OMG-AIDS
Member
+24|6574|Florida
All I know about cases is the way they look is sometimes good, sometimes bad, and some are just downright ugly.  I was wondering if there was anything else to cases besides size and looks.  If so, what are the best cases or best brand?
yerded
Bertinator
+255|6648|Westminster, California
cooling, ease of service and access.
I like the heavy aluminum of Coolermaster
[FC]bigE
Member
+7|6679|Akron, OH
I'm a big fan of Coolermaster

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi … mp;Ntk=all

I've got a couple of Wavemasters and a Praetorian, and am buying a Stacker 830 for the machine I'm getting ready to put together at the end of the month.

Check them out, their fit and finish is tops amonst the many imitators.  Good features and a decent price for  a high line case.

- E
Brasso
member
+1,549|6641

I have an Aspire.  That's all I really know as this is my first built computer.
"people in ny have a general idea of how to drive. one of the pedals goes forward the other one prevents you from dying"
yerded
Bertinator
+255|6648|Westminster, California

[FC]bigE wrote:

I'm a big fan of Coolermaster

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi … mp;Ntk=all

I've got a couple of Wavemasters and a Praetorian, and am buying a Stacker 830 for the machine I'm getting ready to put together at the end of the month.

Check them out, their fit and finish is tops amonst the many imitators.  Good features and a decent price for  a high line case.

- E
Praetorian   mnnn    Praetorian    makes me horny its so good looking.
OMG-AIDS
Member
+24|6574|Florida
Thanks for the tips guys.
JeeSqwat
Tactical Specialist
+41|6740|Canada
Antec hands down...not to mention they make the best PSU aswell.
.ACB|_Cutthroat1
No place like 127.0.0.1
+76|6707|Gold Coast,QLD,Australia
Well i have a Coolermaster cm 830 stacker, its so sexeh and is well sexeh
BellusEndus
Make love not war
+59|6634|Edinburg
I've got a big steal Chieftec Dragon and an aluminum Antec Lanboy, I'd go for the aluminum any day but having a big fat steel thing can be nice . Make sure the inside of the case is nice as well, lots of room to get you're screw driver in, good routes for cables and no sharp edges for cut fingers, not such a problem with the big names but watch out for that on cheaper cases.
Janus67
Tech God
+86|6606|Ohio, USA

JeeSqwat wrote:

Antec hands down...not to mention they make the best PSU aswell.
not to put down your comment, but Antec makes great psu's but don't call them the best.  There are at least a handful of other companies that put out strong power supplies (volt for volt and better regulation) than Antec ones: PC Power and Cooling for instance.

Antec cases are great, I use the Antec P180, and I love it.  If you want to get a case+psu combo I will recommend to you the Antec Sonata II case (comes with an Antec 480W TruepowerII power supply).

Stay away from Aspire cases, they are cheap, flimsy, and the power supplies are bottom of the barrel.

What to look for in a case is somewhat up to you.  Here is what I look for:

- Removable Mounting bays for hard drives
- 120mm fans only (nothing smaller)
- Generally made out of steel
- Removable motherboard tray (will probably get one in my next system)
- enough bays for cd/dvd/hard drives etc
- adaquate cooling and setup of fans
- front bays with firewire/usb2.0
- large enough for my watercooling setup
- easy cable management (one problem with the P180 is that it is hard to hide your wires)
- from a respectable brand
- of course price (but not cheaping out on one)

edit: forgot to add Lian Li cases, being generally the case choice for high-end users.

Last edited by Janus67 (2006-05-21 06:13:28)

RossDargan
Member
+2|6576
p180 antec - had a few issues with it, but still the best case out there!
unnamednewbie13
Moderator
+2,053|6783|PNW

Lian Li for the bling quality. They're solid cases, and have excellent airflow. Just make sure, if you're getting the inverted tray models, that the front USB and audio port connections can reach your mainboard.

Look around at Xoxide.com for different stuff.

Last edited by unnamednewbie13 (2006-05-21 02:51:26)

Cybargs
Moderated
+2,285|6727
gigabyte 3d aurora, great case IMO
https://cache.www.gametracker.com/server_info/203.46.105.23:21300/b_350_20_692108_381007_FFFFFF_000000.png
acdc
Member
+37|6587|SEATTLE, WA
I'm most likely getting this Lian Li case, it's cheap and has good cooling

80 cm ball bearing fan x 2
120 cm ball bearing fan x 2

www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811112100
JE3146
Member
+109|6582|Oregon

acdc wrote:

I'm most likely getting this Lian Li case, it's cheap and has good cooling

80 cm ball bearing fan x 2
120 cm ball bearing fan x 2

www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811112100
I got the same one, but in silver.

