No, that last part wasn’t a joke. I can no longer game barefoot. :’(

[Image courtesy of Newegg. Find the Windtunnel here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811103011]

Behold the massive glory that is the XCLIO Windtunnel. I mean massive literally, by the way, as this thing is a 2×2x1 full tower case that I can barely wrap my arms around. Surprisingly, it’s not incredibly heavy, but carrying it anywhere is ridiculously inconvenient. LAN parties are a no-go without a car with a tall trunk and plenty of cushions.

So, let’s get down to details. I won’t mention the easily-Google-able features of the case, but instead will be focusing on my experiences with unpacking/installing/maneuvering around it.

The Windtunnel has several very nice features going for it, including tool-less PCI ports, tool-less HDD/SSD slots, the aforementioned mind-bogglingly enormous fans, and lots of ventilation. Unfortunately, it also has several drawbacks. The so-called tool-less PCI ports are not actually tool-less if you have a large card like my Radeon 5770; they only cater to single-slot cards that have plenty of headroom near the case wall. Also, the tool-less HDD/SSD slot designer apparently never used any cables while testing the slots; despite being aesthetically pleasing and nicely arranged, the tool-less drive casings don’t provide enough room to attach 90° SATA and power cables. Indeed, it seems like whoever designed the slots assumed that all cable headers were – get this – completely straight. Giggity.

On the other hand, the Windtunnel does live up to its name. The two massive 250mm fans both draw air inside the case, which is then pushed out the top by the PSU and an optional 120mm rear fan not included with the case. You can adjust the RPM for each side fan individually with two knobs and switches on the side of the case; two more LEDs tell you whether or not each fan is running. Cool, but in reality not really that pragmatic, since even at full RPM, both fans barely make a whisper.

Installing parts in the Windtunnel could not be easier. This may simply be a characteristic of full tower ATX cases, but there is so much free space, you can literally stick peripherals inside to carry to LANs. (Disclaimer: TechReaction is not responsible for system damage due to jostling peripherals screwing up your parts.) Cable management is also a breeze thanks to the zipties and fasteners included with the case, although I didn’t really find it necessary to fasten anything down, as all the cables had a good 3-4 inches of free space to hover in anyway. The case has 4-5 front panel slots as well as 6 hard drive slots; indeed, my first thought when I popped it open was that they had sent me some superexpansive server edition of the case. Rest assured, you will run out of money far before you run out of slots in this case.

Unfortunately, any front-panel peripherals you add will have to have a small form factor; the front panel of the Windtunnel rests almost flush against the front slots, leaving no room for knobs and switches (read: sound cards with volume knobs, fan controllers with speed knobs, etc). I ran into this issue when trying out my X-Fi Fatal1ty, and ended up leaving it out of my build, with my only other alternative being breaking the front panel off of the case.

People have also been complaining about the flimsy plastic feet at the bottom of the Windtunnel; however, all the full tower cases I’ve encountered include these swiveling feet, most likely due to their size and ease of… tippingness? However, I had no problems with them, as I kept them retracted most of the time and made sure a single foot was never used for leverage on the entire case.

The one really big disappointment I ran into was the lack of a temperature monitor. In the past, XCLIO included an LED temperature monitor mounted inside the front casing, as you can see from the above screenshot; however, it has since stopped including these. Granted, they only measured internal ambient temperature anyways, and for any serious overclocking, you’d be better off with hardware or software monitors of individual components, but it was still a cool feature that is inexplicably missing.

I would highly recommend the XCLIO Windtunnel to anyone who frequently swaps parts or needs an excessive cooling solution. The Windtunnel will handle the largest motherboards, GPUs, and aftermarket coolers without breaking a sweat, and makes swapping components an absolute breeze. I am currently using the Windtunnel with a regular ATX motherboard, and can’t even imagine the ridiculous amount of space offered by an EATX mobo in conjunction with this case.

Now, off to buy some woolly socks.

Regards,

TheDramaLlama

Packaging:

*We do need to point out that on the box it has “Power Output: Up to 10w per Channel.” It also mentions 10w per channel in the instruction manual. This is wrong. It’s real power output is 20W per channel. This typo has been fixed in retail samples.*

Features:

• CNC-milled face plate from blocks of 3/4″ thick solid aluminum
• Bring out that full aesthetic appeal you always wanted in the 5.25 inch bay
• Four knobs to control four 3-pin connectors
• User’s choice of displaying Celsius or Fahrenheit for the bottom line readout

Specifications:

The Lamptron -FC6-:

Once we opened the box we finally got to see this beauty. We took everything out for a quick picture in order to show everything inside that you would get when you purchase this fan controller. Here are a few quick notes on the wires. The power connection extender is just under 10 inches. The fan connection extenders are about 20.5 inches long. The 4 temperature sensors are 32 inches from end to end. This should provide enough length to place the sensors anywhere you would like in a mid-size case.

Most skeptics out there have an idea that most fan controllers are wimpy, with cheap aluminum and/or plastic. For the FC6, this could not be further from the truth. You will find this out once you pick up this unit. It feels heavier than the other average fan controllers on the market and there is a very good reason why. This fan controller is CNC milled from blocks of 3/4″ thick solid aluminum.

This is solid craftsmanship. Nothing felt cheap or loose on the back of the PCB, and the fan connections are placed in the middle and labeled nicely for ease of use.  The power connection is placed in the top right out of the way. It is always a plus to have big connections and wires off to the side, however, Lamptron did put the temperature sensor connections under the power connection. We were curious as to why? There are a lot of other options they had and they chose that area. I guess we could let this slide for now, but maybe in the future they might consider looking into a new location for the temp sensor connections.

