Nexus introduces silent ATX case

Xspringe · Post by **Xspringe** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 2:13 am

http://www.nexustek.nl/breeze.htm

Should be interesting!

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 2:34 am

Well, well.....virtually identical airflow path to my "cookie jar computer". I wonder how the hard drives get any airflow with this setup. Also it looks like the intake is restricted because of case feet that look way too short for a bottom intake. That mesh filter is better than nothing, but dust will still enter. It's a start though. And probably could be modded to work better.

And since they're using my airflow design as their own "patent pending" Breese case design, the least they could do is send me a thank-you note....

Wrah · Post by **Wrah** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 2:39 am

Bottom filtered intake.. There goes the patent, Bluefront.

The 12 cm Real Silent case fan takes in cold air from the bottom of the case. This air is drawn into the case through a fan filter preventing any dust coming into the case. The 12 cm fan in the Nexus power supply draws out the air through the power supply creating perfect airflow, cooling all the hot components. The Nexus Breeze case has no other ventilation holes because these holes would interrupt the created airflow.

So one fan blowing in, the PSU is the only outtake, and the case is close to airtight. And appearantly they chose this deliberately.
But why? It seems to me that having fans at both ends of the 'pipe' doesn't add anything except noise.

I would have used the 12 cm fan as an outtake in the back or at the top, combined with one of their 12 to 10v fan cables. But they must have tested various combinations (I presume) and chose to use it as an intake.
It could be because the intake fan moves more air then the psu fan (the psu fan runs at 4-5v or something) thereby more air blowing through the psu, without the psu fan speeding up (or any chance to that). In other words, the intake fan takes over (partially) the function of the psu fan. But the noisemaker is now inside the case and because of the positive pressure the psu fan needs very little effort to spin it is even more quieter than it was.

or something like that..

WoberT · Post by **WoberT** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 3:13 am

was searching for a topic about this case earlier today but didn´t find one.. is it completely new? I wonder how it performs.. looks really neat.. I hope some shop here in Sweden gonna take it in stock.

idealcrash · Post by **idealcrash** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 5:01 am

The PSU is acting as the only exhaust on the case, that's not good for quiet PSU operation. I would prefer to see a custom made dust filter system instead of that aluminum mesh filter that's been commercially available for years. That filter is usually fixed to the fan with 4 fan screws of sorts, so it's not exactly easy to remove it for cleaning, unless they came up with a new way of attaching it. Beautiful case though.

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 5:57 am

Wrah wrote:Bottom filtered intake.. There goes the patent, Bluefront.

It's called "Prior Art" and Bluefront may well have a case here. There's big "Patent Pending" graphics on that Nexus page. It'd probably come down to the day they filed their patent application vs. Bluefront's post dates.

zuperdee · Post by **zuperdee** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 9:21 am

I dunno about you people, but I have no problem with hot air being exhausted by my 120mm-fanned PSU. My Coolmax Taurus CX-350 PSU is so quiet, I can't hear it at all unless I am less than 1 foot away from it. (And let's face it, NO FAN is ever going to be 100% silent unless it moves hardly any air at all.) I personally think the Nexus NX-3500 PSU (which is really just a re-badged Passive PFC Fortron unit that is painted black, and given that special orange Yate Loon fan) is not the best 120mm-fanned 350-watter though. I'd probably replace it with something like the Seasonic Super Tornado. (Maybe even better still would be a Seasonic Super Tornado with the stock fan swapped for the Yate Loon fan!)

Bottom line: I would not pass judgement on this case until you've actually seen it and heard it. Nexus has already impressed us with their case fans and PSUs like the NX-3000, after all, so I suspect they know what they're doing.

shathal · Post by **shathal** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 1:38 pm

Here's my thoughts on the little babe.

1 - certainly interest, moving in the right direction.

2 - Venting the ENTIRE system's heat through the PSU? That's just asking for a hot PSU, isn't it? (Speaking as a 3.4 GHz Prescott owner here...).

3 - Would seem to me that adding a 120 mm fan around CPU height to reduce the burden of taking the entire heat out of the system from the PSU would be a good idea.

4 - Hmmm - surely needs a filter. Or a loot of hoovering from the prospective owner's from the ground.

*looks at floor*

Thankfully, I already bought a chassis, so I'm "safe". Otherwise, I'd have to vacuum a lot more...

.

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 2:52 pm

I totally agree with zuperdee on this one. Of course my cookie jar computer has been running just fine with an Evercool-modded Fortron as the only exhaust fan. The only problem I had with this setup was the original fan operation of the Fortron.....it sort-of changed speeds for no apparent reason. After installing an Evercool fan in it, and hooking the Evercool up to an exernal controller, I had no more problems.

My setup even uses a fanless Zen on the CPU....so that one PSU fan is carrying the heat load from the whole computer. No sweat either. It never runs hot no matter what. This leaves me with the impression that a correctly configured PSU setup can, in fact, be used as the only exhaust for your computer. You'll just have to build one for yourself I guess.....or wait till this new case becomes available.

al bundy · Post by **al bundy** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 4:37 pm

zuperdee wrote:...Bottom line: I would not pass judgement on this case until you've actually seen it and heard it. Nexus has already impressed us with their case fans and PSUs like the NX-3000, after all, so I suspect they know what they're doing.

