Addtronics W8500 WTX Workstation/Server Tower Case

Power Supply & Cooling

Despite being a WTX case, the base power supply option for the W8500, and the one equipped on our sample, is the 300W ATX 2.01 compliant CWT-300ATX from Channel Well Technology. While Channel Well isn't exactly a household name, we found that this power supply was actually internally identical to the Antec PP-303X. Externally, the Channel Well version actually lists a higher combined rating on the +5V/3.3V rails - 160W vs. 150W. The PP-303X is on AMD's Athlon Approved Power Supply Listing and turned out to be the most stable performer in our AMD Athlon Buyer's Guide - Part 4: Power Supplies. Remember, our sample came from Computer Nerd, but other distributors may substitute other PSU units or even sell it without one at all.

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A temperature controlled 80 mm fan exhausts air out the back of the PSU in accordance with ATX 2.01 specifications. Air is drawn in from the bottom of the power supply, standard for an ATX model. Although the unit is mounted within a large metal bracket that largely blocks these intake holes, we did not notice any major adverse affects to this setup. Of course, it doesn't hurt to have a number of other fan mounts to keep the system cool and that's exactly what the W8500 does.

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

Cooling is of course critical in a server environment and Addtronics has shown us in the past that they knew what they were doing with the EX-6890. This time, a grand total of 9 fans can be installed in the W8500, with virtually every hot component of the system targeted by one or more fans. Four 80mm fans can be mounted right next to the CPU and exhaust all the heat generated by virtually any CPU configuration. Only one of these fans comes preinstalled from the factory.

A bracket in front of the internal 3.5" bays holds a big 92mm fan that is configured to bring in cool area through the bezel and blow it right over the hard drives. This fan is also a standard feature on the W8500. In the past, we've found this configuration to be excellent for keeping hot drives cool. Right next to that fan is another 80mm intake fan, while two more 92mm intake fans are positioned at the bottom front of the case. Finally, an 80mm fan mounts to the side of the 5.25" drive bay and is fed air from vents in the left side panel.