debating between cases, please help

[kwonster]

i've been looking for a case for a while now since my old steel one literally started falling apart (for some reason one of the sides wont stay on anymore) and have narrowed it down to two.

either the lian li PC-60APLUS or the Antec P-180. my current opinion (uninformed really) is that the lian li is a lot lighter compared to the p-180, but the p-180 has much better cooling. (4 120mm fans and 1 80 mm fan!) it might be overkill but ive been told that not only is it cool its very quiet as well. ive also been told that aluminum "dissipates" heat better but since the p180 has 5 fans and the LL has 4 fans (2 x 120mm and 2 x 80mm) i think cooling wont be a problem in either case. im probably ordering from newegg and the prices are very similar so i dont think that will matter very much ($135 vs $125).

However, i currently have two beige drives (dvdr and cdrw) that might look pretty nasty on the lian li. supposedly there are stealth bezels for the case but i havent been able to find them on newegg so i dont know how well they work or how much they are. any info on where to get these, how well they work, and how much they are would be nice. the p180 on the other hand has a door so i can just keep it closed if the appearances bother me. im going to be keeping this comp in my apartment at school so i will only have to move it from school -> back home and vice versa twice a year. some issues that are bothering me are the length of my power supplies cables and whether i need to get convertors/fan controllers for the fans in either case. my powersupply right now is a thermaltake x silent purepower 480W. oh, and im trying to fit in about 3-4 hard drives (if that matters)

well thats about it, so any advice/opinions/personal experiences would be very nice on either case or any alternative cases and on fan controllers/powersupply necessities. sorry this post is so long -_-.

 

[kwonster]

oh one more thing, my budget is probably around the $150 range (dont really want to spend much more on the case, as i need to buy a labtop as well). another case i was considering was the p160 and the antec lanboy but they only have two 120mm fans and i wanted some more, also i really liked the look of the coolermaster wavemaster but its missing some features that i was looking for (such as a hard drive rack). the reason cooling is such an issue is because my current case had lots of problems with it and i lost 2 hard drives already as a result. both were western digital (coincidence? shrug) and i ended up losing 300 gbs of data (one was raided with another drive). i finally got replacement seagate 300gb drives and i really, really dont want them to burn out. plus my gfx card overheats when i play anything for more than 1.5 hours. so again, any thoughts on the matter are much appreciated, thanks!

 

[RichPLS]

<A HREF="http://www.directron.com/201tblk.html" target="_new"> This one is almost excatly like the LianLu 60 </A>

I have it and is excellent aircraft quality aluminum, with no sharp edges.
Slide in motherbard tray and removable 5 disk drive cage.
Air filter and 5 fans included, super quiet.

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[kwonster]

the case seems nice but id rather not have windows or anything too "flasy" i guess, i like the understated sort of look. it looks like a good value but 5 80mm fans in an aluminum case sounds like its going to very loud.

 

[RichPLS]

Windows are very strong and fans are very quiet. That is enough for now.

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

 

[kwonster]

i have to agree that i dont really like the TT cases. the superflower seems to be a decent case but i have a couple problems with it, first being the three windows and second the fact that it doesnt have any stealth drives or a door. all my drives are beige so it wouldnt look very good in the black case, and though i might be willing to tolerate a single side window, three is just overkill for me.

 

[RichPLS]

Does have a slide out mobo tray and 5 disk removable drive cage via 1 thumbscrew.

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

 

[RichPLS]

Rails are not that happening for me. you still have to attach rails to drive first off. Drive cage is fine for me.

But do you not like expandablity of this case?
5 - 3.5" hidden drives in cage
3 - 3.5 exposed slots
4 - 5.25" exposed slots
Comes with 5 fans installed which are very quiet and intake is filtered, mine actually only has 4, I choose the top just clear with no blowhole.


<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

 

[kwonster]

yea, functionality-wise the case you recommended seems fine rich, its just my personal aesthetics that make me look for another option. if it didnt have so many windows id probably go for it and just spraypaint my drives black.

 

[RichPLS]

<A HREF="http://www.directron.com/201b.html" target="_new"> Same case without panels </A> $66


<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

 

[emogoch]

why I'm going to be going for the Antec P180. It's so hard to find a high-performance case that doesn't scream "Look at me, I'm a power-geek!!!" as well.

Anyone know how well the washable air-filters work with this case?

 

[RichPLS]

The one pictured above has one, and is great. BTW, it is a very sleek business looking case and screams quality. I also bought some similar filter material at walmart, cut it to size and now have a 2-ply filter.


<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

 

[kwonster]

nice, thanks for the link rich. looks like i know what im getting now. would you happen to know of any stealth drives for this case? or anything about painting beige cd drives to match the nice black bezel? also, since you seem to know a lot about this case, are there any aftermarket mods i should consider for it? im thinking with 6 fans it would be nice to get a fan control panel or something like that. thanks again =)

 

[RichPLS]

Most floppies and dvd burners can remove face plate easily and paint matching black. I have done this years ago, and works good, depending on your painting skill. I used hobby black flat spray paint in a small can about 5 oz or so.

This SuperFlower case is solid and extremely well built, and very quiet. Check the specs, if you want to upgrade fans, look into what they offer as options, I prefer silent fans. But the ones provided with cost of the case are very good and silent also. You might want to email your specific questions to directron if this is a concern for you.

I know that this is an easy to access and roomy case for upgrading and tweaking. I have no negatives to say, and I am a critical buyer. I have one, and ordered one for a friends build. I have had mine for a couple of years, and finish has not one scratch and polished finish is as brilliant looking now as new.

For functionality, usability and durability, this case can not be beat.

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>