I'm a little perplexed about the HDD cooling in this case, the soft, rubber mount isolates the HD from the case, good for the noise/vibration, but very bad for the heat, is there any fan or whatsoever to cool down the HDDs ?
Nik
Fusion Max -- ATX version of Antec Fusion is coming
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Devonavar
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charger2000
- Posts: 77
- Joined: Fri Nov 19, 2004 4:41 am
- Location: Italy
- Contact:
Here is another review from ProClockers.
Wow. I'm surprised and impressed that the case fit an Ultra 120 cooler with no problems. That opens up a lot of options for CPU cooling not generally considered in an HTPC case.Blue wrote:Here is another review from ProClockers.
If it fits then I will go for Thermalright HR-01 Plus, it is few CM lower than Ultra 120...and highly recommended by SPCRkenoka wrote:Wow. I'm surprised and impressed that the case fit an Ultra 120 cooler with no problems. That opens up a lot of options for CPU cooling not generally considered in an HTPC case.Blue wrote:Here is another review from ProClockers.
Can someone confirm this information?
I asked Thermalright few weeks ago but they refused to provide any information and suggested me to talk with Antec. (What a professional service?)
Anyway I sent an e-mail to Antec just now, hope they will reply.
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MikeC
- Site Admin
- Posts: 12285
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- Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Contact:
Yes.lubej wrote:Will SPCR make a review of this case?
I can't decide between ZALMAN HD 160 PLUS and ANTEC FUSION REMOTE MAX. Which will you buy and why?
One difference is that the Fusion Max was designed specifically to handle the longest video cards -- 2 of them, in fact. We meant for it to be a HTPC case that e3xtreme gamers would like -- to play games on their big screen TVs when not watching movies or whatever.
Thanks, when do you plan to make a review?
The most important to me is how loud are the fans on both cases, becaue antec has 140 and 120mm fans, but zalman has only 2x80mm fan.
This means that most likely zalman fans are louder than antec fans. What do you think? Has anyone hear zalman hd160 plus fans?
I agree with felix_w, I also don't like black color, if antec remote max will be in silver than I will already bought it.
Thank you.
br
The most important to me is how loud are the fans on both cases, becaue antec has 140 and 120mm fans, but zalman has only 2x80mm fan.
This means that most likely zalman fans are louder than antec fans. What do you think? Has anyone hear zalman hd160 plus fans?
I agree with felix_w, I also don't like black color, if antec remote max will be in silver than I will already bought it.
Thank you.
br
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thegoldenstrand
- Posts: 112
- Joined: Mon Apr 17, 2006 4:41 pm
Need help with wiring for Fusion Remote Max
Hi,
I have not been able to properly identify where a three pin connector for red, black and purple wire needs to be connected to the remote board or wherever. I have two power sw connectors that are free to connect wherever, but when I connect to the motherboard... and push power button, nothing happens.
I was thinking the red and black one is for the remote to hook up with the motherboard and the purple and white power sw connector wire should connect to the remote board, but where?? in any event if I hook up power switch from case directly to motherboard.. nothing happens when I push power on.
Ready to return this to newegg. Case is ok, but wiring not worth it so far for me. any help, including reference to where wires should attach and diagrams would be greatly appreciated.
Mike
I have not been able to properly identify where a three pin connector for red, black and purple wire needs to be connected to the remote board or wherever. I have two power sw connectors that are free to connect wherever, but when I connect to the motherboard... and push power button, nothing happens.
I was thinking the red and black one is for the remote to hook up with the motherboard and the purple and white power sw connector wire should connect to the remote board, but where?? in any event if I hook up power switch from case directly to motherboard.. nothing happens when I push power on.
Ready to return this to newegg. Case is ok, but wiring not worth it so far for me. any help, including reference to where wires should attach and diagrams would be greatly appreciated.
Mike
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Devonavar
- SPCR Reviewer
- Posts: 1850
- Joined: Sun Sep 21, 2003 11:23 am
- Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Hi Mike,
You need to plug the connector into the display on the front panel ... and you'll probably need to remove the optical drive bay to get at it. Once you find the display, it should be fairly obvious where to plug it in. Just make sure you re-wire things back the way they were originally!
