Struggling with case selection for this build

[garymkrieg]

I am struggling with case selection for this build. We live and travel 100% of the time in a motorhome. This build must fit under a built-in table that measures 28” x 34”. The HAF 932 measures 22.70" x 9.00" x 21.50" which is sort of large for the area that I have under the table. I like the three fan setup of the 932 but is there a choice that might be a little smaller especially in its width? I currently use a laptop but I want to move to a desktop.


APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: By September

BUDGET RANGE: $2000 - 2500

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Photoshop, Nikon Capture NX, Microsoft Active Server web page development, web surfing, email

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com is where I have been looking

PARTS PREFERENCES: Intel i7-930 and GeForce GTX 260 for Photoshop compatibility

OVERCLOCKING: Probably not

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Probably not

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1200

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Here are the parts I have come up with so far:

MOBO
GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

CPU
i7-930

CPU Cooler
Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.B CPU Cooler

RAM
Mushkin Enhanced Redline 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model 998805

GPU
EVGA 896-P3-1255-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

Case
COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

PSU
CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-750HX 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI

Primary HD
Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2M160G201 2.5" 160GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Secondary HD
SAMUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

WiFi Card - using CradlePoint MBR1000 Mobile Broadband Router
EDIMAX EW-7128G IEEE 802.11b/g PCI Wireless Card Up to 54Mbps Wireless Data Rates 64/128-Bit WEP, 802.1x, WPA, AES

Optical DVD
LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Writer LightScribe Support

Operating System
Windows 7 Professional 64 bit

Thanks for your help.

Gary

 

[redrabbit803]

Lian Li has some new cases that they just came out this year that has USB 3.0 on the front panel. Plus it meets your specs 19.3" x 8.26" x 18.5

for only $200 you can get something like this. 3rd fan is optional at the top.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112262

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Antec 1200 is 20.20" x 8.40" x 22.90" is taller but the most common restriction I run into is depth and the 1200 is 2.5" shorter in that department....also 0.6" thinner in width.

The 1200 also fits the CP-850 PSU which has comparable performance to the HX series from Corsair although the CP is quieter and less expensive than the HX series.

Only other suggestions I'd make are as follows:

Hard Drives - Check out the performance charts and pick whatever 500 GB per platter drive performs best under your usage patterns. The 2 TB WD Black and XT from Seagate are good choice but at smaller capacities, you are limited to the Seagate 7200.12 or the Spinpoint F3. The 7200.12 excels in gaming, multimedia and pictures whereas the F3 wins at music and movie maker. See the comparisons here (copy past link in manually, link won't work in forum):

(http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2009-3.5-desktop-hard-drive-charts/compare,1006.html?prod[2371]=on&prod[2770]=on)

Look at the tests that reflect your usage and choose accordingly.

MoBo - For $239, I'd suggest this MoBo. Compare the newegg reviews for each. The Giga has 25% negative (1-2 eggs) compared w/ 11% for the Asus.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131641

GFX Card - The 260 is a great $155 board but at current prices, it's greatly overpriced. Given your budget and the CUDA capabilities of the fermi cards, I'd rather see you w/ twin 250's (Same $180 price as a single 260) but better yet, see if you can fit a 470 into your budget.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130434
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130539
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130550

 

[Idlewild]

I'd stick with your choice of motherboard, the GA-X58A-UD3R. Not only is it cheaper, in a review of four 2010 lga 1366 motherboards here on Tom's Hardware, in which the above Asus model was reviewed as well, the Gigabyte model came out on top for being cheaper + having more features.

Yet, while none of the technology strikes us as exceptionally new, one product stood out by providing a great amount of it for an incredibly low price. Priced around $150 less than its "big brother" UD7 model, Gigabyte’s X58A-UD3R has nearly as many onboard features. The X58A-UD3R even offers more features than Asus’ mid-priced P6X58D-E, for a price roughly equal to ASRock’s lower-cost model. With consideration for the price premium that normally accompanies X58-based products, we simply haven’t seen a motherboard value this good since November of last year. That level of value earns the X58A-UD3R an award.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/x58-usb-3.0-sata-6-gbps,2614-15.html


At your budget I'd look at an 5850 instead of the GTX 260, better performance at a great value.

 

[a4mula]

Have you given any thought to a mid-tower?

Antec 902
Lancool K62
CM 690 II Advanced

These are the three that I most typically recommend. All three support wire management, painted interiors, excellent cooling, support for tower coolers, 11" gpus, and float around the $100 range.

You could also consider a HAF 922 which is a smaller version of the 932 with dust filters, but tends to be a little more restrictive in cooling.

 

[Idlewild]

^^ solid choices with smaller widths, which I am not sure is a good thing since it seems like it would get a little cramped in there, but to each their own. The HAF 922 is actually an inch wider than the HAF 932, although shorter.

The Storm Sniper and it's little brother the Storm Scout are cases to consider, but they are both a little wider as well.