Absolutely amazing case. Love the rounded edges and features. The attention to detail is something to appreciate. I've been building comps for a long time, and you'd think you'd seen it all, but it's a work of art. It'd take something pretty spectacular to stray me away from a Lian-Li in years to come.
Jack Bauer
WWJD - What Would Jack Do
+26|6565
Lian-Li makes some top-notch aluminum chassis.  If you want something simple and elegant (with good ease-of-access as well as nice airflow) I would recommend just going for tha Antec Sonata or the Antec Sonata II (i think they only come in piano black).

Let us know what you end up going with!

Regards,
Jack Bauer
slo5oh
Member
+28|6672
Here's another vote for ANTEC!

I use a super lanboy.  The downfall is that this case does not come with it's own power supply so you have to buy it seperate.

In the last 2 weeks I've bought:
1 antec slk2650-bqe for $25 after a $40 MIR
1 antec slk1650-b for $15 after a $40 MIR and
1 antec smart power 500 also for $15 after $40 MIR.

gotta love fry's.
Both the cases come with a 350w antec power supply (true power series I think).  While there's going to be jerks arguing that it's not enough power I know that IS easily enough power for the average great gaming system.  You'll want to look for a bigger PS if you're going to sli a pair of 7900s and run 2 10k rpm drives in a raid 0 along with a big 750Gb drive for your data. 
But if you live in the real world with the rest of us that don't wake up everyday and have to decide between the saleen s7 and the hummer H2 for your commute to work, the antec 350w is more than enough.
JeeSqwat
Tactical Specialist
+41|6740|Canada

Janus67 wrote:

JeeSqwat wrote:

Antec hands down...not to mention they make the best PSU aswell.
not to put down your comment, but Antec makes great psu's but don't call them the best.  There are at least a handful of other companies that put out strong power supplies (volt for volt and better regulation) than Antec ones: PC Power and Cooling for instance.

Antec cases are great, I use the Antec P180, and I love it.  If you want to get a case+psu combo I will recommend to you the Antec Sonata II case (comes with an Antec 480W TruepowerII power supply).

Stay away from Aspire cases, they are cheap, flimsy, and the power supplies are bottom of the barrel.

What to look for in a case is somewhat up to you.  Here is what I look for:

- Removable Mounting bays for hard drives
- 120mm fans only (nothing smaller)
- Generally made out of steel
- Removable motherboard tray (will probably get one in my next system)
- enough bays for cd/dvd/hard drives etc
- adaquate cooling and setup of fans
- front bays with firewire/usb2.0
- large enough for my watercooling setup
- easy cable management (one problem with the P180 is that it is hard to hide your wires)
- from a respectable brand
- of course price (but not cheaping out on one)

edit: forgot to add Lian Li cases, being generally the case choice for high-end users.
yes there is other manufactures of PSU...but in all the pc's I have built for myself and customers..the brand that has never given me trouble for gaming machines and standard desk top pc's for home or office is Antec by far. Another nice PSU is the OZC ModStream PSU...very nice looking finish for the modder type of consumer.

Last edited by JeeSqwat (2006-05-21 18:11:11)

AT3am_Murd0ch
Member
+15|6592

RossDargan wrote:

p180 antec - had a few issues with it, but still the best case out there!
Yes, yes and yes again - got mine a coupla weeks ago and its awesome - quiet, cool, and looks damn good too! buy one!
Burning_Monkey
Moving Target
+108|6849

JE3146 wrote:

acdc wrote:

I'm most likely getting this Lian Li case, it's cheap and has good cooling

80 cm ball bearing fan x 2
120 cm ball bearing fan x 2

www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811112100
I got the same one, but in silver.

Absolutely amazing case. Love the rounded edges and features. The attention to detail is something to appreciate. I've been building comps for a long time, and you'd think you'd seen it all, but it's a work of art. It'd take something pretty spectacular to stray me away from a Lian-Li in years to come.

Jack Bauer wrote:

Lian-Li makes some top-notch aluminum chassis.  If you want something simple and elegant (with good ease-of-access as well as nice airflow) I would recommend just going for tha Antec Sonata or the Antec Sonata II (i think they only come in piano black).

Let us know what you end up going with!

Regards,
Jack Bauer
I have a Lian-Li PC75B and I love it.  It's a bit on the big side, but my computer desk needed an end table anyway   I have fallen in love with Lian-Li and doubt that I will ever build another computer with anything else.

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