Devonavar
To everyone else: SPCR's review of the Fusion Remote Max is now up: http://www.silentpcreview.com/Antec_Fusion_Remote_Max
You need to plug the connector into the display on the front panel ... and you'll probably need to remove the optical drive bay to get at it. Once you find the display, it should be fairly obvious where to plug it in. Just make sure you re-wire things back the way they were originally!
Devonavar
To everyone else: SPCR's review of the Fusion Remote Max is now up: http://www.silentpcreview.com/Antec_Fusion_Remote_Max
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thegoldenstrand
- Posts: 112
- Joined: Mon Apr 17, 2006 4:41 pm
Still need help
Devonavar,
I appreciate your response. I had the optical cage removed first thing. It turned out my attempt to skip the extra 24 pin motherboard connector may have been the culprit, but when I did.. still would not turn on.
Without being able to see all wiring connections to make sure ok and no diagram.. I was at a loss since my pc would not turn on. i re-attached all the wires and got pc to finally turn on.. thinking one of the sets connected to the remote was loose.
The LCD display on mine is tilted.. the left side is a good .2 inches higher than the right and the light shines from beneath left side as result and some of lettering on left side is cut off by top.
How can this be repositioned?
Question for Mike Chin.. would some kind of fan dampener lower noise from 140 mm side fan?? Does anyone sell 140 mm fan noise dampeners??
Mike
I appreciate your response. I had the optical cage removed first thing. It turned out my attempt to skip the extra 24 pin motherboard connector may have been the culprit, but when I did.. still would not turn on.
Without being able to see all wiring connections to make sure ok and no diagram.. I was at a loss since my pc would not turn on. i re-attached all the wires and got pc to finally turn on.. thinking one of the sets connected to the remote was loose.
The LCD display on mine is tilted.. the left side is a good .2 inches higher than the right and the light shines from beneath left side as result and some of lettering on left side is cut off by top.
How can this be repositioned?
Question for Mike Chin.. would some kind of fan dampener lower noise from 140 mm side fan?? Does anyone sell 140 mm fan noise dampeners??
Mike
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Devonavar
- SPCR Reviewer
- Posts: 1850
- Joined: Sun Sep 21, 2003 11:23 am
- Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Glad to hear you solved the issue ... and it wouldn't surprise me to hear that one of the wires came loose, especially if the display has been jogged. This does happen in shipping sometimes ... I've seen a few HTPC cases which were unplugged out of the box.
For repositioning the LCD, I would imagine it's possible, but it's difficult for me to say more without the case in front of me.
For fan damping ... I'm not sure what you mean by a "fan dampener" ... if you mean a mechanical shroud or something like that you're wasting your time. There are too many non-direct noise paths for a shroud to make much difference, and the increase in impedance can actually increase fan whine. The standard method of dealing with fan noise is slowing the fan through undervolting, which is something Mike recommends in the article. There are a multitude of fan controllers on the market to achieve this end, as well as some simple wiring tricks to try first (search 5V and/or 7V trick).
For repositioning the LCD, I would imagine it's possible, but it's difficult for me to say more without the case in front of me.
For fan damping ... I'm not sure what you mean by a "fan dampener" ... if you mean a mechanical shroud or something like that you're wasting your time. There are too many non-direct noise paths for a shroud to make much difference, and the increase in impedance can actually increase fan whine. The standard method of dealing with fan noise is slowing the fan through undervolting, which is something Mike recommends in the article. There are a multitude of fan controllers on the market to achieve this end, as well as some simple wiring tricks to try first (search 5V and/or 7V trick).
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thegoldenstrand
- Posts: 112
- Joined: Mon Apr 17, 2006 4:41 pm
Fan Vibration dampener like Vantec's or Thermaltakes...
http://www.vantecusa.com/front/product/view_detail/264
I have noticed a nice drop in noise when I have used with even otherwise quiet fans using these, but can't find available for 140 mm fan.. was thinking of using some ofther silicon like pad and placing between 140 mm fan and the outside of case.
Still trying to figure out how to adjust screen of lcd to being level.. anyone with ideas?
Mike
I have noticed a nice drop in noise when I have used with even otherwise quiet fans using these, but can't find available for 140 mm fan.. was thinking of using some ofther silicon like pad and placing between 140 mm fan and the outside of case.
