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Solve : RaidMax Smilodon? |
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Answer» Manuf. Link I just completed a new build and ordered this case out of curiosity as it had recieved good reviews mostly at gamer's Forums. Although i'm not a gamer my needs for a roomy well built case that is easy to work in made me give this one a whirl. I was not dissappointed Quote Features: I'll start with the features i love and end with the few minor quirks i didn't like... Room: Plenty big enough for my needs. 2 burners and 3 SATA drives along with an IDE i couldn't part with plus a floppy drive ( i'm a purist OK ? ) all fit nicely and i can add more down the road. Construction: Very well built steel case. Solid rounded edges and nice hinges on both sides. One of the knocks on this case is that it was heavy...i see this as a plus for me. He must have been a LAN Party gamer. Features: Both case sides open all the way down and or can be removed...this to me was the slickest feature as the build could not have gone smoother. It's a dream to have the MBoard tray lying flat for the assembly. The only drawback was the 4 pin ATX power plug from the OCZ 750W PSU WOULD not allow it opening all the way after everything was connected...this was remedied bu making an extension using a spare i had lying about. I also added an EVGA 8800 GTX video card to this and for those that have one i don't need to tell you how BIG they are...this fit suprisingly well and created no issues at all with opening and closing the MBoard side of the case. Toolless Design: Also a nice feature that i was skeptical of at first...drive installs take seconds and the plastic cam design on the drive holders themselves are sturdy and well thought out. Cooling: Best i've seen in a stock case in a long time. 120MM stock front case fan blows directly over the HDD bay...nice thinking. on the open side there is a removable rail that contains an 80MM fan that can slide into position so it winds up over the vid card. With the 8800 GTX i'm sure this will come in handy. A 2nd 80MM is well placed directly opposite the CPU/Heatsink location...also well thought out. This vents to the outside of the case. 80MM rear case exhaust fan. Cons: IDE clik rails are tricky to figure out the first time but a breeze after that. Removeable swing-out HDD box is tricky the first few times as well but fine afterwards. Rear case exhaust fan should have been a 120mm but i'm adding that later so no big deal. Plastic case feet. For a case this well thought out i'd have preferred to see rubber but again i'm replacing those myself. With the size of the 8800GTX i lose one PCI slot but this is more of a MBoard issue than a case issue. Overall: I'd recommend this case to anyone doing a new build or a first time build as well. You need room for it as it's bigger than most. But with solid construction and well thought out features i give it a 9 out of 10. patio.Wow, not bad. I'm impressed actually. Someone built something good for a change. Quote * Retractable side panel with handles for easy access and upgradesYou got me hooked into READING the entire post there. It may be because I'm not looking hard enough....but how much was it?Oooops sorry. I thought the review was running long and wouldn't fit the page so i left out some details... I grabbed it from newegg and after Rebate my final cost was $61.00 U.S. Here's what all went into the beast : ASUS P5K MBoard. Intel Q6600 4G OCZ PC2 8500 Platinum EVGA 8800GTX Vid Card OCZ Elite 800W PSU Lite-On dual layer DVD burner X 2 500G Seagate SATA 200G Seagate SATA 100G WD Caviar SATA 80G WD Caviar IDE I expect this rig to handle everything i throw at it and then some for a few years to come... Initially booted to the WD IDE that has a multi-boot DOS; Win98; Win2K setup and did the repair install to get Win2K to pick up the new hardware.....WORKED flawlessly. But i will be installing Vista Ultimate 64 Bit on the 500G seagate after i partition it to 4 X 125G. This is and has been a really fun build. I do it so many times for customers it's time i spoiled myself a little. So far no major hitches and i'm interested to see Vista Ultimate for the first time.Quote from: patio on September 01, 2008, 09:31:55 AM ASUS P5K MBoard. Woah, I'd say you'll have no problem there... Nice Update to the build... After doing a Repair install of my other Win2K hard drive to get it to recognise the new Hardware i partitioned and formatted the new 500G hard drive and installed XP on the first partition and Vista Ultimate 64Bit on the 2nd partition. Sweet ! However i do have a few Vista gripes but that's for another time...Curious... 1) Why Seagate drives? 2) Why not a WD Raptor - at least for the Vista boot drive?My last Raptor failed 3 weeks into the build as i was taking my time with it. I got a full refund instead of a replacement. Stubborn you could say as i love WD drives and have used them as a mainstay for years... Quote from: patio on September 16, 2008, 06:04:10 PM My last Raptor failed 3 weeks into the build as i was taking my time with it.Got it - just seemed with that build that you would have one. I've used WD exclusively for many years - yet to have a problem; but, that's just luck. I've got (EDIT - 3) raptors in mine, about 2-1/2 years and no problems. I think that it's a cheap way to get extra performance (one, not three - long story!)The Seagate was rated pretty quick in all the reviews i read so i just jumped the gun... I'll post the specs when i get caught up with things...Patio, Looks like a great MACHINE and hopefully it will give you years of pleasure. I would be interested to hear your comments re the Vista O/S after you have been usung it for a while.Holding off going to it as still most comments are not positive. may also be being influenced by the "Apple" adds on T.V. truenorthThanx Truenorth... I plan on doing a comprehensive review on Vista after about 3 or 4 months... The time lag is because i use 3 different OS's on a regular basis but that habit may have to change for the time being so i can really dig into the guts of it. I promise to be impartial as always and hopefully informative.... Or maybe i'll just play more Golf. Do you need a review on a new set of clubs or the courses in your area ? ? Willing to travel ! Patio, Thanks will keep an eye out for your Vista review. Golf? I believe that is something about whacking a little white ball around a field all day. Never got into it. With over 5 acres of property and a 115 year old house that nature keeps trying to reclaim plus all the other nonsense i manage to import (a lot of which are broken and i cannot bare to see going to landfills) i typically have a 15 item to do list everyday. But i believe it helps keep the body young and the brain active. truenorthThat may be just enough property for a Golf course ... I'd be willing to design and landscape as long as you feed me at the end of the day.... Patio, If i could persuade you to concider other endeavors (of the PHYSICAL nature) i would contemplate more than feeding you--how about adoption? truenorth |
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