"Asus Maximus V Extreme" in "In win H-Frame" : nice fit

[erixx]

Yesterday the case arrived at 9:30 and around lunchtime I had moved my hardware into the new case.

First things first: it fits. I had some doubt and was ready to dremmel, but it was not necesary.

In advance to some pics that i took and that I still have to edit before showing them here, here a list of little facts:

1) this E-ATX mobo fits nicely, by a small margin because the 24 pin 12V plug just fits without leaving any room... and the two digit boot codes display is semi covered by one of the magnificent aluminium plates. (BUT: being an open case one can easily read it from the top of the case!)

2) I am using 1 SSD and 4 HDD, that is one more than In Win planned: I installed the 4th one in the DVD-ROM box... My dream would be to use only tons of SDDs fitted between the aluminiums sheets

3) I used the new Noctua A15 PWM fan on my C14 headsink, this one adjusts speed, contrary to the original equiped fans. It is silent even at full speed (1300rpm) and normally runs at 300 RPM) I also added a pair of Corsair Air Series SP120 Quiet Edition High Static Pressure 120mm, which are also as silent as it can be and are OFF on idling temps thanks to Asus "Fan Xpert 2".
Why am i talking about fans? Well, even with silent or muted fans there is some noise: harddrives buzzing! For those looking for The Silent Case: start using only SSDs

4) A small mod is the PSU filter. It has none. I took the PSU filter out of the Cosmos S, dremmeled it to fit the H-Frame and it fits all perfectly. (BTW, the old PSU was dusty inside even with a filter.)

5) One negative: one of the PCI card holding screws turns forever. The fate of aluminium. The Cosmos S case had at least 3 of these. A nut solves it.

6) Those details: the screws come all in distinct little bags with a descriptive sticker, not one bag with all in one.

In my opinion, the build quality is superior to every other case. I have 2 Lian Li and those are "rudimentary" and cheaper compared to this one and the CM Cosmos is purely mass production with lots of fragile cheap plastic and paper thin aluminium. The H-Frame is a tank. Very beautiful in the office and a good bit smaller compared to the Cosmos, although bigger than mid-towers.

[james888]

This thread is dissatisfying without pictures. I did read that you say they are coming. Sounds really cool.

[erixx]

It's photo time!

Studio pic for those that never heard about this one:


My pics:
Overall panorama of the case's new home:


Here two of my tweaks: a dust filter for a hard to clean area: the PSU bottom, and the HDD inside the optical box:



Here another view of the HDD in the ODD box, with the power and data cables seen from above:



Here a pic showing the most compromising area of the E-ATX board fitting: the LCD poster and power plug (apart from these nearly-but-not-problems, there is really nothing to worry about):



A final view of the nearly finished build:

[erixx]

Updates:

I was not entirely happy with the HDD cage because it was stressing the HDD cables (without my moddification, you have to forcefully press the cage against the HDD power cable)

So I reallocated the HDD inside the cage, drilling new holes in order to mount the HDD deeper inside the cage, leaving more room for cables.



Then, cable management is always exciting (lol) so here a pic of the finished build, based on 4 HDD, 1 SSD, 1 GPU, 1 TV-card, etc, modular PSU (A MUST).



The final inside:



The final back side:



Here some other parts for those interested: Noctua 15 cm PWR fan (re-using the original fans' fixing wires) and the aforementioned Corsair Quiet fan (the rubber finish makes it fit nicely without any screws):



And finally the same fan for the front (I was unaware that it comes with 3 colored rings (blue, red, white), and used the blue one of course)



I am super happy with this nice and compact build, dust "will settle" (lol) and for me it's is money better spend then with annoying water cooling systems. I hope you liked the post ,and feel free to comment, criticize or ask.

[brandonwh64]

I hate to be a debbie downer but that case is ugly. That just my opinion though.

[Frick]

Originally Posted by brandonwh64

I hate to be a debbie downer but that case is ugly. That just my opinion though.

I'm not sure what I think of it. It's kinda cool and it's does look good.. But I would never ever want one.

[erixx]

No problem mates! (I added a missing pic, btw, of the interior with fans)

[Random Murderer]

Glad to see somebody finally doing a build here with this case.
Nice choice of mobo, can't wait to see what kind of clocks you get with that board and what kind of temps you get with that case!

[erixx]

Temps... Good question Random Murdrer. Mmm... Coming from the Cosmos S which is very open (too open for what I previously thought/liked) there is zero difference, but with a lot less fans.

Recently I upgraded from a i5 to a hotter i7 processor, and I get a bit more core heat (only 5-10 Celsius more). I have my 2 case (front and rear) fans set up to be off while the temps are under 40ºC. During gaming sessions i usually reach up to 68ºC and I feel a nice hot air coming out from the top of the case. But I even think the case fans are not needed. (Maybe I will test for a session without any case fans : )

Ah, I am on 24/7 stable 4400 Mhz @ 1,2 volt (1600 Mhz idle) on this 3770K processor.

[TheMailMan78]

Originally Posted by brandonwh64

I hate to be a debbie downer but that case is ugly. That just my opinion though.

I love the case......of course I loved the sea shell case also.