Still trying to figure out how to adjust screen of lcd to being level.. anyone with ideas?
Mike
I'm damed near ordering one of these cases.
If I were to replace the stock fans with a replacement would I still have access to the low/medium/high speed controllers? I take it I would because I understand there is a controller for the third fan which isn't fitted as stock.
I'm thinking Scythe or Noctua 12cm and Yate Loon 14cm. Can anybody recommend or point me in the direction of a group test of 14cm fans?
Is there room for an Arctic Cooler S1R2 graphics cooler in there? I imagine there is.
It does look to be a lovely case. I'd rather be without a VFD though and have a second 5 1/4 bay instead. I don't see much point in the volume pot either.
Here's an idea. Get a pair of squash balls and saw then in half, use them under the feet. You should get better air flow and less vibration of whatever surface the Antec is pLACED ON.
If I were to replace the stock fans with a replacement would I still have access to the low/medium/high speed controllers? I take it I would because I understand there is a controller for the third fan which isn't fitted as stock.
I'm thinking Scythe or Noctua 12cm and Yate Loon 14cm. Can anybody recommend or point me in the direction of a group test of 14cm fans?
Is there room for an Arctic Cooler S1R2 graphics cooler in there? I imagine there is.
It does look to be a lovely case. I'd rather be without a VFD though and have a second 5 1/4 bay instead. I don't see much point in the volume pot either.
Here's an idea. Get a pair of squash balls and saw then in half, use them under the feet. You should get better air flow and less vibration of whatever surface the Antec is pLACED ON.
Well I've placed my order. Should have a whole load of boxes arriving (damned near a whole HTPC in parts) in a couple of days.
I went for the Yate Loon and Noctua NSF12E fans. Worried by the low price of Yate Loon though (if you pay peanuts you get monkeys sort of thinking).
I've gone for a HIS 4670 graphics card. Upon further reading I'm a bit concerned it might be noisy. I was initially impressed that it was quieter, faster and more efficient than stock ATI. I was also impressed by having Arctic Cooling system. Upon further reading maybe I should have gone for the power color for a few extra £s.
Having looked at schematic of Arctic's S1 Rev2 I'm not at all sure it would fit on a 4670 in this case. (101mm from GPU centre to top of cooler).
I may go for a smaller passive option at a later date. In the mean time I have some Akasa Paxmate sound absorbing panels on the way. I should have enough spare to make a little sound absorbing 'wall' a few inches behind the graphics cooler exhaust outside the case. Or I could use carpet instead of paxmate.
I'm all fired up now and eager for my first build in 5 years. I'll soon get to the cussing and swearing stage when I start dropping screws into inaccesible crevices and scrape my knuckes fiddling about in the case though. But after that.......Ha! The joy of having a quiet, fast (by my standards) and not too power hungry machine.
Lee
I went for the Yate Loon and Noctua NSF12E fans. Worried by the low price of Yate Loon though (if you pay peanuts you get monkeys sort of thinking).
I've gone for a HIS 4670 graphics card. Upon further reading I'm a bit concerned it might be noisy. I was initially impressed that it was quieter, faster and more efficient than stock ATI. I was also impressed by having Arctic Cooling system. Upon further reading maybe I should have gone for the power color for a few extra £s.
Having looked at schematic of Arctic's S1 Rev2 I'm not at all sure it would fit on a 4670 in this case. (101mm from GPU centre to top of cooler).
I may go for a smaller passive option at a later date. In the mean time I have some Akasa Paxmate sound absorbing panels on the way. I should have enough spare to make a little sound absorbing 'wall' a few inches behind the graphics cooler exhaust outside the case. Or I could use carpet instead of paxmate.
I'm all fired up now and eager for my first build in 5 years. I'll soon get to the cussing and swearing stage when I start dropping screws into inaccesible crevices and scrape my knuckes fiddling about in the case though. But after that.......Ha! The joy of having a quiet, fast (by my standards) and not too power hungry machine.
Lee
Well, it's built.
I've gt power with remote and power switch, I didn't find that too tricky.
Christ, that hard disk cage was a pig with 2 drives, still I'd been warned.
