Testing & Operation:
For comparison purposes, I am going to test the thermal properties of the Thermaltake Mozart case against those of the housing that this HTPC resided in previously. The images below show the Maxtop CSX-001 mATX case that has housed the system components listed in the previous section for the past year or so. The CSX-001 was the first case reviewed at Bigbruin.com, and has served well as my HTPC since it was reviewed in the Spring of 2003.
 
The Maxtop case has similar cooling features to the Mozart (1x 80mm intake, 2x 60mm exhaust), but due to the cramped quarters, heat has always been an issue. One main reason is that there isn't room for an adequate CPU cooler and an optical drive, so a low profile, server style cooler was necessary. The image below show just how cramped it is, and how not only the DDR slots (there are two of them), but even the CPU socket is crowded by the standard DVD/CDRW combo drive above it.
Testing involved monitoring both the idle and load thermal conditions of the CPU and the system by means of the motherboard's onboard temperature sensor. These sensors aren't known to be the most accurate, but previous testing has shown that this particular one is pretty good, plus I am simply looking for a deviation from the old case to the new case. The "Delta T" is of interest, not the absolute values.
Idle conditions were established by allowing the system to sit at the Windows desktop for a period of no less than one hour. The load conditions were generated by running a full disk scan using Grisoft AVG AntiVirus while playing back a DVD movie that had been ripped to the 300GB drive.
 
The closed system was not just left out in open air, but actually installed in my home theater rack, so as to best simulate normal conditions. The door to the rack is always left slightly ajar while in use, but the enclosed design doesn't make cooling any easier. The chart below details the results for both cases.
As you can see, the same peripherals in the same setting can operate at a lower temperature when moved to a new case. The idle and load temperatures both dropped, without any additional noise.
Speaking of noise... The case itself doesn't make much noise at all, but given the current CPU cooler you wouldn't know that! The Eumax 2u server style cooler really isn't appropriate for HTPC applications, and even with a fan speed controller knocking the speed down a few thousand RPM, it is still noticeable! Thermaltake has a product that will definitely help this situation, and a review will follow shortly. The Rhythm external water cooling system was designed for use with HTPC systems in mind, and will make an excellent partner for the Mozart case. Hopefully we'll see even lower temperatures and far less system noise.
Once done testing and into normal operation and I am very pleased with this case overall. It is quiet, the components run cool, and it looks excellent in a home theater setting. One issue is nagging me though, and is worth consideration by others, just in case it isn't an isolated incident. I obsessed over the function of the power and HDD activity LEDs on the front of the case for days until I finally came to a solution that at least addressed the problem...
As delivered, the power LED would turn on when the system was turned off, and would turn off when the system was turned on. Somehow backwards! I checked for grounding issues, tried a few different power supplies, and nothing seemed to remedy the situation. I then took the power LED from another case and connected it to the motherboard, and it worked properly. With no idea what was wrong, and with Thermaltake's support scratching their heads, I simply swapped the HDD activity LED for the power LED and the lights now function properly. The only issue is that the colors are now reversed. The default setup has a bright blue light for power and a bright red light for HDD activity. I remounted the LEDs to be in the appropriate locations, but it is still a bit confusing to see a bright red LED indicating that the system is up and running normally.
|
|
