Personal computing discussed
Moderators: renee, SpotTheCat, Nemesis
JustAnEngineer wrote:I have issues with both of those cases (I have done builds with both).I like the compactness of the Silverstone Temjin TJ08-e and the Antec NSK3480. The NSK3480's drive mounting arrangement could stand to be improved.
I might be able to deal with a little bit larger if it means I don't have the issue's I've had with those first two cases. The NSK 3480 is OK if you only have two hard drives.The Antec Mini P180 is larger on the outside than I would like for a Micro-ATX case.
flip-mode wrote:Usability - best in class, there should be no compromises in the usability department (I'm looking at you, TJ08 drive cage).
XTF wrote:flip-mode wrote:Usability - best in class, there should be no compromises in the usability department (I'm looking at you, TJ08 drive cage).
That cage is designed to be removed. Do you actually need it?
XTF wrote:That cage is designed to be removed. Do you actually need it?
flip-mode wrote:The whole problem could be fixed if Silverstone revised the case to be 1" or maybe just 3/4" longer.
XTF wrote:In what way is the Define Mini worse for you?
AFAIK the Define is targeted at less noise than the Arc.
Chrispy_ wrote:I personally feel that none of these cases is perfect, but I think the TJ08-E is the closest, with the PC-AO4 a close second. For me the build-quality and fixed foam filters really ruin the appeal of the older TJ08 and the Arc Mini.
TJ08-E and just deal with putting the CPU fan in the "pull" configuration
AbRASiON wrote:Like I said, I think a lot of hardcore gamers moving to a single SSD - or end users with only an SSD, don't care about the drive cage. - 1SSD, 1board, 1video for me- I'm looking forward to getting a TJ08 (or E? what's the diff)
AbRASiON wrote:Like I said, I think a lot of hardcore gamers moving to a single SSD - or end users with only an SSD, don't care about the drive cage. - 1SSD, 1board, 1video for me- I'm looking forward to getting a TJ08 (or E? what's the diff)
AbRASiON wrote:No, no, I said "sorry to spaz out" meaning I was apologizing ahead of time for /my/ spaz out.I'm 'spazzing out' here, I see - I wasn't aware of that.
Of course. I don't care about who's "right". I just want a case to be designed such that I can put a hard drive in the drive cage without having to flip my heatsink fan around. It doesn't matter if I'm using a single 3.5" drive or several - the drive cage is too close to the heatsink zone. Call it right, call it wrong, I don't care which it is, it's a physical fact.We're talking about M-ATX systems here, it's pretty obvious I'm mostly right here.
AbRASiON wrote:I'd need to own one to see for myself about your predicament but I've got no real hesitation doing light work on a case with a dremel as long as it was well designed to begin with and it's only internal non visible changes. I think I added a motherboard tray rear access on my P183 or SX-635-II (I can't recall) - it was worth dicing up a new case for the convinience.
Chrispy_ wrote:There is no perfect mATX case. The three you list are definitely good candidates, but here's my opinion (having built computers into all of them before):
TJ08TJ08-E
- Horrible 3.5" drive cages, especially for internal drives. They also obstruct the CPU socket in many cases.
- Foam fan filter is 'clog-once, never clean'
- Whole thing feels imbalanced, like 90% of the cost went on the aluminium fascia and the rest of it is too cheap/thin/flimsy.
- Good size
- Decent cooling
Arc Mini
- Better drive cages, but only just. The bottom drivecage is annoyingly offcentre, which hurts the external aesthetics, IMO
- Amazing cooling with removable filters \o/
- Better build quality than the original TJ08
- Really tacky-looking top filter with woefully loose magnetic clip
PC-AO4
- I really like the layout and design. It's quite big for an mATX case, but not wastefully so
- Like the Define Mini, great cable management
- Build quality is acceptable but not what I expected for the price, TBH.
- The fit and aesthetic finish of the front panel is not as good as the pretty marketing pictures want you to believe.
- It's not quiet - so much mesh means that there's nothing to absorb all your fan noise
- Stupid fixed-foam filters like the TJ08 that can't be cleaned easily - expect it to look really grubby most of the time if you have any dust in your house
- Feels really high-quality throughout, like it ought to cost much more than it does.
- Efficient use of space and great, flexible drive bay layouts
- Best removable fan-filters in this list of cases.
- quite compact (narrow) which is good, but it means only room for an 80mm exhaust above the motherboard port cluster (there's still a 120mm above the CPU)
- The feet are glued on
- Cable management is outdated
- The front panel connecting cables are waay too long (clearly the same ones used for their Full-tower cases)
I personally feel that none of these cases is perfect, but I think the TJ08-E is the closest, with the PC-AO4 a close second. For me the build-quality and fixed foam filters really ruin the appeal of the older TJ08 and the Arc Mini.
flip-mode wrote:Chrispy_ wrote:This is a great post. After reading it I'm tempted to give the PC-A04 a try. If cable management is it's greatest fault, I should be able to deal with that.<Snip>