Three Gaming Cases, With Power, Under $100
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Crashman
June 30, 2010 6:00:51 AM
Case and power supply combos always look like a bargain, but bargain-basement parts have always seemed to chase experienced builders away. Today, we consider three budget-enthusiast models to determine if any of them can meet our basic gaming needs.
Three Gaming Cases, With Power, Under $100 : Read more
Three Gaming Cases, With Power, Under $100 : Read more
More about : gaming cases power 100
Vic84
June 30, 2010 6:25:04 AM
gordo_46
June 30, 2010 6:28:32 AM
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xc0mmiex
June 30, 2010 6:44:19 AM
In "Measured Test Results", first chart, temperature over ambient in degrees Celsius... even at freezing temperature of 0C, CPU would be at 67+ C.... and on a hot day of 30C your CPU would be approaching boiling... i think its a little too toasty so there gotta be a mistake in there somewhere; wrong unit or math
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Anonymous
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June 30, 2010 7:19:12 AM
JonnyDough
June 30, 2010 7:34:00 AM
falchard
June 30, 2010 7:35:24 AM
JonnyDough
June 30, 2010 7:49:59 AM
I agree, but as an enthusiast I'm really loving that Cooler Master case. I tend to like front to back air flow just because it helps direct noise away from me and I can cool my hard drives first and my GPU last since that seems to be the order of coolest to hottest operating temps.
I suspect with a bit higher power draw Cooler Master's PSU may perform a bit more admirably on efficiency. The only way to really know is to test the PSUs against each other and measure power draw of the PSUs themselves (until they power off preferably!) under load/idle. If you're going to make a statement about energy efficiency at all then it is my belief that you should test them.
I suspect with a bit higher power draw Cooler Master's PSU may perform a bit more admirably on efficiency. The only way to really know is to test the PSUs against each other and measure power draw of the PSUs themselves (until they power off preferably!) under load/idle. If you're going to make a statement about energy efficiency at all then it is my belief that you should test them.
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Crashman
June 30, 2010 7:51:33 AM
xc0mmiexIn "Measured Test Results", first chart, temperature over ambient in degrees Celsius... even at freezing temperature of 0C, CPU would be at 67+ C.... i think its a little too toasty so there gotta be a mistake in there somewhere; wrong unit or math
No, it's an overclocked Core i7 at eight threads of Prime95, if you find those numbers shocking you're thinking of the wrong CPU.falchardI think in cases more people are looking at aesthetics and ruggedness over temps and acoustics as nearly all cases have acceptable values. When it comes to this NZXT and Rosewill have really seperated themselves from other cases under $50.
These are basically $40 cases in this article. Two of the cases in the review are already far better than this one:http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-computer-cas...
That is to say, two of these $40 cases are vastly superior to that $100 case. So you can say what you like, but words alone will not convince me.
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0
grossemesser
June 30, 2010 7:54:43 AM
Why in blazes you did NOT include in this... comparison the amazingly incredible HAF 922??? Its way better than any of these and costs only $90 Plenty of space, cable management space and of course AIRFLOW! it even has slots in the door so you can fit one big or two small fans... Anyways what can i say, you should have included it
... ummm sorry didn't get the WITH POWER part hehe... well i can just add that this is a great case and it is worth saving up the extra bucks for the added money you'll have to pay for the PSU
... ummm sorry didn't get the WITH POWER part hehe... well i can just add that this is a great case and it is worth saving up the extra bucks for the added money you'll have to pay for the PSU
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-10
paigeinfull
June 30, 2010 8:00:51 AM
grossemesserWhy in blazes you did NOT include in this... comparison the amazingly incredible HAF 922??? Its way better than any of these and costs only $90 Plenty of space, cable management space and of course AIRFLOW! it even has slots in the door so you can fit one big or two small fans... Anyways what can i say, you should have included it
"Three Gaming Cases, With Power, Under $100"
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5
rohitbaran
June 30, 2010 8:59:48 AM
While the cases are good, the review doesn't throw any light on how the included PSUs perform. Considering that these are budget PSUs, there might be a chance of having substandard PSUs being included which may not even deliver rated power. Cooler Master Extreme Power 600W is one low cost PSU that can't deliver it's rated power.
Score
3
rohitbaran
June 30, 2010 9:00:14 AM
rohitbaran
June 30, 2010 9:05:22 AM
metallifux
June 30, 2010 9:23:35 AM
Crashman
June 30, 2010 9:31:10 AM
rohitbaran
June 30, 2010 9:32:54 AM
paigeinfull
June 30, 2010 10:21:26 AM
MetallifuxWhy would you put the PSU at the bottom of a case when hot air rises?
