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Installation & Testing
**click to enlarge**
For testing I ended up installing my AMD gaming system into the ECO L4. Now,
I usually try and test a computer case with just the equipment that it
shipped with to give the buyer a better idea of what to expect out of the
box. That was not possible in this instance, given the total lack of fans. I
installed two generic 80mm fans, one at the front intake and the other in
the upper rear exhaust.
Another issue came up with the power supply. After the changeover I set the
system up and got no video at all, but still had the ok beep from the
motherboard and had all the right lights lit. I checked all my connections
again, and still nothing. Going on a hunch, I changed out the stock MGE
power supply for our recently reviewed Silverstone fanless 350W power
supply. This change immediately solved the problem. After removal, I was
shocked at how light the bundled power supply really was…it felt as though
it was empty! So, the lesson here is that if you’re just putting a small
email/internet/word processing rig for your living room, the stock power
supply should be adequate for lower end systems. If you intend to do much
else, you may have to replace the power supply.
Even with the hefty Silverstone PS and a full system, the ECO L4 managed to
remain light. It was very easy to carry the rig with just one arm. (Although
I can’t recommend that you do this at home…dropping an expensive investment
like a computer is not good!) This case would definitely be an easy
recommendation for anyone looking for a mobile desktop system.
My thermal testing consisted of letting the system boot up and sit at idle
for about an hour. Then I took the temperature from a probe mounted inside
the case on the top. After that, I loaded the system with SiSoft’s SANDRA
Burn-In Wizard for another hour and took another reading. Both tests were
done with an ambient air temp of 25°C, within a tolerance of .5°C.
As expected, the ECO
turned in some respectable numbers. I am positive that these numbers will
come out even better with the addition of the extra two 80mm fans the
chassis is capable of mounting.
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