Wow, it’s been awhile since I updated this. Needless to say, my rig has made substantial progress. In fact, it’s been complete for about six or seven months now, and has survived two LANs, two RMA’d motherboards, and one set of RMA’d RAM. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves — we need to get up to speed first.

We’ll continue with our component articles as planned. Expect the next entry on hard drives soon.

The next component in our lineup is the power supply unit, or PSU. The PSU was an often overlooked item in the gaming system build, but no more. In fact, May’s CPU magazine features several articles about power supplies, including two articles on general PSU principles and two sets of reviews (high-end and midrange PSUs). I’ve been getting really lucky lately, finding articles on the components I happen to be looking at that moment — I hope the trend continues.

The last time I built a computer, the case I purchased had a power supply already installed. Good deal, right? Think again! The PSUs that come pre-installed in cases are typically not what a serious enthusiast is looking for (better cases will not come with a power supply). If you’re going to build a mid- or high-end gaming rig, don’t even think about buying a case + PSU combo for $45 to $100. Even if the case suits your needs, the PSU is likely to be under-powered and not of high enough quality for running a high-end CPU and graphics card. For my build, I ended up spending over $350 on my case and PSU ($165 case and $200 PSU), which is more than my CPU is worth retail.

Why spend so much on such a simple component? All a power supply has to do is feed power to the other, more important components, right? Well, yes and no. For one thing, gaming systems draw an enormous amount of power. You have to remember that a quality gaming desktop pushes hardware more than just about any other computing application out there. If you’re running a dual-core CPU, a high-end graphics card, two gigs of RAM, a couple hard drives, an optical drive, and a few case fans, you’re looking at drawing about 350 to 450 watts of power at peak load. One of the articles in CPU notes that if you want to hit the efficiency “sweet spot,” you’ll want your PSU to be capable of supplying twice the power your system will draw, giving it adequate headroom for really intense power spikes. That “free” 325 watt power supply that came with your case isn’t looking so good now, is it?

So, what do we need to look for in a quality PSU? Here’s a quick list that we’ll drill down on:

• basic build quality
• cable design
• rail design
• efficiency rating
• connectors

As with any component, basic build quality is crucial. Fortunately, with PSUs you can use the manufacturer’s reputation as a reliability indicator moreso than you can with other components. There are maybe half a dozen reputable producers of high-end PSUs in the market today, so that reduces the amount of research you need to do. OCZ, Thermaltake, Antec, and Cooler Master are some of the most popular makers of quality PSUs. Some manufacturers of other quality components are also getting into the PSU game, such as Corsair, who are best known for their high-end memory. (Breaking news: OCZ has recently acquired PC Power & Cooling, merging two of the biggest names in power supplies. Let’s hope this marriage brings the best of both companies together.)

You’d think there wouldn’t be much to discuss about power supply design, but as usual, there is more to it than meets the eye, and plenty of areas for heated discussion. Two of the biggest areas of debate in the PSU world have to do with cable and rail design. One of the more recent PSU design updates is to make cables “modular,” meaning that you can plug individual cables into the PSU when you need them and remove the ones you don’t need. This can be important because, as we’ve seen in our discussion of cases, airflow within the case is critical, and the fewer cables you have the less cluttered your case will be. On the downside, modular cables are less efficient at supplying power because of the modular interface. As can be expected, there are proponents on both sides, some saying that the loss of efficiency is negligible, others saying it is significant. I ended up siding with the non-modular, more efficient crowd. PSUs are all about supplying power efficiently, so why degrade that ability? Plus, I’ve got a nice big case with plenty of cable management options, so having extraneous cables won’t be that big an issue for me. Those of you looking to build a SFF box may see things differently.

The other design debate centers around single vs. multiple rails. In a single rail PSU, all the power available to the unit is passed along a single channel or rail, supplying all the cables coming out of the PSU. In a multi-rail design, the total available power is divided between two or more rails, each with its own dedicated maximum power. The issue here, as I understand it, is that single rails can experience something called “crosstalk,” where a power surge to one component can affect other components on the same rail. In theory, this means that if one component fails, it can adversely affect the other components on that rail. Multi-rail design seeks to eliminate crosstalk by isolating components to different rails so that a problem with one component won’t affect other components. Single rail enthusiasts say that this design limits the efficiency of the PSU, since each rail has only a fraction of the total power being supplied by the unit. If all the components on one rail in a multi-rail design are not drawing the max power for that rail, that extra power is lost because it is not available to components on other rails. In a single rail system, this extra power could be used by the other components, making more efficient use of the total power being supplied by the PSU. Again, I came down on the side of efficiency, and opted for a single rail design.

Efficiency rating is another factor to look for in PSUs. When energy is produced by a power supply, some of it is lost in the form of heat. PSUs loose a LOT of energy in the form of heat. In fact, some of the best-rated PSUs sport an efficiency factor of about 80 to 85%, meaning that 15 to 20% of the total power of the PSU is lost to heat. Make sure that your power supply has at least an 80% efficiency rating for maximum performance.

