System

  • CPU: Athlon X2 5600+ dual-core
  • MB : ASUS M2N-VM DH (microATX)
  • RAM: 4GB DDR2 6400 System Memory
  • GFX: Nvidia 6100 on-board
  • HD0: 2 x Samsung 500GB SATAII (SATA port 2/3)
  • CDR: Samsung 18xDVD+RW SATA (SATA port 1)
  • LAN: 1 x 1GBit LAN on-board, 1 x Wireless LAN on-board
  • Case: Antec Fusion 430 (Soundgraph iMON VFD and volume knob)
  • Others: Soundgraph iMON PAD remote, DViCO FusionHDTV RT5 Gold tuner, Terratec EW24/96 sound

Hardware setup

Installation of this excellent case is quite straightforward. As usual, Antec has paid a lot of attention to thermal and noise optimization while maintaining an attractive design. The only part I was not fully satisfied with is the cooling of the 2 harddisks, which should be handled through the 2 case fans which suck air through the vent openings below the harddisks in the harddisk chamber and then through the main chamber were the motherboard is located (see picture below of the arrangement). I installed an additional 92 mm Zalman quiet case fan in the harddisk chamber which blows air to the harddisks. This additional airflow exits the case partly through the vent openings below the harddisks and partly through escaping to the main chamber. Special when the ambient temperature is high (25 - 30 C) this solution provides much more efficient cooling and lowers the harddisk temperature by approximately 5 C. Operating this additional fan with the resistor which is bundled with the fan is sufficient, the fan then has an operating noise level of 18 dB and does not add overall operation noise.

Front Inside