Not to mention that hot air will rise right into the psu causing an increase in psu temps and a decrease in efficiency. I don't think using the psu to exhaust air from the case is a good idea when fans can do a much better job
Score
5
DavC
June 30, 2010 11:00:03 AM
Wheat_Thins
June 30, 2010 11:31:41 AM
thearm
June 30, 2010 12:58:37 PM
zehpavora
June 30, 2010 1:03:06 PM
I would not trust my PC to any older Coolermaster or Thermaltake PSU. They tend to choke in competent technical reviews. The InWin is a dark horse, but with full range active PFC and 80+ certification (the chart says it doesn't have active PFC, but clearly it does) I would give it a shot long before either of the others.
And, no conspiracy. A lot has already been written about Antec's excellent offerings.
A PSU on the bottom of a case makes the case more stable, and in many cases draws its [unheated] air from beneath the case, and exhausts its warm air. An 80+ (or better) PSU does not radiate enough heat under reasonable loads to be a concern. And, it doesn't dangle excess cables into the airflow.
I know of no rule that says all gamers have to have massive heat sinks on their CPUs. CPUs have become more and more powerful, such that a point has been reached where it isn't even necessary to overclock a CPU for good performance in games. Yes, you'd need to push an Athlon II X2 260 to the limit; or take the money from the necessarily massive HSF, add it to the CPU budget, and get a X4 (possibly a Phenom II) or Core-i5 instead. If the stock cooler sucks that bad (and some certainly do), there are plenty of quiet, competent models available that would fit in the InWin case.
And, no conspiracy. A lot has already been written about Antec's excellent offerings.
A PSU on the bottom of a case makes the case more stable, and in many cases draws its [unheated] air from beneath the case, and exhausts its warm air. An 80+ (or better) PSU does not radiate enough heat under reasonable loads to be a concern. And, it doesn't dangle excess cables into the airflow.
I know of no rule that says all gamers have to have massive heat sinks on their CPUs. CPUs have become more and more powerful, such that a point has been reached where it isn't even necessary to overclock a CPU for good performance in games. Yes, you'd need to push an Athlon II X2 260 to the limit; or take the money from the necessarily massive HSF, add it to the CPU budget, and get a X4 (possibly a Phenom II) or Core-i5 instead. If the stock cooler sucks that bad (and some certainly do), there are plenty of quiet, competent models available that would fit in the InWin case.
Score
5
itadakimasu
June 30, 2010 1:26:21 PM
Mark Heath
June 30, 2010 1:32:29 PM
SpadeM
June 30, 2010 1:43:52 PM
uh_no
June 30, 2010 1:56:24 PM
kitekrazy1963
June 30, 2010 2:08:57 PM
warezme
June 30, 2010 2:15:29 PM
warezme...never buy a case with a PSU. This review outlines why...
Unfortunately, I'm not sure it did. Though sprinkled with caveats, none of these PSUs immediately failed. If these boxes were run continuously (as in a typical weekend gaming marathon), I'd bet on the TR2 croaking first, but in this brief look, they all appeared to do ok. Or, over time, poor ripple, regulation, and/or turn-on spikes might kill something, or at the least cause instability. I can see this article being cited by someone wanting to go cheap on the PSU, thinking it must be okay because Tom's pulled it off.
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2
hangfirew8
June 30, 2010 2:38:28 PM
After crowing about Tom's new P/S test facility, I was disappointed to find that the power supplies themselves were not reviewed- no test of OCP/OPP, no test of ripple at various power levels, no hot box testing, no overshoot transient testing. Almost nothing is known about these power supplies beyond efficiency, noise and what is printed on the side label. I wouldn't trust my system to any of these P/S without a reputable review, and this isn't it.
Score
2
hangfirew8
June 30, 2010 2:49:13 PM
MetallifuxWhy would you put the PSU at the bottom of a case when hot air rises?
Because I don't enjoy cooking my power supplies with system heat.
Because I have a 120mm fan, or two, to take care of the convection heat.
Because a bottom mount P/S can more easily have its own bottom intake vent and its own stream of fresh cool air, leaving more airflow for other components from the front vents/fans.
Because I don't have to route the 24 pin connector snake around the big CPU cooler.
Because I have shorter runs to the Video Card(s).
Because a bottom mount P/S gives me a more stable, less top-heavy case.
That's why.
Convection assisted cooling with a single P/S fan made sense in the days of 250W P/S and passively cooled CPU's, and still make sense for low power systems like HTPC's. For a gaming system, they just trying to cool a hot component with hot air. Not a good idea for a marginal quality component not verified by hot box testing.
Score
4
dark_lord69
June 30, 2010 3:26:07 PM
I'd have to pass on those power supplies.
