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I thought about backing the DAN case, but I'd rather save money and get a N-CASE M1 much faster. Speaking of the N-CASE M1, is there any sort of consensus as to what CPU fan to get? I'm not even sure if I want to go air-cooling or watercooling.
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# ? Jun 8, 2016 16:15 |
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# ? May 13, 2024 07:08 |
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Bag of Sun Chips posted:I thought about backing the DAN case, but I'd rather save money and get a N-CASE M1 much faster. I ordered an M1 last week so I've been obsessively planning my own build. After a bunch of research, I settled on air cooling. It sounds like most AIO coolers are a pain to deal with. And I don't want to deal with custom water cooling. I chose the Noctua NH-U9S. Picture from a build that I'm basing mine on: It fits with two fans in either orientation, with room for a 120mm radiator from a hybrid video card in the right side slot.
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# ? Jun 8, 2016 23:52 |
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I know how to make a 3D printable ITX case that's smaller than any design on the market, including the Dan A4 and everything else, I just can't model in CAD to save my life. Long story short: - ITX motherboard - M.2 hard drive - ITX-size GPU like the GTX 970 (I'm sure the 1070 will come out eventually in the same form factor): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121912 - HDPlex Pico PSU, 250w with 400w peak: http://www.amazon.com/HDPLEX-Hi-Fi-DC-ATX-Supply-16V-24V/dp/B00J3X7RU6 - LiHeat shielded Gen 3.0 PCIe compliant riser-ribbon cable: http://www.highflow.nl/hardware/videokaarten/li-heat-pci-e-gen-3.0-ribbon-flexible-riser-cable-black.html - 330w laptop brick, you can get them on eBay as they used to sell them for big fuckoff gaming laptops You use the riser card to put the GPU on the backside of the motherboard, so both the GPU fan and CPU fan are pointing to the outside of the case. I actually own all of the parts listed above too. The whole thing works like a charm and I could cram it into a super small case, I even have a 3D printer with the build volume to do it. I just can't model for poo poo. All it would take is a 3D print model like this...: http://www.overclock.net/t/1566316/super-small-3d-printed-mini-itx-case ... but deeper and with a divider in the middle. The motherboard mounts to one side and the graphics card is bolted/clamped in place with something on the other side, with the PCI ribbon tucked under it. If anyone is a really good modeler, I'd pay you a hundo to design it to my specs then open-source it to the world.
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# ? Jun 9, 2016 00:22 |
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Zero VGS posted:I know how to make a 3D printable ITX case that's smaller than any design on the market, including the Dan A4 and everything else, I just can't model in CAD to save my life. Zero, would you mind writing a little blurb about picoPSUs for this thread? I know you've discussed them before and I probably just know the basics. I would be happy to add it to the OP. I think people avoid 3D printed because the materials used are much weaker than steel or aluminum, meaning you need thicker walls and those insulate heat. It probably also doesn't feel like a nice material, which some people care about but isn't a big deal to me.
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# ? Jun 9, 2016 03:21 |
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Zero VGS posted:I know how to make a 3D printable ITX case that's smaller than any design on the market, including the Dan A4 and everything else, I just can't model in CAD to save my life. Not personally fond of the huge, questionable quality laptop brick idea. I also wonder of the validity of a claim of being smaller, but ignoring the PSU. (see Xbox 360 vs PS3).
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# ? Jun 9, 2016 08:38 |
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HalloKitty posted:Not personally fond of the huge, questionable quality laptop brick idea. I also wonder of the validity of a claim of being smaller, but ignoring the PSU. (see Xbox 360 vs PS3). Yeah, hopefully the DC-DC PSU would keep voltages in line but I am wondering how a 330W passively cooled laptop brick is expected to not be a fire hazard for extended gaming sessions.
