Airflow: Great Temps Without Water

If you guys know anything about me, you know that I really stress good airflow. I always recommend cases with front vents, I try to recommend good CPU coolers when I put them on builds, and I like putting as many fans on as possible.

I think good airflow can actually cool your rig just as good as water cooling can with the right setup. A great example of this is my latest rig. I'm getting amazing temperatures on all of my components. My temperatures on HWMonitor are thus:
CPU- 35C (97F)
Mainboard - 30C (86F)
HDD - 31C (87F)
GPU - 29C (84F)

My system fans are running at around 1100RPM, dipping down to 900 when system is relaxed. My CPU fan is running at 2500RPM. The fans on my Graphics card are running at 1100RPM, or 25% of the fastest they could go.  Comparing these to my previous APU computer, the values for most are actually fractions. My CPU in my old build was running about 50C from at 2500RPM. My Mainboard was around 40-45C, my HDD was about 40C and my GPU was averaging 60C on a medium load.

The reason my temperatures are so different now is because I have a fan blowing cold air in from the front, over the components, and the hot air comes out the back. I'm going to be getting a bigger fan for the back, a fan for the side panel, and another fan for the front. Hopefully I can get everything below 30C then.

The great thing about this is the cost. The fans don't need to cost more than $10, or so, and getting a fan splitter will cost a similar amount. Instead of buying an $80 AiO water cooling kit that just cools one component, I highly recommend just getting a lot of fans and running them at 1000RPM or so. Even lower if you have 3 or more.

Don't spend money where you don't have to. Be smart with your budgets.

Happy gaming.

LEPA LPC307 Case Overview

Hey everyone, today we're looking at the chassis for my new build, the LEPA LPC307B. This case was pretty much the cheapest ATX case I could find, but it had everything I needed for the price. Lepatek is a German company who have been making Power Supplies and Fans for ages, but their 300 series cases are their first foray into chassis.

The case features front vented area to put fans, one USB3 port, one USB2 port, Audio, Reset and power buttons and two 5.25" drive bays. The construction could be better however, since the front cover is plastic while the rest of the case is metal. This could be to make it easier to take off, but I would have liked them to at least put metal accents or something to strengthen it.

When you pop off the front panel, you can see it's held in by plastic pins, making it easy to pull off. However, these look like they could break easily, so it would have been a smart choice to use metal here. The cables to the front I/O are neatly strung together near the panel and can be move around because of the long length of each of them.

When we take off the front panel, you can see that there is ample room for drive bays as well as holes for fan installation. You can either put two 120mm fans in the front or one 140mm fan. I don't think you would be able to put even a small radiator, so this is not a good choice for water cooling enthusiasts.

Looking at the side without the panel, we see a really big cutout behind where the CPU goes, allowing for easy bracket mounting. We also see holes for cable management, and a rear fan for exhaust. Despite the cutouts, the chassis feels quite sturdy, even though it is very lightweight. The small 2.5" drive area can be removed to improve airflow if needed, but the tight area is held in place by four screws, which could have been made easier to access with simple sliding drive trays. We also see an air filter for the PSU that comes with mesh to keep dust out.

Around back, we can see the read I/O area for the motherboard as well as the PSU mounting area and the expansion ports. This case could theoretically hold 3 graphics cards, or 6 expansion cards, but I wouldn't recommend it because there wouldn't be good airflow. The expansion slots are only removeable once and can't be put back, so card placement and planning is required. We also see near the fan two holes for water cooling tubes, in case you have a water cooler outside of your system. Once again though, one time use. They can also be covered up if you want to make sure dust doesn't get inside.

We we go around to the other side of the case we see the emphasis of the large motherboard cutout. Despite not appearing to have a lot of room, the side panels are concaved to make cable management a lot easier, as well as add fans on the other side.

Overall, the case seems like a good first effort, especially at the price I purchased it. The pluses include a sturdy frame, nice holes, expandability, and decent looks.

The minuses come from the lack of metal in the front panel, not much room for water cooling, screws were sliding mechanisms would work better, and the lack of reusable expansion slot covers.

However, I do like this case because of the good price I got for it. If you are a first time builder, want good airflow and nice expansion options, this might be a good case for you. If you are a seasoned building vet, I really don't recommend this, and would point you towards something more enthusiast class.

I'm giving this case a 6/10, and I hope Lepatek can improve in the years to come.

Happy gaming and happy building.

NewEgg Deals!

Newegg has a bunch of the deals on components, a lot of them really good deals for budget builds. So here are my favourites, with the promo codes.

Athlon X4 760k - EMCPHWW32
So the Athlon X4 series are some awesome quadcores for budget builds, mainly cause they're like the Richland APUs without the GPUs. So if you want a good CPU, either for a replacement or for a new build, this is a great place to start, especially at this price.