Setup and Installation:

The one thing that had us scratching our heads was the power connection which was an extremely tight fight with the power connector. We had to jam it on to the point of bending the PCB. We have noticed this on previous models as well. Hopefully you only have to plug it in once or twice, as we are not sure how much it could really take when using this kind of force.

Here is a look at one of the wires installed on a hard drive. A quick side note: the Lamptron FC6 does not come with tape so you will need to use your own. The temperature probe installs just as easily as any other probe you will use and takes very little time. Temperature probes are always nice to have around your system, especially if you are overclocking. You can install them on your RAM, North Bridge, CPU, inside your water cooling setup to know how hot your water is, and outside the case to gauge ambient temperatures. There are a lot of uses that can be very helpful to the average computer user and especially the more extreme overclocker.

With the FC6 installed into our testing case, you can see how great it looks matched with a solid black case. This fan controller adds a lot to the aesthetic look of the case.

Front Panel Display:

You can choose from a couple different readouts on the front panel display. It all really depends on what you want to look at.

• Alarm Status Display: The alarm is indicated by the alarm character
• Bottom Line Readout Mode Displays: Temperature Mode (Celsius and Fahrenheit) indicated in units of 0.1
• Fan Channels: Adjust the fan RPM’s with the corresponding switch (knob)
• RPM Display: RPM is displayed in units of 10 RPM for each channel, fans need sensor wires for this function to operate

The seven color options: (Red, Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue, Purple, White)

The seven color choices are always nice. It gives you some options so that you aren’t stuck with one or two colors you may not like very much. The colors are vibrant and the display crisp, which is a big deal because there are some cheaply made fan controllers and other peripherals where you have to be at just the right angle to see what is on the screen. There is nothing like spending $40-$50 on something you can’t even read! However, with the FC6 you will not have to worry about that problem because Lamptron provides quality in this regard.

Conclusion:

The Lamptron FC6 receives the TechREACTION.net Silver Silicon Award!







You can purchase the Lamptron FC6 fan controller at Performance-PCs.
Thanks to Lamptron for the review sample.

Cooler Master’s quick introduction to the case:

“With pure innovative strength, Cooler Master, the leader in enthusiast computer components, has unleashed yet another prevailing arsenal to compete in the full-tower chassis segment. Proud and robust in its appearance, the HAF 932 Black Edition presents its sturdy sentinel housing and revolutionary High Air Flow structure to enhance and protect any hardware component that is worthy of the highest performance.  The Black Edition comes with an all black interior on top of all the features along with a window side panel.”

Features:

Specifications:

Packaging:

Picture Montage:

With the pictures of the front, you can see an aesthetically pleasing view. The solid black finish has always been a classic look with computer cases. As far as we are concerned, you cannot get any better! Each drive bay has a honeycomb mesh covering adding to the pleasing look of the case. The HAF also gives you extremely easy access to the I/O panel. This is a nice touch and will save you a lot of hassle from trying to dig around in the back of your computer.

The top of the HAF has several interesting features. You first may notice the monstrous exhaust fan at the top, which is a staggering 230mm large! Needless to say, this fan removes a lot of air. The other feature on the top, is the tray that could hold flash drives or keys or whatever you would like to store there.  However, if you lift up the rubber top, you can install a fill port for your water cooling. This is a great addition to the case, because Cooler Master has taken out the potential disaster of you destroying the case while trying to add water yourself. I give it a big thumbs up for the well thought-out design for the top.

The honeycomb mesh slot covers are a nice touch, and go well with the overall look of the case. The tool less expansion card slot addition is another great feature. The clips are easy to work with and, although it may take a minute or two to figure out, they are well worth it!

The motherboard installation cheat sheet is always helpful to see. Especially when it is inscribed into the motherboard tray where it is easy to find and read. Now, you will never have extra stand-offs or stand-offs in the wrong holes. We have had our fair share of battles throughout the years with this.

Cooling Solution:

Air Cooling:

The pictures above show the massive fans that will cool your case. With the large 230mm exhaust fan up top and the and another 230mm fan in the front, this case will move a large volume of air around. The front 230mm fan is positioned so it will blow fresh air over your hard drives to keep them nice and cool. The front fan will also be blowing on your GPU which is another big plus. Anything you can do to help keep your GPU cool is always a good thing.

Water Cooling:

Wire Management:

A big key to successful airflow in a case is the wiring. If wires are everywhere, and not neat and orderly, it will restrict airflow and raise the temperatures of your components. With the HAF 932, Cooler Master did a wonderful job with cable management options. You have holes cut in the motherboard tray specifically to route your wires behind in order to come through those holes. This helps to keep the clutter in front of the motherboard to a minimum and also increases airflow. With as big as full-tower cases are these days, we would expect nothing less. This case does not let us down, it brings a multitude of options to help hide wires.

Installation:

Test System:

• CM eXtreme Power Plus 550w
• MSI 785GM-E65 AM3  m-ATX
• ASUS GTX480
• WD 320GB
• ASUS DVD RW

With everything installed, you can see that even with the big ASUS GTX480 installed, there is plenty of room. The cover does not contact the card as you will see below. It is good to see all the extra room you will have.   If you wanted to go SLI/Crossfire, you would be able to and not have to worry about anything.

As you can see from the picture on the left, there is no contact with the cover and GTX480. Now you can feel comfortable about leaving it in the case and not having to throw it away. On the right, you can see how snug expansion cards will fit with the tool less installation for them. The clips snap right into place and hold the card firm and in place.

The drive bays are also another easy install. All you do is slide in the drive of your choice, get it to where it is flush with the front, and push the button. When you push the button, it pushes out pins that will go into the drive holes and hold it into place. If you ever want to take the drive out, push the button again and it will retract the pins and you are set to take out the drive.

