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Full Tower Case Recommendations?

B

Bisectors Fore

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 24, 2008
Messages
480
I am planning to build a new gaming system around one of the yet unreleased Intel core i7 CPUs/motherboards. I will be using a full tower case for roominess, expandibility, cooling, etc. I am looking for recommendations of good brands and/or individual cases that have good no-frills quality and a reasonable price (Edit: $300 at the very most unless there is an outstanding reason to pay more) . I will most likely be ordering from newegg.com. Thanks!
 
Define reasonable cost. I found $350 (w/ shipping) reasonable for my Silverstone TJ09. A TJ10 or TJ07 are nice too, but still quite pricey. Whats the max you want to spend on the case?

As far as brands:
Silverstone
Antec
Thermaltake
Lian-Li
Coolermaster

There are more, those are just what come to mind ATM.
 
I've got a Antec 1200 and it's wonderful. The only con I find is that the window isn't too good looking.
 
Bisectors Fore said:
I will most likely be ordering from newegg.com. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Don't tie yourself to just newegg if you want the best deal as well as great service. Newegg has matured into the second largest online etailer in the country but do not always offer the best price and others offer superb service too. I have bought from newegg since they started and have never had a problem worth mentioning, and still do buy from them. The reason I started shopping at newegg way back when was lowest price plus great service but now days newegg does not always have the lowest price. Even newegg's sister site, chiefvalue.com,sometimes is less expensive than newegg. In the last 3 months alone I saved around $150 =/+ a few bucks by not tying myself to newegg. Use resellerratings.com and check out the competition. I have read good things about lagoom.com in several forums so it was time to see for myself. Anyway IMHO it is a good idea to checkout different reputable places instead of just one if you want to get the best price. Does newegg still give you free stuff if you give them a good rating at resellerratings.com and email customer service at newegg and tell them about it? All my free newegg t-shirts are worn out!

Newegg special and coupon prices are tough to beat most of the time.

I just clicked the order button on a Lian-Li PC-A70B at lagoom.com. I had been looking for about a month and a half. The Antec Twelve Hundred (best price I found is at newegg $164.99 - promo code "SAVE20CASE" = $140 until 10-15-08 plus free shipping) and Cool Master HAF 932 were also on my shortlist. Also looked at the PC-A7010 but it was pricier but has precut cable management holes in the motherboard tray and an esata port and SATA HDD Raid HDD cage.

Finally decided at the last minute that I would be happier foregoing the Speed Racer look and something a bit classier was in order. I know how to use a screwdriver and did not want to deal with plastic tool less "features".

lagoom.com had the best price I could find $196.43 less $5 coupon code - CODE$5LA or PROMO$5 - (either, not both - I tried!) + $15.26 FedEx Shipping + $1.50 insurance came to $208.19. lagoom actually lets you choose between FedEx or UPS! My first order from lagoom.com. resellerratings.com lists them with a 9.48 rating so I do not see anything to be concerned about. I will be adding my experience at resellerrating.com after my order is in my possession. Got my order confirmation email in a couple of minutes.

For the PC-A70B newegg wanted $220 + $27 shipping. mwave was $205 and $15.49 shipping. coolerguys.com (they also own pctoys.com and coolpc.com) wanted $210 plus $16 shipping plus $19 sales tax since I live in WA State. zipzoomfly.com does not list any Lian-Li cases.

PC-A7010B @ lagoom $268 plus $20 S/h to WA State.
PC-A7010B @ newegg $329 plus $30 S/h to WA State.
 
I really like the CoolerMaster HAF-932.
I just used it in my recent build a couple weeks ago.

Several reviews on the web now, including the one linked on front page of [H].
 
The Coolermaster Stacker 810 is my personal favourite full-tower case. It's roomy, unobstructed, and has room for fantastic cooling. It's also pretty clean, so it would be quite easy to mod should you want to do anything with it.
 
The HAF is appealing, but with all that openness I can't imagine how loud it can get [vs. say, a closed case with some insulation.]
 
Talking about HD vibration/noise, video card fan noise.. stuff that's hard to control. Don't think you can find alternatives to the 2 230mms either. For $150, pretty good
 
Well you have the Cooler Master ATC-840 coming out sometime in November which looks absolutely stunning. Another case which I think looks great is the Silverstone FT01, it's a standard ATX case but has excellent cooling potential!
 
Talking about HD vibration/noise, video card fan noise.. stuff that's hard to control. Don't think you can find alternatives to the 2 230mms either. For $150, pretty good
Click to expand...

I was checking out the reviews for the HAF and it appears that all of the 230's can be replaced with multiple 120's. I.E. the side door has mounts for !4! 120's, the top has mount options for 3 120's. There's also room for 2 on the bottom. I'm really, really considering picking up this case to replace my TT Armor, the HAF looks like a Water Coolers dream.
 
Bestbuy Rocketfish. I love mine...excellent cooling and its freakin huge. Very good looking case too. It's built by Lian Li so you know it's quality
 
Bisectors Fore said:
I will be using a full tower case for roominess
Click to expand...
Add E-ATX motherboard support to checklist, that makes sure there's space for long graphic cards without blocking any device bays.

If quietness isn't required that much and you like configurable all 5.25" design Coolermaster Stacker 810 and Lian Li A77 would be good options.
A77 comes with HDD cages with good soft mounting and has one usable 5.25" bay more with space for 9HDDs, but Stacker 810 again has lot of space above motherboard.

