Building a new system, thinking of this case

[Kolorean]

http://www.xoxide.com/hspc-tech-station-large-black.html

Anyone have one? Can anyone tell me pros and cons of the "case." I am a first time builder, so I am little confused. Need a hand.

 

[mekender]

well, that isnt a case... its a work bench setup designed for people that are swapping out hardware for test purposes....

 

[Kolorean]

I understand, my feeling is, because I have no desire to worry about style, this maybe an easy option. Cooling, there is no problems with air flow. A large "house" fan maybe even employed. Is anyone using one of these?

 

[chunkymonster]

While I suppose you *could* use it as a permanent case for your pc, as mentioned it is intended to be a work bench for hardware testing. Your biggest issue with using this is that is has no place to permanently mount hard drives, ROMS, or even a power supply. Not only that, but while it would be *open* to allow for free air flow cooling, there are also no filters to keep crud and dust bunnies from making a home in your equipment.

While a neat idea, I highly recommend purchasing a more conventional case.

 

[mekender]

affirmative, you get much better air flow from a case specifically designed ot run air in a certain direction across the components

 

[gondo]

Dust will layer on you PC In this case. Airflow is no better since there is no contained path. People can kick your system. SOMething as simple as a penny or paperclip falling in could short your board and fry your system. Very bad idea for a case.

It sounds like a nice case that is easy to work on but a good case has no tools. The side swings open. The drives fit in a cage that slides in. The OPtical drives slide in. ANtec P180 or similar quality case is all easy to work on.

 

[dragonsprayer]

your a triple noob and plus more bad words but i get banned

 

[Kolorean]

Thanks for all the constructive advice, and I shall ignore the flame, as I am actually a "triple noob" anyway. This is my first build, and I have been trying to explore all my options before I "pull the trigger."

I have been down in the homebuild section refining my specs and parts to assemble, and I have had nothing but great help, and links to informative and educational posts and sites.

This is the case I think i have settled on, anyone have anything good or bad to say about it? Advice and flames welcome, I'm a big boy.

http://www.xoxide.com/sunbeam-silent-storm-black-silver.html

 

[nhobo]

CD/DVD drives behind doors are a PITA

a motherboard tray is waaaay cool

 

[chunkymonster]

That's a much better choice for a case, and for $65 too! I like the mounting bar for the fan at the mid-point as well as the fan mount on the side panel plexi-glass. For the price and the look, it would make for a nice home for your hardware.

My opinion, I like a case with more drive space, 3 is plenty in most builds tho. And, I'm not really a fan of ROM drives behind doors either.

Here's a few case I noticed at random that are about the same price range...

COOLER MASTER Centurion

ENERMAX CS-718B-1

ENERMAX PANDORA 185

Regardless of whichever case you go with, good luck!

 

[TenGig]

don't know anyone with that case but I'd like to add that the friends I have that have a front that flips open have started to hate it. they get annoyed everytime they have to swap cds/flash card/floppy disk. most of them just leave it open all the time.
Just thought you should consider that. I don't know how often you are going to be swapping disks.

I got this one and I love it
Canada
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=21123&vpn=NINE%20HUNDRED&manufacture=ANTEC
USA
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129021

 

[MrWally]

http://www.xoxide.com/hspc-tech-station-large-black.html

Anyone have one? Can anyone tell me pros and cons of the "case." I am a first time builder, so I am little confused. Need a hand.

God, I hope you don't have a cat.

 

[Kolorean]

For that case, with the power supply in the bottom, you run into any problems with the build?

 

[TenGig]

For that case, with the power supply in the bottom, you run into any problems with the build?

not really. it was kinda wierd at first cause i didn't know if I was suppose to put the psu upside down or not (the psu fan is on the bottom). but they have plastic spacers that give you enough room for air flow. other than that it was fine.

 

[goldragon_70]

http://www.xoxide.com/hspc-tech-station-large-black.html

Anyone have one? Can anyone tell me pros and cons of the "case." I am a first time builder, so I am little confused. Need a hand.

God, I hope you don't have a cat.

LMAO

Seriously though, I hope the same, I left my computer door open while I was building and upgrading a system, and one of my cats started to sleep in it. I hope you don have kids or immature roommates. That will make you just as much of a danger to your computer too. Open for things to be dropped and spilled in it.

I had an accident with spaghetti and my monitor once. Won’t go into detail, but I was able to save the monitor, but it only lasted for 4 or 5 years after.

 

[mekender]

YES you can!!!!! make sure you dont have a PS with a p4 connector any shorter than 24 inches... anything less and the connector wont reach the top left corner of the motherboard...

 

[gondo]

Well it's good you decided on a normal case. A few things I'll suggest while looking around.

Doors that open in the front are nice, but a pain when you have to open them every time to swap a CD. ALso they are sometimes mounted with cheap plastic posts and they often break off leaving you with an ugly case.

Also consider buying a fan filter for every intake fan you have. They few dollars you spend on the filter will eliminate all dust in the computer. They are wonderful. The aluminum ones are better, although the black foam ones are still great.

The cheaper cases that put drive rails and stuff so you don't need to screw the drives in are built cheap. The rails can break, the drive cages don't fit in nice. For cheaper cases, I prefer just screwing the drives in. No cages seem to slide in anf fit as well as an Antec or LianLii quality case.

Consider the newer designs with the power supply on the bottom. I love it for heat management and cable management.

Also get a power supply that is modular with removable cables. Use only the cables you need. You won't have a pile of cables left over that you need to bunch up and tie wrap in a mess. If your case comes with an el cheapo OEM PSU consider buying a second one and keep the OEM one as a spare...you computer will thank you

Another option is to just buy a nice regular case. Like a chenbro or acer full tower. Then you can paint it up and cut out your own window. You can buy window kits, or get some plexi from a glass place and install it yourself. YOu can by the window mouldings and pieces you need for making custom windows form online computer places. Air brush kits can be had for cheap as well if you really want to go all out. Or you can order a vinyl case wrap. Many options here for making a cheap case beautiful.

Hope I covered some of the ins and outs or case shopping. Oh yeah try to avoid 92mm fans. They are non standard and harder to find. 80mm and 120mm are the way to go. Thermaltake tends to like 92mm for some reason. I hate thermaltake for this. They wait for everyone else to come out with a mod...then they make their stuff better than the rest and go way over the top making their stuff look like it came form the circus. They try way to hard.

Well good luck to you.

 

[born_again]

For that case, with the power supply in the bottom, you run into any problems with the build?

not really. it was kinda wierd at first cause i didn't know if I was suppose to put the psu upside down or not (the psu fan is on the bottom). but they have plastic spacers that give you enough room for air flow. other than that it was fine.

I was wondering this about this particular case. So are you supposed to put the power supply upside down?

 

[tlmck]

Here is a deal on an excellent case if you don't mind a rebate. http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0265143