Calling all P182 owners

thetoad30 · Post by **thetoad30** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 8:08 pm

All,

I need to know how easy/difficult it is to remove the fans in the P182. I plan on replacing them with black Yate Loons as they are quieter and more reliable than the Antecs at low (I have three P180s and every Antec TriCool I've used on low has failed). I want the newer case because of the water cooling holes and the fact that I have an original P180 that I want to upgrade in order to get a "middle" fan that will blow onto my graphics card to help cool the memory.

My main concern is the newer "rear" switches for the fans. Is this modular or are these switches hard-wired to the fans? If you remove the fans, do you have to remove the switch too? Does this leave a "gap" in the case?

Any and all information pertinent to this is very much appreciated!

Thanks!

raziell · Post by **raziell** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 10:22 pm

i move the switches away,it go off by releasing 2 clips and
you have a tiny hole there- nothing to worried about.

thetoad30 · Post by **thetoad30** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 9:10 pm

Thanks for the response.

I have another question.

Currently, I mount my ThermoChill PA120.3 radiator off of the rear fan.

I do this by using really long screws to go through my fan, through the case holes, into the radiator fan, then into the shroud. This has worked well with the P180.

However, looking at the pictures from Newegg, I am starting to get nervous about whether or not I'd be able to do such a thing. It looks as if the fan screws are covered by the plastic end of the side panel.

Is this the case? Would I not be able to use screws all the way through without modding the case?

Thank you!

stevenkelby · Post by **stevenkelby** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 9:25 pm

The side panels do block the 2 screw holes for that side of the fan, but only just, only about halfway through the screw hole. It would be very easy to cut or file a little of the side panel to clear the holes.

thetoad30 · Post by **thetoad30** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 9:30 pm

Thanks for that response.

Will filing or drilling through the rear portion cause the "layers" to separate or somehow resonate?

Last thing I want to do is ruin the dampening effect this case has.

I have a P180 currently and was just looking for a bit of an upgrade for my water cooling and such. Was even thinking of going with the SE, but not sure if I can stomach the nearly $100 US increase in price.

Another question if I may:

Will a large video card like the 8800 GTX fit in this case? Will it fit with the middle fan installed?

I would measure my case, but I fear that some of the measurements have changed so I just want to be sure.

Thank you very much!

stevenkelby · Post by **stevenkelby** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 9:40 pm

You're welcome

The part you will have to cut or file is on the back edge of the panel, it is only a solid piece of plastic there so there are no layers to separate. You will still get a good seal with the case there.

I have the middle fan installed and there is 258mm of room for a card between the ribs where the card mounts (where the rear of the card shows through the case) and the fan. I have a 2mm silicone gasket on the fan so without it there would be 260mm.

A 8800GTX is 280mm long so it wouldn't fit, with the middle fan there, but you can put a fan in the front of the middle HD bay/tunnel and still get a similar result, it would be fine.

thetoad30 · Post by **thetoad30** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 9:44 pm

Wow! That's a long card now that I can visualize it!

Thanks again for responding so quickly! I really appreciate it!

One last question (I hope!):

Will the water-cooling openings take 1/2" tubing easily? I ask "easily" because I have a fan cable I need to pass through there with the tubing. It's the three-wire-motherboard-type connector.

Thanks!

stevenkelby · Post by **stevenkelby** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 9:50 pm

Yeah the 8800GTX is a monster. The holes in the case are 32mm (inch and a quarter) so the tubing and cable will fit very easily. Thats without the rubber grommets, with the rubber grommets left in place you can still get about a full inch of cable or tubes through.

thetoad30 · Post by **thetoad30** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 9:52 pm

Wow. Thanks! Now to see if my current system would be able to be adjusted to fit in this case (currently my cabling and tubing isn't so tidy).

Thank you very much for all of your help. I really appreciate it!