Antec Case & ASUS Motherboard

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AncestralGeek

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#112061 24-Nov-2012 21:11

I recently purchased a Antec NSK2480B to house my ASUS P8Z77-M Pro. It was only when I went to plug in the SATA cable that I noticed that the SATA plugs on the motherboard are at a right angle to the motherboard and can not be accessed due to the division between the motherboard area and the hard drive area. Some very crude butchery was required to be able to access the bank of SATA plugs.

Lovely case but not suitable for pairing with the ASUS P8Z77-M Pro.

So much to learn, so little time.

turb

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#722451 24-Nov-2012 22:28

Great tip, thanks! I'm looking at that case....

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sidefx

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#722465 24-Nov-2012 23:40

Ouch :-/ I just got the final component for my (initial) HTPC build in said case a couple of days ago; I went AMD and the ASRock A55M-HVS fits perfectly.

The case is huge... plenty of room for expansion which I will be doing, but it's still more than I'll probably need for an HTPC TBH.

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turb

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#722494 25-Nov-2012 09:13

sidefx: Ouch :-/ I just got the final component for my (initial) HTPC build in said case a couple of days ago; I went AMD and the ASRock A55M-HVS fits perfectly.

The case is huge... plenty of room for expansion which I will be doing, but it's still more than I'll probably need for an HTPC TBH.

I was pricing up the same mobo & case - maybe i'll rethink the case....

I'm probably going for a conventional HDD for boot and data, with a view to upgrading to an SSD boot drive later.

What is the componentry list for your machine? (if you don't mind sharing!)

Is it working well?

Interests: HTPC, Web App authoring.

sidefx

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#722534 25-Nov-2012 12:42

Currently I've got:

NSK2480B
A6-3500
ASRock A55M-HVS
4GB RAM
Samsung 830 64GB
Old DVD drive
USB IR receiver from old HTPC - though I see there is a CIR IR receiver on the mobo so I'll have to see if I can get one to fit it

It's running very well; very happy with it.

The plan is to add a bluray drive and HRV-2200 (or other TV tuner) at some point.

Not sure if I'll actually put the bluray drive into the HTPC though - with the price of software to play direct from Bluray I think it might be better to just get an additional 2TB drive and rip blurays using MakeMKV, though I'll have to look more into the advantages\disadvantages in that. I've tried a couple of Hi-res 3D bluray rips on the current system and they run very smoothly - old system completely choked on them.

The A6 seems quite popular on the XBMC forums and I was assured by a couple of knowledgeable folk on avsforum.com would handle everything I want to throw at it including 3D bluray playback (and 2D->3D conversion - though I'll probably never use that)

"I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there." | Octopus Energy | Sharesies
- Richard Feynman

andrewdixon1000

76 posts

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#722557 25-Nov-2012 14:57

Thanks for the tip! I'm also looking at one of these case and haven't decided on a motherboard yet, so I'll make sure I keep the sata connectors in mind while deciding.

Other than this problem are you happy with the case? (this question's for you too sidefx, and anyone else reading this who has this case) What's your opinion on the noise levels from the PSU and case fans?

How do you feel about the size of the case? I've just been looking at the dimensions of it and it's bigger than I pictured it in my head. It's actually bigger than by current ATX case (apart from the height).

Thanks
Andy

AncestralGeek: I recently purchased a Antec NSK2480B to house my ASUS P8Z77-M Pro. It was only when I went to plug in the SATA cable that I noticed that the SATA plugs on the motherboard are at a right angle to the motherboard and can not be accessed due to the division between the motherboard area and the hard drive area. Some very crude butchery was required to be able to access the bank of SATA plugs.

Lovely case but not suitable for pairing with the ASUS P8Z77-M Pro.

Gilco2

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#722643 25-Nov-2012 18:12

AncestralGeek: I recently purchased a Antec NSK2480B to house my ASUS P8Z77-M Pro. It was only when I went to plug in the SATA cable that I noticed that the SATA plugs on the motherboard are at a right angle to the motherboard and can not be accessed due to the division between the motherboard area and the hard drive area. Some very crude butchery was required to be able to access the bank of SATA plugs.

