Treasures or Trash? 5 PC Cases for Gamers

[pschmid]

When it comes to PC gaming cases, there are huge quality gaps between what is out there. The amount of money you spend does not necessarily translate into better quality, either. Unfortunatley, it is difficult to find some gems among so-called gaming boxes made too-often on the cheap.

 

[SinclairSpeccy]

I personally judge a case on how many pints of blood I loose when fitting the components, the more I loose the worse the case. Sharp edges are not my hands best friend.

I have my own personal favourite and I now always buy their cases, I know that after installing I won't feel light headed.

 

[Morph]

I'll just stick with this gamer case. Cheap, functional, and great looking.

 

[unbiased4u]

I think that one is in a different class...

 

[chuckshissle]

Ha them case that looked like a spider man and the spawn edition are just ugly as hell. Cheap plastic cases is not my style at all. The Aerocool and Aspire on the other hand is nice but still I don't like the plastic front designs but overall its a great case.

 

[vcollins]

Actually, T’ain’t me nether. I was compelled to read this article to add to a list of case manufacturers for my latest build project; the wife has learned how to bring the ancient one to its knees with her image processing. But, I did find some features from the gamers, into which I drift from time to time, i.e. Doom, Diablo, …, cases that were appealing, and plan to look for in the case I buy, i.e. case parameter displays. I found the fan speeds/temp readouts an interesting, and useful feature, not to the wife as a user of course, but for me as an administrator of the “beast”. I agree with Tommaso as to the general quality of the cases and would not buy because of it.

 

[Multiplectic]

I think this review was a complete waste of time. What's the point in reviewing crappy cases? Not even one was worth the time I spent reading this!
Seriously, it's like reviewing DVD-R discs... 8O
Pure plastic! :lol:

 

[caamsa]

I have an Antec Super Lan Boy case and it is the quietest coolest and lightest case I have ever had. Wifes computer is so loud it gives me a headache. Got the Lan Boy at compusa and it only cost me approximately $40.00 after rebate. You really do need to be careful when buying a case there is a lot of junk out there!

 

[uber_g]

those r some ugly cases


i cant belive some "gamers" fall for those kinds of cases !

::sigh::

 

[nukemaster]

For one.... it is good to see just how cheap some cases are...but there is a market for them. I do not think this was a waste of an article. Some system tests like temp and noise would have been nice....

I know many people who would want them just cause "they look cool"

The Aerocool one with the 240mm fan or what ever was like OMFG... i want that fan...I will make it fit in my Sonata II.

On the topic of Sonata II... if I remember correctly its 0.8mm SECC Steel.... no way this thing is aluminum...The Lanboy and Super Lanboy are...not that it is heavy....i gutted it to clean it and it is light without the PSU(now thats got some weight to it) in it....

Also the Sonata II's front panel plastic has never bugged me either. And I do lug not one but 2 Sonata's to lans(one Sonata I and one Sonata II for me and my girl) and they sure look cool side by side.

 

[needhelpnoobie]

I use a cheap Soyo mid tower for my lan parties/tournies I goto. It has a built in handle ontop and has been very reliable for over a year and 30+ lan parties/tournaments I've attended both locally and in different states/countries. The sides of the case do have a couple dings and could have been a little more sturdy.

Those cases listed above aren't anything I'd even consider.. Look goofy to me, I'd be a little embarresed to show up with one.

 

[monkey999]

I own the aspire cruiser case and i regularly bring it to friends houses and the front panel is made of plastic but thick enough that as long as u aren't playing catch with the case theres no way it will break off. It was also a cheep case.

 

[superbrett2000]

Those are some nasty looking cases.

 

[doublehelix]

I've been exceptionally happy w/ my ANTEC case...
I like 'em plain and ordinary...

http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=93703#

Switched out the PSU and put it on my server, though.

 

[caamsa]

Did someone say that they have 5 fans just for the case?! I have two 120mm fans in my Lan Boy case and I can hardly hear it. My cpu runs at 93 degrees F and my mother board is only 86 degrees F. I like a good case but I also don't want to hear it. When they review some of these cases they should give us noise levels too.

 

[godlyatheist]

Those are indeed cheap and POS cases. My $35 Ultra Wizard UV is as good as any of them in design and durability

And i can't believe nobody caught this yet, where the h*** is that Batman case they were suppose to review?

They said $167 is expensive, so does that make the $200+ Thermaltake Kandalf not worth buying???

 

[Senator]

I wish they would have done some objective reporting. Like measuring dB, temp, and power supply if included. This report was weak.

Here's my case, which I guess is a "gamer case." Front and rear 120mm fans. Side 90mm fan, all mated to a fan controller with blue light which is hidden behind the door. I had to buy the 120mm fans, but for the price it's been really good to me.

(Dynex 500W hasn't failed me yet..pssssh)

 

[uber_g]

NVIDIA 6600+ 512DDR2 <----512 of ddr2 ?

WTF 8O

explain ......

 

[Darkk]

I have the Cooler Master Centurion 532 (RC-532) case and loving it. I wanted a sturdy, simple, stelathy, black and well designed case so I bought this one. Looks great in my house.

Darkk

 

[Senator]

NVIDIA 6600+ 512DDR2 <----512 of ddr2 ?

WTF 8O

explain ......

it was a deal on geeks.com, i didn't want to spend much because i do limited gaming, and they offered it, i checked a few reviews and it got excellent ratings for the money about (120) at the time, so got it.

I'm very pleased with it. I have it significantly overclocked at u can see by my specs below.

The core is overclocked by about 30% and the memory is OC'd by about the same!

I'm happy with it! I can run everything at my default resolution 1280X1074 and even bump AA and AF to 2 without going under 30fps on most games. The support from the manufacturer is non-existant, but it outperforms all cards in the same price range.


Check the reviews here: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1549699&Tab=11&NoMapp=0

PS. My version is slightly updated from the one in the picture.
This is the old version of it. Notice the fan difference.

I have the 6600V+ which is slightly updated. The fan and heat sink cover a greater portion of the card, RAM modules. check it

 

[Denisimo]

If i was building a PC for my 10 year old son, who loves Batman or Spiderman, then yes they would be perfect cases, because the would match the Spiderman wall paper in his room.

But, i don’t have a son, i want a daughter. And these cases are the worst there is for people who build their own systems and don’t buy Dell or HP.

 

[Narg]

My opinion on cases?...

DOORS SUCK!!!

I seriously can't stand having doors on the front of a computer. They server absolutly no good purpose at all. The single most outstanding complain from this review was that the "doors were cheap and would most likely break". So, why do they even bother putting them on the machine to begin with? Besides, why would I want to restrict 1. my access to the components on the front of they machine and 2. the air flow going into the machine with a door?

I did like the hugh fan on the first case reviewed. That was a very "cool" idea. But those idiodic dual door panel things were useless.