P182 at last!

ayjay · Post by **ayjay** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 10:34 am

Hey all. I finally found some time today to take some pictures of my new setup in the P182. Was expecting P180 so extra glad to see the P182 in the box.

From the top then...

CPU: Intel Q6600 with Thermalright Ultra-120 heatsink
GFX: EVGA 8800GTS superclock
PSU: Corsair 520HX
RAM: 2G X Corsair XMS2
HDD: 3X Samsung SP2504C 250G (one boot, another 2 as RAID-1 backup solution)
Asus P5B deluxe mobo
Samsung DVD-R SATA
Akasa fan controller
P182 case (der... almost missed it off this list!)
Strategically placed floppy drive (you'll see

)

I have to say, like many others I opened this up and went "Wow! A fridge!" It really could look at home in your kitchen, but I prefer it to the black version which is a bit dull. My old pc was in a chieftech dragon. Even though I did the mods and paint myself, it has pretty pants acoustics. (120mm thunderblade in the top really doesn't help, but that was before I found this site

) My aim this time was speed and quiet...

This is my old pc built around the XP3200+ cpu. I'll sell it soon so PM me if you're interested. Enough sales pitch! Onwards!

I've kept the top fan disconnected and put some acoustic foam under the spoiler to reduce drafts and generally quieten it.
Check out my interior floppy! *groan* Yup, forgot I'd need one for the RAID and then thought "heck, I'll keep it attached" so it's inside the case in a place where it won't get in the way with any luck.
Pretty decent temps...
on load all four cores go up to about 55degrees and the system sits at about 40. HDD temp is a measely 32 deg. Gotta love that lower chamber!
The back fan is set to medium atm just to shift that extra bit of air. My ears don't notice much noise from it. The CPU fan and intake fan are 1200rpm scythe s-flexs running at about 1100rpm. The lower chamber fan is on low. And here it is!:

I've tried taking out the fan from the lower chamber and such like but with 3 hdd in there doing things quite regularly (I'm a freelance 3d graphics guy btw) the hdd was nudging up towards 55 odd a little too easily.

Check out the wiring at the back of the mobo tray. Absolute lifesaver. The only thing I'd maybe like an extension for is the 8pin PSU connector which has to go up past the heatsink atm

The front...
All in all I'd say it's pretty damn quiet! I'm pleased and ever so grateful for all the advice and reviews on this forum. The loudest thing around here is probably my monitor now and heck I'm not even going near the screws on that.

Wibla · Post by **Wibla** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 11:24 am

This just makes me want to go to Fry's and buy a whole setup with an E6600, 8800GTS, P182 right away instead of waiting till I get home to norway and build my current rig into one.. *drool*

(the P182 is actually cheaper online in norway than at Fry's...)

matva · Post by **matva** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 12:31 pm

well done:)

Actually planning a similar rig when the q6600 drops late July.

So the smaller power cable can't be ran through the back somehow?

Why not relocate the HDDs up top so you can ditch the bottom fan?

What kind of sflex is that? Can you give the model name?

Is that the ultra-120 extreme?

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 12:39 pm

matva wrote: Is that the ultra-120 extreme?

I think that is Regular Ultra-120 as it has 4 heat pipe ends in each side, while I think Extreme has 5 heat pipe ends.

ayjay · Post by **ayjay** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 2:04 pm

Correct! It is the regular. The extreme would be good for lower temps and thence overclocking potential but I had trouble sourcing them at the time and I'm not too interested in overclocking something I rely on professionally. Got it all from overclockers.co.uk
The s-flexes are these ones:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showprodu ... =FG-004-SY

I keep the hard drives where they are for cooling purposes. If I have them higher up, I'd have the fan at the front causing more direct noise and it'd be blowing warm air into the main chamber. That seemed to be the best idea

The smaller power cable is juuuuust too short, unless I flip the psu back over maybe but I dunno... then the main fan would be on the bottom and even then the cable would only just reach. Might get an extension.

matva · Post by **matva** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 2:30 pm

would this work?
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/3233/ ... d=gNUCbHbo

i'm considering the same psu+case, thats why i ask.

if the top hdd cage is not being used, why not remove it and mount the fan straight to the front?

are you OCing the q6600?

