Reddit reviews NZXT 200MM Silent 700 rpm LED Fan - FS-200RB-RLED (Red)

Thanks for the contest, Rob! Here are pictures of my wonderful NZXT Vulcan, with the following specs:

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-2400 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor | N/A
Motherboard | Dell Foxconn mATX H67 motherboard | N/A
Memory | G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory | $48.99 @ Newegg
Memory | G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory | $42.99 @ Newegg
Hard Drive | Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | N/A
Hard Drive | Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $100 pre flood
Video Card | EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti - 448 Cores 1.25GB Video Card | $279.99 @ Amazon
Case | NZXT Vulcan Black MicroATX Mid Tower Case | $68 @ Newegg
Side Fan | NZXT 200mm silent red LED case fan | $19.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply | Corsair 600W ATX12V Power Supply | $59.99 @ Newegg
Optical Drive | Unknown Dell DVD+RW | N/A
| | Total
| Prices include shipping and discounts when available. | $619.95 + $600 for the original Dell Vostro
| Generated 2012-03-17 20:15 EDT-0400 |

The long story:

So as you can see from the parts list I started off with a prebuilt Dell Vostro 460 that at the time I thought was banging. I had unfortunately bought it mere weeks before discovering r/buildapc because I had never built a computer before. Well it turns out that the GPU that it came with - GT 420 - was fine enough to play Starcraft 2, but was barely able to render Skyrim and BF3 on low settings.

So after reading r/buildapc for a while, I slowly started upgrading piece by piece starting with the ram (I know 16 gb is ridiculous, the second kit was for another computer that I ended up not using) and added an old hard drive I had.

I then wanted to do some legit gaming, so I splurged and bought a GTX 560ti 448 core and an appropriate PSU upgrade. Installing everything was no problem, but it turns out that the Vostro 460 (and most other Dell prebuilts from what I can see) have NO intake fans. They are all cooled with passive airflow from vent holes on the front and side.

Welp I was gaming at ultra settings, but it turns out my GPU was running at 90 degrees celcius when doing so! I wasn't going to let my awesome card melt so I bought a 120mm fan and a Dremel tool to do some "modding". I carved out a hole on the side of my Dell directly over the GPU and attached the fan as a side intake fan. It dropped my temps to 85 degrees while gaming. Ugggg still not good.

I finally manned up and researched mATX cases, and found the NZXT Vulcan. At the time I only chose it because it is a sweet looking case. I transplanted my entire Dell mobo and everything else over to the new case (along with a huge 200 mm side fan cause goddamnit I'm not lowering my graphics settings). This process made me super nervous, but I managed up until I realized that prebuilt computers have a proprietary front panel connector pinout on the motherboard.

I had no idea where to plug in the Vulcan power connector on the mobo. Hours of Googling turned up very little information, and I finally figured out that I could look at the old case's power button and trace the two cables back to the pins on the motherboard. Bam! I guessed which side was positive (it turns out this doesn't really matter) and the computer powered on!

From now on I will never be buying a prebuilt again because I essentially built this whole computer piece by piece via part upgrades (except the CPU). The Vulcan is an amazing case that I have already told a few friends about who are looking to build for D3. I have a feeling my future builds will all be mATX and most likely in more Vulcans lol (unless NZXT releases a newer mATX case). My favorite part of the case is the built-in fan controllers -- this is a ridiculous quality of life feature that I can no longer live without going forward. Rob also provided great support on a matter I had with my case.

I now happily game on a computer that has the soul of a Dell Vostro, crushing ultra settings at a nice 70 degrees (this card runs hot as hell apparently).

TL;DR Bought a prebuilt Dell before finding r/buildapc, ended up spending a ton to upgrade everything piece by piece including an NZXT Vulcan case. Am now wiser for the experience and will master future builds.