[DEAD] Antec SLK1650B W/350Watt PSU. $37 shipped AR

[DrPizza]

*sigh* I bought this case with the power supply, just because I needed a power supply. Now I realize that I need a new power supply for this case, plus a new motherboard, processor, ram, etc. Just so the case doesn't sit empty... I back further than when I started! (But, I'll have a nice shiny new computer!)

 

[Damathon]

Picked this up in the Orange County, CA Fry's (Anaheim?) for the same, with tax, minus shipping. Not a bad idea to check instore if you want to save on shipping.

 

[Nessism]

This case is very similar to the older KS382 model, but of course, it's been updated. The top cover slide off to the back then the side covers pull straight up to remove. The metal in the side panels is quite thin and flexable which makes installation somewhat more difficult than Antec's higher end cases. Overall it's an OK case but not super dupper in my opinion. A great value though, no doubt.

Ed

 

[mindless1]

Originally posted by: kleptophobiac
I ignore front intakes.... I use only the rear 120's now. Everything works fine.

Front intake, not front fan.The higher the impedance from a passive intake, the higher the exhaust fan RPM to move same air, (more noise or lower flow rate if fan RPM remained constant) in addition to more turbulent noise. Also when a case has such a large exhaust fan it's even more important to have great intake so the power supply also has lower resistance to flow, stays cooler and/or quieter with any decent/modern PSU having fan speed control.

 

[imported_kleptophobiac]

Cases are plenty leaky enough for the rear fans to move all the air they feel like with minimal resistance. The fan holes really only become important when the fan blades are very close to them. The front fan grille hardly has any impact at all on the rear fan. Though I don't recommend using this for your fluid dynamics thesis, I think it's right. It would be an interesting experiment to see if it could be proved either way. Maybe I'll do some work toward that end when I have some time.

 

[mindless1]

Originally posted by: kleptophobiac
Cases are plenty leaky enough for the rear fans to move all the air they feel like with minimal resistance. The fan holes really only become important when the fan blades are very close to them. The front fan grille hardly has any impact at all on the rear fan. Though I don't recommend using this for your fluid dynamics thesis, I think it's right. It would be an interesting experiment to see if it could be proved either way. Maybe I'll do some work toward that end when I have some time.

Completely untrue, this is like case-cooling 101. There is SUBSTANTIAL difference in airflow, no "experimentation" is necessary at this point it's been proven so many times over...

The front intake is by far the greatest air intake on any case without a side-fan. That is, unless the case is very poorly engineered it should be the majority of the intake as this not only serves to cool HDDs, but is the whole point of "standard" ATX case design. If your cases are drawing in a high percentage of air through the little cracks and crevaces instead then your exhaust will be lower and even less effective cooling per flow rate.

If your case is really so badly leaking that it doesn't make a difference then you should consider either a better case or some moddin' (tape or foam if nothing else) to promote optimal airflow.

 

[imported_kleptophobiac]

I'm saying that once you have holes for airflow in the front (with no fan there) it shouldn't make a difference how restrictive they are. No fan is sitting right there, and the cracks and crevices should make up for the "slack".

I happen to have an Antec SX835II, the manliest case ever made.

 

[edplayer]

in addition to having the holes for an 80mm fan (the front fan) it also has a port on the side panel desinged to help cool Pentium 4 cpus (which have the highest heat output, but it will cool any cpu placed in there)

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

I still don't get the flimsy remarks. The side panels are thicker than cheapo cases. I'm looking at a cheap no name $20 (shipped) case and IT has thin sides. The 1650B is thicker than the Super Lanboy even, so I'm just baffled by these remarks. It is not as thick as the Sonata or SLK3700, but those are much bigger cases.

 

[mindless1]

Originally posted by: kleptophobiac
I'm saying that once you have holes for airflow in the front (with no fan there) it shouldn't make a difference how restrictive they are. No fan is sitting right there, and the cracks and crevices should make up for the "slack".

I happen to have an Antec SX835II, the manliest case ever made.

Not only "should" it matter, it does matter both in theory and in practice, largely for two reasons:

1) Routing of airflow - air should travel length of case, minimizing air drawn in near the power supply or case exhaust fans except in special cases where extra spot-cooling is needed (possibly a Prescott P4 or o'c video card), though such a deviation requires more careful planning of front intake as a side-fan may very significantly reduce a passive front intake for HDD or southbridge cooling. That means at opposite corner from case and power exhaust, ie - front bottom of any typical case.