Lovely case but not suitable for pairing with the ASUS P8Z77-M Pro.

I have that case and like it. Couldnt you have used Sata cable with the right angle end and put in then fit the motherboard. I have done that before

HTPC Intel Pentium G3258 cpu, Gigabyte H97n-wifi motherboard, , 8GB DDR3 ram, onboard graphics. Hauppuage HVR 5500 tuner, Silverstone LC16M case, Windows 10 pro 64 bit using Nextpvr and Kodi

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sidefx

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#722673 25-Nov-2012 20:00

andrewdixon1000: Thanks for the tip! I'm also looking at one of these case and haven't decided on a motherboard yet, so I'll make sure I keep the sata connectors in mind while deciding.

Other than this problem are you happy with the case? (this question's for you too sidefx, and anyone else reading this who has this case) What's your opinion on the noise levels from the PSU and case fans?

How do you feel about the size of the case? I've just been looking at the dimensions of it and it's bigger than I pictured it in my head. It's actually bigger than by current ATX case (apart from the height).

Thanks
Andy

The whole case is very quiet IMO. It's not like a generally build cases with noise in mind, but it's much quieter than my other cases (and one of those has Noctua fans and a passive video card) It's not completely silent but really might as well be and that's with stock CPU fan. I just set both the big fans to the low setting and then tweaked the bios so that it targets low RPMs on the CPU fan. Running prime95 for about an hour I think only got the cores up to 42 degrees so it's not hot in there, and the noise didn't really increase at all. I need to check other temps cause was just looking at coretemp, but the air blowing out wasn't even warm.

The size of the case did surprise me a little - I also didn't pay much attention to it before buying it. And you need to remember that as well as physical dimensions of the actual case you need another few cms clearance at the back for the HDMI and power cable. It only just fits in the TV stand\unit I have. Fortunately it does fit, so the size is good for me :) It leaves plenty of room for expansion (and air flow I guess) especially since I didn't have any mounting brackets for the SSD so just stuck that to the top of the hard drive cage with padding double sided tape. So you can easily fit SSD, 2 HDD, 2 optical drives and have room to spare. In fact looking at the layout I reckon you could maybe get another HDD or 2 in if you were creative and not too fussed about air flow.

When I get round to tidying up the cables (and source the last couple of components I want) I might post some pictures ;-)

"I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there." | Octopus Energy | Sharesies
- Richard Feynman

andrewdixon1000

76 posts

Master Geek

#722682 25-Nov-2012 20:22

Thanks sidefx. When you have everything finished some pictures would be great.

Thanks
Andy

The whole case is very quiet IMO. It's not like a generally build cases with noise in mind, but it's much quieter than my other cases (and one of those has Noctua fans and a passive video card) It's not completely silent but really might as well be and that's with stock CPU fan. I just set both the big fans to the low setting and then tweaked the bios so that it targets low RPMs on the CPU fan. Running prime95 for about an hour I think only got the cores up to 42 degrees so it's not hot in there, and the noise didn't really increase at all. I need to check other temps cause was just looking at coretemp, but the air blowing out wasn't even warm.

The size of the case did surprise me a little - I also didn't pay much attention to it before buying it. And you need to remember that as well as physical dimensions of the actual case you need another few cms clearance at the back for the HDMI and power cable. It only just fits in the TV stand\unit I have. Fortunately it does fit, so the size is good for me :) It leaves plenty of room for expansion (and air flow I guess) especially since I didn't have any mounting brackets for the SSD so just stuck that to the top of the hard drive cage with padding double sided tape. So you can easily fit SSD, 2 HDD, 2 optical drives and have room to spare. In fact looking at the layout I reckon you could maybe get another HDD or 2 in if you were creative and not too fussed about air flow.

When I get round to tidying up the cables (and source the last couple of components I want) I might post some pictures ;-)

sidefx

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#725908 2-Dec-2012 23:19

Hmmm... well it seems the Antec PSU (Earthwatts) that came with the NSK2480B in my system has died completely today. Pressing the power button does nothing at all. I swapped it for a Corsair PSU and it works fine. I put the antec in another system and it won't turn on at all. Contacting retailer about it... maybe just a one off but annoying none the less!

