A new case for my System

[minty]

Well I think this is the last "support ticket" Ill be opening (except maybe for one about a little question on the CPU) before Im 100% ready to build my new baby.

E6600 (will overclock it to 3 Ghz)
Gigabyte GA-965P-S3
Antec Earthwatts 500W
eVGA 8800GTS 320
OCZ 2GB PC2-5400 Dual Channel*
2 Hardrives (SATA and IDE)
2 Optical Drives (DVD/CD-RW, Both IDE)
TV Tuner (PCI)*
Maybe 2 Extra Case Fans (Cheap, so likely they'll be small, like 8mm/whatever?)

* Dont think they'll make any effect on this decision?

So basically, I cant order this on the US... shipping costs would be up the sky...
What Im going to do, is to buy the cheapest case I find, however I need to know about recommendations, specially in the field of SPACE.

Maybe someone with a similar configuration as mine, could give me an example of his/her case, so that I base myself on that when buying mine.

I dont care about fancy-ness, like glowing cases, or fluorescent light coming out of the back etc etc etc
Just the ugliest and cheapest thing I can find, that works perfect for my new system.

My main concern is space... I dont wanna buy something that doesnt allow one of the parts to fit in.
I think the 8800GTS isnt that big right? Like the big one is the GTX?

Since I know almost nothing about ventilation, thats why Im saying Im thinking of 2 extra case fans (maybe the case will come with 2 by default), put in the "right" spot.
So in this sense Im a bit in the blue and dont know if, with my configuration in mind, a "spacey" case is a lot better than something that allows components to fit it but leaves no space for almost nothing else.

Any suggestions? So I can see the pictures and all, and try to find a similar case over here?

Thanks for your time

 

[doolittle]

By here you mean UK?

Browsing the enthusiast cases @ scan.co.uk, here are some I am familiar with (sorted by price, low to high)...

Antec NSK4000, CM Centurion 534, CM Centurion 5, CM Centurion 532, Antec NSK6000, NZXT Apollo Silver, Gigabyte Triton GZ-XX1CA Silver, Gigabyte Triton GZ-XX1CA Black, Gigabyte Poseidon silver, Gigabyte Poseidon black, Antec Nine Hundred...

Beyond that, things get a bit pricey. Most of those are viewable at newegg (sorry too lazy to link) except the Antec NSK, try the manufacturer site (the 4000 is the 4400 w/o the 380w psu, same w/ the 6000 it is the 6600 w/o the 430w psu)

As far as I know they all above will fit a GTX no problem, some will have hdd mounting issues that are easily resolved by relocation to another bay.

 

[minty]

No Im not in the UK, Im in south america :lol:
And also Im sorry, I didnt make myself clear... not GTX, just my GTS, and I wont upgrade or anything.

Im heading out now, but as soon as I come back Ill check your recommendations, but Im wondering if you had in mind a "GTX" not a "GTS" hence these might be too "big" or something.

Thanks for your time doolittle

 

[scoot241]

I just today bought an Antec P180B. It's not flashy, but I've read a lot of reviews and it should do a great job. The revised P180 also allows you to route a lot of the cables around the motherboard for better cable management, and I'm tired of the rat's nest in my current case (Aerocool Aeroengine). It's currently $130 - $40 rebate = $90 over at Newegg. The rebate is only good if you buy before the 20th or so I believe.

Semi-off-topic: what kind of TV tuner are you looking at? I'm looking for a tuner to replace the ATI All-In-Wonder that was in my old computer.

 

[minty]

doolittle, ok I did a check on your recommendations.
Since there was a little misunderstanding and I didnt make myself clear, and you thought I had a 8800GTX, then I think my 8800GTS will fit just fine, since Ive read the GTX's are like, huge :lol:

First of them look a bit "cheap" hahaha, so Im crossing my fingers and probably Ill be able to find "el cheapo" versions here that look a bit better, not that I care about looks, but maybe things like headphones line out in front as well as USBs like in my current one. I guess the difference is that, those cheapie cases you list are "good" while my "better looking" offerings here are made with recycled toiler paper or something, or maybe just "made in taiwan" and not by a reputed manufacturer, so there is the difference but hopefully Ill be just fine, since I dont see (thank god!) any "Picking a Case 101" and then a whole topic devoted to how 1 inch makes the difference and that your life expectancy raises by 10% for every square inch of metal brought from mars that makes your case :shock:
The Antec nine hundred looks superb though 8O, but Im guessing probably in that field, similar stuff being offered here is way out of my case budget.