One last tool less installation to check out. The hard drive was very easily installed. Just pull out the bracket where you want to install the hard drive, and line up the pre-installed pins with your hard drive holes, and you are done! Pretty simple, eh?

Final Thoughts:

To sum it up in one word, “wow!” We have heard good things about the HAF line of chassis, but until today, have never been hands-on with one. To say that it exceeded our expectations would be selling this case short. A lot of the things we have been complaining about with computer cases for years, the HAF 932 got it right! The spacious interior is a great thing to see inside of a case. It will leave you plenty of room to work with things and create better air flow. It also allows room for today’s top of the line graphics cards. As you see, there is plenty of room for our GTX480 inside.

The cooling options were better than expected. The two massive 230mm fans circulating air is a great thing for this case. It is actually so big that normal 120mm fans would probably fail miserably in this case. We are glad Cooler Master recognized this and came up with a plan to combat that issue. The tool free installation was a great addition to the case. It just gives it an even higher touch of class.

Options, options, options! This case has them for you to take advantage of, which allows you to make this case truly one of a kind. The top 230mm can be removed and has holes drilled for three 120mm fans to take its place. The water cooling holes pre-drilled can be moved to the bottom of the case if so desired. The PSU can be moved to the top of the case if you like that look better. There is just a lot of mixing and matching you can do with this case which makes it great for the tinkerer. One thing people may frown upon is the sheer weight of the case. Like we said earlier, it weighed in just under 30 pounds, and who knows what it would weigh when fully loaded. This would not be a very user-friendly case if you had to move it around a lot.

We will definitely be recommending this to all our friends and possibly even strangers on the street! If you are in the market for a full tower that is pure quality, this should definitely be at the top of your list!

Purchase the HAF 932 Black Edition

More information on the HAF 932 Black Edition.

The Coolermaster HAF 932 Black Edition has received the TechREACTION.net Gold Silicon Award!

Factors contributing to unreliable test results that can be controlled by the tester:

• Air temperature and humidity: When doing a comparison, temperature and humidity should be kept the same, or at least as close as possible.
• Location: Testing should be done in an area that has little air movement or an area with a reasonably controllable environment.
• Sunlight: Testing in direct sunlight will skew results.
• Electronic devices: Most electronic devices expel heat. Avoid testing near such devices, if this is unavoidable, make sure that the device is in the same state for all testing; preferably off.
• Other environmental considerations: Consider air movement; as limiting air movement will eliminate many variables.

1. If central air is being used, the testing should be done near the thermostatic control unit as this will limit many of the temperature variances that occur in a structure between on/off cycles.
2. Fans: Box, osculating, ceiling or any other type of fan should be turned off.
3. The testing should not be near an air duct.

Eliminating the biggest contributor to inaccurate results (the computer):

The computer needs to be eliminated from the equation if a heat sink is to be tested accurately.

• Background operations that are controlled through the services settings panel in the administrative control panel need to be completely eliminated, as these may cause random CPU cycles.
• Legacy buses (dumb buses) need to be disabled as they are polled by the CPU.
• Motherboard monitoring hardware and software are not always dependable and accurate.
• CPUs and Chipsets have been known to have temperature monitoring issues.

Building an external test unit is the only way to eliminate the factors that are beyond the tester’s control.

Components and tools used for testing. Only the fan headers are used on the motherboard. Molex to fan header adapters are available.

A water tight pan and standard PSU are used for testing as well.

Transfer blocks need to be lapped and mounted with thermal transfer adhesive.

A hole needs to be drilled for thermocouple insertion. The hole above is 7/8" deep with a 5/8" counter bore to allow the thermocouple ball to fit tightly.

Using non-conductive thermal paste allows the gaps to be filled and better results to be obtained.

A thermocouple can be used if you wish to test specific points on the HSF for variance, which can indicate a poor performing or bad/damaged HSF.

Variance testing

Variance testing

Probing areas

The probes need to be cleaned and thermal paste used for every test.

Insertion of thermocouples should be done before adding water.

Using water as a heat transfer medium allows for more control of environmental factors that are otherwise left unchecked.

1. Humidity is controlled and maximized
2. Temperatures are controlled (as long as air movement is eliminated)
3. Air density is affected but will not be a factor that can be readily measured.

A control thermocouple (black) is used to monitor the base temperature.

1-2mm of water needs to be above the plate.

Using water will allow for repeatability in testing. This allows the temperatures to be easily stabilized and the maximum temperature will usually be in a predictable range; thus allowing for data sets to be formulated. After a point, head to head tests will no longer be necessary.

Keeping the meters on during the heating process can help identify trends in HSF units and also identify potential problems.

If only one unit is to be the focus, then a probe can be affixed to the HSF itself.

Testing temperature scaling and humidity is a necessity as they will work together to give a more controlled testing environment.

Testing room and zone temperatures is helpful if a database is to be made for comparison.

Bring up the temperature and humidity

The air temperatures in the test zone should stabilize and be maintainable and repeatable.

Using a humidity of 90-100% in the testing zone will help better control temperature for dependable and repeatable results.

Though the temperatures should remain uniform, there is no guarantee. ALWAYS CHECK TEMPERATURES AT MORE THAN ONE POINT!

Water temperature variance test point #1.

Water temperature variance test point 2

Video of fan on a cool down run.

