Tricod 8078 ATX PC Computer Case with LED Fan, Clear Side Window and 450 watts Power Supply Accessories
Tricod 8078 ATX PC Computer Case with LED Fan, Clear Side Window and 450 watts Power Supply Reviews
But I don't see this issue (poor power supply) as a reason NOT to recommend this case. So what good are the front fan mounts. This is a great looking case, fairly well constructed. So how is this case cooled. The drive cages are nice and sturdy, except for the bottom of the optical drive cage. If you've got a system that is several years old and needs a new case/power supply, you might get away with using the power supply included with this case.
However, the power supply quality is junk anyway. Well it comes with one fan in the back, and you can install a second one in the back. The 19A rating on the +12V rail pegs this in the class of ~300W power supplies. This will help somewhat with keeping the hard drives cool. On looks, this thing looks pretty good. I don't use fans included with a case, so I can't comment on how they look or function.
There is no manual included with this case, but the motherboard manual is the only manual you should need to build a computer system. On the power supply.it is junk quality, and says it is rated for 450W. This means that the power supply fan(s) will be loud.
But the price (with power supply) is about as cheap as you will find in a functional, good looking mid-tower case. (more on power supply later). Well, you can (if you wish) put fans there to recirculate interior air around your hard drives. Power supply is junk (as expected) and airflow is poor (which is a disappointment) but it looks good, it is decent build quality, and it is easy to work with. It might be able to power your system, but what kind of protection does it have (if any) for connected components when it fails. So your back mounted cooling fans will pull air through the right side of the case, over your motherboard components, and push it out the back of the case. If you want to build a low-noise system, or you are into "overclocking", you need to avoid this case. I was afraid that the etching on the window would look cheesy, but it doesn't.
On cooling, this case has a very poor airflow design. In the front (where you can optionally mount two 80mm cooling fans) there is no exterior air inlet to service the front mounted fans. I bought this case expecting the included power supply to be junk, and I wasn't disappointed. That's the risk you take when you use a no-name power supply.
If you are building your own system, you really should be putting as much research and MONEY into your power supply as you do into other components like your mainboard or processor or video card. Don't risk using this power supply in any new system. Overclocking will add more heat to an already warm running system. I like that it has a door to hide the external drives and connectors, but you can still access the power and reset buttons. Overall, I'd say this is a decent budget mid-tower case. But that surface should not be supporting any weight. The problem is, only the ones in the BACK are functional. And even with a loud power supply, your interior temperatures will be warmer than necessary, due to poor airflow.
This case has enough cooling challenges, no need to add more heat to the interior. whether it includes a power supply or not. This is usually only found in more expensive cases, so that's a nice touch. Also, all surfaces you might touch during installation have rolled edges (so you won't cut your fingers). A decent quality 450W power supply would have roughly 27 - 30A of power available on the +12V rail(s). But this would be a decent case for anybody who doesn't care too much about noise, and never wants to overclock.
Because for an older system, it won't matter too much if a junk quality power supply dies and takes the motherboard down with it. To cool this properly, you will need a lot of airflow through the power supply. That should be MORE than sufficient to cool any system. This isn't a bad idea, BUT without other cooling fans pushing air INTO the case somewhere (usually in the front, but the front fan mounts are useless). Individual pins on the USB and audio connectors mean that it will be compatible with ALL motherboards (not all motherboards use standard pinouts).
And while you could theoretically turn around the BACK cooling fans to push cool air into the case, this would create a local "loop" of air out the back of the power supply, right back into the case and through the power supply again. Or in other words, you should be buying the power supply all by itself, not using a power supply included with a case. If you aren't careful, you might actually pull hot air from the power supply back into the system. However, the sticker also claims that the +12V rail is spec'd at 19A. . There are air inlets on the RIGHT side of the case (opposite the windowed side).
There is nothing wrong with that if 300W is enough to run your system. Yikes. the rear fans will be directly competing with the airflow design of your power supply. On installation, this case is pretty easy to work with. There are two 80mm fan mounts up front, and two 80mm fan mounts in the back. The included power supply is garbage.
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