I just today bought an Antec P180B. It's not flashy, but I've read a lot of reviews and it should do a great job. The revised P180 also allows you to route a lot of the cables around the motherboard for better cable management, and I'm tired of the rat's nest in my current case (Aerocool Aeroengine). It's currently $130 - $40 rebate = $90 over at Newegg. The rebate is only good if you buy before the 20th or so I believe.

Im sorry but please notice I wont be buying what you guys recommend, I just use it as a guide to find something that "looks" similar, since I wanna know what will work on my current system (I dont wanna buy a Case, get home and then find out my MoBo doesnt fit or anything like that), so the prices are not necesary, sorry.

I saw that P180B. Looks cool on the inside and in the front seems to have what I need as well.
To be honest the only thing I dont quite get is "allows you to route a lot of the cables around the motherboard". Maybe you mean behind the thing that supports the MoBo?
Also the lower part, I have no idea what that is for (the little thing that seems to be coming out of this picture)

Im wondering about ventilation? Did you install anything else that the fan you can see in the pic above (or maybe the case has another one on front of it that cant be seen?). I just would like to have place for a couple of more fans (I think Ill find the info myself about the "air flow" recommendation, like "put a fan up the CPU blowing OUT", "put something above the drive bay blowing IN" and that kind of stuff).
I think you can clearly see this when you have a case in front of you right? Like you see the screw holes where a fan would fit in?

Semi-off-topic: what kind of TV tuner are you looking at? I'm looking for a tuner to replace the ATI All-In-Wonder that was in my old computer.

Im not looking at. I have.
An "el cheapo" Flyvideo2000 card from 1990 or something :lol:
So I think you are probably fine with the AiO? Since it has hardware decoder... mine doesnt.
But I dont know anything about video hardware, so that Flyvideo is enough for me. As long as it captures stuff the way I see it on my TV (and it does anyway), Im fine with it.

But maybe since there is HDTV now in your country (mine is light years away), I dunno if new cards come with a HDTV decoder in case you need that... I dunno Im just not the right person to answer properly that question.

Thanks for your time again

 

[scoot241]

That's not the best angle to look at the case from. That's also a picture of the old version (the new one has vented PCI slot covers). Anyway, the piece that slides out is a hard drive rack. You remove the rack, screw the hard drives in, then stick the rack back into the case. It's a convenience feature.

I don't have the case yet, but the case includes three fans: one in the bottom section in the middle, one on the rear panel near the top, and one on the top panel near the rear. It has places to mount three more: two on the front panel and one on the top hard drive rack.

The motherboard tray has some holes in it, so you can take a cable from the power supply (which sits at the bottom), put it behind the motherboard tray, and route it through the hole to the proper place for the cable. It makes cable management a bit easier.

I was just alerting you to the price because the rebate was only good for this week or so (unless they extend it). Of course, I'm not sure what you can get in South America (must have skipped that earlier).

I can't use the AiW anymore because it's AGP and the new motherboards don't support it anymore; also it's only a 9600 Pro and is very outdated now. I got the 8800GTS to replace it, but of course there's no TV tuner on the 8800GTS, so that's why I'm looking.

 

[scoot241]

Also, there is no "Picking a Case 101" because most of it simply comes down to personal preference, especially when it comes to how the case looks. Cooling, cable management and price are three good factors to help choose a case. Cases comply to standards, however. You're looking for a case that complies to the ATX standard. Small computers comply to the micro-ATX standard. Of course, there are a few quirks such as the length of the 8800GTX video card (and soon the HT2900XT). But in general, it comes down to what you prefer. Also, read reviews online. Most reviews will install a system into the case and tell you what they like and don't like. Googling a case name and the word "review" will usually pull up something.

 

[minty]

Alright, understood (the couple of questions I asked).
I also checked the new model and it rocks 8O
I certainly want this one, unfortunately, this would cost me like, a fortune to ship from the US (around 40 pounds... that'd be rough $160 for shipping :lol

The case itself is pretty expensive, around $130 going on amazon :shock:

Well, Ill just try to find something similar, hopefully they'll have the "made in taiwan" clone somewhere in the local PC mall

I agree with you, that sometimes you look a bit for looks and comfort etc...
Maybe I was referring a little bit to "important" things like the distribution of components inside, and for example the fact your case has 3 layers instead of the usual aluminum stuff.

Ill check reviews then, maybe with the advice given I can find something that is maybe cheaper (which is likely what I am to find clones of over here).

Regarding the offtopic bit, DOH! Yeah, AGP :lol:
I guess people in the TV Card forum could help you out, or you could try the "experts" on video at doom9 for these questions.

Anyway, thanks a lot for the advice and your time