P182/Nine Hundred Comparision

[[Dr. V]]

thats what i thought as well, since all the air blowing through the lower chamber WOULD have space underneath the PSU, no?

see if i could see a PSU mounted there, i would know. im not 100% sure about the clearance under the PSU when mounted fan-down.

[Computer-Ed]

Yeah if you look at the picture I posted there is a space under the PSU for just such a setup, it is not large. I have sent an email to one of my contacts at Antec asking about air flow with that type of PSU cooling. Will post his reply here.

[[Dr. V]]

kool man looking forward to it.

and thanks!

[Computer-Ed]

Okay I asked in the Antec forums (my contact has not replied yet) The down position should be fine. With a single HD I was told the Trio 650 would have enough air draw to cool the HD and PSU. I could remove the center fan if I wished.

I saw a mod of the case where they got a 120 or a 82 fan in front of the HD bay, gonna try and get a 92mm fan to test.

[[Dr. V]]

hmm is it mandatory to remove that middle fan if the PSU fan is in the downward-facing position?

im not sure that would HELP airflow particularly, would it? point is to suck cool air into the PSU...doesnt that center fan blow cool air towards the CPU?

[Capper]

The P182 is basically the same design as the older P180.....you'd mount the PSU fan downward.....as mounting it on top will with some power supplies butt it up against the top of the PSU chamber.

The center fan draws cool air in from the front of the case, over the HDD (if you use the bottom HDD rack), and blows it backward to the PSU.....which is why the case is chambered, each section provides its own cool air, air flow, and exhaust.

[Computer-Ed]

Originally Posted by ST!X

hmm is it mandatory to remove that middle fan if the PSU fan is in the downward-facing position?

im not sure that would HELP airflow particularly, would it? point is to suck cool air into the PSU...doesnt that center fan blow cool air towards the CPU?

It is not maditory, the system can be used with the middle fan, I have just always felt that it restricts the ease of installations.

In the chamber system the center fan blows air from the straight to the PSU. This helps cool the PSU and the hard drive. The upper chamber pulls it's own air with the 2 exhaust fans however you can mount a 120 in the upper chamber for intake.

The advantage of the chamber system is that the only two major heat sources then are the CPU and Video, thus making it easier to cool the upper chamber.

Next week I am going to be moving my build to a P180 for a full thermal comparision of the P182 vs the Nine Hundred.

[[Dr. V]]

ok im looking forward to that as well lol.

hmm i think it would definitely be beneficial to try and keep that middle chamber fan in there, as it seems to help a lot for the cooling of the PSU/HDD.

as for the optional intake fan, if i can get the exact same QUIET and ADJUSTABLE antec tri fan and use that in there, do you guys think its worth the increase it may give? its obviously not necessary if this thing cools so damn well and is quiet as hell, but is it worth it?

[Computer-Ed]

Well the 'worth it' is subjective to a number of variables. Things such as room temperature, air flow around the case, heat of items in the case all play into this.

My system currently is runing at around 30c on the HS Probe for the Core2 during the day under a full folding load. This is in an Antec Nine Hundred case with fans on medium.

When I move over next week the goal is to see how close to the same cooling I can get. I will be experimenting with and without the front intake for the upper chamber as well as with a 92 mm in the front of the lower chamber or with the middle chamber fan.

I was a bit curuious and I have not been able to find out if Antec has tried this kind of testing yet, a direct comparision I mean so this could have some interesting results.

[[Dr. V]]

ok well lets hope results are good :D

thats gonna be a great comparison, and im sure the P180 will do just as good/better, but most likely be quite a bit quieter. i probably could use a 120mm front intake fan. a) im going to have one doing absolutely nothing when i move cases, b) my room's ambient temperature isnt too too high.