I had not seen.
I am still trying to scope out all the hardware, the only specifics I have currently are:

-A passive card with an Accelero - likely a HD4850, as the linux drivers are maturing nicely, and the Nvidia bad batch scare is keeping me away from them for the 8 series.

-A 780 board, as it seems to have the power and all around crown currently.

-At least two drives in software raid 1, software raid has come a long way, and for desktop use it will suffice until I put the drives in a low power NAS.

-Low wattage processor like the 45 watt brisbane series. The C2D series is expensive, and I like supporting the underdog.

It seems like the mini p180 has some design flaws! Perhaps it is not the best choice for me? I thought I had it all figured out with the nsk-2480, but lack of passive video solutions killed that for me. Shame, seems like such a fantastic design.

booq · Post by **booq** » Thu Aug 21, 2008 7:17 pm

I should mention, the SLI / Crossfire question is more of a pipe dream than anything. I use hardware to death, I am not a hardcore gamer.

booq · Post by **booq** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 8:39 am

Decided to go with a full size p182se because of indecision. Found an OK deal on it, ~120 shipped. Barring that, I probably would have gone with a p150 / Sonata 500 Designer if I could have found a good deal on one. Seems like you can't go wrong with the 150 or the 182.