My concerns re the S1R2 graphics cooler have been allayed and it should fit.
Whoever told me that the stock fan on an AMD 4850e processor was quiet was a lying son.
The processor fan is just too noisy to live with. Time for a Scythe Ninja Mini run passive I think. Should hat be enough to cool my 45w processor?
Why do I have 2 blue LED's on all the time when PC is running?
Is ther a way to switch the VFD off and still have volume pot working? I must experiment with that.
I've gt power with remote and power switch, I didn't find that too tricky.
Christ, that hard disk cage was a pig with 2 drives, still I'd been warned.
My concerns re the S1R2 graphics cooler have been allayed and it should fit.
Whoever told me that the stock fan on an AMD 4850e processor was quiet was a lying son.
The processor fan is just too noisy to live with. Time for a Scythe Ninja Mini run passive I think. Should hat be enough to cool my 45w processor?
Why do I have 2 blue LED's on all the time when PC is running?
Is ther a way to switch the VFD off and still have volume pot working? I must experiment with that.
well I've just stumbled upon my own posting so thought I'd update. Even though there's only me posted for a while now.
The tilted VFD problem.
Mine started out straight then one day I noticed it had slipped a mm or so. A few days later i found it had slipped further. In tilting the case to work on something else it must have slipped back into proper place because now it's straight again. They must be a little loose inside.
If anybody else has this problem Id recomment gentle tilting of the case or maybe tapping the case above the VFD to encourage it to go back into position. A little vibration should be all it needs.
I've still got 2 blue LED's. How do you disable one?
I've got the VFD configured to have volume working and display disabled. Not too tricky.
Hard disk cage issues aside I really like the case and most people seem to think it's a minimalist AV amp.
My noise and heat issues.
I got the well received Enermax 82 Modulo 82 425W. I found fan noise to be excessive though. I suspect a rogue fan. However, I found no noise figures in the spec of the PSU. The folk who sold it to me said if I posted it to them at my expense they'd take a look. If it was faulty they'd send me a fresh one. If it was deemed OK by them, they's charge me an inspection fee and return postage. With no definite noise guarantee that I can see I'm not really sure that it is technically faulty. I decided the risk wasn't worth it.
I plumped for a Silverstone Nightingale fanless PSU instead which 2 days in is running happily and not causing overheating issues. I've also got a Scythe Ninja Mini in the post which I plan to run fanless on an AMD 4850e 40w processor. If I combine this with an Arctic S!R2 unfanned graphics cooler on an ATI 4850 am I running into overheating territory with just a 14cm Yate Loon exhaust fan?
The tilted VFD problem.
Mine started out straight then one day I noticed it had slipped a mm or so. A few days later i found it had slipped further. In tilting the case to work on something else it must have slipped back into proper place because now it's straight again. They must be a little loose inside.
If anybody else has this problem Id recomment gentle tilting of the case or maybe tapping the case above the VFD to encourage it to go back into position. A little vibration should be all it needs.
I've still got 2 blue LED's. How do you disable one?
I've got the VFD configured to have volume working and display disabled. Not too tricky.
Hard disk cage issues aside I really like the case and most people seem to think it's a minimalist AV amp.
My noise and heat issues.
I got the well received Enermax 82 Modulo 82 425W. I found fan noise to be excessive though. I suspect a rogue fan. However, I found no noise figures in the spec of the PSU. The folk who sold it to me said if I posted it to them at my expense they'd take a look. If it was faulty they'd send me a fresh one. If it was deemed OK by them, they's charge me an inspection fee and return postage. With no definite noise guarantee that I can see I'm not really sure that it is technically faulty. I decided the risk wasn't worth it.
I plumped for a Silverstone Nightingale fanless PSU instead which 2 days in is running happily and not causing overheating issues. I've also got a Scythe Ninja Mini in the post which I plan to run fanless on an AMD 4850e 40w processor. If I combine this with an Arctic S!R2 unfanned graphics cooler on an ATI 4850 am I running into overheating territory with just a 14cm Yate Loon exhaust fan?
