Suggestions for CASE

Take a look at the Aerocool Spiral Galaxies and the Coolermaster Centurion RC-531 to start out.

You don't have to spend a truckload of money for a case, but I would suggest that it has plenty of holes in BOTH side panels to help move lots of air.

I personally like the looks, design and performance of the P-180. I plan on getting one (hopefully soon)!

Antec P180

Review

-probable no window is better for me
-won't be moving the case, so weight doesn't matter
-overclocking and want something with nice airflow
-noise isn't a major factor for me
-need filters inside cause I'm living on an old farm that has a ton of dust and long-ass dog hairs kicking around.
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I have a big dust and dog hair problem too so I decided to get a case with a filter. Maybe I didn't shop around enough, but I was short on time and the local PC Club had the steel Thermaltake Armor on sale so I got it. This case is probably way larger than you need and might be over your budget. I wanted to fit 6 or 7 HDs and have airflow over them and the Armor can do that just fine. But the thing is pretty huge.

Here's the thing - due to my heavy dust load, I have to clean the filters about once a month and it's kind of a pain. I pull out seven bay covers, pluck the foam out of each, wash them in water and dry. Then I have to get the filters back into the bay covers and already, the process is beginning to take its toll on the filter elements after just 3 cleanings. The foam is just too wimpy but on the good side, they do stop the dust very well. I recently found a source for metal filter mesh that will be tough enough to last a long time. I'm working with a machinist and once he finishes a frame that fits into that 7-bay space, I'll have a nice custom filter that is easy to pull out and clean.

The Armor breathes very well. I'm running an AMD 4400+ and so far have only mildly OC'ed it but the CPU stays down in the low 40C range when gaming. The graphics card runs a few degrees hotter at most. I haven't pushed the HDs hard enough to generate much heat. I did buy an extra HD fan cage, so there are two 12cm fans on the front, one exhausting out the back, another 8cm fan in back and an 8cm on the blowhole. I'm using the upright Zalman CPU cooler. I replaced the 12cm fans with (forgot the brand name) 14dB fans and it's not all that loud. Completely tolerable since I always have tunes or other audio playing. Once I put quiet 8cm fans in, it'll really be quiet. The two of them are louder than all three of the 12s, even though two of the 12s are right up front.

If computer gaming lasts at the current popularity level for another decade, I expect to see significant improvements in case design and active cooling technology. But I don't expect the good designs to be cheap.

I looked closely at the Lian Li's and thought they looked very good. Unfortunately, the ones I liked the most all that the front panel USB ports down low on the front panel. I've got a Vaio desktop that has a similar arraggement and I have never liked it. Then again, the TTake Armor I did buy has the USBs on top near the blow hole and I don't like that either, so I took the bus off of the top and am making my own cover plate out of aluminum to disquise the hole that was left behind. I got a all-in-one USB/firewire/memory reader/fan controller that fits in a 5.5" bay and put it between the two optical bays. Much better!

There will always be compromises to be made. i was real close to buying the Lian Li. They do have a very high quality look and feel and are priced very fairly.

I use chieftec cases as they have tons of room and awesome airflow. Here's a link.

http://www.directron.com/dragon3.html


Here's the inside of my opty machine just to give you an idea of what the inside of one looks like and how much room it actually has.

http://photobucket.com/albums/f16/ [...] an9500.jpg

Here's what they look like all closed up.

http://photobucket.com/albums/f16/ [...] ngRigs.jpg

What are other people using in there case fan-wise?
How many fans and what size should I be looking for?
- noise isn't that much of a factor, I just don't want it to sound like a vacuum

I picked up a 12cm SilenX fan that is listed at 14dB and for sure it is much quieter than the ~28dB Thermaltake fan it replaced. It moves a little less air than the TTake fan but it's not an issue because my case has so many fans. My box is a Thermaltake Armor so I have two 12cm fans in front of the HDs and another in the back. There's a 8cm fan alongside the PS and another pushing out the blowhole. I'm so impressed with the SilenX, I plan to replace all of my Thermaltake fans. Bummer is, the 12cm SilenX cost $30. I need to find a less expensive supplier. No luck yet.

Blowhole fans are a good thing because they keep the rising air from pooling at the PS. But having a hole on top also means that a spilled drink could run right down onto your goodies, so be careful.

I've got the Cooler Master 531, it's a great case when you take the fan out of the front and put it in back. It's an even better case if you simply add a second fan to the back. Some nice fellow already linked the review.

the antec P180 - the aluminum warps and your case will look fugly, the door wont close correctly

yah would stay away,

yah i've been looking into the Tsunami, but i was on other forums and ppl were bashing Thermaltake, i'm guessing because it was mainly a modding-case forum and they don't care much about a nice system and cooling.

I use the Lian Li 6077, which is a good case, very well built, but only has room for 3hdds as standard, although the entire front of the case is completely customisable in terms of drive/power button positions etc

solid case, but id probably rather have an antec p180 or a coolermaster stacker

lol well i live in taiwan, and things are cheaper here, lol, much cheaper than back in the uk, 10-20 percent

I love mine. Good airflow, baby is big for maximum upgrades. (granted I am starting to use it all. Fans are great, temp is lower than normal do to it, looks cool.

ASPIRE X-Navigator

Suprisingly the voltages have been tested and look decent, I'd still recommend upgrading the PSU for maxed out system/overclocking.

yah no way i'm getting the kandalf way too expensive for my liking. I was looking at the tsunami mainly, but that aspire x-navigator looks perfect for me as well.

I have a PSU its the S12 but its only 380W, but thats good for me now, I'm gonna get a new one in the winter.

damn ur making this harder for me, thanks tons for the help tho, i was really set on blowing cash on the P180. I'm gonna do some comparing thanks a lot again.

awesome, i was getting carried away on spending too much when i just need a good case not a real expensive.
i've been comparing the coolermaster 531 and the p160

now wait a sec lemme look at this "cooler Master"

Gah, that Sonata, what an ugly case. All monolithic, with a door to get in the way, and no extruded aluminum face panel to brighten things up. It's almost as ugly as the case I actually USE!

take a look at this case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119098


it got some good reviews

yah the cheaper one out of the two is my choice, the look of the case doesn't matter that much as long as it isn't like the sonata II or the asus vento.

i've read a bunch of reviews and it looks like the ammo is the best out of the centurion and cavalier

I have the Lian Li PC68 for a few years.
It is very easy to work with.

the 532 looks nice

534 gets 2nd best looks

531 comes 3rd

and the 5 come slast

same chasis dif flooks

go witht he 532 look spretty cool

Crash: How does the 400W Hi-Power in the RC-531 mathc up to the Antec 450W Smartpower in the SonataII? Vs. this FSP 450W or this FSP 400W?

How does the RC-531 compare to the Sonata II in terms of quiet operation?

The reason I'm asking is that I'm looking at doing another build shortly and want a good quality, economical case/PSU. Used a Sonata II in my last build and I'm relatively happy with the case. I don't like the CPU duct - useless because it doesn't line up with my CPU and took up a lot of space...before I removed it. I'm seriously considering the RC-531 in the new build, but wanted your opinion on the above.

yah i would get a sonata 2 but its too small for my liniing i like roomy things

I'm not really sure what internals TT uses!