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# ? Jun 9, 2016 14:31 |
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VulgarandStupid posted:Zero, would you mind writing a little blurb about picoPSUs for this thread? I know you've discussed them before and I probably just know the basics. I would be happy to add it to the OP. A picoPSU is just a a made up term for an ATX-compliant DC to DC converter. You use it in conjunction with a laptop power supply. There's two classes of picoPSUs; 1) the kind that range from 80-160 watts, which are meant to power a PC with just a CPU, and run $20-50 bucks: http://www.amazon.com/Mini-Box-picoPSU-80-Output-Input-Supply/dp/B005TWE5E6 2) the high-grade models such as the HDPlex 250w, which will power an energy efficient CPU/GPU combo, such as a Skylake CPU and a 14/16nm process GPU like the GTX 1070 (TDP of 150w) http://www.amazon.com/HDPLEX-Hi-Fi-DC-ATX-Supply-16V-24V/dp/B00J3X7RU6 The HDPlex is the only picoPSU I've personally used and the only one I recommend. The guy who makes them uses top-shelf components and gives great support. I've worked with him mailing prototype PSUs back and forth with him to help minimize the coil whine on the PSU. HalloKitty posted:Not personally fond of the huge, questionable quality laptop brick idea. I also wonder of the validity of a claim of being smaller, but ignoring the PSU. (see Xbox 360 vs PS3). Eletriarnation posted:Yeah, hopefully the DC-DC PSU would keep voltages in line but I am wondering how a 330W passively cooled laptop brick is expected to not be a fire hazard for extended gaming sessions. There are power supplies on the horizon, and indeed, on store shelves today, such as the Zolt (https://www.gozolt.com/) which utilize Wide Bandgap technology to greatly increase the energy density and slightly increase the energy efficiency of AC and DC switching and conversions. In other words, you're going to start to see some much smaller and slightly cooler laptop bricks real soon. Besides, even with a full size laptop brick, you can have it down on the floor near the power strip or wall outlet. Out of sight, out of mind. It's kinda spergy to say "Well actually the case is much bigger if you count that!". Do we count the volume of the power cord too? But, if it makes you feel any better, I've used said 330w brick, and I've since even gone down to a Dell 240w brick, and they are fine in all normal conditions and do not overheat. Laptop bricks are rated pretty conservatively, as people use them in less ideal scenarios, such as on a bed resting on the blanket, where half the brick is insulated. VulgarandStupid posted:I think people avoid 3D printed because the materials used are much weaker than steel or aluminum, meaning you need thicker walls and those insulate heat. It probably also doesn't feel like a nice material, which some people care about but isn't a big deal to me. ABS plastic is strong as gently caress for what it is, especially when it's shaped like a box. Anyone who's stepped on a LEGO barefoot understands this. With the CPU and GPU fans both directly faced up against perforated case walls, there's going to be no real difference in temps. The fans and passive air convection are doing the vast majority of the cooling versus the metal of a PC case. But really, an MITX sized ABS box with thin walls and 100% infill, you wouldn't be able to break it without taking a hammer into it or spiking it into the ground. Zero VGS fucked around with this message at 18:24 on Jun 9, 2016 |
# ? Jun 9, 2016 18:22 |
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I'd also add that the HDPlex 250w picoPSU is the only way to go if you're looking to create your own VR gaming backpack form factor (you know, those things that HP, MSI, and Asus, and Zotac are all trying to sell at exorbitant prices right now http://www.theverge.com/2016/6/7/11874762/vr-backpack-pc-hands-on-computex) as it can take the DC directly from a laptop battery back and make it available to as ATX-compliant power.
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# ? Jun 9, 2016 18:31 |
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Pretty much covers it IMO. I wasn't aware of the HDPlex but that's cool, so thanks for sharing there. Any practical information on how to use laptop batteries as a portable power supply? Is there a controller for it or something? I actually ran into another company a while back that specializes in doing that stuff for computers onboard ships. It's prohibitively expensive for hobby use, however.
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# ? Jun 9, 2016 22:35 |
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Paul MaudDib posted:Pretty much covers it IMO. I wasn't aware of the HDPlex but that's cool, so thanks for sharing there. Laptop batteries all have a "BMS" (Batter Management System) circuit board built in to them, that will turn them off if they charge too high or low, overheat, or draw too many amps. If you have for example two Dell battery packs that normally output 11v, you could wire them together in series for 22v, and then run some test leads from the positive and negative pinouts of the batteries to the input on the HDPlex. If you want something that works right out of the box, you could drop $175-ish on something like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/282060749536 That is a battery for electric bikes. Note that I picked lithium Ion cells instead of the heavier lithium iron phosphate. It is about 7 pounds and includes a charger. That pack is 24v 10ah, so in other words it could sustain something like 240 watts for an hour straight, though in practice you'd get less due to Peukert's law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peukert%27s_law
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# ? Jun 10, 2016 03:13 |