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Worker control
- Posts: 126
- Joined: Wed Nov 16, 2005 12:16 pm
14cm fans
Scythe makes a 14cm fan, the "Kaze Maru":
http://www.scythe-usa.com/product/acc/0 ... etail.html
Don't know how good it is. But their other fans (aside from the extra-thick Ultra Kaze) are generally excellent.
Update: Just noticed that it is designed for a 12cm fan slot. So maybe not an option after all. Sorry.
http://www.scythe-usa.com/product/acc/0 ... etail.html
Don't know how good it is. But their other fans (aside from the extra-thick Ultra Kaze) are generally excellent.
Update: Just noticed that it is designed for a 12cm fan slot. So maybe not an option after all. Sorry.
Full review should come out pretty soon, but quick notes:
+ dust filters
+ can fit just about anything
- The divider wall is unnecessary
- The fans are too noisy
lubej: Depends on what you REALLY want. As far as I remember the Zalman comes with two small fans? For power hungry setups the Anted is better... Also easier to make quiet by just changing the two fans.
+ dust filters
+ can fit just about anything
- The divider wall is unnecessary
- The fans are too noisy
lubej: Depends on what you REALLY want. As far as I remember the Zalman comes with two small fans? For power hungry setups the Anted is better... Also easier to make quiet by just changing the two fans.
First impressions on Antec Fusion Remote Max
Hi everybody.
First as this is my first post on SPCR forums, I want to say hello, and thank you as this website and these forums have been a great source of information when looking for parts for my new system.
I just bought the Antec Fusion Remote Max for my new HTPC.
Here are my impressions and remarks on this case (don't know if it's worthy of posting in Reviews):
- The rear 120 mm fan is fairly quiet on Low. Not as quiet as the (stock) 80 mm on Low I had in my Overture II when putting my ear next to it, but enough for me not to notice it from 3 m away in my living room, which is sufficient. I removed the side 140 mm fan completely. The only thing I still hear from 3 m is the hard disk access noise from time to time.
I am running an Intel E7400 with CoolerMaster Z600 (had to remove the silly plastic top to make it fit in the case. It was not too hard to install contrary to what I've read in some reviews), passive HIS Radeon 4650 and one WD 10EADS.
I put the hard disk in the PSU chamber to try to get more air in the main chamber (the hard disk cage blocks a bit too much of the opening area as written in Mike's review), SMART reports 34-36° which I find OK. I am wondering whether putting it in the main disks chamber would lower the access noise much. It would certainly lower the temperature a bit but at the same time provide less cooling for the chipset and RAM.
On idle, CPU cores are at 39/44, graphics card at 46 and chipset at 43-45. Will do load tests later.
- The instruction manual is not always very clear nor complete. It's not that there's any important thing missing but it's really the minimum necessary. If it was a student work, I would give it a "OK, but looks written in a hurry" note.
When compared to, say, an ASUS motherboard manual where every little thing is fully explained with detailed photos or drawings, this feel a bit cheap for an high-end case. Not anything nerve-wrecking but still, I would have liked it to be a bit more detailed.
- I love the design, minimalistic but still good looking, except for the big volume button. They didn't need to make it that big honestly, especially since the rest of the case front is fairly clean when it comes to buttons and switches and apparent thingies in general, which makes the button size kind of odd. Additionally you can read in the FAQ that they couldn't implement the "Mute on press front volume button" feature, which would actually have been a nice feature.
I would also have preferred the case in silver but matte/brushed black is OK. I wouldn't have bought it if it had been piano black like my Overture II (hated it).
The bottom plastic door which hides the jacks and ports is glossy but, while I would have liked it better if it had been brushed alu like the upper part of the front, it's OK. On the plus side, a brushed alu door would probably have suffered from nail marks so maybe it's better in the end.
- The thin fake metal grille plastic sticker strip between the door and the upper part of the front is a cheap feature. A bare black metal one, or better still: a silver metallic strip, would have looked better to me.
Maybe I'll try to remove it to see what's under it...
- The wall that separates the PSU from the rest of the system is a bit useless to me. While the choice of providing the PSU with its own air intake on the side is perfect, I don't see the need to fully enclose it in its own chamber in that case. The only benefit would be if you had a PSU with an opening at the back, which would cool the hard disk in that chamber better and not mix air from the main chamber.
