SX1030 owners look here(as well as others)

[Mears]

Ok, first thing on the agenda: How do you keep the the vents in the front(assuming your front is the air intake) from clogging up with dust?

2. What size fans go in the 4 brackets(2 in front, 2 in rear)? Can you use 80 or 92mm and what fans can move some good cfm that are quiet at that size? It doesn't seem like the panflo's I've seen can move very much air.

3. I just ordered another hard drive and am going to have to stack three high in one of the removable drive bays. It's going to be pretty tight. They will all also be 7200rpm drives so I'm really concerned about heat. I'm going to put them in the bay that has the bracket for a fan, so that will help a little bit I guess. Am I crazy for putting three in one of those bays? I really don't have any other option unless I do something totally bootleg.

4. Have any of you guys modded your 1030 to have a blow hole in the side or have you found that the front and rear fan areas were sufficient? I'm probably going to move to rounded cables just to help make it more spacious as well.

 

[SWScorch]

1) clean it out regularly with compressed air.

2) 80mm. Panaflos should be fine as chassis fans. You dont need a ton of airflow with case fans.

3) If this is a 1030, dont you have two drive cages? Why not put one of the drives in the other drive cage?

4) The antec cases have good enough cooling that cutting a blowhole in the side usually messes up the sirflow, unless you cut similar hole in the top to make up for the added intake.

 

[DS1MCSE]

Take a look at this thread for my setup and temps. I would agree with everything that SWScorch said. Thus far, I really haven't had much of a problem with dust & this box has been running 24x7 since November.

Good luck!

 

[RagManX]

My system runs about 6 degree C cooler with 2 92mm fans in the side. Check out the archives at my case modding site for pictures and details.

RagManX

 

[Garet Jax]

Mears,

One of the suggestions I have read to help keep the machine and the fans free from dust and hair is to use the Downy or Bounce dryer sheets to cover the fans. That way all (or most) of the dust is caught in the sheet and easily disposed.

 

[dp004i]

I tried the downy sheet, but it seems to block the airflow. Would a piece of mosquito screen work?

 

[Mears]

Thanks for the replies. I take it the brackets can only hold 80mm and not 92mm then? Also, what panflo's do you recommend? I'm buying 4 and I dont' want to spend a lot of money on them so please don't refer me to $20 fans.

Yeah, I have two drive cages. But I also have 5 3.5" devices.

*EDIT*
Oh, how durable are those case windows? Do they scratch/crack easily?

*EDIT 2*
RagManX, I'm impressed. That case looks really good.

 

[ChrisADuffy]

ragmanx, like those mods, where could i see the final finished case? I am curious to see the front bezel.

 

[Soldat]

the panaflo L1A's are the most popular of the line....i'm sure you can shop around for a decent price but if you want a good comparable 80mm fan for less that the panaflo's look toward pcpowerandcooling.com silencer fans for less than $10 each

 

[IndyJaws]

I'm using 4 Enermax thermo-controlled fans in my SX1040. Quiet, only get loud when they need to, do a great job of cooling. Cost me $6/each at Newegg.

 

[Z_Amon]

A lot of people use Panaflo fans, BG Micro usually has them at a good price (around $2-$3 a fan). They are, however, untailed, so you'll need to solder them up to some molex connectors to get them going. They seem to be out of stock right now, but I'd guess they'll get them back in soon.

I run a pair of half height, 1.6" 7200 RPM SCSI drives in a single drive cage, and they're run. Mind you, they're not cool, but they're fine ;-)

If you're really concerned, buy a 5.25 -> 3.5 inch bay adapter and put one of the drives up in the 5.25 bays.

Z.

 

[RagManX]

For those asking about my case, the pictures on the site are the latest. I'm waiting for my water cooling kit from DTek before I finish modding it. I will be putting the radiator and a window in the top of the case, painting the front with mirage paint, and painting the bottom panel. I expect my water cooling kit to ship pretty much any day now, and will move everything to a new case while I finish modding the Antec.

The window in my case is a standard rectangle window that I cut to fit around the Antec handle. I don't even remember from where I ordered it, but I have a link on my site somewhere in the archives. As for how strong it is, I don't know. I've always been pretty careful around it, and haven't scratched it yet.

Any other questions, just let me know.

RagManX

 

[talonts]

My case shows other ideas for fan mounting locations.

I haven't had a chance to work on it for a couple of weeks, though I'm going to TRY to get going on it again this weekend. I've got a vacation coming up, and have to clean my apt majorly before going, so I may not have time.

I REALLY want to get the mods shown there done asap, as I haven't fired up the box, and won't until all the mods are complete.

 

[Mears]

RagManX, are you going to paint the entire shell of the case red? It seems like it would be difficult to get the mirror look on plastic portions.

 

[RagManX]

<< RagManX, are you going to paint the entire shell of the case red? It seems like it would be difficult to get the mirror look on plastic portions. >>


The frame is yellow. All the metal panels (sides, top, bottom) will be red. The front plastic will be painted with green/purple mirage paint.

RagManX

 

[Mears]

Hey, is that mold around the window the stuff that came with the window? I noticed you said you messed it up. I take it you mean because the ends don't match exactly. Is that because you didn't take into account that the circumference would change after you cut it?

Are you going to sand the plastic portions as well, and how are you going to keep the LEDs from getting paint on them?

 

[RagManX]

That molding is indeed what came with the window, and the error is the ends not joining. I screwed up because I got in a hurry and didn't measure properly. I am going to enlarge the window in the future, so I'm not too worried about the error, but I did get a little mad at myself for screwing up something that should have been easy.

I do plan on painting the plastic, but I haven't yet decided how I'm going to do it. All the paint guides I've read have been for the metal side panels. I'll probably experiment on a couple of old AT cases I have until I can figure out how to get the paint down right. I'm not sure how I'll deal with the plastic yet. I may try to remove it and glue it back in later. That's how a couple other folks I know with the same case handled it.

RagManX

 

[Mears]

What do you mean by glueing it back on later. Doesn't the front snap into the chasis?

 

[RagManX]

<< What do you mean by glueing it back on later. Doesn't the front snap into the chasis? >>


Ooops. Shift in focus there that I forgot to write in. I meant I'll remove the LED tunnels before painting the plastic.

RagManX