Help picking a case

[Box Cutter]

Hi,

I am in the process of choosing parts for a new PC and am having trouble finding a good case. My budget is $250 or less for the case, and my needs are:

(in order of importance)
1) good cooling
2) good build quality
3) quiet
4) conservative looking (no goofy lights, etc)
5) as small/light as it can be and still comfortably hold 2 modern video cards (8800gt or something like it). I should say that I plan on having 1 optical drive and 2 hard drives, so even a mid-tower would be fine if it can fit my video cards.

Also, the case must be standard ATX compatible (although almost everything is....)

I should say that so far the best I have found is the Antec P182. It is perfect except that it is bigger and heavier than I want. The coolermaster cosmos also looked good, but it is even heavier than the antec. I have also heard a lot of good things about Lian-Li's cases, but I don't have any experience with them. Does anyone have a good suggestion?

Thanks for the help.

 

[boonality]

Lian-Li is an excellent brand, I personally own 2 antecs and I love them both, but both of them are several years old and I'm not too fond of the newer cases.

 

[rodney_ws]

Your budget will get you a really nice case... Antec, Thermaltake, Lian-Li and Cooler Master are all established brands.

 

[Box Cutter]

Hmmm does anyone have any specific suggestions? Of the lian-li silent cases, are any supposed to be particularly good?

 

[The_Blood_Raven]

I love this case, and if I were going to buy a mid tower case this would be it:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112100

It has great cooling, it is beautiful, light and aluminum, and of course it is by Lian-Li so you know it is made with untouched quality.

 

[chookman]

Cant go wrong with a Lian Li, A10 might be a good fit for you although it is still fairly big.

 

[echdskech]

I own 2 lian-li cases: the first version of this:

http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product/product06.php?pr_index=154&cl_index=1&sc_index=25&ss_index=62

and this one:

http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product/product06.php?pr_index=159&cl_index=1&sc_index=25&ss_index=63

both are excellent and checks your 2nd, 3rd and 4th requirement.

the V600 might fit your 5th requirement though your 1st one can only be met in relative terms since most smaller cases tend to be hotter than similarly designed large cases.

my V600 contains the quad in my profile and has pretty good airflow at stock given its size. i'm not sure tho if it would be enough for 2 graphics cards but with what i read about the G92's thermals relative to G80's, it just might be good enough.

one caveat with the V600 is that you can't use monster air coolers with the proc due to the placing of the PSU. If you're ok with either stock, low profile or going water, then i would recommend it. We had pretty much the same criteria when i was looking and bought it. hope this helps!