The problem is that the wall makes it more difficult to route the cables from the PSU (and the hard disk if you put it there), and you lose a few cm of cable lenght going up through the hole and then down.
I nearly couldn't connect the EATX12V connector because of this as my motherboard has it on the opposite corner, near the rear I/O ports. In the end I succeeded but it's passing below the graphics card, between it and the northbridge then between the RAM and the CPU socket and then it's permanently touching the heatpipes of the CPU heatsking... I don't think it's a good long term cable routing.
While it's part my fault for not checking that before buying the mobo, it would have been easier without the PSU wall. I think the best would be a full height sliding or removable panel in the center part of that wall that you could keep if you had a PSU with a rear opening (to cool the hard disks), or you could fully remove to ease cable routing if you have a PSU with only a front opening and 120 mm fan on the top (side).
- The case comes with the front power switch not connected to the LCD by default, so you have a choice of connecting it through the LCD and then connect the LCD to the power switch on the mobo to power up the system with the remote, or to connect it directly to the mobo if you don't want to use the remote. That is nice, but it's not easy connecting the cable to the LCD with the 5,25" cage fully locked because the cable has to pass through the upper part of the cage. I had to nearly-but-not-fully install the cage, and while holding the cage, insert two fingers between it and the display to try to connect the power switch to it. Antec should make a small opening somewhere through the side of the drive cage, or between the cage and the front panel, to pass the cable in it and connect it to the display without having to juggle with the drive cage. It also means you have to unplug it if you want to remove the drive cage in the future. I think if I have to do it I'll just connect the front button directly to the mobo and not bother with the remote. I am also wondering if the display will work without the ATX breakout cable. I wouldn't mind not being able to power the PC with the remote if that meant I could ditch that breakout cable.
I also not connected the front power LED. Starburst, is that the blue LEDs you see? It's a molex connector from the front with no sticker on it.
- Speaking of the remote and display: I've read on other forums that some users with Micro Fusion and standard Fusion cases have IR range and angle problems, but happily I have no problem with mine. Range is as good as the retail iMON VFD I had in my previous system (at least 8 m. Can't test further, there is my wall after that), and angle is even better.
Now the display. I knew it would not be perfect as this is a LCD and not a VFD (that important distinction is often overlooked even by reviewers, i.e. Anandtech), but I am seriously disappointed. Even with the backlight at minimum it still bleeds light and you can still see elements that shouldn't be lit. The viewing angle is much narrower than I expected, especially vertically which is quite a problem for a media device, and then there's the pixel response which is just abysmal. When text is scrolling it looks like a flashing christmas garland, and it gets worse the faster (more pixels at a time) you scroll it.
I had a retail iMON VFD in my previous system. It was fast, had perfect contrast and of course no response lag. I was looking forward to an LCD display mainly to benefit from bigger pixel-based graphics/text so I could display bigger characters and international characters (I use the display only when listening to music/radio/music TV channels, to avoid having to turn the CRT TV on), but I end up missing my VFD. Plus I've got problems to control it from MediaPortal, but I didn't have time to fiddle with the available tweaks to get it to work.
I think iMON should develop a more advanced dot-based VFD, or look into OLED (but that would be much more expensive) instead of these LCDs. If the IR sensor wasn't better I think I would contemplate removing the LCD and replacing it with my previous retail VFD, but I don't want to deface the case.
Another option would be to try to remove only the display itself and try to find a standalone advanced VFD display of the same size and stick it in its place, while keeping the IR receiver.
- There is no integrated card reader. That really is a mistake. I know external readers are available, but an SDHC card reader is not that expensive and it would have been more convenient to be able to just put a card directly in the case. If I had skills with tools I would try to integrate one to the front panel but I know I'll only end up doing an awful work.
- Finally, the only problem I find really annoying: I've got what seems like electric noise when I connect a headset to the front jack. It's not typical audio background noise, it's like the sound produced by a transformer, and it varies in frequency and intensity depending on what is going on in the PC.
Question to people who have also bought this case: is your front headset jack "clean" or do you also have that noise?
I can't live with that, I hope I'll be able to find where it comes from by unplugging devices one by one but I don't know if it can be fixed. I've tried turning off the LCD but it didn't stop.