Testing:

• Although a passive test, the process of heating up the HSF shows the ability to absorb and dissipate heat with no fan assistance.
• Variance testing will show the HSF’s ability to evenly spread it’s heat (this is best done with the fan off), which is critical for the HSF to respond to rapid changes in heat output. If there is a large variance between the closest point to the CPU and the furthest point away from it, then the HSF generally will not deal well with rapid heat output changes or the high heat output from overclocking.
• Testing of heat pipe efficiency is similar to standard variance testing. Testing the heat pipe at the points closest to and the furthest from the CPU will show the efficiency of the heat pipes.
• Building on the heat pipe test, a heat pipe to fin variance test shows the efficiency of the bond between the two materials/components of the HSF. This test shows design weaknesses and may show manufacturing flaws that show up from time to time in production runs. The causes for this are dependent on many factors, and if a HSF is found to be poorly made, the manufacturer should be contacted so that it can be corrected. It is never the intent of a major manufacturer to sell a bad product. If it is found to be a poor design then the tester or reviewer has little choice, a spade is a spade and a bad product should be shown for what it is.
• The fan on test shows which HSF is more capable of dispersing heat into the surrounding environment.

There are many other types of tests that can be done with an out of the box setup. The testing above is just a start.

Data collection: Keeping track of information allows the tester to build a database of results. By studying the variances, from run to run, choose a control heat sink to work with as a standard for comparison; a benchmark of sorts. The best way to record and store the information is with a meter that will log the information and allow output in a standard form that can be used in something like Excel or Open Office.

Obtaining a testing pan and plate: Most of these items are easy to acquire, save the box or pan. Local fabrication shops usually have plenty of scrap around and will usually sell it at a discount rate. If you are a product tester, the shop may cut you a break for a little free advertising in your review/blog, or you can part with the ~ $70 – $200 and just have it made.

That is all for now. Feel free to comment or ask questions and I will be happy to help in any way that I can.

Cooler Master’s quick introduction of the case:

“The Elite 430 Black was designed with an all‐black interior coating. Its main purpose is to give plenty of space for large graphics cards. The Elite 430 Black also features plenty of cooling options. A well-ventilated front mesh design keeps the hottest systems nice and cool. Elite 430 gives both value and functionality within an entry level mid tower. A large side panel window shows off an all black interior. A compact size hides a spacious interior support dual HD Radeon 5970, and large tower coolers. Elite 430 raises the bar for entry level chassis and modernizes a well-respected Elite product line.”

Packaging:

Specifications:

Features:

The Picture Montage:

Once unwrapped, we find a nice black mid tower case. The drive bays are concealed behind a honeycomb mesh design. These seem to have become the standard on most cases. You can also see the easily accessible power/reset buttons and the front I/O (input/output) connections. Everything in the front flows well together and does not look “forced” so to speak. It is a somewhat basic design, yet very efficient.

Now you can get a glimpse of the big side window and some of the inside. The plastic bag comes with all of the motherboard stand-offs, zip ties, and a case speaker. You can also see the wires from the I/O connectors and the power/reset buttons. As you can tell, Cooler Master went with an all black finish to the case. You will also see the ‘Tool-Free’ installation on the drive bays by using the clips they provide.

A nice feature to the case is that they have a little “cheat sheet” engraved into the center of the motherboard tray (top left). It is there to make installing the stand-offs extremely simple and will take the guess work out. All you need to know is whether you have a Micro-ATX motherboard or an ATX motherboard. You can also see the honeycomb mesh bay covers from the inside. The smaller hole design is to help keep out as much dust as possible. Only time will tell if this is an effective way of doing so.

In the above picture (top left), you can see the very user-friendly addition of the CPU back plate cut out. This makes it a lot easier to change out CPU coolers by just taking the side panel off of the case and having access to the back plate. This is a great time saver, whereas in the past you would have had to take the motherboard completely out of the case to be able to change coolers that used different back plates. In the other two pictures you can see up close how the ‘Tool-Free’ drive installation works. It’s very quick and easy to install/uninstall devices.

With the pictures of the bottom and back of the case, you can see a few of the intake/exhaust areas the case provides. The expansion card slot area is very easy to work with. You pop off the slot cover with ease and you can install whatever expansion card you would like. Also, in the bottom right picture, Cooler Master has made available two access holes for water cooling. The top of the case is big enough to hold a single 240mm radiator unit. That is also a nice option to the case, because you will not have to drill your own holes if you want to run your water loop outside the case.

Cooling / Airflow of the Elite 430:

Cooler Master provided a quick look into how the airflow in the case will work. Take a look below to see how it actually looks in this detail.

With the above pictures, you can see what the Cooler Master diagram really looks like up close. With potentially six intake/exhaust areas in this case, it will be able to move a lot of air around. More importantly, it will be able to release the hot air outside of the case. A few of the fan areas have the option to use an 80, 92 and 120mm fan. This allows you to mix and match. It will also help if you have a tight space and a 120mm fan is just too big to go into that spot. You can get a smaller fan and still get some airflow instead of no airflow at all.

Dust Filters:

With the close-up picture on the top left, you are able to see just how small the dust filter’s honeycomb design is. We think it actually has a chance of keeping some dust out, but just how much? We could not honestly tell you, as we said before, only time will really tell. We also think that the design is better than using the actual mesh dust filters. Airflow is not as restricted, but this may come at the cost of cleanliness.

Installation:

With everything installed in the picture above, you can see the tight fit. However, the dual ATI 5970’s fit just fine! This is great news for Cooler Master as well as the avid gamer. When the larger-sized cards started hitting the market, a lot of mid-tower cases were not able to handle the size. It looks like, for the most part, that is a thing of the past.  The case is also deep enough to fit the rather large Cooler Master V8 cooler. What does that mean you ask? The size of the V8 is 120 x 128 x 161.1mm (4.7 x 5 x 6.3 inches). This means that anything on the market around that size will fit in this case without an issue.

We took out the drive bay clips so that you could get a closer look at what they really are. For installing drives, however, you do not take these clips off. You leave them where they are, slide in the drive you want to install, and then go from there.