The last thing to check for when shopping power supplies is the type and number of connectors available. Decent PSUs will have more than enough connectors for your needs, including connectors for your motherboard, the CPU, SATA and IDE hard drives, standard molex connectors, and PCIe connectors for your video card(s). If you think you might build an SLI or Crossfire configuration (two video cards), be sure that the PSU supplies enough PCIe connectors. Most high-end video cards require two six pin PCIe connectors, so if you’re going to have two high-end cards, you’re going to need four PCIe connections. The PSU I chose, the PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750, is called a “quad” PSU because it has four PCIe connectors.

Next time: hard drives, easy choices.

The Gigabyte 3D Aurora 570 caught my eye in the April issue of MaximumPC, where it won a “Kick Ass” award with a perfect 10 out of 10. It had also been very favorably reviewed in the March issue of CPU magazine. Once I’d decided that the micro-ATX form factor wasn’t for me (at least not this time), I decided to take a closer look.

Gigabyte is best known for their motherboards and graphics cards, but had a chassis hit a few years ago with the original Aurora case, which won several design awards around the world and garnered many DIY fans. Gigabyte cases are particularly well known for being water-cooling friendly, which quickly moved this model to the top of my list.

My biggest concern about this case was size, especially since I was originally thinking about a small form factor enclosure. When you think about it, though, even if you’re a frequent LAN-goer (maybe 48 hours a month), you’re still looking at a situation where the case will be in one spot 94% of the time. I’m more of a once-every-three-months LAN party person, so I’m looking at a case that will be at rest on my desk top 99% of the time. For the benefit of having a great — if somewhat large — case, I’m willing to suffer lugging it around less than 1% of the time.

The Aurora IS a big case, measuring 205mm W x 522mm H x 570mm D. The width and height of the case aren’t much bigger than a large-sized mid-tower design, but the depth is considerable: if you have a normal-sized home or student desk, this case may not fit on top or under it if you place it face-forward (perpendicular to the length of the desk). I plan to put the case on top of my corner desk, with the length parallel to the long part of the desk, so this wasn’t as much of an issue for me. Plus, I want the case’s side window facing out so that viewers will be wowed by my nifty water-cooling system.

After reading numerous online and print reviews of the case (see the references), I concluded that this would be the right solution for my build. Here are the relevant stats on the case:

• five 5.25” drive bays
• two 3.5” FDD drive bays
• five internal 3.5” hard drive bays
• three 120mm fans with blue LEDs (one intake, two exhaust)
• aluminum construction with nickel-plated steel back panel
• internal storage box for tools / accessories
• two predrilled rubber passthroughs for water cooling tubes
• tool-free drive bays and PCI fastener

I purchased the case from NewEgg, and it arrived in a couple days. The box was HUGE, which didn’t help to assuage my fears about the size of this monster. Once unpacked, I was slightly more comfortable: Gigabyte provides more than adequate packing space in the box, so the shipping box was enormous. As is often the case with big packages, the shipping box was slightly crushed at one corner, but the packaging prevented any damage to the chassis itself.

As expected, the package included the chassis itself, the clear plexi side window (see below), a cable kit, motherboard standoffs, drive bay rails, security keys, screws, and a manual. 

The chassis scores well in all the important case factors that we looked at previously, including space, cooling capability, features, and construction quality. The interior of the case is very roomy, which makes up for the lack of a removable motherboard tray. This case will easily fit the latest and greatest extra-long graphics cards, with room to spare, and can accommodate some of the longer PSUs on the market today.

The single, 120mm intake fan sits at the bottom of the front of the chassis to pull cool air over the hard drive bays, and the dual 120mm exhaust fans sit a little above mid-way up the back of the case, close to where the heat-producing CPU will reside. I’ve read that 120mm fans are the “sweet spot” in terms of volume of air moved to noise ratio, and several reviewers have commented on how quiet these fans are. The rubber pass-throughs will make adding an internal or external water cooling system a snap: no worries about having to use up an expansion slot to pass the hoses through.

Tool-free bays means HDDs and optical drives should be easy to add and remove. One of the unique features of the case is the black plastic tool box which occupies the lower three HDD drive bays. This box came packed with the drive rails, screws, and other miscellaneous items for the case. This box can be used to hold small tools or other items after setup is complete. If you need the additional drive bays for drives, the box is easily removed. I also liked that the drive cage sits so that the backs of the drives (the sides with the connectors) face outward toward the side of the case, rather than toward the motherboard. This should make cabling the drives even easier, though with the new, smaller SATA drive cables this shouldn’t be as big an issue as it was with the old “lasagne” ribbon cables.

Another unique feature of the case, which some reviewers like and some do not, is the LED projector built into the front of the case near the bottom. This projector shines down on whatever surface the case is sitting on and displays an image (“Aurora 3D” by default) in blue LED light. The image can be personalized by swapping out the existing acetate design for your own. Guess I’ll have to think of what mine will show….

