Jeff's New Case

[Jeff R 1]

http://www.ncix.com/detail/anidees-a...01091-1353.htm

I have the smaller version of this, the AI4 and is hopelessly too small for any high-end video card, let alone being water cooled, but at the time it suited my needs.
I had to get the AI4 out of the UK at the time and it cost a small fortune getting it here, but now NCIX has started selling them and at 99.00$ it's quite a good deal.
If my EVGA card ever gets here from Amazon , I do intend to set up a water cooled machine and I will post pics if that time comes, but for now I'm playing the waiting game.
I'll see how hot the card gets first.

It's going to be a bit of a challenge with the AI6 to get a dual rad in it _ it's just a mid size case.
There isn't enough room in the top for a push/pull fan arrangement _ so it would seem from the photos I have seen.
I would have to move the MoBo down one or two PCI-e slots to make room at the top or cut the back out of the case so I can re-mount the PSU to make room to mount the rad at the bottom.

And if you're thinking, why did he get this case if so much modding has to be done _ well, I really like this case, it looks very "Art Deco" _ at least to me anyway.

[bungwirez]

very interesting. hope you put something together and take lots of pics for us!!

[Bartacus]

Cool, mod the hell outta that thing!

[Jeff R 1]

It will be an interesting challenge, moving the mobo down won't be as simple is a rethread and new placement.
A few of the posts new locations will land right where the metal has been creased for rigidity or in one or two spots there won't be any metal at all.
I'll have to come up with something out-of-the-box for this route.
It should arrive tomorrow and I'll no for sure what can and can't be done.

But I've worked on some of the most notoriously complex things in my life _ like British cars _ so modifying a computer case will be a walk in the park.

With a dremel diamond cutting wheel in hand.

[bungwirez]

is the roof actually brushed aluminum? or just plastic.

I guess either way you may have to plan to cut it up for some roof fans?

[Jeff R 1]

is the roof actually brushed aluminum? or just plastic.

I guess either way you may have to plan to cut it up for some roof fans?

The top is plastic with a heavy brushed aluminum cover.
Even though it has some plastic, there is more metal then plastic _ the case is very solid and well made.

The case is designed to accept a dual 120mm rad on the top (the fan vents run along the side just below the aluminum cover), but that's the problem, I don't think there is enough room for push/pull setup.



I was also looking at this, but according to the video, it's a design disaster.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9gsVVN6fBo

I could always send the aluminum cover off to a place with a computer controlled CNC machine and have some fancy holes cut in the aluminum _ something in keeping with the style of the case.

So if the fans do fit and they block of the side top vents too much, the fans still would work through my new vent holes.

[bungwirez]

You could try this mod

http://www.dazmode.com/store/product...grill_-_black/

OR

http://www.dazmode.com/store/product...t-6-bay-black/

but really, the dremel vs. drivebay cage is prolly gunna have to be a must happen.

[Jeff R 1]

Thanks for the links, those would be OK for my Bitfenix Ghost, but I would like to keep the Anidees as clean as possible. I would even be biting my nails at taking a CNC machine to the aluminum panel.

And the drive bay cages are totally removable here _ which is nice in this case. I was going to remove them too, they don't have to be there, all that's needed is one SSD.

There's this too, but I don't think they move the air enough.

http://www.dazmode.com/store/product...n_sy1212sl12h/

[Jeff R 1]

Bah !!!

The case has tons of factory defects, small dents, a scratch on the side panel that someone touched up with a Jiffy marker, a screw indent on one of the plastic bottom rails where a carless worker sat the case down onto....

I was even willing to overlook all that, but one of the hinge holes on the case was missing, they are held in there by a separate bit of plastic.
That bit of plastic is screwed into the front plastic cover _ the hole that the screw goes into is stripped out and is cracked _ un-repairable.

RMA time...

The smaller AI4 I have that I got out of the UK was perfect, I just don't understand what happened here.

I'll post some pics later _ these will be the RMA photos of course.


However it is possible to easily mod the case, the top mount from the rad can be moved over to clear the mobo by mounting the whole assembly on the 140mm fan holes. This moves the whole thing closer to the outer cover, but should work.

Things can also be mounted on the bottom if I hang the PSU out the back of the case by 30mm.
It would fit, but the PSU and rad/fans would be very tight up against the cables.

The "Be Quiet" PSU is bigger then most (so I've discovered) at 190mm long as apposed to the standard 160 ?




The scratch in #4 photo has been touched up with a black marker even though the photo doesn't show it.

[solofly]

Cool case...

[xmanrigger]

Wow, so much for their quality control. Are you telling us you bought that case brand new from a retailer? Picture #2 looks like somebody got a little pissed and let a .22 have a chat with it.

Very unfortunate. I know eveyone says 'woulda-shoulda-coulda', but man, I would have RMA'd it. If they didnt cover all costs of the RMA, I would have plastered pictures of it in every forum I could.

[Jeff R 1]

Wow, so much for their quality control. Are you telling us you bought that case brand new from a retailer? Picture #2 looks like somebody got a little pissed and let a .22 have a chat with it.

Very unfortunate. I know eveyone says 'woulda-shoulda-coulda', but man, I would have RMA'd it. If they didnt cover all costs of the RMA, I would have plastered pictures of it in every forum I could.

Yup, NCIX here in Canada, they're the only ones that are selling them here on this continent, I had to get my AI4 directly from the UK.

And I did RMA it, the new one will be here Monday (Nov, 24) and I haven't even sent back the other one yet ! At least NCIX got on it _ well sort off, my photos were passed from technical support and then to shipping, I then had to call them to find out what was happening and then minutes later I got an RMA number in my in-box.

[Jeff R 1]

The replacement...

The door still sticks and binds, but I can adjust that _ I haven't decided whether or not I am going to live with the dent.
I've contacted Anidees' to see if they will send me a new panel.

So for anyone reading this, I would take caution when ordering a case from Anidees'...

[Bartacus]

Holy crap man, that is some damn bad luck!

[Jeff R 1]

Finally ! My EVGA 980 came from Amazon and it was worth the wait _ amazing piece of engineering !
Unfortunately it simply won't be necessary to water cool the card _ it just doesn't get warm enough to warrant all of that work, although I will admit I am disappointed that I don't need to water cool my HTPC _ who knows, I still may do it just for fun. The copper pipes/theme would have been interesting.

The screen shots speak for them selves.

As for the dent in the other panel in the new case, Sean at Anidees is working with NCIX to get me a new panel.