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Zero VGS posted:Besides, even with a full size laptop brick, you can have it down on the floor near the power strip or wall outlet. Out of sight, out of mind. It's kinda spergy to say "Well actually the case is much bigger if you count that!". Do we count the volume of the power cord too? I don't have any cables trailing from my PC onto the floor, I attached my outlets to the table they sit on, so they're out of the way. A power brick would have to sit near the case (then, in that case, why not in it). I guess it can differ from one desk set up to another, but I don't see how it's "spergy" to point out there's another box you need to find space for. HalloKitty fucked around with this message at 13:32 on Jun 10, 2016 |
# ? Jun 10, 2016 13:17 |
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HalloKitty posted:A power brick would have to sit near the case (then, in that case, why not in it). Because then the case would need to vent the heat, with either the PSU's fans or with the case's fans for a passively cooled PSU. By splitting the heat between the AC-DC conversion of the laptop brick and the DC-DC of a picoPSU, they can both be run passively. A laptop brick already has it's own sealed and durable housing, so you could fit the case into a smaller sack and pocket the brick as well if travelling, and you don't need to use the laptop brick in a battery pack backpack scenario. It's also pretty clever because an HDplex has great components to keep the power delivery solid, while laptop bricks are dirt cheap on Amazon/EBay due to economy of scale. I'm sure there's plenty of use cases for keeping an all-in-one PSU, it's just aggravating to me to see people shooting down utility in favor of aesthetics. People bring up the giant, fan-cooled Xbox 360 / Xbone power supplies which isn't a fair comparison when this is more like the GameCube; it had a decent size external brick but all anyone remembers is the cute form factor. Lastly, like I said, laptop bricks are about to become tiny, like the tiny 65w charger I showed that is up for sale. You could build recessed outlets with a door into your desk if you're so determined to hide it, or jam that into your case I suppose.
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# ? Jun 10, 2016 15:29 |
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Karsh posted:I ordered an M1 last week so I've been obsessively planning my own build. After a bunch of research, I settled on air cooling. It sounds like most AIO coolers are a pain to deal with. And I don't want to deal with custom water cooling. I have this setup with an air cooled 970, and I love it. If you are going for a silent build, you should consider buying a fan controller (I'm using this one: http://www.phanteks.com/PH-PWHUB.html)
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# ? Jun 11, 2016 18:00 |
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VulgarandStupid posted:The Dan Case A4-SFX will start its crowdfunding in 5 days. I'm not 100% sure if I'm going to back it, but it is an awesome looking case and probably the smallest we're going to see that fits a full sized video card. The total volume is 7.25 liters. (I currently have a Fractal Design Node 304 that I'd like to take up even less space on my desk.) Edit: I ended up ordering the M1. Really considered backing the A4 but decided it wasn't worth waiting until December (or longer, who knows with Kickstarter projects commonly getting delayed), for a v1 product. At least the M1 has been in production for a while now and has gone through a few revisions. I also think the M1 looks slightly better, but that's personal preference. NoDamage fucked around with this message at 13:06 on Jun 12, 2016 |
# ? Jun 12, 2016 04:04 |
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I'm really looking forward to the the Cryorig Ola, but it's just too bad that it'll be almost another year before it comes out. The Dan A4 would also have been nice if it hadn't ended up costing almost $300 to ship to the states.
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# ? Jun 12, 2016 08:38 |
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Bag of Sun Chips posted:I thought about backing the DAN case, but I'd rather save money and get a N-CASE M1 much faster. All the reviews and a lot of the documentation mentions water cooling so I fit my M1 with a 240mm aio water cooler. Kind of overkill; too loud for my tastes and there was a subtle vibration going through my desk thanks to it so I sold the fucker. Currently using a Noctua NH-D9L - runs almost as cool and is virtually silent. Tl;dr: water cooling is for mugs (with very niche exceptions) Generic Monk fucked around with this message at 23:46 on Jun 15, 2016 |
# ? Jun 15, 2016 23:42 |
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Water cooling is great if you go big and overclock a lot. For plain quiet, you can do better with air.
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# ? Jun 16, 2016 00:27 |
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Oh neat, a SFF thread. I've done a few builds in SG07, SG08, and BitFenix Prodigy over the last several years and mITX is the only form factor I'll deal with anymore for PCs. It was a fun challenge figuring out what the absolute largest and most powerful I could cram into a shoebox was. I'll try to dig up some pics from the old parts picking threads. If I ever get around to another build, I've got my eye on the Node 202. For now I'm out on PC gaming for a bit though. Also the Prodigy was the biggest disappointment ever. What a waste of money that was.
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# ? Jun 16, 2016 00:41 |
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Star War Sex Parrot posted:Also the Prodigy was the biggest disappointment ever. What a waste of money that was. Node 202 looks pretty sweet, I got to check out the insides of one and it seemed very nice. Looks like it should support those newish silverstone SFX-L power supplies too which is awfully nice compared to requiring standard SFX.