[brandonwh64]

Originally Posted by TheMailMan78

I love the case......of course I loved the sea shell case also.

We know you do cause you just our special little trooper here at the TPU

[erixx]

Ok, running to be named official BF3 Sea Marines case : ) (not sure If this is funny and proper haha)

[TheMailMan78]

Originally Posted by erixx

Ok, running to be named official BF3 Sea Marines case : ) (not sure If this is funny and proper haha)

What was the cost on that case? Looks like it cost a nut!

[brandonwh64]

Originally Posted by TheMailMan78

What was the cost on that case? Looks like it cost a nut!

400 bones on the in-win site

[TheMailMan78]

Originally Posted by brandonwh64

400 bones on the in-win site

Madness. Might be 10 bucks in aluminum there.

[brandonwh64]

Originally Posted by TheMailMan78

Madness.

Darksaber did a review

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/InWin/H-Frame/6.html

[erixx]

here it cost me 350 Europians (21% VAT and delivery included).
It is madness but working as I do the whole day and gaming the nights in front of it it is not that much. AND considering that Lian Li aluminium panels are 1 mm at the most, and Cooler Master 0,5 mm at the most, these 2 MM and 4 MM aluminium panels make one feel pretty BULLETPROOF, haha

[Random Murderer]

Originally Posted by TheMailMan78

Madness.

Madness?



THIS IS ENTHUSIAST CLASS!



In all seriousness, the price is a tad high, but not by much for what you're getting. As erixx stated, the aluminium panels on this are 2-4x as thick as other high-quality aluminium cases.
Couple that with the fact that this case oozes personality and innovation, and $350USD seems fair to me.
I seem to remember when the original Cosmos came out that people were complaining of the $300 price tag. Look how many people have a Cosmos now, and how many other cases now have features that were either started by the Cosmos or brought mainstream by it. If a case is innovative and sturdy, people will pay whatever price is asked. Hell, there are still DangerDen torture racks floating around. The base model for a torture rack was what, $150-200? Add a cover and some 120mm fan mounts and it's now $250-300 for essentially a large chunk of plexiglass with the DD logo. Not everybody thinks strictly form, fit, and function like you and I. Fashion plays a large role in a lot of people's decisions. Bottom line, it's their money, not ours. As much as I like this case, no bloody way I would pay more than $200 shipped for any case. I didn't even pay $100 for the case I'm using now that's housing nearly $2k worth of hardware, and frankly, I love it.

Edit: Went back and looked at some of erixx's pics again and he has a Cosmos. Irony!

[TheMailMan78]

Originally Posted by Random Murderer

Madness?

http://www.stomptokyo.com/reelopinio...0-1-770608.jpg

THIS IS ENTHUSIAST CLASS!



In all seriousness, the price is a tad high, but not by much for what you're getting. As erixx stated, the aluminium panels on this are 2-4x as thick as other high-quality aluminium cases.
Couple that with the fact that this case oozes personality and innovation, and $350USD seems fair to me.
I seem to remember when the original Cosmos came out that people were complaining of the $300 price tag. Look how many people have a Cosmos now, and how many other cases now have features that were either started by the Cosmos or brought mainstream by it. If a case is innovative and sturdy, people will pay whatever price is asked. Hell, there are still DangerDen torture racks floating around. The base model for a torture rack was what, $150-200? Add a cover and some 120mm fan mounts and it's now $250-300 for essentially a large chunk of plexiglass with the DD logo. Not everybody thinks strictly form, fit, and function like you and I. Fashion plays a large role in a lot of people's decisions. Bottom line, it's their money, not ours. As much as I like this case, no bloody way I would pay more than $200 shipped for any case. I didn't even pay $100 for the case I'm using now that's housing nearly $2k worth of hardware, and frankly, I love it.

Edit: Went back and looked at some of erixx's pics again and he has a Cosmos. Irony!

I know. Its a product for people who can afford it. However IMO as much as I like the case, (even if I could afford it) I would not pay that price. The shell case IMO is much cooler looking. But this case just seems very well made. Just not enough in it for the price IMO.

Makes an awesome build however! Keep it up erixx!

[HammerON]

Nice build! It is a real interesting case. Would require frequent cleaning...

[erixx]

2 weeks passed, I opened it and no noticeable dust...

[terrastrife]

If you have airflow, dust can't settle.

Also, for those saying this case is ugly, it is an artform in crafting rarely seen in cases today, sadly, Inwin ruined it by releasing the D-Frame XD

[james888]

Originally Posted by erixx

2 weeks passed, I opened it and no noticeable dust...

I am a bit jealous. I have to clean my air filters about every two weeks. When I was using my haf 912 which had amazing airflow I would get what seemed like months worth of dust in weeks.

Originally Posted by terrastrife

If you have airflow, dust can't settle.

Also, for those saying this case is ugly, it is an artform in crafting rarely seen in cases today, sadly, Inwin ruined it by releasing the D-Frame XD

I had to look that up. Interesting to say the least...

[terrastrife]

^ aluminium and glass, if it was made adjustable to slide in and out to adjust for atx/eatx/xlatx that would've been perfect <:

[silapakorn]

This case will be perfect for a cleanroom environment.