Corsair CX430
Another great component for a budget build, especially with a low power card. Anything less than a 7850/GTX670, you'll be fine. I really like Corsair PSUs, because they're really good quality for the cost. Plus, they have 3 year warranties, and they're all 80+ Bronze. Get them if you need a new PSU.

Rosewill Challenger Gaming Case - EMCPHWW26
I love Rosewill cases. They look good, and have great airflow, and come with everything that I like. Bottom PSU, 5 fan areas, and all the front ports you need. At this price, this Challenger is really good.

Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: GOTY
Want two games for the price of less than one? Seriously, this is the most addicting game franchise ever. You get all the DLC for the first game, plus the main game from Borderlands 2. Try them both, and you can't go wrong at this price.

These are all awesome components, and a game to tide you over. Unfortunately, no graphics cards or anything. Try finding one on sale, it'll be great for a budget build. I recommend a GTX 650Ti or a 7790, both of which are around $150.

Happy gaming.

Ultra Options! $700-800

Today is all about options. Since it's Superbowl Sunday, we're gonna be calling a few audibles ourselves today. So for almost every component, I'm gonna give you a few options that will still have you sitting at or below $800. This way, you can get a bit more of a basis as to where you can spend your moolah. Let's get started.

CPU: AMD FX-8320 or FX-8350
Now, these CPUs are very similar. Eight cores, AMD chips, but there are some differences. The biggest one is the frequency. The 8320 runs at 3.5GHz with a boost to 4.0GHz. The 8350 starts at 4.0GHz and boosts to 4.2GHz. This allows the 8350 to be overclocked easier to high frequencies, but at a high price. That being the price, of course. The 8320 is about $60 less depending on where you buy it from. That's a really good price for an eight core, but both of these get my recommendation. The 8320 is for people who want more power while on a budget, and the 8350 is for overclockers galore.

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper TX3 or Hyper 212 EVO
These coolers offer you some serious cooling for your buck. The TX3 is $10 cheaper, but that's because it utilizes the AMD motherboard's built in heatsink mount. The Hyper 212 EVO uses Cooler Master's own mounting bracket, which will give it better stability. The decision is mostly if you want to have a good basic cooler without much tampering, or a better cooler where you have to install a lot for yourself.

Motherboard: ASUS M5A97 R2.0
Now I'm not really going to give another option for the mobo because at this price point, there's not much different between them all. I chose this one because it is a 970 Northbridge for decent overclocking and also comes with a heatsink over capacitors left of the CPU. I like that a lot, cause it adds to the longevity of the board, and protects components. You could go with a 990 board, but that's your choice.

GPU: XFX Radeon 7870 2GB or ASUS R9 270 2GB
The XFX is better than the 270 at stock, but when overclocked, the two cards get closer to each other. The 270 may be harder to find, but if you're an ASUS fanboy (like me), you may want to get the ASUS, since it's the DirectCUII. Either way, these cards are great and will kick the crap out of any game you throw at them.

RAM: Crucial Ballistix 8GB DDR3
What else can I say about this RAM that I haven't before? Just buy it when it's cheap, honestly. You'll thank me and yourself.

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB
It's Seagate. They make good stuff. And at the price listed, it's a steal. Seriously, buy it if you just want more space in your current rig.

Optional SSD: Crucial M500 120GB
This is a nice little SSD, so if you want to improve performance, I recommend it. At the PCPP price, it's really good too. It'll improve your boot times and your loading times if you have your major games like Battlefield and Skyrim on it, so if you're a speedfreak, get one. If the extra seconds don't mean much to you, you'll have no problem with just an HDD.

PSU: Corsair CX600M
I have one. It's really nice. Deadly silent. And it's modular. So yea. Get it. Now.

Case: Cougar Volant or Fractal Design Core 3000
If you want a crazy low-rider of a case, get the Cougar Volant. It's pretty cool looking. If you want minimalist design and love the Swedes, get the Fractal Design Core 3000. If you don't like either, get your own case. It's the most subjective piece of the rig.

Optional: Windows 8.1
If you get the cheaper components listed, you'll have enough to get a genuine Windows. I recommend Windows 8.1 since this is a gaming rig. Most games actually run better on Windows 8 because it uses less RAM than Windows 7. But, it's all up to you.

I'm not going to list price because there are so many variables, but you can always change the PCPartPicker components and figure out your price.

I love this build no matter what options we use. Happy Superbowl for the Americans, and happy Football for any Europeans.

Happy gaming to all, though.

Game Recommendation: Game Dev Tycoon
It's essentially Game Dev Story from your phone on your computer. It's amazingly addicting. I've had it for about 4 days and have put 14 hours into it. If you like management games, or even if you like games like Civilization, I highly recommend it.