dizarky

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i'm in the market for a new air cooled atx case, but there are soo freakin' many i have no idea what to look for or what would be the best. My budget is $80 and down, and noise level isn't a concern if that's a factor. All i have now is a modded systemax case that can hold only two 80mm fans, and with my room being well above ambient temperature most of the time a case that can effectively cool itself is a must, especially one that can withstand overclocking. Any help would be greatly appreiciated, thanks.
 

gomerpile

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im0009753ba.jpg

you can build it go to a job site and pick all the stuff you need. Use your current case and tear it apart using the parts
top0014pl.jpg
 

dizarky

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Hmm, neglected to say i'm a lanner. So carrying that thing around might not be worth the trouble, although it's probably an effective way to cool your crap. I was thinking more along the lines of an actualy case...
 

gomerpile

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not to bad its on wheels from shopping carts I take mine to the lans all the time at that the monitor and all the stuff stay on the desk top while moving
 

element54

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There is a difficulty in finding a case that is large enough that you can have room to work inside of but small enough that a couple of good 120mm fans can replace the internal air every few seconds. Not surprisingly all the hot air is created inside the case so you want to replenish that with cool air from OUTSIDE of the case. So having a huge case, about the size of a desk, could actually hinder your ability to cool the components inside as you are more likely to blow hot air around inside the case as opposed to blowing it out of the case. As a fairly cheep suggestion i would recomend somthing like this. As a more expensive suggestion with more room i recomend this. I have the second one and i am pretty happy with it.
 

gomerpile

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Have to disagree a bigger case makes things hotter, I have yet seen any case or whatever the parts are installed in match the cooling I have now.
I have tried almost every case with the current water cooling not one has matched the cooling now. I had the xp3200 OC for 3 years with this case and never seen a case temp hotter than 23C which is cooler than the house in the summer.
moni6my.png

I would like to know where you got that from, was not from testing your idea. I have tested and given proof of what I said a bigger case allows better in and out air flow. Show proof of what you said.
The temp you see now is the cpu working 5 apps and oc at 230 at 1.85 volts on an xp3200
The reason I did what I did was no case I got did the job so I worked on several different methods and this one worked the best.
 

element54

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you got industrial fans built into the shit though so you seem pretty set on that whole refreshing the internal air thing. but anyhow i didn't say a bigger case makes things hotter what i was getting at is if you have a big case you better pack it with good fans to get the hot air out of it. for example i had an old huge gateway case that i found at work. it was nice and roomy but it didn't allow for good airflow through it so all the hot air from the CPU heatsink just blew around inside the case while only minimal amounts of air got blown in or sucked out of the case. I can only assume this was the problem because the metal case was always warm to touch and the internal temp was around 40C and up. I took the same computer and put it into a good well designed server case with good fans and now my internal temps are down to 32C.
 

dizarky

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Thanks for the info. Aside from the cooling argument, any other cases you guys can recommend? Preferably overclocking stable? I too have an amd athlon xp 3200 and overclocking it to 222 at 1.85 creates unbareble heat. Plus it wasn't to stable at all. I have it at 220 now and it still reaches 50-54c at full load.

Another question, would a coolermaster be a better suited case or a thermaltake? I've read some reviews claiming that tt cases fan's are set up in a way that makes it counter productive, any truth to that? Thanks.
 

element54

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i am sure that there are some cases by both companies that aren't all that productive but i am betting that in the majority most of them are designed as most are Intake at the bottom/front of case and the outtake at the top back of the case.
 

qwertycopter

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Another question, would a coolermaster be a better suited case or a thermaltake? I've read some reviews claiming that tt cases fan's are set up in a way that makes it counter productive, any truth to that? Thanks.

No, the Thermaltake Matrix cases are great. I would recommen this one, however, because it's the best value. You will need to get some case fans to get good cooling, however. Get a 120mm for the front and a 92 mm for the side. Otherwise this case is great and cheap!
 

platbr

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OK -- if you're unwilling to work with plywood, I'd recommend an Antec Super Lanboy. Aluminum, lightweight, very easy to work inside. Comes with two big case fans (one with groovy blue LEDs that my 2 year old loves). I picked up mine for $15 after rebate at Fry's, and I think normally they are $65-80.

Here's a link: Link

SuperLanboy_front.jpg


I will add that it comes with a nice carrying strap. My wife hates it (because it isn't a Dell) and calls it "blue light" (as in "blue light special"). :p
 

4Aces

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Have to disagree a bigger case makes things hotter, I have yet seen any case or whatever the parts are installed in match the cooling I have now.
I have tried almost every case with the current water cooling not one has matched the cooling now. I had the xp3200 OC for 3 years with this case and never seen a case temp hotter than 23C which is cooler than the house in the summer.
moni6my.png

I would like to know where you got that from, was not from testing your idea. I have tested and given proof of what I said a bigger case allows better in and out air flow. Show proof of what you said.
The temp you see now is the cpu working 5 apps and oc at 230 at 1.85 volts on an xp3200
The reason I did what I did was no case I got did the job so I worked on several different methods and this one worked the best.