Chrysalis · Post by **Chrysalis** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 3:13 pm

I got what I think is a p180v2 which I think is the same the 182 but not sure.

Like yourself when the bottom fan is turned off the hd temps are very high, I have 4 hds in the bottom bay and temps were ranging between 55 and 58 degrees celsius, the 2 hds in the top bay were around the 60 degree mark defenitly way higher then in my last case. It took ages to get all the squashed cables from blocking the bottom fan spinning freely but I have eventually done it and with that turned on my hd temps in the bottom bay are now around 40 to 45 degrees much more respectable, for the top bay I got a fan from my old case and taped it in, I tried for ages but couldnt get the front of this case off so any tips on this would be appreciated, the top 2 plastic clips are too tight. With the fan taped in at the inside of the front of the case the temps for the top bay are also down to around 40-45 degrees but currently feeling uneasy the fan isnt properly secured so will go back to it soon I think to try and do a better job.

I feel this case has been designed well to keep the cpu cool and be quiet but the bottom hd bay is way too cramped when all 4 hd slots are used and the top hd bay needs a case fan I think.

ayjay · Post by **ayjay** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 3:51 am

matva wrote:would this work?
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/3233/ ... d=gNUCbHbo

i'm considering the same psu+case, thats why i ask.

if the top hdd cage is not being used, why not remove it and mount the fan straight to the front?

are you OCing the q6600?

Yeah that's the kind of extender that may come in handy.
By having the fan on the hdd bay it creates a duct blowing air straight at the vga card. At least that's the theory. Also the fan is then further into the case, causing less direct noise as a result. Again in theory. Checking out now I'd agree it's a tad silly as most of the space immediately in front of it is taken up with power cables and the like.
The Q6600 is stock speed atm.

Chrysalis: the top hdd bay has a fan bay

. You just need to fit a fan to it. Is it not in the p180?
The bottom bay is cramped but imo does a good job of keeping the drives cool so that isn't an issue.

Chrysalis · Post by **Chrysalis** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:59 am

ayjay the bottom bay at least without that fan on leaves the hds very hot, my hds were cooler in cheap generic cases then they are in the p180 without the bottom fan and I think the reason for this is the hd bay been isolated from the rest of the case and the hds left generating heat in a small enclosed space, however once the bottom fan is turned on they run at respectable temperatures. Certianly my psu fan is not enough cooling for the bottom hd bay. I expect this isnt as bad an issue for someone who perhaps only has 1 hd in the bottom bay but I am using all 4 slots.

I seen in some pictures people have fans attached to clips on the top hd bay, I cannot do that on mine so maybe mine is different to the p182, it is the revised case as in it has the holes for water cooling, fitted fan speed controls on back of case etc. I always thought tho those clipse were for a fan to cool the gfx card and cannot be used when hds are in the bay, it is possible to put a fan on the inside of the front of the case to cool down that bay but as I couldnt get the front panel of my case off I didnt really have room to secure my fan properly so taped it in the best I could and is now keeping the top 2 hds cool. With the door shut on the case the hd fan I put in isnt noticeable and almost silent.

ayjay · Post by **ayjay** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 4:05 am

Chrysalis wrote:but as I couldnt get the front panel of my case off I didnt really have room to secure my fan properly so taped it in the best I could and is now keeping the top 2 hds cool.

We have wires crossed here methinks.

The fan mount I'm referring to is the black plastic bit at the front end of the upper hard drive bay, removable in the same way as the one in the bottom of the case. There should be no modding needed to fit a fan i there surely? I'm confused.

Chrysalis · Post by **Chrysalis** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 5:15 am

I think I know what you mean although I remember trying to remove the bottom fan and I couldnt do it, maybe I was trying wrong but it seemed too tight and wouldnt budge, I wasnt even aware the other plastic bit was removeable.

What didnt help was I didnt do this until all my stuff was fitted motherboard etc and although I can slide out my upper drive bay I cant really see much in that area due to the other stuff now in my case.

ayjay · Post by **ayjay** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 6:09 am

Yeah one of the other reasons I have the upper bay in atm is to give all my wiring something to hide behind!

If I remove it and mount the fan at the front, it may be that the wires introduce turbulence. I still haven't done a comparison test, but I'll maybe give it a go later