Wire Management:

Do you see any wire management options? We didn’t either! This was the biggest let down for us with the Elite 430. Maybe we were spoiled with all of the other new cases that we have seen with great wire management? Who knows! All we know is that once everything is installed, it becomes quite tight in there, and that is without anything from the PSU connected. Now there are places to conceal wires, but we do not consider jamming wires into drive bays wire management. This was a big turn off for us with this case, because it could of been so much better.

Conclusion:

Overall, this is a well-constructed case. It has some really good features and is a step in the right direction for case construction. The amount of fan possibilities is a nice touch and they are positioned in key areas and will be able to keep the inside temperatures at a respectable level. The ‘Tool-Free’ installation for bay devices is always a plus. We are glad to see more and more cases going to this option. Another great feature is the cut-out in the motherboard tray. It allows easy access to the back plate on the motherboard and will significantly decrease installation times of new CPU coolers that require their own back plate.

However, in today’s market place, where all of the hardware seems to be pumping out more heat than ever before, cooling is extremely important. You cannot have proper cooling if you have wires everywhere blocking the airflow. Jamming the wires in the bay areas is not what we consider wire management. This has left a sour taste in our mouth for an otherwise great case. We guess the old adage is true in that ‘you get what you pay for’. Sadly, in this case, no pun intended, it rings true.

We still would recommend this case to our friends. However, it would come with a warning due to the lack of wire management options this case provides. If you do not mind wires jammed into drive bays or you’re a modder and plan on modifying the motherboard tray for wire management anyhow, then this should definitely be a case for you to consider.

The Cooler Master Elite 430 receives the TechREACTION.net Bronze Silicon Award!

For more information on this case or any other Cooler Master product, check out their website.

• Compatible with K-, J-, T- and E- thermocouples (others should work but these are the recommended types)
• User programmable offsets
• Internal memory stores 100 sets of temperature readings that can be transferred to PC software
• Data logging software for real time testing (good for working with fan and component placement and viewing their effects in real time)
• Ability to export data sets from software in .xls format to do comparative studies and graphing

The graph capabilities of the 72-7712 software are not phenomenal, it does however serve the purpose. Though dual software readout (T1 & T2) would be preferred; the logging capacity and decent feature set, as well as an Excel export feature make up for the software weaknesses.

Thermocouple 1 reading

Thermocouple 2 reading

Thermocouple 1 - thermocouple 2 reading. Temperature difference. This screen is most effective when trying to move case temperatures closer to ambient room temperature.

Example of exported data to .xls format

Thermal conductivity of the heat sink material is an important factor in air cooling. Copper and aluminum are the most widely used materials in PC HSF (heat sink & fan) construction. The properties of these two materials are critical to proper cooling of the processor.

The Chart below shows the thermal conductivity of materials for comparison. The only three that matter for this testing are aluminum, copper and air (water and the other items may be of interest to those who like to get a little wet).

:More information about thermal conductivity and conductive heat transfer:

Some simple ideas for improving the PC enthusiast experience:

Checking the case for hot spots.

Keeping your entire case as close to ambient is probably the most important thing that can be done to keep the HSF operating at its maximum efficiency. A heat sink can not lower temperatures below case ambient and will usually level out 4-12 degrees centigrade above case ambient no matter how much money is spent on it.

By identifying hot spots, proper fan placement can be made. Though these areas may not seem relevant to CPU cooling; they are. Air circulating throughout the case creates eddies, (a current of air running contrary to the main current; especially: a circular current : whirlpool) which in turn, remain hot and by cross circulation make  air circulating around them heat up.

Working in a similar fashion to the eddy, dead zones (hot area where there is no mechanical air circulation) may seem harmless, it is critical to circulate or eliminate this air to alleviate convection (heat transfer in a gas by the circulation of currents from one region to another). For dead zones a fan may not be an option and directed air may be needed. If directed air is not possible then closing in/sectioning off this area may be the only option.

Knowing where the hot areas of the case are allows for fixes that otherwise would not be possible.

Testing for efficiency.

Methodology: Air can only dissipate a fixed amount of heat due to its low thermal conductivity. Having a material of higher thermal conductivity does not always mean better temperatures, but it does allow a potential for lower temperatures, depending on other contributing factors. Testing the two most common heat sink materials to see these differences helps gain an understanding of what the conductivity numbers really mean.

Copper and Aluminum heat sinks tested for conductivity.

Copper; 56.8 seconds to reach maximum efficiency with a variance of 3.9 degrees centigrade

Aluminum 59.8 seconds to reach maximum efficiency with a variance of 7.9 degrees centigrade

This is the point where temperatures stabilize and heat is dispersed through natural convection. This is not a scientific test as the blocks were not exactly the same and some variables were omitted. What it does show is that copper will transfer heat faster and more evenly.

A double boiler is used to allow for better temperature control

Test equipment and stop watch used (phone) for testing. A Tenma 72-8540 is used as a control.

The copper and aluminum heat sinks used for the test

A two minute test of both materials (copper and aluminum) showed a 3.7 degree centigrade variance, copper being hotter (this is good, it means it will draw that much more heat to be dissipated). It must be taken into consideration that these heat sinks did not have a fan and the variance would have been lower during operation.

The results of this test correlate directly to the previous test results.

Testing your Heat Sink and Fan assembly

Using an Arctic Cooling AF64 PRO

If the HSF is not equalizing temperatures within a reasonable variance or running 10+ degrees above ambient case temperature (check the temperature at the intake area of the HSF to eliminate the possibility of a hot spot causing the problem) then a re-seat of the HSF may be needed and possibly a replacement HSF of higher quality may be in order.