Bluefront wrote:I totally agree with zuperdee on this one...

I completely agree with zuperdee on this as well. This looks like an outstanding looking and performing case, and I can't wait to try one out.

Thanks to Xspringe for posting this info about the new Nexus Breeze case.

fmah · Post by **fmah** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 8:06 pm

Well I think this is the better looking of the newer cases. Although I'm not a big fan of all the air going through the one fan.

Dragon Puppy · Post by **Dragon Puppy** » Sat Apr 24, 2004 6:40 am

Theres a 4 page review @ http://www3.soneraplaza.fi/pelit/muropa ... 99,00.html

Its in finnish but theres plenty of pictures.

shathal · Post by **shathal** » Sat Apr 24, 2004 7:21 am

Don't suppose we have anyone from Finland here / anyone who speaks finish to translate the stuff?

.

shathal · Post by **shathal** » Sat Apr 24, 2004 7:26 am

Hmm - certainly LOOKS vey nice.

Question is how much heat can that thing cool (the temps seem to be quite fine), and how much noise does it generate?

Certainly looks quite nice, from the sight of things. Hmmm - wonder how much one would screw the airflow concept/design Nexus came up with, by swapping the PSU for something else (ergo - higher wattage).

Certainly looks quite impressive

. Also *VERY* nice that (as it seems) the dampening material comes pre-installed. I think that's a very nice "little" touch.

Sooty · Post by **Sooty** » Sat Apr 24, 2004 7:34 am

It’s based on a Denco D921. http://www.denco.com.hk/ …website appears down – atleast I can’t access it. From a different site... http://www.itonweb.com.au/prod907.htm The D921, as reviewed by Custom PC (UK mag) this month, has no bottom 120mm fan, only a rear 80mm and a tiny vent at the front “blocked by all the wires from the front I/O ports”.

Does the Finnish review mention hard drive temps?

fmah · Post by **fmah** » Sat Apr 24, 2004 8:17 am

Well this has the be the best design style in a long time. At least IMHO.

ashtray_head · Post by **ashtray_head** » Sat Apr 24, 2004 10:00 am

Yeah it looks really good.

We need to see a review in English

Xspringe · Post by **Xspringe** » Sat Apr 24, 2004 10:02 am

ashtray_head wrote:Yeah it looks really good.

We need to see a review in English

At silentpcreview if possible

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Sat Apr 24, 2004 6:23 pm

Hello:

It only has *one* internal 3.5" bay?

2, 3, or 4 would be much nicer -- it is an elegant looking case, though.

will0957 · Post by **will0957** » Sat Apr 24, 2004 9:05 pm

looks really nice.. i don't like that it doesn't have an exhaust behind the cpu though.

would be nice to read a more thorough review somewhere

acompeau · Post by **acompeau** » Sat Apr 24, 2004 9:38 pm

Ralf Hutter wrote:
Wrah wrote:Bottom filtered intake.. There goes the patent, Bluefront.
It's called "Prior Art" and Bluefront may well have a case here. There's big "Patent Pending" graphics on that Nexus page. It'd probably come down to the day they filed their patent application vs. Bluefront's post dates.

Unless Bluefront objects, I may attempt to submit evidence of prioer art to the Patent Office on this. I really hate bogus patents, and I don't believe they deserve this one.

Bluefront, note that by releasing the information into the public domain without filing an intent with the USPTO, you have effectively given up any patent rights. However, that also means nobody else should be able to patent it either!

Fabool · Post by **Fabool** » Sun Apr 25, 2004 1:53 am

I'll translate a few points from the Finnish review that I think might be interesting or aren't really apparent from the pictures.

--The case is fairly heavy for a mid-tower case
--There are no discernable holes in the case apart from the PSU, drive bays, etc.
--The sides protrude a bit from the back thus dampening the noise from the PSU
--Similar to the back, there's space under the case to dampen the sounds coming from the 120mm fan, the rubber pads lift the case about half centimeter above the ground
--To open the case you need to remove the top of the case first which is held in place by one thumbscrew. You can then see the dampening materials as well as the handles to open the sides
--On top of the steel frame are normal steel covers with dampening material and plastic frames to further dampen the sound. The dampening material is about a centimeter thick and there's empty space between the plastic frame and metal covers
--Four 5.25"- and three 3.5"-bays. No rail systems used for either.
--The insides are rather plain. No removable motherboard tray or anything else out of the ordinary.
--Front cover has more dampening materials that you can remove or add as you see fit. Interesting is that the dampening material is missing from both external 3.5"-bays which would suggest that Nexus thinks everyone has two floppy- or cardreaders in their computers
--The case didn't come with any documentation but there will probably be some in the final retail model
--Installation was fairly simple. The side support beam might get in the way but it can be removed. The front panel USB, firewire and audio cables are removable
--Plastic support tabs that are installed on the side support beam keep the expansion cards in place which might be useful with heavy cards or when moving the case
--When powering up the computer we were positively surprised. The case isn't noiseless by no means but very quiet. The loudest parts were the PSU and especially the hard drive which could be clearly heard.
--The temperatures measured are excellent; Ambient (I think this means ambient..): 24.9C, Exhaust idle: 33.5C, Exhaust load: 33.6C, CPU idle: 29C, CPU load: 43C, HDD: 38C
--The PSU fan ramps up when the computer is under load. The noise is still quiet by normal standards but probably too much for the most sensitive
--The CPU temps were excellent, it might even be possible to cool the CPU passively in some cases
--Summary: The Nexus Breeze as a standard case isn't anything special. Visually it wasn't very pleasing to the reviewers eye and there weren't any special features that help with the assembly or use of the computer. The quiet nature of the case makes up for the lack of features. The closed plastic frame combined with the excellent ventilation is an excellent combination. When using the case even loud components like the video card are noticeably dampened which is no small feat.
Those looking for perfect silence won't be perfectly happy with the case. The silencing features of the case focus on dampening and not removing the noisy components. By selecting fairly quiet components for the Breeze you can reach a level that has only been reachable by using very very quiet components and ineffective ventilation. The test platform used is actually quieter than a normal, passive watercooling which probably indicates how succesful the case is.