2) Fans are not constant-flow devices, their flow depends on amount of backpressure. The more "restrictive" the holes, the greater the backpressure and the lower the flow rate at any/every RPM and/or voltage. Intake fans can have their purpose, but whether there is an intake fan has no bearing on the impact of intake... an intake fan really only reduces backpressure for the exhaust fan and creates turbulence in it's immediate vicinity.

There are two main reasons why cases are not MUCH more open than they already are.

1) EMI - Cases themselves don't have to pass any EMI standards but systems built into them do, though you're not likely to get caught unless a big OEM.

2) Noise - It is more expensive to create a baffling or other noise-reduction system that keeps noise down AND allows good flow. Case manufacturers are primarily concered with profit and sales, not whether the case based flow vs noise possible.

There is of course another reason for cheap cases, that the metal is thin enoough such that the metal can't have holes TOO big else it will effect structural integrity too much. As it is some of the cheap cases already sway sideways after a system is built inside, if not picked up/moved very carefully.

On the other hand, you could just settle for a louder system... the smaller the intake area the faster the (same) fan will have to spin to exhaust at same rate. Even so, that these cases have the rear 120mm fan, does help. Sound escaping the rear of the case is reduced by the time you hear it, especially if under a desk.

 

[edplayer]

Originally posted by: mindless1
Not only "should" it matter, it does matter both in theory and in practice, largely for two reasons:

Yes it should matter but as you alluded to above, this case is different.

It has the port (Chassis Air Guide is what Antec calls it) which looks to be ~ 80mm in size and it also has two horizontal air intakes on the bottom of either side of the case. The one on the right is behind the motherboard backplate so it will have less of an influence than the one on the left. Even with these "ports" it will still not have the same backpressure as a free air design.

I would not assume that sticking any fan in the front will improve component cooling (the ultimate goal of "improved airflow" and what we really should be looking at). Which fan you use is a variable and those ports make it harder to guess what will happen without actually trying it out.

 

[mindless1]

Yes it should matter but as you alluded to above, this case is different.

Actually, no it's not different. The intake area IS going to create increased backpressure, which should be obvious enough to anyone. The larger the intake area, the lower the backpressure. Again, this should be obvious. No Antec nomenclature changes these facts.

Perhaps whatever person "X" builds into this case will be cool enough, it's quite possible. Perhaps it won't, again possible. What IS for certain is that the rear fan will move more air with lower backpressure, OR at the user's choosing, same flow with lower RPM = lower noise. There is no such thing as "but this case has ..." so long as the intake area is a restriction to free air flow. I don't claim anyone has to care about the difference, nor that these are "bad" cases, but the fact remains whether one agrees with it or not. You're not disagreeing with "me", you're disagreeing with indisputable science.

 

[edplayer]

Case as in the box where you put the components in, not case as in situation.

I'm not disagreeing with you (or your "indisputable science"). You did not mention which fan you would use and it does seem possible that certain fans (placed in the front fan mount) may disrupt the airflow to a degree large enough to be inferior over the "non front fan" setup. Like you mentioned, the larger the intake area the lower the back pressure.

Have you measured how much backpressure there is on the SLK1650?

I already told you about the multiple intakes. Get back to us with some hard data and you will have a more credible story

 

[edplayer]

and I want to reassert.

Higher airflow will not always give you the results you want. There are many things that need to be cooled inside the case and the placement of those can vary depending on which component you choose (such as the motherboard).

 

[mindless1]

Originally posted by: edplayer
Case as in the box where you put the components in, not case as in situation.

I'm not disagreeing with you (or your "indisputable science"). You did not mention which fan you would use and it does seem possible that certain fans (placed in the front fan mount) may disrupt the airflow to a degree large enough to be inferior over the "non front fan" setup. Like you mentioned, the larger the intake area the lower the back pressure.

Have you measured how much backpressure there is on the SLK1650?

I already told you about the multiple intakes. Get back to us with some hard data and you will have a more credible story

What do you mean I did not mention what fan? This case has 120mm rear and PSU fans.

I never argued for OR against a front fan, this is not a grande debate about fans or is it? I simply made mention of one limitation of this case. NO case is perfect. When another participate expressed an opinion that is contrary to fact, I pointed that out.

Why on earth would you think _I_ need to get back to you with numbers? I've already stated my claim, I could care less if anyone agrees because my efforts were to educate. Don't take my word for it, learn a bit more about cooling. I am not looking to engineer a specific cooling solution for anyone's specific parts-combinations, take it or leave it.

