A+ Case Black Pearl WCR Edition ATX Case
Installation & Testing
Published: 18th June 2007 | Source: APlus Case | Price: |
With the A+Case Black Pearl WCR being designed specifically for water cooling, the obvious test for this case was to see if we could fit a high-end water cooling system inside. As already mentioned, neither the XPSC R120D or Thermochill PE120.2 radiators match the pre-drilled radiator holes at the top of the case, so thankfully the guys at WaterCoolingUK sent us over one of XSPC's newer RS240 radiators along with some other bits for testing.
The following components were used in the pictures and results below:
| Processor | Intel Core2Duo E4300 @ 1.8ghz | |
| Power Supply | Silver Power Blue Lightning 600w | |
| Motherboard | Asus P5K Deluxe | |
| Graphics Card | Sapphire Ultimate X1950 Pro 256mb | |
| Hard Disk | Hitachi Deskstar 80GB 7K80 SATA2 7200RPM 8mb | |
| CPU Cooling | XSPC RS240 (2x120mm) Radiator 2x Delta WFB1212M 120mm Fans Laing DDC-1T Pro Pump Danger Den Maze 4 Water Block Generic 1/2" Tubing | |
| Additional Cooling | 2x Stock "Top Motor" 120mm Fans | |
Luckily the XSPC RS240 radiator fitted perfectly inside the Black Pearl, with the screw holes matching exactly. This is great news for those of us who want a high-end case with water cooling, but don't like the idea of cutting holes in their brand new aluminium enclosure.
Unfortunately, even with a radiator like the RS240 that has an extremely small footprint, the tank at the top of the radiator covers over almost half of the tubing holes. For most people this shouldn't be a problem as the primary reason that these holes exist is so the radiator can be mounted externally (but it foiled my idea of using a Danger Den Fillport).
Unfortunately, even with a radiator like the RS240 that has an extremely small footprint, the tank at the top of the radiator covers over almost half of the tubing holes. For most people this shouldn't be a problem as the primary reason that these holes exist is so the radiator can be mounted externally (but it foiled my idea of using a Danger Den Fillport).
Can anybody spot the next problem? Yes that's right - With a radiator and two fans installed, the radiator actually overlaps the motherboard tray area, cutting off two expansion slots. This is very bad news for people who use PCI add-in cards (such as soundcards) on motherboards that only provide PCI slots towards the bottom of the board. Mounting the radiator externally would resolve this issue, but at the same time disrupt the streamlined look of the case.
A+Case have provided a bag of rubber grommets for use when installing hard disks. These allow the hard disks to slot securely into the cages and prevent any vibrations from the disk transferring to the case and causing unneccesary noise.
Our DDC-01 pump sat comfortably inside one of the cages showing that there is certainly sufficient space for larger pumps such as the Laing D5. Obviously you will lose a couple of hard disk places, but I personally don't know of anyone with 8 hard disks anyway.
Our DDC-01 pump sat comfortably inside one of the cages showing that there is certainly sufficient space for larger pumps such as the Laing D5. Obviously you will lose a couple of hard disk places, but I personally don't know of anyone with 8 hard disks anyway.
The PSU area managed to house our Silver Power 600w unit without any problems, however with larger PSU's such as the Enermax Galaxy or PCP&C Turbo-Cool the limited length of the area is likely to be a very tight fit.
Temperature Testing
With the Black Pearl being the first case we've ever water cooled in a review here at Overclock3D, it would be unfair to compare the temperature results to some of the air-cooled cases we've reviewed in the past. However, for your reference please find below the temperatures taken from the motherboard, PSU and Hard Disk areas of the case using thermal probes under idle and load conditions.
Ambient temperatures were recorded at 24°C throughout testing, with the stock fans being connected to the Black Pearl's fan controller and run at full speed.
Temperature Testing
With the Black Pearl being the first case we've ever water cooled in a review here at Overclock3D, it would be unfair to compare the temperature results to some of the air-cooled cases we've reviewed in the past. However, for your reference please find below the temperatures taken from the motherboard, PSU and Hard Disk areas of the case using thermal probes under idle and load conditions.
Ambient temperatures were recorded at 24°C throughout testing, with the stock fans being connected to the Black Pearl's fan controller and run at full speed.
All load temperatures remained extrememly close to their idle counterparts, indicating that the cooling layout and fans used inside Black Pearl WCR do a good job of keeping everything cool. Fan noise at full speed was acceptable in my opinion, but certainly not ideal for silent PC enthusiasts. However, running the fans at a lower RPM reduced noise levels significantly while still pushing a fair amount of air.
Most Recent Comments
Mmmm looks like home already. Great review Jim!Well that looks familar.
A lian li v2000 modded a bit.
Looks professinal though, very expensive though.
Rob
A lian li v2000 modded a bit.
Looks professinal though, very expensive though.
Rob
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Originally Posted by name='robump'
Well that looks familar.
A lian li v2000 modded a bit. Looks professinal though, very expensive though. Rob |
I'd say more like a Silverstone TJ-07, but slightly cheaperQuote:
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Originally Posted by name='PV5150'
Ay
I'd say more like a Silverstone TJ-07, but slightly cheaper |
Inside a TJ07
http://www1.oc.cn/img/2006/0602/silv...e_tj07s-23.jpg
Inside a V2000
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...0b_TestFit.jpg
Inside the A+ case
http://www.overclock3d.net/gfx/artic...101612328l.jpg
But anyways open to discussion.
Looks like a bit of a comination, they look t of made the hard drive bays removeable.
Rob
Looking forward to revision OC3D jimbo 
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Originally Posted by name='Ham'
Looking forward to revision OC3D jimbo
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Heh, and its big enough too fit an SS in the bottom! 
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Originally Posted by name='Ham'
Heh, and its big enough too fit an SS in the bottom!
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Originally Posted by name='XMS'
The thickness of the alu and the construction is prolly enough to carry a SS weight too without bowing.
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by name='robump'
Id would still go for v2000 looking at the hard drive bays.
Inside a V2000 http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...0b_TestFit.jpg Inside the A+ case http://www.overclock3d.net/gfx/artic...101612328l.jpg But anyways open to discussion. Looks like a bit of a comination, they look t of made the hard drive bays removeable. Rob |
But anyway, yeah it's prolly a combination of the two. The HDD cages are exactly like the ones in my TJ-07, excapt they cater for more HDD's. And the problem that Jim showed in the review with the radiator depriving you of PCI slots for sound cards etc, the TJ07 doesn't have because it really only caters for 6 HDD's in the bottom anyway. Which ultimately provides more headroom in the top of the case for another rad should the need arise. But it's still a very nice case, and an excellent effort in designing a highly flexible one at that.Quote:
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Originally Posted by name='FragTek'
It would still be in the best interest of the modder wishing to employ internal phase to lay down a thin sheet of steel in the bottom to distribute the weight of the compressor.
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Aplus Case Black Pearl custom made.
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Originally Posted by name='Razvanell'
Aplus Case Black Pearl custom made.
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Visually stunning setup mate 
Well done on an uber looking rig
Well done on an uber looking rig That thing is sweet
10x! Hard work. Q6600 @ 3,6 GHz (G0) stable on EVGA Black Pearl @ 35 C.
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A+ Case Black Pearl Review