Antec P180b + Asus P5B + Corsair

[wgoldfarb]

I am considering an Antec P180B for my first build. I like the "unconventional" location of the PSU at the bottom of the case. However, I have read in several places that this can create problems, where the PSU cable might not reach the power connectors on the MoBo. This is my very first build and right now I am leaning towards an Asus P5B Deluxe (or the P5B E if budget becomes too tight), an Antec p180b, and a Corsair HX520w (or, if the budget allows, a Corsair HX620w).

From the MoBo pictures (links above), it seems as if the 24 pin power connector on the Mobo is on the front of the board, in the middle (vertically) so that the cable should reach ok. Is this correct? (again, I have never built a system before, so I may not be correctly identifying the 24 pin power connector).

My main concern, however, is what I think is the 4 pin power connector. Assuming I identified this pin correctly and assuming I am picturing this correctly in my mind, once the MoBo is installed in the case this connector will be at the top, as far from the PSU as it can possibly be. It also seems as if this cable will have to be routed over/around my GPU, adding even more to the problem. Did I identify the position of the pin correctly? Can anyone with this combination of case + PSU + MoBo tell me if I will have any problems with the PSU cable reaching the 4 pin connector?

The only other cases I have found that place the PSU at the bottom are the Lian Li V1100 and V1000. These cases also invert the Mobo so that cable issues are not as bad (but I would guess that then you may have problems with cables going from the SATA connector to the HDD?). I know they are superior quality, but I probably cannot afford to pay $200+ for a case .Does anyone know of any other cases that place the PSU at the bottom?

Thanks,

William

 

[Evacide]

the corsair should be able to reach in the p180. i dont know of any other cases with psu's at the bottom besides some of the antecs but why limit yourself to just cases with psu's at the bottom?

 

[wgoldfarb]

Originally posted by: Evacide
the corsair should be able to reach in the p180. i dont know of any other cases with psu's at the bottom besides some of the antecs but why limit yourself to just cases with psu's at the bottom?

I am not really limited to cases with the PSU at the bottom. I looked/am looking at many cases, both "normal" and "inverted". However, researching and finding normal cases that I like is a lot easier (there are many more!) so I decided to ask for help with the inverted cases.

Right now I am leaning towards the P180B. All else being equal, I do prefer cases that place the PSU at the bottom (and physically separate the PSU chamber from from the CPU chamber) because it seems to help keep both components cooler, at least from I have read. Also, it lowers the center of gravity and makes the system more stable (physically). I have two small kids running around, so this sounds like good insurance

 

[ajchun]

i just put together a box with the p180b, ds3 and corsair 620. Everything fit and could reach fine. The 4 pin connector at the top of the board (its on top of the socket) is a bit hard to reach once the mb/heatsink is in but doable. But that might depend on how long the video card is.

 

[bmad]

I just finished putting together with the P180 and the Corsair 620, ASUS Pw5 DH board. As ajchun pointed out, the the ATX 12V power cable just reaches over my modest sized view card to the ATX connector at the top of the motherboard. I tried running the cable under the video card, but that didn't make much difference. Might be possible to run that cable behind the board, have it come over the top, then plug it into the ATX 12V connector.

Something I found out - the "Fan Only" Y adapter that Corsair provides should not be used with the 2 Antec Tri Mode fans. "Do not power anything but fans from the Fan-Only line, do not put self-regulating or manually-adjustable fans on the Fan-Only line (because two layers of voltage reguation may stall your fan)..." That from http://www.mechbgon.com/build/cables.html

Also, the Corsair Molex style 4-pin peripheral power cable connectors flimsy, the cables not well identified, documentatioin skimpy. The look and feel of my 2 year old Enermax Noisetaker 600W much more impressive.

 

[wgoldfarb]

Thanks for the feedback ajchun and bmad. It sounds as if a short GPU will help. I haven't decided on a video card yet, but I am not a hardcore gamer so I am somewhat flexible: I can add "short" to the selection criteria without too much trouble