- Joined
- May 19, 2007
- Messages
- 7,662 (1.24/day)
- Location
- c:\programs\kitteh.exe
Processor | C2Q6600 @ 1.6 GHz |
---|---|
Motherboard | Anus PQ5 |
Cooling | ACFPro |
Memory | GEiL2 x 1 GB PC2 6400 |
Video Card(s) | MSi 4830 (RIP) |
Storage | Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320 GB Perpendicular Recording |
Display(s) | Dell 17' |
Case | El Cheepo |
Audio Device(s) | 7.1 Onboard |
Power Supply | Corsair TX750 |
Software | MCE2K5 |
well at the advice of a certain someone .. ive been considering tog et an antec 900 case .. but to me ( for whom money isa major issue ...) this tuniq 3 case seems like aviable alternative ... any comments ...
As mentioned earlier in the review, this is the bread and butter of the Tuniq 3 enclosure. This bracket apparatus, or the 3D Core Fan system as Tuniq refers to it, is an innovative and ingenious piece of engineering. This unique bracket system is so stuffed full of features and options that a separate review in itself could be written on it.
The bracket system is designed to accommodate case fans up to 120mm and be arrayed in a variety of positions and angles. The holes that you see in the bracket are the mounting areas for various sized case fans. This allows those that are picky about the airflow in their enclosure to really dial in exactly what they want.
Suffice to say, the 3D Core Fan bracket system addresses the two primary locations within an enclosure that need cooling the most: the videocard and the CPU. For each location, there are multiple ways to orient your fans. Specifically, for cooling the VGA, there are three different configurations possible, and for the CPU, there are four. For each configuration, the Tuniq 3 manual does a very good job depicting the methods in which to set the fans up for use with the 3D Core Fan bracket system.
For example, do you need dual 120mm fans, as shown above? How about one 92mm and one 120mm? No problem, the 3D Core Fan system can handle it all, and much, much more. The bracket system is so adaptable, that the only limitation to the amount and direction of airflow you want in your case, literally, is your imagination.
The heart of this bracket system is in its pure versatility. Besides being able to accommodate just about any fan configuration you can think of, you can also adjust the angle at which those fans operate at. This is unprecedented for a mid-ATX enclosure, as no other ATX based case offers this type of exact control over the airflow within it. Our only cause for concern with the way that Tuniq designed the bracket system is when setting the swinging arm bracket to 0 degrees. By doing so, the screw that allows the arm to hinge freely back and forth partially blocks the screw hole in which to place the thumb screw in to lock the arm down. Technically, you could still force the thumb screw in, but by doing so you will strip the threads of the screw as well as the threads in the screw hole itself.
While we are impressed with the ingenuity shown by the folks at Tuniq, we're surprised to see an obvious flaw in this particular bracket area: at least one quarter of the 120mm fan is behind the bracket itself. This impedes airflow and restricts any kind of positive air movement within the enclosure. Equally disturbing is the increased noise levels as the air travels through the holes in the bracket itself. Indeed, the fan noise did increase slightly while the fan was operating as shown above, versus when the fan was removed from it. Elongated videocard owners are also out of luck (think 8800GTX and the upcoming ATI R600) when using a lower oriented 120mm fan.