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# ? Jun 16, 2016 01:00 |
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I'm thinking of going SFF with my next PC, purely because my current ATX tower is massive and I never use more than 1 pcie slot so it seems a huge waste of space. I'm looking at the Nano S, but I haven't seen anyone else in here talk about it. I realise it's large compared to lots of ITX cases, but is that the only reason? I don't need the absolute smallest case on earth, and things like the M1 are out of my budget, so the Nano looks good to me.
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# ? Jun 16, 2016 13:46 |
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Lungboy posted:I'm thinking of going SFF with my next PC, purely because my current ATX tower is massive and I never use more than 1 pcie slot so it seems a huge waste of space. I'm looking at the Nano S, but I haven't seen anyone else in here talk about it. I realise it's large compared to lots of ITX cases, but is that the only reason? I don't need the absolute smallest case on earth, and things like the M1 are out of my budget, so the Nano looks good to me. It's been mentioned a few times in the build thread, and I'm sure it has in here too, could be wrong. Plenty of good reviews out there. Either way, it's a good case, nothing wrong with it. It's just a little larger than the guys that want to cram everything into the smallest box are looking for. I'd definitely go for it if I was building a mini ITX box, especially if you have a GPU that needs room to breathe.
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# ? Jun 16, 2016 15:51 |
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Nice! A SFF Thread... I've actually been gaming / coding / designing off my little Node 304 for the last 4-5 years now... My setup is... Node 304 Silverstone Strider 500W modular power supply Silverstone Strider Short Cable Kit Asrock H77M-ITX 16GB of Corsair LP memory i5 3570k w/ Corsair h90 Samsung 840 Pro (128GB) WD HDD (1TB) EVGA 780 Ti ACX CPU and GPU never go over 50c and it has ran like a dream with no problems whatsoever. I plan on upgrading at some point in the future but I can still play pretty much everything out there maxed out without any issues.
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# ? Jun 16, 2016 16:20 |
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I'm using a Prodigy right now I guess I understand the complaints though, it basically takes up the same footprint as an ATX tower so there's no real estate savings there. I definitely want to change that for my next build though, and I'm looking at the SilverStone ML08B. Any reports on that? It looks nice and small and doesn't look like it should be a trouble to build in if I use a modular PSU. I've heard some wariness about the lack of fans, but also that it stays pretty cool regardless because of the case design itself? I probably would just be using a 1070 and stock CPU cooler, no overclocking or anything
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# ? Jun 16, 2016 17:01 |
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HalloKitty posted:It's been mentioned a few times in the build thread, and I'm sure it has in here too, could be wrong. Plenty of good reviews out there. I almost went with a Nano S but ultimately decided on a Core 500. The main reason was GPU cooling. The Nano S puts half of the GPU about 0.5" from the top of the PSU. That is enough to make my 980ti FTW thermal throttle below its normal boost of 1400mhz. The Node 304 and Core 500 give the GPU lots of fresh air so it's only limited by power delivery. The Nano S was definitely designed with GPU watercooling in mind.
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# ? Jun 16, 2016 17:59 |
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CharlieFoxtrot posted:I'm using a Prodigy right now I guess I understand the complaints though, it basically takes up the same footprint as an ATX tower so there's no real estate savings there. It's basically the same as the RVZ02, which is pretty nice. It's what I'm using right now. You could also consider a node 202, which is a little smaller at the cost of no optical drive compatibility.
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# ? Jun 16, 2016 19:12 |
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buffbus posted:I almost went with a Nano S but ultimately decided on a Core 500. The main reason was GPU cooling. The Nano S puts half of the GPU about 0.5" from the top of the PSU. That is enough to make my 980ti FTW thermal throttle below its normal boost of 1400mhz. The Node 304 and Core 500 give the GPU lots of fresh air so it's only limited by power delivery. The Nano S was definitely designed with GPU watercooling in mind. This is what I'm a bit worried about, as I have zero interest in water cooling.
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# ? Jun 16, 2016 20:01 |
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CharlieFoxtrot posted:I'm using a Prodigy right now I guess I understand the complaints though, it basically takes up the same footprint as an ATX tower so there's no real estate savings there. Yeah, that's what I'm looking at as well. The big thing for me was that the non-windowed version has fully filtered intakes and the reviews I've seen put it as having better airflow than the Node 202. It's not mentioned a lot, but if the GPU you use is shorter than about 200-210mm there's mounting holes for a 2.5"/3.5" drive in there, but for me it's only ten bucks to switch to a 2.5" HDD and probably get a quieter computer.