Higher airflow will not always give you the results you want. There are many things that need to be cooled inside the case and the placement of those can vary depending on which component you choose (such as the motherboard).

. Higher exhaust WILL give you the result you want, else a lower fan RPM will achieve same flow rate. No matter what else you're doing to route and manage airflow and cooling, the case has two fixed exhaust points.

No matter where your intakes or what your cooling strategy, the constant is that the heated air must be exhausted, and that, again, it is indisputable science that the exhaust rate has a direct effect on case temp, total system heat retention. We have not even begun to argue about specific spot-cooling methods, and that is far beyond the scope of a Hot Deal's thread. The issue I addressed was one of whether the restriction to air intake effects the exhaust. Any parts combinations you choose may or may not have their own flow rate requirements beyond what a typical (or this case in particular) ATX case will provide, but that is not diminishing the need to exhaust the heat at an appropriate rate, nor that this needed rate can be achieved with lower noise _OR_ higher flow rate, even both with carefull planning and fan speed control. I did further mention front bottom intake, because the vast majority of the cases out there have HDDs mounted in the front lower-half of the case. However, that does not necessarily mean that any or all systems should have ALL of their intake in the bottom front, rather a suitable rate that the HDDs remain cool enough, and additional flow though same or other entry points as needed. "m not claiming anyone should simply cut a giant rectangle out of the bottom front of their case!

 

[edplayer]

I thought you were aruging to INCLUDE a front fan.

Looking back at your posts I see that you mentioned the front intake needs to be larger (not for the inclusion of a front fan like I thought). I still don't see how you can determine that it is undersized (or the holes undersized) without taking any measurements.

 

[mindless1]

No, personally I wouldn't add one in front unless there were extreme needs, perhaps making this case into a fileserver with several 10-15K RPM drives, away from anyone having to hear it at arm's length... that's the builder's call, and not a typical system.

I can determine the front intake should be larger based upon it's size. One need not know the exact cubic cm of it to be able to tell roughly where it stands, be it horrible, poor, fair, good, great, etc. I'd dealt with this and a shedload of other cases, frequently moddin' them, not just adding a fan hole but fabrication/other metalworks too.

Again I'm not claiming "your system will overheat in this thing". Rather, along with the pluses of any case, also the minuses must be weighed. It's a good case but everyone must make up their own mind... like any case, it could be even better. That it has a lot of positive features makes it worth spending time on relative to some of the junk out there, and merely having the rear 120mm fan mount makes it potentially, but not necessarily, able to be configured into a very, very quiet system.

 

[edplayer]

Originally posted by: mindless1
I can determine the front intake should be larger based upon it's size. One need not know the exact cubic cm of it to be able to tell roughly where it stands, be it horrible, poor, fair, good, great, etc. I'd dealt with this and a shedload of other cases, frequently moddin' them, not just adding a fan hole but fabrication/other metalworks too.

and that is taking the 3 other intentional intakes into considerations (not counting any "leaks")?

 

[mindless1]

It is good to have a little bit of flow in otherwise dead regions, but not such a high percentage. It could be better, it could be worse, mainly the strong point is the rear exhuast fan as mentioned.

 

[ishmael2k]

Got my case today:

Couple of observations

1. While nowhere near as sturdy as my other Antecs (1040Bs) it is, none the less, a well built case. A lot better built than the generic one I replaced.

2. I do not like the opening setup at all. I thought that top slide cases went the way of EISA slots... Sheesh. Also the "air flow director" on the side is cheesy...

3. The exhaust fan moves a lot of air (subjectively) and is quiet. (Again, subjectively) I believe I am going to move it into the main desk upstairs because it is a lot quieter than the one there.

4. The SuperMicro dually board I installed came within a couple of mms of not fitting. Scary...

5. Overall fit and finish are better than I thought they would be for the price.

Conclusion? For the money spent a very good investment. Would not want it for a system I constantly tweak but for the main web surfer, paper writer pc of the house it is going to do nicely.

Thanks again OP!

Rob

 

[imported_kleptophobiac]

I got mine the day before yesterday (3 days from CA, when I ordered on a weekend w/ ground shipping? damn!)

I like the style of the case, it isn't overtly blingy. The large rear fan is nice and relatively quiet. I like the HDD mounting - it is leagues better than most cheapass cases. Also, the SL350 is a very respectable power supply, and I would rather have it than some "550 watt" noname brand.

 

[MustangSVT]

just got 2 psus they are great !!!