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Best case for this gear?

djiddish98

n00b
Joined
May 7, 2006
Messages
21
Hey everyone, I'm looking for the best case within a reasonable price range for the following gear. Here are the constrains: The case needs to be sub $200, needs to be a full tower with plenty of room for expansion.

Originally, I selected the Stacker 810, but then I've recently thought about the Thermaltake Armor VA8000BS but have questioned that decision due to the somewhat useless front flaps. I haven't really considered any other options so please give me your opinions.

2X Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3500630AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

EVGA 640-P2-N821-AR GeForce 8800GTS 640MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with 12X DVD-RAM write and LightScribe Technology Black E-IDE/ATAPI Model LH-20A1H-185 - OEM

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600 - Retail

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400PHU2-2GBHZ - Retail

Tuniq Tower 120 P4 & K8 CPU Cooler - Retail

GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 (rev. 3.3) LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail - From ClubIT
 
a large number of the lian li cases will fall into your price range and size needs...
 
At the end of the day, just about any case that holds an ATX board works, what you have to do is ask yourself what are you looking for? Do you want a door on the front or will you stealth your drives? Do you want pretty or functional? Silver or Black?

Cases are about personal choice and opinion more than any other part of the PC because you what is bad for one person, is good for another.

For me, I'm getting a Lian Li PC-A05 because I needed a short case that took a full ATX board. Your needs might be totally different :)
 
Yeah my basic constaints are that:

it needs to be huge (I want a full tower because of cooling & space),
not over 200 bones,
needs to fit the tuniq tower or similar massive cpu cooler,
and should be relatively easy to work with.

So given that scenario I think the field is narrowed down a bit, but the only cases I've really taken a look at are the thermaltake and the CM stacker 810, so I was mainly wondering if there are any recommendations from the case experts out there that fit into the above categories.

Certainly design will have an impact, but it really won't have that big of one. I personally care a lot more about functionality than about things like front doors, side windows, neon lights, etc.
 
To get back to the point and the question you asked...

As a Stacker owner, I'd go with the stacker.
I really researched my stc 9original stacker) it may only have one exhaust, but it has more options if you look into it.

I liked the armor, but when it came down to it, the stacker is so sturdy, i can literally stand ontop of it... i weigh 156lbs before anyone asks..
 
Considering the money that you're laying out for the components, I think a Stacker would be a great idea. A budget build goes into a budget case. A high-performance build like yours deserves nothing less then a quality case. Stacker, or even look into the LL's. I'm too cheap to spend more then 70 bucks on a case, though. :eek:

[Off Topic] The only other thing I have to say is...why not switch over to a SATA DVD burner rather than IDE? With all those components, I'm sure you're gonna be wanting primo cable management, which SATA offers. Even round IDE's look a bit ugly compared to the SATA cables. :p
 
Chieftec makes some nice full towers - not too bling-y. Check out the Chieftec gallery.

I just wish they were easier to find.

DE
 
I strongly recommend the Antec P180 (silver) or the P180b (black):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129017

It doesnt have a window like most other cases, but I think that is what makes it stand out, its simple design. If you wanted a windowed version, you can get one here:

http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...e=product_info&cPath=103_162&products_id=4623

I got my windowed P180 from KustomPCs as I live in the UK.

I think the p180 is the best designed case in my opinion, with the seperated chambers and excellent airflow you wont get better temps with the little amount of noise the case makes.
 
Hey djiddish98,

I don't have much experience with full tower cases (most of my builds have been SFF or mid-tower), but my favorite full-tower case has to be the Gigabyte Aurora 570 (Link to Newegg). It's huge, has a lot of room for expansion, and looks very sleek. I'm not sure what kind of cooling you're going with (besides the Tuniq), but it comes with a couple of 120mm fans that are pretty quiet but don't push much air around. Also, it comes with a replacement, clear side window instead of the mesh one.

Again, my argument's pretty one-sided here, but I love this case. I'm sure the cases others have recommended are awesome too.
 
Thanks a lot for the comments guys, I'll have to take a look into the P180 and other thermaltake cases. I've actually been checking out reviews of cases on google.com/video. This one guy posts a review of about every major case out there, it helps for actually getting a feel for the design.

Right now i'm sorta leaning towards getting the stacker 830, mostly because it looks like it's really easy to manage. With more time spent looking at those reviews, I've found that the removable motherboard tray looks like a very convenient thing to have.

Anyway, thanks again for some recommendations, keep em coming if you've got more.

Side Note: The IDE optical was a complete mistake/mistype, it has since been replaced in my build w/ a sata.
 
P180 or Stacker... as my first recommendations

Any LiLi or Silverstone midtower that fits the GTS (Most do, there are some restrictions though) are a great choice.
 
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