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# ? Jun 17, 2016 04:36 |
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Scythe has a new Kabuto CPU cooler, 125mm height with fan. Probably going to be pretty good.
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# ? Jun 17, 2016 16:13 |
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I picked up a Corsair SF600 + SFX to ATX adapter for my Node 304, and I must say it is an incredibly quiet power supply. Or at least, it's much less noisy than the Seasonic M12II-650 I had in there previously. For some reason that power supply was the loudest component in my system, despite being made by Seasonic which is generally known for quiet power supplies.
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# ? Jun 17, 2016 23:10 |
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A number of DAN cases opened up again, I kind of wonder why so many on the other forum have bought components already when it is like 4-6 months to ship.
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# ? Jun 18, 2016 17:15 |
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Eh, if you need to put together a new computer anyway. I ran my system without a case, sitting on the motherboard box, for a couple of weeks while I waited for my NCase. Half a year is a long time though. I'd probably get a cheap case in the meantime.
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# ? Jun 18, 2016 19:01 |
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Alright. I've deadlocked with myself on the Dancase A4. Make or break my decision one way or another, please.
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# ? Jun 19, 2016 05:15 |
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SwissArmyDruid posted:Alright. I've deadlocked with myself on the Dancase A4. Grab an M1 and be happy with it, imo.
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# ? Jun 19, 2016 06:04 |
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SwissArmyDruid posted:Alright. I've deadlocked with myself on the Dancase A4. Also, that super long PCIe riser cable. I know supposedly he chose the best one, but I would maybe be slightly concerned about issues cropping up with that, which we won't know about until many cases are in the hands of many people with different motherboard/video card combinations. Finally, it's the first run of a Kickstarter project. If anything goes wrong (as Kickstarters tend to do), you might be waiting even longer than December.
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# ? Jun 19, 2016 06:11 |
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NoDamage posted:At ~$285 shipped to the US that's a drat expensive case, are you willing to pay that much and wait until December for it? The extreme size of the case also imposes quite a few component restrictions, for example some aftermarket video cards with larger PCBs won't fit, and there's maybe a handful of CPU coolers that are compatible. For any case > $200 you'd likely want to get multiple generations of use out of it, and personally I think I would get pretty annoyed with playing the "does this component fit in my case" game every time I went to upgrade something in the future. Not worth the hassle just to save 1.5 inches on width and height compared to the M1, unless you absolutely must have the smallest case ever. And even the M1 has limitations, with some wide GPUs with the power connectors on top not being able to fit due to the PCIe power cables not allowing the side panel to fit. People have had to cut down the plastic PCIe cable ends to get the sides to fit. That's why there's some excitement over EVGA's Power Link l-bracket that can allow the PCIe cables to connect on the end.
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# ? Jun 19, 2016 07:03 |
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SwissArmyDruid posted:Alright. I've deadlocked with myself on the Dancase A4. $300 and December is too much and too long for a case.
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# ? Jun 19, 2016 07:43 |
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NoDamage posted:At ~$285 shipped to the US that's a drat expensive case, are you willing to pay that much and wait until December for it? The extreme size of the case also imposes quite a few component restrictions, for example some aftermarket video cards with larger PCBs won't fit, and there's maybe a handful of CPU coolers that are compatible. For any case > $200 you'd likely want to get multiple generations of use out of it, and personally I think I would get pretty annoyed with playing the "does this component fit in my case" game every time I went to upgrade something in the future. Not worth the hassle just to save 1.5 inches on width and height compared to the M1, unless you absolutely must have the smallest case ever. In a nutshell, this is pretty much what the other side in my head has been saying. Vaya con dios, Dancase. We'll see you next year.
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# ? Jun 19, 2016 07:59 |
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SwissArmyDruid posted:In a nutshell, this is pretty much what the other side in my head has been saying. I feel you though, I went through the same thing. It's a super great case, bet it'll get picked up again (or ripped off) at some point.
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# ? Jun 19, 2016 08:40 |
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It's the case we need, but not the case we deserve...
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# ? Jun 19, 2016 09:24 |
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# ? May 13, 2024 07:08 |
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It'll give me time to find a small UPS to go on the VR harness. The problem is that APC/Cyberpower don't make one that isn't goddamn overkill, Tripplite makes one that MIGHT be okay, but I'm not quite sure yet because it's only rated for 150W, and everything else is liable to be made of Chinesium. And really, all I want is enough runtime to yank the headset up, and plug the extension cord back in. SwissArmyDruid fucked around with this message at 10:29 on Jun 19, 2016 |
# ? Jun 19, 2016 10:24 |