Next time: power to the people!

So far, we’ve reviewed two important aspects of case selection: form factor and cooling. What other considerations must be given when choosing a great PC gaming case?

One aspect that can be easy to overlook is noise. Gaming cases are much more likely to generate higher decibels than a standard desktop case, primarily because of the additional fans needed to keep a gaming system cool. Gaming systems have hotter running components than non-gaming systems, even if they’re not overclocked. For example, a GPU processor can generate temperatures well in excess of 150 degrees Fahrenheit, and CPU cores are not far behind. Throw in a couple of 10,000 RPM hard drives, and you’ve got at least four components all pumping out 100 degree plus temperatures inside of a metal enclosure less than three cubic feet in size. Without proper cooling, this can quickly add up to an ambient temperature over 120 degrees inside your PC. In order to combat these temperatures, most high-end case manufacturers have added more and bigger fans, spinning at faster speeds, than found in your typical desktop system. Larger fans and higher rpm mean more noise, and when you’ve got four or five 120mm fans spinning at 1,000+ rpm, it can sound like a jet about to take off.

Fortunately, manufacturers have taken measures with fan technology in recent years to help mitigate the noise factor. Most quality fans now run on smooth ball bearings, and many can dynamically adjust their rotation speed based on real-time temperature data gathered from sensors attached to heat-generating components. There are even 3rd party kits that allow you to manually monitor and adjust fan speeds yourself, so that you can dial down the noise when you’re just cruising the Intarweb and not fragging bad guys.

Some vendors offer special insulating materials that are supposed to help reduce noise as well. You can buy noise reduction kits from some case manufacturers or through online modding outlets like http://www.frozencpu.com/. If you buy a case from them, they will even install the kits for you (for a fee, of course).

Case features are another thing to look for. In addition to cable routing, good airflow design, cooling, and noise reduction, case manufacturers try to distinguish their products by offer that little something extra. Many brands offer something called toolless design, which means that no tools are necessary to install or remove most major components. toolless designs usually include two specific features: a rail system for drive bays and a screwless bracket for holding expansion cards in place.

In the old days of PC building, you had to mount your hard drives and optical drives inside the drive cage by securing them with screws. This often meant having to devise some clever ways to get a screwdriver inside your case at the right angle to hit those tiny screw heads. For me, it also meant a lot of stripped threads. With a rail system, on the other hand, you simply screw two plastic rails to the drive itself (while it’s outside of the PC) and then slide the drive into the bays, where they lock into place. This is a really nice feature, especially if you find yourself having to pull drives out of your case with any frequency.

Screwless brackets hold in your expansion cards (video, sound, network, etc.) via a plastic or metal bracket that simply hinges and unhinges like a door latch. This means you don’t have to screw your cards into place (although some like the added security when moving their PCs around). The only downside to screwless brackets is that the bracket releases ALL the cards at once — you can’t choose to add or remove individual cards — and often all the cards will have to be adjusted slightly before the bracket is closed again.

Other case features can include built-in passthroughs for water cooling tubes (so that you don’t have to use an expansion slot for this purpose), easy to remove side panels with thumbscrews instead of regular screws (no screwdriver needed), and a wide variety of aesthetic considerations like see-through side panels and lighting (see below).

If you’re going to be taking your case to LAN parties or moving it around regularly, construction quality should be a major concern. Most mass-market manufacturers build their cases of hard molded plastic around a steel frame. This is the worst possible combination of elements for a travelling case: the steel frame makes the box heavy, and the plastic affords it little protection from bumps. A better option is a case built with an aluminum frame and outer casing. Aluminum is just about as strong as steel but much less heavy, and won’t crack or break if you bump or drop your case. The only downside to aluminum is that screws threaded into the material tend to strip it much more easily. For this reason, many case manufacturers have decided to use steel construction in the back plane of the computer (the back side that houses the fan exhaust ports, expansion card access area and peripheral connections).

The last thing to mention about case consideration is aesthetics. Gone are the days of the plain beige box for DIYers. Today, there are plenty of options to trick your case out and make it your own.

Many mid- to high-end cases now come with windows built into the side of the case. These are designed to provide a peek into the guts of your chassis, so that onlookers can marvel at the technological wonders within. This is especially nice if you have other mods going on inside the case, such as cold cathode lighting or neon liquid filled water cooling tubes. Other options include black light enabled parts, case decals, custom airbrushing, and lighted or glow-in-the-dark cables. Some people really enjoy adding these kinds of mods; others are more, well, moderate. I’m not sure yet where I’ll fall in this category. My case did come with some minimal lighting on the fans, so there’s that. We’ll see how much further I take it as the build progresses.

Next time (for real): the complete low-down on the Gigabyte Aurora 3D 570…complete with photos!

I’ve added a References section that lists all the web, print, or other resources that I’ve used in my research thus far. If you’re interested in any of the components I’ve written about so far, check out the links to detailed reviews in this section.