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  • HTPC Build

    I am looking to rebuild my current HTPC with something more powerful. I often LAN and always have to host as i am not interested in moving my water cooled SMA8. So i was looking for something that i could use in these cases for gaming. I am undecided on if i want to water cool or not, maybe someone can recommend how good of an idea it is to transport a water cooled PC?

    So far i am looking at the Caselabs Bullet or the Fractal Node 804. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

  • #2
    Hey Overkill, I have a Node 804. It's a great case but not sure if it up to a lot of transporting. The front panel is easily dented aluminum over top of a plastic frame that clips into the metal frame. Those plastic clips might be a problem.
    The SLOB : A 3570K Build
    Down & Out : A 2600K Build
    V-353 : A 4770K Build

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    • #3
      While it is a bit bulky for a Mini ITX case, the good construction and top mounted handle make the Corsair 380T the case that I would choose for this function.

      They're not as easy to find any more, but really awesome for this specific purpose.

      For a water cooled PC and transporting, I'd recommend an AIO, but definitely a flexible tube build for this. While I absolutely love acrylic tubing, I don't feel it's a great choice for bumps and bangs, as acrylic tubing fittings don't hold on as tightly as regular compression fittings.
      DS340-E: Core I7 3770K Undervolted at 4.3Ghz, Asrock Z77 Extreme-3, 16GB of Adata XPG V2 gold RAM at 2200mhz, XFX R9 290 with EK water block and (I love) gold backplate, EK tubing, Bitspower and Darkside fittigs, Darkside RGB lighting with handy remote control, WD Black Dual (120GB SSD+1TB mechanical) hard disk, Swiftech PWM fan controller, Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

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      • #4
        I'm with 10e on the hard tube front. I wouldn't hard tube a PC I had to transport. But I sure would soft tube it. :-)

        As for an mITX case, the only 2 I've used are the Bitfenix Prodigy (did not like), and the Corsair Carbide Air240 (REALLY like, since I managed to stuff a complete loop with a pair of 240s in that thing. It's not the smallest ITX case though, as it's a cube. But it's a versatile cube. I had mine packed, 2 240 rads, 3 SSDs, 1 3.5" mechanical HDD, and a 3.5" 3 channel fan controller for the fans + LED strips. Much better value than the Case Labs Bullet IMO (albeit not as high quality, but the price is right).

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        • #5
          Thank you for all of the helpful points so far. My last build used PETG, same recommendation to not transport with this either?

          For the record, i only plan on moving is once every month or two. Main use will be an HTPC and would prefer something nicer to look at.

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          • #6
            Have a look at mountain mods for lan cases/htpc

            https://www.mountainmods.com/index.php?cPath=21_64
            Blackout
            Something-New
            Sma8-Caselabs

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            • #7
              Love love love the Bullet line. And they can come with handles if you want. Whenever I get around to replacing my Compact Splash, it'll be with a BH4. The thing is only an inch bigger, but holds mATX and more drives. I think they're still free international shipping on orders over 300 until the end of the day.

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              • #8
                Ended up going very small. Ghost S1:
                http://www.louqe.com/

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                • #9
                  That looks wild, can't wait to see what you do with it.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Overkill View Post
                    Thank you for all of the helpful points so far. My last build used PETG, same recommendation to not transport with this either?

                    For the record, i only plan on moving is once every month or two. Main use will be an HTPC and would prefer something nicer to look at.
                    It's not really the material that's the issues it's that the fittings do not hold as tight as compression fittings. Possible that a connection will pop out if you are transporting a lot.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by kennah View Post
                      That looks wild, can't wait to see what you do with it.
                      Im hoping to go with two of the larger "top hats" to fit 240mm rads. 1080ti, i5 8600K, Strix Z370, etc.

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                      • #12
                        Yeah that looks like a really good one. I saw it on Jayz2C and was quite impressed.....with the case....

                        Call it project "Woody" because it grows when it needs to. Or maybe "Pinocchio's lies"
                        DS340-E: Core I7 3770K Undervolted at 4.3Ghz, Asrock Z77 Extreme-3, 16GB of Adata XPG V2 gold RAM at 2200mhz, XFX R9 290 with EK water block and (I love) gold backplate, EK tubing, Bitspower and Darkside fittigs, Darkside RGB lighting with handy remote control, WD Black Dual (120GB SSD+1TB mechanical) hard disk, Swiftech PWM fan controller, Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

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                        • #13
                          Got tired of waiting for the Ghost S1 (13 months from backing them) so i ordered a Raijintek Ophion EVO, Ghost S1 showed up and the Evo will be here in 2 days... Oh well, now i get to pick, leaning towards the Evo as i can make more of a showcase with it.

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                          • #14
                            Going with the Evo, Will create a build thread.

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