First let me say plywood case, very odd especially when wood is a insulator when compared to metal. Second if you don't have proper ventalation you will be either starving the box for air or you will be blowing hot air around the case if you don't have enough flow out. And putting casters on the bottom of a blanket chest does not make it a lan box. I'm sorry but your pic looked like something from the soap box derby nothing I would ever reccomend for a computer. The time and effort speant still costs you so in the end you might as well just get a case. Oh and from the pic it didn't look like anything close to what Norm would put out, more like a 10 yr old's class project for wood shop. But I'm guessing, since it's such a farse that it's a joke and a good one, using old oscilating fans, good one hahahahahahahahaha.
 

dizarky

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have you overclocked any with it? i have all my components oc'd and i know i could make an omlet on my case, i just want to make sure that before i get anything, i'm positive it can cool efficiently. Having the cpu, gpu, and ram oc'd calls for very efficient cooling. Mainly worried about the cpu, that heats up the most, would getting a case with a side fan help?
 

4Aces

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OK -- if you're unwilling to work with plywood, I'd recommend an Antec Super Lanboy. Aluminum, lightweight, very easy to work inside. Comes with two big case fans (one with groovy blue LEDs that my 2 year old loves). I picked up mine for $15 after rebate at Fry's, and I think normally they are $65-80.

Here's a link: Link

SuperLanboy_front.jpg


I will add that it comes with a nice carrying strap. My wife hates it (because it isn't a Dell) and calls it "blue light" (as in "blue light special"). :p

I bought one of these for the wife. DONT get it, you might as well take the front fan out it does little or nothing. Of all the comps in the house it's always the hottest. Had to cut a hole in the side panel to add a fan to cool it down. I can't wait to dump this thing and get either an Aspire, odd I know but decent airflow or Thermaltake case to replace this Antec fiasco.
 

bliq

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i'm in the market for a new air cooled atx case, but there are soo freakin' many i have no idea what to look for or what would be the best. My budget is $80 and down, and noise level isn't a concern if that's a factor. All i have now is a modded systemax case that can hold only two 80mm fans, and with my room being well above ambient temperature most of the time a case that can effectively cool itself is a must, especially one that can withstand overclocking. Any help would be greatly appreiciated, thanks.

So, I just bought myself a nice looking case- I'm done with the whole window fad. I just wanted something that worked well. I don't care if I can look inside it anymore.

So I bought a CollerMaster Centurion 532. the whole front is made of mesh so there's lot's of air intake area, and it's backed by a filter material so it doesn't get dusty in the case.

I have a pair of thermaltake thunderblade 120x25 fans (78cfm @ 21dB !!! Is this possible?!?) and a panaflo L1A in the side panel to blow air directly onto the proc. I think it's aluminum too (cause it's pretty light). Normally they run about $85 or so I think, but i found mine at the clearance table at MicroCenter for $44. So far, it's been really nice, quality case. Though I don't bother with overclocking.
 

dizarky

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awesome. thanks for the pointless post. i'm glad you found your niche in the world criticizing other peoples posts and being generally useless.
 

Doughbuy

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How come no one looked at my transformer case?!!??!!?

The Centurion is a decent case. I doubt you want to do any serious modding that involves cutting or a dremel... go with the transformer...

Or you could buy a cheap 100 dollar minifridge and then run wires through it, just beware of condensation. =)

OPTIMUS PRIME...
MEGATRON...
*Transforming sounds*
 

dizarky

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So far the one you recommended seems to fit what i'll need. After reading the reviews on newegg it seems to stand up pretty admirably to oc'ing and all i'll have to mainly worry about is getting a fan controller. Can you guys recommend one while we're on the topic? I'm going to need to get one anyways, even if i don't get this specific case i could use one on the one i have now.
 

Doughbuy

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Don't forget the front needs a 120mm fan, but those are cheap enough. You might want to google for some more reviews, but nearly all of them are good-great. I was interested in this case a while back so I did a lot of research on it. Seems pretty solid, and has lots of features. I'm sure you'll like it. Fan controller wise, that case has 5 case fans.. so try this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813999251

That can control up to 6 fans. Or you could probably find a cheaper one. Or you could just have a loud case, either way, its all up to you.
 

dizarky

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that's actually the one i was looking to get and from newegg. i can just mod one of the switches to work with the neons or cold cathodes.