I have an Antec 300 (5 case fans) Bought for about $45.
I also have a PC Power and Cooling 610 Watt power supply. That was a bit more though.
I'm not sure how well you'd be able to run a gaming computer using 400 watts and NO WAY on the SLI or Crossfire. Plus I love the fact that my PSU has 1 MASSIVE rail. Instead of 14A and 15A on different parts of the PSU mine has 49A shared. If you have a video card that needs 16Amps your screwed. With mine, my video card can gobble up all it needs and they rest of the amps can all be used as well. This way there is no waisted Amps and all the devices can get what they need. You may have to do some reading to understand why this is such a good thing. But, it is my personal belief that single rail power supplies are the best and PC Power and Cooling is TOPS.
Wrong! It is done for better and more efficient cooling. Hot air rises. meaning that the hottest air inside a PC will go out through the power supply. This is not a good thing. In a typical PC design you power supply would ALWAYS be hot. With the power supply at the bottom it is not taking in hot air and the fans on the top are more efficiently getting rid of hot air. So in the end, it's a more effective design. Although I am temped, I won't say anything about your intelligence.
I have an Antec 300 (5 case fans) Bought for about $45.
I also have a PC Power and Cooling 610 Watt power supply. That was a bit more though.
I'm not sure how well you'd be able to run a gaming computer using 400 watts and NO WAY on the SLI or Crossfire. Plus I love the fact that my PSU has 1 MASSIVE rail. Instead of 14A and 15A on different parts of the PSU mine has 49A shared. If you have a video card that needs 16Amps your screwed. With mine, my video card can gobble up all it needs and they rest of the amps can all be used as well. This way there is no waisted Amps and all the devices can get what they need. You may have to do some reading to understand why this is such a good thing. But, it is my personal belief that single rail power supplies are the best and PC Power and Cooling is TOPS.
CrashmanGroupthink. Someone said it was cool and everyone else jumped aboard. It happened around three years ago, and now you're not one of the cool kids if you don't agree.
Wrong! It is done for better and more efficient cooling. Hot air rises. meaning that the hottest air inside a PC will go out through the power supply. This is not a good thing. In a typical PC design you power supply would ALWAYS be hot. With the power supply at the bottom it is not taking in hot air and the fans on the top are more efficiently getting rid of hot air. So in the end, it's a more effective design. Although I am temped, I won't say anything about your intelligence.
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0
demonhorde665
June 30, 2010 3:33:27 PM
in general i think cool master makes much better "no bells and whistles" enthusist cases than otehr companies do. sure antec has awsome massive full tower cases taht are prestty to look at , but for a budget builder antec's offerings look behind to me , same witht eh toerh two companies , back in 08 i got a cool amster centurion 590 case , nice little budget build mid tower , case , holds up to 7 fans , 2 120x120's and 4 slots that take from a 80x80 up to a 140x140 , better yet i fit all my fans in it even with a massive hyper tx 2 cpu cooler in my case this case onlky costed me a nice and tidy 59 bucks and came with two of the fans i'm stil using in it (two 120's), so it's no suprise that coolmaster took this "competiton " , granted that model didn't come with many fans , but hell even us budget gamer/builders are gonna buy some fans to throw down in a new rig
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1
Good review. Getting a good budget case with a decent PSU is always hard. I pretty much expected the iwin to preform as it did, but I was rather disappointed with the Cooler Master's results though I assume it would do a little better with more and better fans. Of course it didn't come with those fans and it wouldn't be a good comparison to the other cases. I'll certainly be looking at the M9 next time I do a budget build for someone. Too bad the 300 wasn't in this review though.
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0
drwho1
June 30, 2010 3:55:57 PM
you couldn't find 3 cases any uglier than this.
I rarely look at cases with included power supply simply because in my experience
this budget power supply units do not meet my minimum requirements.
with that said I recently use a Rosewill case with included 450watts power supply for
a built for a friend, giving that he is not going to play games or push the system too hard is ok.
but for anyone who play games, or use any kind of graphic intense software you just can't deal with anything under 600watts power supply to power a decent video card.
I rarely look at cases with included power supply simply because in my experience
this budget power supply units do not meet my minimum requirements.
with that said I recently use a Rosewill case with included 450watts power supply for
a built for a friend, giving that he is not going to play games or push the system too hard is ok.
but for anyone who play games, or use any kind of graphic intense software you just can't deal with anything under 600watts power supply to power a decent video card.
Score
0
dj1001
June 30, 2010 4:38:57 PM
drwho1...but for anyone who play games, or use any kind of graphic intense software you just can't deal with anything under 600watts power supply to power a decent video card.