Using information gathered with a good temperature meter will help guide the process of lowering case temperatures and in turn allow for a cooler processor, memory and hard disk drive.

Shots of the 72-7712

All display elements

Temperature readout screen

Variance screen

Setup: Offset adjustment screen

Front view of meter showing controls

Conclusion

Using a dual probe temperature meter with capabilities comparable to the 72-7712 is a definite step up from the volt meter type single probe units that were used in the past. With the data logging capabilities and other features available with this unit it is much easier to maximize case cooling and potentially gain a few hundred MHz from a heat limited overclock.

With acceptable quality, useful software and features the 72-7712 makes an excellent addition to the tool box of the overclocker or small PC mod shop.

]]> http://www.techreaction.net/2010/06/01/tenma-72-7712-dual-chanel-temp-probe-what-happens-with-tempratures-inside-a-pc/feed/ 4 http://www.techreaction.net/2010/05/31/blog-in-wins-maelstrom-full-tower-case-quick-look/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=blog-in-wins-maelstrom-full-tower-case-quick-look http://www.techreaction.net/2010/05/31/blog-in-wins-maelstrom-full-tower-case-quick-look/#comments Mon, 31 May 2010 12:31:08 +0000 Krab http://www.techreaction.net/?p=6924 A few months ago, In-Win decided to hold a promotion where they gave away hundreds of free products; from power supplies to cases, they were extremely generous. I had luckily acquired an In-Win Maelstrom from the frenzy. They were also so kind as to pay the very expensive oversea shipping fees! Yay! Anyways, this will post will briefly talk about some key points of the Maelstrom, so let’s start off with some pictures.

The Maelstrom was shipped in a very large and durable cardboard box. The box itself makes a great seat for lightweight children and can be used as a coffee table. Well, until it breaks, that is. With the packaging that In Win used, it seems quite difficult to damage the actual case unless it was intentional and you knew where to attack it.

The instructions, which are in varying languages to support multiculturalism, are very clear in where, and how to install everything in the Maelstrom. Included in the accessory bag are screws and standoffs, molex adapters, power supply spacers, luckily for you, an additional thumbscrew if you manage to carelessly lose one. There is also a small PC speaker.

The actual Maelstrom looks very… not-too-good. The sole reason for this is due to a pair of grotesque handles on the front. They’re shown as the green thingamajigs. They cannot be used as actual handles, and because of that, they’re useless. There is no way to remove them normally unless you have a saw to cut it off manually. Though you can use it for support, odds are, you’re going to pull the front cover off and drop the Maelstrom. And that is most likely going to end in disaster. Then again, if you do like it, all the better. I guess this is just my opinion.

However, if you look past the dead weight handles, it’s pretty normal. Nothing fancy, nothing ugly.

The Maelstrom has a lot of great features: the front panel cables included are nice and long, it’s sturdy, the enormous side fan is pretty quiet, it’s tool-less, and it has great air flow. Overall, it’s pretty well equipped.

One flaw in the Maelstrom is that there is no filter for dust intake on the bottom PSU. Dusty room? Probably going to need to do something about that then. Another flaw is that there no 2.5″ mounting capability for SSDs and smaller HDDs, which may or may not be a problem for you.

I would recommend the Maelstrom if you’re looking for a full-tower case, as it seems to retail for nintey-ish dollars. If you’re looking for specific tests and benchmarks, don’t look here. Go find a real review. You can find the specifications at their official page and clicking specifications. Am I being lazy? Yes. But if you really wanted to know, you shouldn’t be.

“Today, we have a very special video for you. In the first of many BitFenix Video Logs, David Jarlestedt, BitFenix Product Manager, gives you a behind-the-scenes look at the who, what, and why of this new gaming hardware and peripheral company. Learn what makes BitFenix tick and what BitFenix has coming up in the very near future. Also, catch a sneak peek at Colossus – BitFenix’s first PC Gaming Chassis!”

Cooler Master’s current best seller, the CM 690 was initially launched in 2007 and has been one of their mainstays ever since then. The popularity of this chassis was such that it spawned a number of variants, amongst them a windowed version and later the pure version with an all black interior. The chassis was very simple in design and construction and what made it such a great product was that it was designed keeping a lot of the market requirements in mind.

With changing times and a lot of competition in the same price bracket, it was time for CM to look at a redesign of its current mainstay and that’s exactly what they have done. They worked on the relevant additions required in today’s market place and cam back with the CM 690 II advanced and the CM 690 II pure. The Pure is an Asia Pacific specific model and is a little less customizable than the Advanced, but it still retains most of the practicality and all of the looks of its more expensive sibling. So without wasting anymore time, lets start by taking a look at the features of the CM 690 II pure.

Available Color
Black

Material
Steel body / Plastic + Mesh bezel

Dimension (W / H / D)
214.5 x 511.8 x 528.8 mm / 8.4 x 20.1 x 20.8 inch

Weight
Net Weight: 9.56 kg / 21.08 lbs
Gross Weight: 11.56 kg / 25.49 lbs

M/B Type
Micro – ATX / ATX / Mini-ITX(supports)

5.25″ Drive Bay
4 (without the use of exposed 3.5”drive bay)

3.5″ Drive Bay
6 Hidden
1 Exposed (converted from one 5.25” drive bay)

I/O Panel
USB 2.0 x 2 , eSATA x 1 , MIC x 1 , Audio x 1 (supports HD / AC97 audio)
Expansion Slots
7 + 1

Cooling System
Front: 140 x 25 mm Blue LED fan x 1 / 1200 RPM / 19 dBA
Rear: 120 mm fan x 1 / 1200 RPM / 17 dBA
Top: 120 x 25 mm fan x 1 / 1200 RPM / 19 dBA (supports 120 / 140 mm fan x 2)
Bottom: 120 mm fan x 2 (optional)
Right side: 120 / 140 mm fan x 2 (optional)
Left side: 80 x 15 mm x 1 (optional)
HDD cage: 120 mm fan x 1 (optional)

Power Supply
Standard ATX PS2 / EPS 12V (optional)

As you can see, the cabinet is a bit bigger than the 690 and also has a slight change over the configuration of drive bays. Overall the extra room is a requirement of most modern mid to high end systems and CM has done the right thing by increasing the space available.