Where do you think such noise could possibly come from? A cable from the power supply passing too close to the cable inside the case?
That's really strange because I've never encountered that on any case before. Do you think the front jack might be badly connected?
There, my first impressions on this case. I will do some tests on temperatures & co in the future but for the moment I've got many software glitches so that's not my priority.
Hope this information helps.
First as this is my first post on SPCR forums, I want to say hello, and thank you as this website and these forums have been a great source of information when looking for parts for my new system.
I just bought the Antec Fusion Remote Max for my new HTPC.
Here are my impressions and remarks on this case (don't know if it's worthy of posting in Reviews):
- The rear 120 mm fan is fairly quiet on Low. Not as quiet as the (stock) 80 mm on Low I had in my Overture II when putting my ear next to it, but enough for me not to notice it from 3 m away in my living room, which is sufficient. I removed the side 140 mm fan completely. The only thing I still hear from 3 m is the hard disk access noise from time to time.
I am running an Intel E7400 with CoolerMaster Z600 (had to remove the silly plastic top to make it fit in the case. It was not too hard to install contrary to what I've read in some reviews), passive HIS Radeon 4650 and one WD 10EADS.
I put the hard disk in the PSU chamber to try to get more air in the main chamber (the hard disk cage blocks a bit too much of the opening area as written in Mike's review), SMART reports 34-36° which I find OK. I am wondering whether putting it in the main disks chamber would lower the access noise much. It would certainly lower the temperature a bit but at the same time provide less cooling for the chipset and RAM.
On idle, CPU cores are at 39/44, graphics card at 46 and chipset at 43-45. Will do load tests later.
- The instruction manual is not always very clear nor complete. It's not that there's any important thing missing but it's really the minimum necessary. If it was a student work, I would give it a "OK, but looks written in a hurry" note.
When compared to, say, an ASUS motherboard manual where every little thing is fully explained with detailed photos or drawings, this feel a bit cheap for an high-end case. Not anything nerve-wrecking but still, I would have liked it to be a bit more detailed.
- I love the design, minimalistic but still good looking, except for the big volume button. They didn't need to make it that big honestly, especially since the rest of the case front is fairly clean when it comes to buttons and switches and apparent thingies in general, which makes the button size kind of odd. Additionally you can read in the FAQ that they couldn't implement the "Mute on press front volume button" feature, which would actually have been a nice feature.
I would also have preferred the case in silver but matte/brushed black is OK. I wouldn't have bought it if it had been piano black like my Overture II (hated it).
The bottom plastic door which hides the jacks and ports is glossy but, while I would have liked it better if it had been brushed alu like the upper part of the front, it's OK. On the plus side, a brushed alu door would probably have suffered from nail marks so maybe it's better in the end.
- The thin fake metal grille plastic sticker strip between the door and the upper part of the front is a cheap feature. A bare black metal one, or better still: a silver metallic strip, would have looked better to me.
Maybe I'll try to remove it to see what's under it...
- The wall that separates the PSU from the rest of the system is a bit useless to me. While the choice of providing the PSU with its own air intake on the side is perfect, I don't see the need to fully enclose it in its own chamber in that case. The only benefit would be if you had a PSU with an opening at the back, which would cool the hard disk in that chamber better and not mix air from the main chamber.
The problem is that the wall makes it more difficult to route the cables from the PSU (and the hard disk if you put it there), and you lose a few cm of cable lenght going up through the hole and then down.
I nearly couldn't connect the EATX12V connector because of this as my motherboard has it on the opposite corner, near the rear I/O ports. In the end I succeeded but it's passing below the graphics card, between it and the northbridge then between the RAM and the CPU socket and then it's permanently touching the heatpipes of the CPU heatsking... I don't think it's a good long term cable routing.
While it's part my fault for not checking that before buying the mobo, it would have been easier without the PSU wall. I think the best would be a full height sliding or removable panel in the center part of that wall that you could keep if you had a PSU with a rear opening (to cool the hard disks), or you could fully remove to ease cable routing if you have a PSU with only a front opening and 120 mm fan on the top (side).
