Best ~$60 Case - thinking Sentey

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Any of these will easily fit your components.
The sentey case which you mentioned is also a great cabinet and will most probably fit everything

Haha I think that was me.

Besides the point, if you're building a ~$1300 rig then why are you throwing in a GTX 460 768MB? For $5-$10 more you can get a 6850 from MSI or Gigabyte.

The issue with rear facing bays (the Antec 300) is that if you do put in larger GPUs, you run the risk of blocking bays.

Sorry to do this to you but you also might want to consider the Lian Li K59.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://www.lancoolpc.com/en/product/product06.php?pr_in...
It has all the same features as the Sentey Plus a few like USB 3, a removable hard drive cage, more space behind the backplate...

With the removal hard drive cage you don't have to worry about fitting a card of any size.

To answer your question, the Sentey should fit the 460 and the CPU cooler.

@Bullwinkel - yes I think that was you! That's pretty funny. I like your recommendations for cases. That Lian Li just took driver's seat in my selection if it drops back down to $80 before I purchase mobo, cpu, gpu and CPU cooler. Going to wait for a SB price drop after Bulldozer is released - if BD doesn't wind up spanking SB. Other that I've already purchased everything else! I'm going with NVidea strictly because I will not be doing any gaming (except D3 when it comes out) and am building this solely for Photoshop CS5 (plus office work). They seem to work better with NVidea cards and GTX 460 seems to get me the best bang/buck since I don't absolutely NEED discrete graphics anyway. If I do any minor video editing later the CUDA support will come in handy also.

Build:
XFX core edition 650W semi-modular PSU
Corsair XMS3 4GB DDR3 1600 RAM (will upgrade to 8GB later - $)
120GB SSD if prices drop more by BD Release
Samsung F3 Spinpoint 1TB (plus a 1TB Caviar Green external USB 3.0 enclosure for backups)
LG WH10LS30 Bluray Burner
perhaps another old DVDRW. Don't remember if it has SATA - haha
Still have to buy:
i5 2500K - OC to 4.0
ASUS P8P67 (not pro - save $ because I probably wont SLI or Crossfire)
Hyper 212+ CPU Cooler
GTX 460 768MB or 1GB
The perfect case per Bullwinkel's suggestions

@ Ati Radeon - I like those cases but they're just not going to be the best picks, unfortunately. I've been thinking that HAF 912 would be a good bare-minimum

The Lian Li case was down to $80 at one point? I thought it was always at $90 with free shipping.

Looking at your build I saw you had the XFX core edition 650W semi-modular PSU. How has that treated you thus far? I don't know how well XFX PSU quality goes but I do know you pretty much can't go wrong with Antec, Corsair, or Seasonic. What would be your recommendation on the XFX mentioned or a Corsair TX 650?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submi...|17-139-020^17-139-020-TS%2C17-207-007^17-207-007-TS%2C17-207-014^17-207-014-TS

I can't tell which XFX you had so I put both of those in there.

For a $1300 build, get the case you want!!! If you get anything else, you will forever be kicking yourself. Most cases will function as intended. The case is one of those things you will see and touch every day. Only if you are on a very cheap budget should you sacrifice by not getting a case you are excited about.

I would not expect to see a price drop on sandy bridge after the bulldozer launch. I think many gamers who are waiting on bulldozer will be disappoinged in the per core capabilities compared to SB. I think the many(6+) core users will get a fair value.

I don't think he could go wrong with the Lian Li or the Sentey mentioned. If he saves $50 on a case, why not put the savings to a better SSD? I personally don't see the point in buying a case in the $100+ range unless your budget has no limit.
He has a budget of $1300 obviously. So if he does go out and buy the most extravagant well built case he can find, he'll be kicking himself because he'll have to cut back on other more important parts (SSD or mother board).

@Bullwinkel - The XFX is actually a re-branded Seasonic PSU. It actually got an excellent rating here (sorry - I made a mistake. The XXX Edition is the one I got and is reviewed. I'm not sure about the other two you linked). But I haven't actually been able to test it yet since I haven't finished getting all my parts. I bought this several months ago when the XXX edition P1-650X-CAG9 had a $30 MIR + a $10 promo, taking the price down to $50! It's only 80+ bronze but with the excellent reviews on that website, I'm feeling pretty confident with it.

@geofelt - I hear ya! But I am obviously being a penny pincher here to get all that I want out of this build - IE: waiting for sales, etc. Your point is valid in getting a good case because I plan to use it for upgrades in future builds. However, I am more in agreement with Bullwinkel in that $100+ can't be justified. I'd rather get an SSD. So I'm scrounging for the best case I can get <$100 which is right now between the Sentey Optimus at $60 + $15 shipping & the Lian Li K59W on sale for $80 + $10 shipping =/ The Lian Li looks like a MUCH better case but it lacks the fan controller and card reader in the Sentey.

I like the HAF 912 personally. Hard to beat in that price range. I don't agree that skimping on a case is a good idea unless its a low budget build. Of course if gaming is not a concern, you wouldn't have to get something with the greatest air flow.

My only regret about my Phantom purchase is that there is no front USB 3.0. I'll have to add a bay device, mainly want this for thumb drive access.

According to the recent article on toms, all XFX power supplies are seasonics:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/power-supply-oem-ma...

But certainly the XXX series are good power supplies.

95% of PSU's are manufactured by an OEM like Seasonic or another vendor ..... only a very small % of PSU's are built by the name on the box. The term "rebranded" however only applies where the OEM sells and exact same unit w/ a different label.....the Corsair H50 / H70 is a good example of rebranded Asetec coolers. On the other hand, while Asetek makes the units sold by Antec (620 / 920) these are not "rebranded" .... Asetek does not sell a version of the 620 / 920.


Enermax, SevenTeam and Seasonic are the best known of the PSU manufacturers who make their own units. Just about anyone else you heard of buys from an OEM.

Antec's premium lines are made by Delta with the next tier down made by Seasonic. That doesn't mean that you can buy a Delta PSU or that Seasonic makes an equivalent model.

Contrary to the oft posted claim that because a certain OEM makes a certain PSU, it must accordingly be good or bad ..... it is noted that Corsair's larger PSU's out of their 1st tier HX line and 2nd tier TX line are made by Channelwell (750/850/1000) with Seasonic making the smaller ones (HX and TX 450/520/550/650). Is the HX650 better than the TX650 ? .... yup but Seasonic made both.....IS the HX750 better than the TX750 ? .... yup but Channelwell made both.

So a correction should be - XFX XXX Edition 650 is made by Seasonic and it gets good reviews: here.

Just an additional suggestion - Since you linked to Newegg I assume you are in the USA. If you live near a Microcenter, they should have the Sentey for $10 less than Newegg (with tax but obviously no shipping) and they may even have a display model out so you can see if you like the build and feel of it.

No microcenters in Washington (Or Oregon - I've looked ;0) but I appreciate the tip. That is very good advice for someone in the U.S.

Any tips on your particular recommended case in the $50 - $90 price range?