Caselabs and MountainMods

[pstack]

I've been building machines since I was a teenager (almost twenty years, now). However, I've always just bought my preferred components, slapped them into a nice case, and moved on with my life. However, I'm a software engineer and building rigs isn't something I do often (I probably average one build annually). With the increasing pace of change, it usually means catching up on a lot of new gotchas.

Anyway, this time around, I've decided to take a more patient and measured pace to my build. While it's going to be about power - as always - I want to take some care in presentation. That means this'll also be my first experience with water-cooling, cabling, etc (I come from the "jam all the cables somewhere and leave it alone" methodology).

Anyway, I am currently having difficulty choosing between a MountainMods chassis or a Caselabs. I see that Tom has reviewed both, but it's unclear which his preference is (if any) and why. It seems to me that MountainMods would be the choice for the ultimate in space and Caselabs for a huge, but still more compact and possibly more visually appealing look?

As this will be my first time doing water-cooling and decent cabling, I'm thinking the MountainMods' extreme space (specifically the enormous 24"x24"x18" Ascension EXT - probably with the horizontal board mounting) would be beneficial? Alternately, I'd like the idea of a dual motherboard setup, which both companies offer -- but with watercooling, I don't think the space for two PSUs would be enough to compliment dual systems in the same box.

Since this is going to be a big investment (I'm expecting this to be a $5k USD project compared to the $2-2.5k USD project I normally build), I could really use the guidance. My previous cases have just been Antec 1200s and 900s and various Coolermasters from half a dozen years ago.

Caselabes STH10: Site | Tom's Video

MountainMods Ascension EXT: Site | Tom's Review

As for the amount of water-cooling components that will be inside? Not entirely certain, but I plan to have either three single GPU cars or two dual GPU cards (3x680 or 2x690, perhaps). I'm not sure about water-cooling the the mobo components and probably not the RAM (though all is subject to change). So there's a minimum of two loops; possibly three. I *probably* won't be stuffing it full of hard drives, either. And there will be no optical drives. I plan on stuffing a couple very high speed SSDs and leaving the front as clean looking as possible, save a fan controller or monitor of some sort.

As you can see, I'm also new here, but I've been watching a lot of Tom's videos for months and am a huge fan of his presentation and the depth of his videos. Frankly, it's a huge part of what has motivated me to give this a try as a new hobby to decompress from work.

I sincerely appreciate any input.

Regards.

 

[Lauralarry]

xD This isn't my field, but caselabs won a lot of rewards

 

[Master&Puppet]

I've got a Caselabs T10 and it is outstanding. I had the same decision to make as you and looking back there is no way I would have chosen a MM case now. The engineering and design is far superior.

An STH10 is monsterously large but since you are going dual mobo it does look ideal. You'll be able to fit more than enough rads for the cooling in it (in fact you can fit more than enough rads in all of the CL cases!)

I wouldn't bother WC the mobo or RAM, they just don't get hot tbh. GPUs and CPUs sound very sensible.

 

[pstack]

I've got a Caselabs T10 and it is outstanding. I had the same decision to make as you and looking back there is no way I would have chosen a MM case now. The engineering and design is far superior.

One obvious benefit of the MountainMods chassis is the choice of finishes - either when you order or on your own later, but I plan on going with a plain black (or possibly white) finish. I'm assuming that the powder-coating on the Caselabs is comparable to MountainMods.

As far as the design of the Caselabs chassis, I also find the front panels kind of off-putting (unless there is an option I have missed). You can fill them with blanks, but it's still four to six square blanks, instead of one full smooth panel. With the MountainMods chassis, I could order the front almost entirely smooth, save for any fans and a slot for monitoring/control dials.

An STH10 is monsterously large but since you are going dual mobo it does look ideal. You'll be able to fit more than enough rads for the cooling in it (in fact you can fit more than enough rads in all of the CL cases!)

I won't go dual motherboard out of the gate, but I am tempted by the option to just switch the next machine over to the second space and then the "old" half of the machine would become my compiling box or something. I know this, however, brings more heat, requires more PSUs (it looks like both companies only offer two PSU slots with the two motherboard option and that might not be enough?). [Edit: Actually, I retract that - it looks like the TX10D has four PSU slots.]

Man, the STH10 does look incredibly sleek, though. Especially for how gargantuan it is.

I wouldn't bother WC the mobo or RAM, they just don't get hot tbh. GPUs and CPUs sound very sensible.

I actually never understood the intent for putting blocks on the motherboards (though granted, Northbridge and smiliar used to get incredibly hot). Is it entirely an aesthetic choice?

Thanks, again, for all the input!

 

[koal7]

I would most certainly go for Case labs over Mountain Mods. In Toms reviews for one, he said he tried not to compare them just because the build quality was in a completely different league. Personally i would also say the utilitarian industrial look of case labs is much more appealing as well. I can't speak for the dual mobo setup either way, i haven't done any research into weather case labs supports that. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Big WigglyStyle]

Have a look at some Little Devil cases before you make your mind they look quite amazing http://www.ldcooling.com/shop/atx-hptx/54-ld-pc-v8-black-with-blue-interior.html and support HPTX and appear to have plenty of RAD space, plus they come in an assortment of nice colors I linked to a blue one but have a look at them all.