Nonsense. You could build a quite competent gamer with a 73W core-i3/i5 and a HD5770 and run it on a QUALITY 300W PSU. No, you wouldn't have much overclocking headroom; make it a 400W PSU for that, and you're still well short of 600W. HD5770 not good enough? Well then, that 400W PSU will handle a HD5850, or get 450W if you want to overclock a build using a HD5870. http://www.extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine
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0
Anonymous
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June 30, 2010 7:01:32 PM
I really don't understand the why you would want to save money on a case. The case is one of the few components that does not become obsolete in future builds. Isn't it worth it to invest the extra $50 to $100 on a premium case that is quieter, cooler and has a better layout that you can use over and over. When I bought my Silverstone Raven II, it was replacing a Thermaltake Xaser that worked very well for 6 years and four builds, but I now needed something better and quieter and the unique and the much smarter airflow design of the Raven II with the 90 degree motherboard rotation caught my attention right away. I studied it, read all the reviews, found a few flaws, but ultimately realized that this was the right way to design a case and that saving money on all the other cases out there would just be a rehash of what I already had. I am sure other manufacturers could come up with something even better than the Raven II, but it seems as though the short sighted cost savings are still too attractive to the buying public. Sometimes the "deal" of saving money is really wasting money in the long run!
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Anonymous
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June 30, 2010 7:08:09 PM
Crashman
June 30, 2010 11:19:41 PM
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2
Is a 'tepid recommendation' really a recommendation at all?
Some smart research could turn up other options like a current NewEgg combo deal of the Antec 300 & Antec Basiq 500W PSU. $95 before $15 rebate http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Antec-Basiq-BP50...
I know the article focus was in a different direction. And it's been useful in pointing out it's always a good idea take a good look before jumping in at something that looks like a 'real' bargain.
Some smart research could turn up other options like a current NewEgg combo deal of the Antec 300 & Antec Basiq 500W PSU. $95 before $15 rebate http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Antec-Basiq-BP50...
I know the article focus was in a different direction. And it's been useful in pointing out it's always a good idea take a good look before jumping in at something that looks like a 'real' bargain.
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0
theusual
July 1, 2010 5:20:17 AM
Crashman
July 1, 2010 6:15:13 AM
WR2Is a 'tepid recommendation' really a recommendation at all?
It means that the author doesn't believe the three cases that participated represent the best three products of the sub-$100 field. A good example is In Win's inclusion of a case that's "gamer-themed" in appearance only...when its traditional products are better able to hold performance hardware. Score
0
JonnyDough
July 1, 2010 6:57:45 AM
CrashmanGroupthink. Someone said it was cool and everyone else jumped aboard. It happened around three years ago, and now you're not one of the cool kids if you don't agree.
I actually think its a horrid idea. I always picture water cooling coming loose and slopping liquid into your PSU, perhaps not shocking it because of the liquids non-conducive properties, but likely ruining it nonetheless. Moreover, a screw could come loose and drop into it. I prefer cases with the PSU at the top, especially in the event a house floods...but that's just me. I still love the Cooler Master case.
Score
0
rutoojinn
July 1, 2010 7:44:16 AM
jj463rd
July 1, 2010 10:21:31 AM
I went for a very inexpensive CPU+Motherboard+ 2GB RAM+Case and Power Supply combo on newegg a few months back.
Here was the case and power supply about $50 with free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
The Raidmax RX-450K 450W Power Supply that came with it was only 75% efficient,the case was pretty cheap (somewhat thinner flimsy aluminum).
The only problem with the case was the bay covers could come off easily so I glued them.Other than that it has good airflow and it works for me for a very low budget PC.Usually I never choose such a inexpensive Power Supply or case but I made an exception.I wouldn't mind buying another one.
Here was the case and power supply about $50 with free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
The Raidmax RX-450K 450W Power Supply that came with it was only 75% efficient,the case was pretty cheap (somewhat thinner flimsy aluminum).
The only problem with the case was the bay covers could come off easily so I glued them.Other than that it has good airflow and it works for me for a very low budget PC.Usually I never choose such a inexpensive Power Supply or case but I made an exception.I wouldn't mind buying another one.
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0
Crashman
July 1, 2010 12:13:41 PM
jj463rdI went for a very inexpensive CPU+Motherboard+ 2GB RAM+Case and Power Supply combo on newegg a few months back.Here was the case and power supply about $50 with free shippinghttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811156239The Raidmax RX-450K 450W Power Supply that came with it was only 75% efficient,the case was pretty cheap (somewhat thinner flimsy aluminum).
Your case is made of STEEL because aluminum is far too expensive to use on anything that cheap. If you don't believe me, stick a magnet to it.Score
0
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