Unboxing and Accessories

The chassis come packaged in a nice glossy white cardboard box. The front of the box has an image of what you can expect inside.

The rear has some more pictures of the chassis with the main features highlighted. This helps uninformed customers to get a good idea of what they are buying.

As usual the chassis is covered in plastic and is saved from any major damage with the help of some styrofoam inserts on each side of the case. The packaging has been the same for quite some time now, and since it seems to work well, there is no reason to change it.

Now lets take a quick look at the accessories that come along with the case, before going on to the case itself. The accessories are packaged in a small brown box, which is securely tied into the chassis itself. The list is quite long and impressive for a cabinet of this price.

Starting from the left, we have a small metal bracket, which can be used to securely lock your chassis. Then we have a speaker and something that I have seen for the first time, a set of plastic fan holders, which by the way are extremely easy to use. There are also a small packet of zip ties for wire management, the 3.5″ bay adapter, various screws and stand offs and a 5.25″ to 3.5″ converter. They have also provided an extra fan filter, which can be used for the PSU if required. The cabinet also comes with an SSD holder, which we will look at later in the review. The motherboard screws are also black to go with the theme and this is a good touch.

The cabinet also comes with a manual, which will help first time builders to get going.

External Impressions

Lets start with the front panel. As you can see below, the front panel remains almost the same as the older 690, but the bottom has a more rounded look. Now, if we really look at it, I will not call this a negative, as the original 690 looks good even today.

Moving along to the left side, the panel looks exactly the same as the older 690, with only a small change in the fan placements. The rest of the panel is pretty bland, and I wish CM had done something here to spice it up. Even a logo like what they have on the HAF series would have helped, or a set of air ducts.

The right side of the case is pretty plain and there’s not much to see here. There is a small fan holder to take away heat from the cpu area and this is something which does help.

Moving along to the rear of the case, there are a few changes to note. Firstly, we have a set of water cooling holes, near the top of the chassis, instead of the right bottom. This will help those who do want to get into water cooling as its placed very conveniently as compared to the original 690. Secondly, the top again is a bit more rounded, to keep with the overall theme of the new case. Thirdly, we have an additional expansion slot on the side, which is very helpful for those who want to use a fan or led controller. And finally, CM seems to have done away with the plastic PCI-E slot holders. But lets leave that for when we look at the interiors.

This is also the first look at the paint job on this chassis and its extremely durable and has a wonderful matte finish, without looking dull.

Moving along to the top of the chassis, we have place here for up to 2 x 140 mm fans. Now what I realized is that the fans can be fit inside the cabinet, OR between the cabinet and the top panel. Now this will be very helpful for anyone looking to get some more space around the CPU socket area, or for a person looking to install a 240 mm rad up top.

The top also holds the I/O panel and we have the regular set of controls, plus a switch for the lights on the front fan. All the buttons have a solid feel to them and work with a nice click. The silver accents continue from the front and its a nice touch.

Lets not take a closer look at the interiors.

Interiors
The side panels are held in place with a pair of thumb screws. Once we take those of, we are greeted by the lovely black interior. I am sure that most of you will love and I am happy that CM decided to paint even the basic model with a black interior. I for one would have saved a couple of days if they had offered the same interior on my CM Sniper.

The manual and accessories box is kept inside the chassis and the box is secured well enough to make sure it does not move while shipping. Once we remove these, we can admire the full beauty of this cabinet.

So lets start with some basic observations about the interiors. The paint work is extremely durable and unless you try real hard, its a bit difficult to scratch. This is a well done machine finish with not a single blemish or bubble on it and CM have done a very good job of it.

Next, we have six HDD caddies, each with its own plastic retention bracket. I wish they had put in some more effort to dampen the HDD sound though. On the plus side, its a very easy to use and straight forward mechanism and much better than the ones on the previous 690.

The 5.25″ bays have a new locking mechanism, which also works quite well. But if you do plan to move your system around, make sure to use the included screws to secure the other side as well.

Moving on, we see six cable management holes in the motherboard tray, as well as a large hole behind the CPU area. This is very well thought out and gives any person the chance to get the most wire free finish with minimal work. there are also a couple of areas where you can use zip ties to hold down those massive cables behind the motherboard tray. The bottom has three ventilation points, one of which will be sued by the PSU. The second one can hold a 120 mm fan and the second and third together can be used for a 240 mm radiator if required. This should work extremely well with the new Swiftech MCR 220, since both the radiator and the pump can be fitted down here and then you only need tubes going to your CPU block. However this version does not have the removable HDD brackets, and so you would have to do a bit off work to get that done.

Looking at the top, this is where the 2 X 140 mm fans can be installed.

The chassis comes with one 120mm fan as part of the package.

Continuing with the fans, we see the rear fan, which again is a plain jane 120 mm with no LED’s and the front blue LED 120 mm fan. In the second picture, we can also see the cable management holes, and I wish CM had left a little more space between the motherboard tray and the rear panel to make it easier to hide the thicker cables.

Finally we take a closer look at the HDD caddy’s.