As for the choice between mountain mods and caselabs...well caselabs it is a no brainer mountain mods are just boxes with PCI slots in them tbh

 

[Master&Puppet]

One obvious benefit of the MountainMods chassis is the choice of finishes - either when you order or on your own later, but I plan on going with a plain black (or possibly white) finish. I'm assuming that the powder-coating on the Caselabs is comparable to MountainMods.

Yea CL won't give you many colour choices but this wasn't a massive deal for me. I've got the matt black finish and whilst I am not a powder coat fascist the finish seems very decent to me, it is thick, deep and even.

As far as the design of the Caselabs chassis, I also find the front panels kind of off-putting (unless there is an option I have missed). You can fill them with blanks, but it's still four to six square blanks, instead of one full smooth panel. With the MountainMods chassis, I could order the front almost entirely smooth, save for any fans and a slot for monitoring/control dials.

I can see where you are coming from with this and I suppose it would make sense for them to release 6 or 9 (or even larger) 5.25" drive covers but I have found that this doesn't particularly bother me now I own one - the manufacturing is so good that all the sections and parts throughout the case line up almost seamlessly.

I won't go dual motherboard out of the gate, but I am tempted by the option to just switch the next machine over to the second space and then the "old" half of the machine would become my compiling box or something. I know this, however, brings more heat, requires more PSUs (it looks like both companies only offer two PSU slots with the two motherboard option and that might not be enough?). [Edit: Actually, I retract that - it looks like the TX10D has four PSU slots.]

Man, the STH10 does look incredibly sleek, though. Especially for how gargantuan it is.

Yea that sounds like a good idea if you keep the pcs in the same place. If you are running quad sli then you probably will need a second PSU but the sth10 has quad psu space too.

Man, the STH10 does look incredibly sleek, though. Especially for how gargantuan it is.

I actually never understood the intent for putting blocks on the motherboards (though granted, Northbridge and smiliar used to get incredibly hot). Is it entirely an aesthetic choice?

Well unless you plan on breaking world records under ln2 the mobos aren't going to get hot and ddr3 ram doesn't get hot at all.

 

[The Scientific Moustache]

from what i have read and seen all over the shop, mountain mods compared to caselabs is like primark compared to harrods.

 

[att]

Get the CL, MMs are sort of half-arsed if I'm to be blunt. The CLs are well thought-through, well-built, extremely modular and look quite awesome.

 

[dipzy]

Out of the two, i'd go for CaseLabs, they are just epic

 

[yassarikhan786]

I would go with the caselabs.

 

[pstack]

Taking all of these comments into consideration as well as reading over on the forum that the guy who makes them is on, I've concluded that Caselabs is indeed the way to go. I really do like what MountainMods is doing, but the overwhelming chorus of Caselabs love for the craftsmanship of their product is undeniable.

I only wish that their site had something like the "configurator" that mountainmods has. It's very difficult to get a solid idea of the differences between the produces, not to mention the components and modules within each individual case that you can choose from.

All of the advice is greatly appreciated. Confident I'm making the right choice. Now I just have to figure out which actual line of case to get from them!

 

[Vicey]

I see that you've already chosen but just to weigh in I also agree that Case Labs is the one to go with. The Mountain Mods cases in my opinion look very cheap and although they are very customisable they usually end up looking just like giant boxes made out of scrap metal with holes drilled where there needed. I feel like the Case Labs cases are much better thought out and they've spent time thinking about the design language it's very easy for a Mountain Mods case to look like a Mr Potato Head where things look out of place and odd but with the Case Labs stuff it all looks designed together even the accessories.

So to put it another way:

Mountain Mods:

Case Labs:

 

[Azurite]

Imo. The Case labs case is so mutch better that you almost cant compare them. My only warning would be that these are big cases, so you might grow tired of that size. If that doesnt matter i'd chose the CL one. Mutch nicer engineering and paintwork

 

[Master&Puppet]

I only wish that their site had something like the "configurator" that mountainmods has. It's very difficult to get a solid idea of the differences between the produces, not to mention the components and modules within each individual case that you can choose from.

I had the same issue when I was getting mine - it's not the clearest website.

I'd suggest you email Jim Keating directly and ask for advice. That is what I did and he was very helpful.

Also post your basket here and I'll certainly give you some pointers if I think you've missed something

 

[technobuff_hp]

Choosing a case

Hello....I also have an extreme build and I have a custom Mountain Mod Asctension and the Case Lab TX-10D. I had issues with my Mountain Mods Case due to its inability to distribute weight properly. Like you...I also have a vertical mount. I am using 2 PSUs. 5 Radiators, 5 Pumps, EVGA SRX with everything blocked including the mobo, memory & CPUS, 2 blocked video cards (ATI 7970), 8 SSD's in 2 5.25" hot swap back planes and etc.....needless to say it is an extreme build. I am also using Koolance VL4 Quick Disconnect Fittings on all ports.

The Case labs case uses thicker Aluminum (.09 vs .07 of MM) however Ben at MM does do custom whereas Case Labs does not. Case Labs is very flexible to deal with and they keep the Radiators out of the case....kind of built like a submarine!!!!

BTW: My MM Asencion is 36"l x 24"h x 18"w...it is huge..but my motherboard supports bowed and the entire case shifted back and for (front to back) with all components installed.

Hope this helps!!!