"I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there." | Octopus Energy | Sharesies
- Richard Feynman

meesham

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#725979 3-Dec-2012 09:03

sidefx: Hmmm... well it seems the Antec PSU (Earthwatts) that came with the NSK2480B in my system has died completely today. Pressing the power button does nothing at all. I swapped it for a Corsair PSU and it works fine. I put the antec in another system and it won't turn on at all. Contacting retailer about it... maybe just a one off but annoying none the less!

I had the exact same thing happen to me a month ago, although mine is almost 3 years old so I used it as an excuse to build a new HTPC. I ended up going for the Silverstone Grandia GD06 as the NSK2480B was a bit too deep and was slightly too deep for my cabinet. It was a bit of a mission to fit everything in there but I like that it has a lockable front cover, although I have to admit I think the 2480 had slightly better sound insulation.

sidefx

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#726007 3-Dec-2012 09:53

meesham:

I had the exact same thing happen to me a month ago, although mine is almost 3 years old so I used it as an excuse to build a new HTPC.

It's a bit disconcerting when it's only 2 weeks old

I'm not seeing good reports on Antec PSUs but then I suppose that's to be expected when googling for PSU failures (Any brand will have failures) I have one (NEO ECO) in another system in the house and it's been working fine, but only had it for a year.

"I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there." | Octopus Energy | Sharesies
- Richard Feynman

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Gilco2

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#726022 3-Dec-2012 10:28

sidefx: Hmmm... well it seems the Antec PSU (Earthwatts) that came with the NSK2480B in my system has died completely today. Pressing the power button does nothing at all. I swapped it for a Corsair PSU and it works fine. I put the antec in another system and it won't turn on at all. Contacting retailer about it... maybe just a one off but annoying none the less!

I had the same motherboard but with A4-3400 and mine appeared to have died. put in another power supply and after a while same thing as you. Turned power off at wall then after a minute back on and all running untill after about 8 hours or so it seems to die.
So I ripped motherboard out and put Gigiabyte and Trinity as per sig and all fine. I think it may be something with the Asrock motherboard

HTPC Intel Pentium G3258 cpu, Gigabyte H97n-wifi motherboard, , 8GB DDR3 ram, onboard graphics. Hauppuage HVR 5500 tuner, Silverstone LC16M case, Windows 10 pro 64 bit using Nextpvr and Kodi

sidefx

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#726033 3-Dec-2012 10:42

Gilco2: I had the same motherboard but with A4-3400 and mine appeared to have died. put in another power supply and after a while same thing as you. Turned power off at wall then after a minute back on and all running untill after about 8 hours or so it seems to die.
So I ripped motherboard out and put Gigiabyte and Trinity as per sig and all fine. I think it may be something with the Asrock motherboard

Interesting, I'll try a couple more tests tonight then.

But given that I have done the following:

1) Tried to power on system - wouldn't respond at all.

2) Unplugged system completely, took it to my study, plugged into power socket in there - wouldn't power on at all

3) Unplugged, tried different power cable - wouldn't power on

4) Took Antec PSU out of case completely and swapped with Corsair PSU - powered on first time

5) Put antec PSU in desktop system - wouldn't power on at all

6) Took Corsair back out of HTPC and put Antec back in - wouldn't power on at all.

It sounds like it's not the same as the behaviour as yours?

"I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there." | Octopus Energy | Sharesies
- Richard Feynman

Gilco2

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#726043 3-Dec-2012 10:52

yeah sorry not quite. mine would not power on but after being unplugged then plugged in, it would power on again. Have no problems with my new system.

Other thing I had with the A4-3400 and Asrock motherboard was the video had a strong yellow cast which I couldnt eliminate no matter what settings I tried.

HTPC Intel Pentium G3258 cpu, Gigabyte H97n-wifi motherboard, , 8GB DDR3 ram, onboard graphics. Hauppuage HVR 5500 tuner, Silverstone LC16M case, Windows 10 pro 64 bit using Nextpvr and Kodi