- The case comes with the front power switch not connected to the LCD by default, so you have a choice of connecting it through the LCD and then connect the LCD to the power switch on the mobo to power up the system with the remote, or to connect it directly to the mobo if you don't want to use the remote. That is nice, but it's not easy connecting the cable to the LCD with the 5,25" cage fully locked because the cable has to pass through the upper part of the cage. I had to nearly-but-not-fully install the cage, and while holding the cage, insert two fingers between it and the display to try to connect the power switch to it. Antec should make a small opening somewhere through the side of the drive cage, or between the cage and the front panel, to pass the cable in it and connect it to the display without having to juggle with the drive cage. It also means you have to unplug it if you want to remove the drive cage in the future. I think if I have to do it I'll just connect the front button directly to the mobo and not bother with the remote. I am also wondering if the display will work without the ATX breakout cable. I wouldn't mind not being able to power the PC with the remote if that meant I could ditch that breakout cable.
I also not connected the front power LED. Starburst, is that the blue LEDs you see? It's a molex connector from the front with no sticker on it.
- Speaking of the remote and display: I've read on other forums that some users with Micro Fusion and standard Fusion cases have IR range and angle problems, but happily I have no problem with mine. Range is as good as the retail iMON VFD I had in my previous system (at least 8 m. Can't test further, there is my wall after that), and angle is even better.
Now the display. I knew it would not be perfect as this is a LCD and not a VFD (that important distinction is often overlooked even by reviewers, i.e. Anandtech), but I am seriously disappointed. Even with the backlight at minimum it still bleeds light and you can still see elements that shouldn't be lit. The viewing angle is much narrower than I expected, especially vertically which is quite a problem for a media device, and then there's the pixel response which is just abysmal. When text is scrolling it looks like a flashing christmas garland, and it gets worse the faster (more pixels at a time) you scroll it.
I had a retail iMON VFD in my previous system. It was fast, had perfect contrast and of course no response lag. I was looking forward to an LCD display mainly to benefit from bigger pixel-based graphics/text so I could display bigger characters and international characters (I use the display only when listening to music/radio/music TV channels, to avoid having to turn the CRT TV on), but I end up missing my VFD. Plus I've got problems to control it from MediaPortal, but I didn't have time to fiddle with the available tweaks to get it to work.
I think iMON should develop a more advanced dot-based VFD, or look into OLED (but that would be much more expensive) instead of these LCDs. If the IR sensor wasn't better I think I would contemplate removing the LCD and replacing it with my previous retail VFD, but I don't want to deface the case.
Another option would be to try to remove only the display itself and try to find a standalone advanced VFD display of the same size and stick it in its place, while keeping the IR receiver.
- There is no integrated card reader. That really is a mistake. I know external readers are available, but an SDHC card reader is not that expensive and it would have been more convenient to be able to just put a card directly in the case. If I had skills with tools I would try to integrate one to the front panel but I know I'll only end up doing an awful work.
- Finally, the only problem I find really annoying: I've got what seems like electric noise when I connect a headset to the front jack. It's not typical audio background noise, it's like the sound produced by a transformer, and it varies in frequency and intensity depending on what is going on in the PC.
Question to people who have also bought this case: is your front headset jack "clean" or do you also have that noise?
I can't live with that, I hope I'll be able to find where it comes from by unplugging devices one by one but I don't know if it can be fixed. I've tried turning off the LCD but it didn't stop.
Where do you think such noise could possibly come from? A cable from the power supply passing too close to the cable inside the case?
That's really strange because I've never encountered that on any case before. Do you think the front jack might be badly connected?
There, my first impressions on this case. I will do some tests on temperatures & co in the future but for the moment I've got many software glitches so that's not my priority.
Hope this information helps.
Hey,
People need to post more pics!
I'm personally concerned about the shortness of the PSU chamber, wether hard drives will still fit if a slightly longer PSU is used.. .the spcr review isn't so helpful in this respect.
el Filou, can you post pics of your setup?
thanks!
my fusion (non-max) is getting decidedly cramped these days
People need to post more pics!
I'm personally concerned about the shortness of the PSU chamber, wether hard drives will still fit if a slightly longer PSU is used.. .the spcr review isn't so helpful in this respect.
el Filou, can you post pics of your setup?
thanks!
my fusion (non-max) is getting decidedly cramped these days