The one on the left will accommodate a normal 3.5″ HDD and the one on the right would be helpful to those who have invested in an SSD. The positive of this system is how easy it is to work with, but I wish there was a little more rubber to keep HDD vibrations down.

Lets move on to the last part of this review and the conclusion.

Final Installation and Conclusion

I sat down to install a couple of components in this case and was presently surprised. Cable management is a breeze and I probably finished installing the below components in around 25 minutes, with minimal fuss.

Well the surprise here is the motherboard, but leaving that aside for another day and another review, you can probably make out how much those holes help in keeping things tidy. A nice sleeved PSU would probably enhance the overall looks a lot more. Everything went in without a fuss and as you can see we can easily install a 5870 or any of the new GTX series from Nvidia.

The reason for no CPU and ram is that, thats a secret we are keeping for sometime later.

To end this review, lets take a short look at the main pros and cons:

Pros:

• Great price – Should be around 5k for this version and 5.5k for the Advanced version
• Great build and finish
• Well thought out cable management features
• Sufficient filters all around
• Radiator compatible
• LED switch
• You can install a total of 10 fans

Cons:

• Very similar to the 690 Pure
• Rear side panel should have had a bulge to help easier wire management

All in all, a great chassis but I would rather spend the extra Rs. 500 and get the advanced version. I expect the street price to be a bit lower than Rs. 5,000 once the initial hype ends.

The chassis will be available online as well as in shops around the 15th of this month.

This chassis has earned the TechReaction Gold Silicon Award

Also be sure to check out TestFreaks for more reviews on the Cooler Master 690 II.

]]> http://www.techreaction.net/2010/04/14/review-cooler-master-690-ii-plus/feed/ 5 http://www.techreaction.net/2010/03/27/tech-station-a-story-of-a-wooden-beast/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tech-station-a-story-of-a-wooden-beast http://www.techreaction.net/2010/03/27/tech-station-a-story-of-a-wooden-beast/#comments Sat, 27 Mar 2010 06:44:07 +0000 The Duke http://www.techreaction.net/?p=5185 Awhile back, I was doing a review and I had to keep taking my main computer off my desk and setting up a make-shift tech station. Although this worked fine, and I had no problems with it, it was very annoying. After the review was done, I started coming up with ideas of a tech station wonderland. Something that would and could do anything and everything I wanted it to do. I wanted it to be able to handle anything I threw at it, water or air. With all that in mind, I thought about it for a few days. Finally, I wandered out to the garage to see what tools I had and made sure I had most everything I needed. Much to my surprise, I did! A quick side narrative about my garage is that it is known to eat things, only to reappear after you go out and buy a new item to replace the one you lost. Haunted? I don’t think so, but it does have a sense of humor I must say.

Moving on from the garage with a sense of humor… Once I noticed I had everything I needed, for the most part, I sat down with some note cards. If you have followed any of my work, you will know I love my note cards! If you have not followed any of my work, you should be ashamed of yourself. Yep, I said it, ashamed! Anyway, as I was saying, I sat down with some note cards. After about 5-10 setup sketches, I was finally piecing everything together that I liked and wanted for my tech station. Once that was done, I finally came to the sketched conclusion of how I imagined the tech station in my head.

Above is the notorious sketch that started it all. Please control yourself! I know I am an amazing artist, Picasso Jr. some say.  With the sketch done, all I could think about was when would I be able to go to Lowe’s and buy my supplies. I lost a little sleep over thinking about how I wanted it to look and the little details of the case. Yes, I lost sleep, I was pretty excited about this project so leave me alone.

I finally got time a few days later to head to Lowe’s and pick up all my wood and supplies. A monumental occasion? I like to think so. Well, 3 hours later I came stumbling out of Lowe’s with everything I needed. After speeding home, I got to work drawing up some of my first cut-outs for the following day.

The above was the first of many sketches I finished waiting to be cut. However, this was one of two main pieces and was going to be noticeable since it was going on top. The other piece will be revealed later on.

With a lot of the main cutouts finished, I like to think my tech station was happy with the progress.

After a lot of thought, I came up with this type of font for it. It took a lot of talking  and thinking about before finally settling on this, which is the second main piece of the case. It actually turned out better than I was expecting, imagine that.

Once everything was finally cut out, about a week later. Everything needed to be painted, and paint I did. The wood consumed about six cans of red, seven cans of white, and about ten or eleven cans of primer. It was a hungry wooden beast indeed.

The picture above is only one of the first attacks with paint after the primer was finished. There were oh so many more to come. I did not imagine this wood could take so much paint and keep on laughing at me…well, it did and it sure was annoying. Finally, after about 6-7 coats of read and white, the wood surrendered and I could finally move on!

Here is the first installation of wood. It was a great day when everything was ready to start being pieced together! It was also exciting seeing the colors I picked work so well with each other. If they had looked atrocious, I would of been S.O.L. at this point. Then I would have had an ugly tech station, and who wants that? Not me!

After installing the white boards on the first level, I just had to put the second level red piece on to see how it would look. I was really impressed with it, and seeing it shine like that in the sun was even greater. So back to work I went to get it even closer to being finished!

With one of the two main pieces finally installed, this tech station is taking some shape. I was extremely pleased with how well it looked once it was installed.

Now take a gander at the rolls of tape. Here are sixty yards worth of tape. The beast ate my painters tape like it ate my paint. It took about an hour straight to tape up all the white so I could begin the touch-ups with the red.

The touch-ups are done and this is what the back looks like. I cannot wait to finally use the 4×120 radiator rack that I put in. That will be another great day!

Now that everything is done. The real brilliance of the tech station shines through when I assemble a mock setup to see how it will look when I finally test my first piece of hardware.

Final resting place:

Final Thoughts:

Need I say more?

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