I had to change some parts a bit since I couldn't otherwise translate them fluently. I'm not sure how useful the review is as the website, Muropaketti is known as a really, really hardcore overclocking site so their quiet might not be our quiet

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Sun Apr 25, 2004 2:21 am

acompeau.....what I object to most about this situation, is the use of the word "patented" or Patent-pending". People and companies throw this term around so frequently that it's practically lost any meaning. What is so special about that airflow design that it could be patented? IMHO, I think that "patent" thing is just a marketing-department lie. I never filed for a patent because of the costs involved defending the thing. A little guy will always get screwed in this type of situation. No objection from me if you want to do anything.....might be fun.

shathal · Post by **shathal** » Sun Apr 25, 2004 2:39 am

Fabool Thanks for the translation

.

That puts things a lot more into perspective. Also, explainin that the site is an extreme OC'ing site tends to lend itself that the chaps in question might be used to blow-dryers, rather than the SPCR-nirvana of "the sound of silence" (to plagiarize from Simon & Garfunkel).

Cheers a ton.

Now, to get MikeC one of those chassis somehow.

Certainly, the temps are quite impressive. Lends itself to the suspicion that if the critter gets modded, there might be room for improvement yet. Seeing as most silencing mechanisms tend to lead to an increase in CPU temp, this here does give a lot of room to play with

.

luggage · Post by **luggage** » Sun Apr 25, 2004 6:02 am

Another point for perspective is that it was with a slightly OCed cpu.
"Intel Pentium 4 2,4 @ 3 GHz"

The heatsinks in the PSU looks very small tho.

shathal · Post by **shathal** » Sun Apr 25, 2004 8:34 am

*whistles appreciatively*

Just a WEE little bit OC'ed

.

Sure as heck cools well, even though the "quiet"-factor is somewhat doubtable

.

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Sun Apr 25, 2004 10:21 am

shathal wrote:*whistles appreciatively*

Just a WEE little bit OC'ed .
.

2.4 @ 3.0 is a slam-dunk. That's only a 25% OC. Almost all will do that on default Vcore. The 2.4C is a kick-ass CPU. Probably my favorite Intel CPU since the PIII-S 1.4.

nathannookie · Post by **nathannookie** » Fri May 21, 2004 12:08 pm

Yep, the Breeze is aesthetically beautiful, and the airflow and design makes sense. I'd hate to spend that kind of money, (not that it's not worth it), when things are moving to BTX. I wrote them about a BTX version. They wrote back saying that there were more smaller designs in the works, but didn't mention BTX.

Also asked the editor, here at Silent PC Review about doing a review on it.

It would be kind of cool if it could be made both ATX and BTX compatible...doors on each side...etc...

nathannookie · Post by **nathannookie** » Sun Jun 06, 2004 6:41 pm

This is the most amazingly quiet power supply we've ever tested or sold! Not only is it impossible to hear, but with a top-mounted 120mm fan with wire grill, and a tranparent back full grid, it moves more air through your case than any truly quiet power supply on the market! In fact, in tests in our own quiet computers, CPU temperatures dropped as much as 10 degrees Celcius during 100% CPU load testing. This temperature drop is based on a comparison between the NX-3500 and quiet power supplies equipped with 80mm fans and already designed for proper airflow. Because of its incredible airflow, this quiet power supply is well-suited for today's 3 Ghz and above quiet pcs.

The NX-3500 quiet power supply designed by NexusTek is the latest in innovation and efficiency. The NX-3500 uses a 120mm quiet fan to move a greater amount of air at a lower noise level. The wire grill, large quiet fan, heavy duty heatsink, and quiet circuitry all add up to optimum airflow, minimum noise. The NX-3500 quiet power supply provides the user with 350 watts of power for today's power hungry machines, but a silent 19.2 dB(a) of noise. The fan, located on the bottom of these quiet power supplies, blows up, rather than out, substantially reducing power supply noise when mounted in your PC

More;

http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/nx-3500.html