From "normal" layout cases I wouldn't myself even consider Coolermaster HAF 932 because of noisy design with lot of holes but ATCS-840 would be very interesting if I hadn't got Lian Li.

flylow said:
I just clicked the order button on a Lian-Li PC-A70B at lagoom.com...
Also looked at the PC-A7010 but it was pricier but has precut cable management holes in the motherboard tray and an esata port and SATA HDD Raid HDD cage.
Click to expand...
A7x10 is mostly identical to A7x so they should use mostly same parts now.
A71B I got few weeks ago has motherboard tray similar to one in A7x10 models. (assembly date 5th of May)
Haven't finished built yet because I'll also get new components while at it but A71 seems to be excellent case for silencing with lot of space for expansion cards and lot of device bays. (A7110's HDD mounting isn't soft and door has holes in front so it's not acoustically as good)
Without special silencing needs A70 would be otherwise similar but without door.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone. I should add that I will not be doing any overclocking/modding in this case. More advice is welcome! Please specify the brandname and model of your reccomendation, as I am a relative n00b to computer hardware.
 
good taste flylow!! I just ordered a LIAN LI PC-A70A from newegg yesterday for $219.99. I looked at several other full towers but liked a70a from LIAN LI the best. It is very roomy and it lookes to be modular in the interior layout.
 
fatboy32 said:
good taste flylow!! I just ordered a LIAN LI PC-A70A from newegg yesterday for $219.99. I looked at several other full towers but liked a70a from LIAN LI the best. It is very roomy and it lookes to be modular in the interior layout.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I had been watching newegg price on the A70B for awhile but so many other vendors are selling it for less. IMHO newegg sticks it to us on shipping some of the time. I had to force myself out of thinking that ordering from newegg was worth paying extra.

My A80B is FedEx's possession now and on it's way to WA State. A couple less emails from Lagoom than newegg and Lagoom only finalizes processing between 10:00AM to 6:00PM. If I had not decided to buy from Lagoom then mwave would have got my order based on cost. mwave is really good. I really have trouble these days buying from newegg unless they are within a couple dollars of the competition. I doubt if newegg does anymore than to stick a shipping label on the factory box and load it in a FedEx provided trailer so I cannot understand why they are so pricey on the S/H compare to the competition especially with the economy the way is. Shop around, money that you save is tax free! If I lived in California or one of the other states that newegg charges sales tax in I probably would hardly ever buy from newegg.
 
E.T said:
AA71B I got few weeks ago has motherboard tray similar to one in A7x10 models. (assembly date 5th of May)

Without special silencing needs A70 would be otherwise similar but without door.
Click to expand...

It would be nice if my A70B ships with a A7010 type tray for somewhat easier cable management. If it does I might buy a windowed door next month if I can convince myself the plexiglass will not end up scratched up. If not that is okay too. I have never replaced the motherboard or cooler more than twice in one year so I can easily live without the access hole behind the processor for the heatsink bracket. The door, IMHO, just ends up in the way for many people. Every computer with a door I have personally used, seen or built for others always has the door half open, broken by little kids or removed.

This will be my first experience with a Lian-Li case. I keep reading that pictures do not do them justice and how great they look in person. But I do understand they are easily scratched and show fingerprints.
 
Hey, I have a n00b question here. If the specs for a case say motherboard compatibility is extended ATX only, does that mean that you CANNOT use a standard ATX mobo?
 
Bisectors Fore said:
Hey, I have a n00b question here. If the specs for a case say motherboard compatibility is extended ATX only, does that mean that you CANNOT use a standard ATX mobo?
Click to expand...
E-ATX is just extension to ATX and every E-ATX case takes normal ATX mobo.
Primarily it means nice space for long graphic cards and for working:
http://lian-li.com/v2/tw/product/upload/image/A70/detail.jpg


flylow said:
I have never replaced the motherboard or cooler more than twice in one year so I can easily live without the access hole behind the processor for the heatsink bracket. The door, IMHO, just ends up in the way for many people. Every computer with a door I have personally used, seen or built for others always has the door half open, broken by little kids or removed.
Click to expand...
At the moment CM HAF and ATCS-840 are probably only cases with hole for changing CPU HSF's support plate. Tray in Lian Li has just separate narrow holes/ slots so you can't change that backplate. (so I'll cut that hole myself)
Door (even plastic one) is best way for muffling noise from optical drives and it also prevents noise of components from escaping directly from case. A71's door is that strong that if it doesn't stay in one part then in general you'll need steel case, not sheet case.
I wasn't much fan of full height door because of often using headphones connected to X-Fi's I/O-panel but A71's door leaves enough gap between side of door and case's front to get cable out through it when door is closed.

I keep reading that pictures do not do them justice and how great they look in person. But I do understand they are easily scratched and show fingerprints.
Click to expand...
Try to find plastic parts from Lian Li... nearly every part is made from same metal alloy. Also A71 I got has additional screw holes for fixing HDD cage so that it's possible to have their cables on left side removing need to open both side panels (in default position cables are hidden behind HDDs) when adding/removing them, not much that kind details in other cases. Other example is that while A71/7110's door is heavy so front is attached by four screws but in A70/7010 front panel is kept on its place by spring loaded clips so cleaning air filters is very fast in them. (was expecting plastic but found out that even filter frame is metal)
Side panels just feel flimsy because of light weight so in certain sense that's minus but you can't get 5kg lighter weight than similar steel cases for free.
Anodized surface shows fingerprints well just like certain paints. And neither is powder coating paint scratch resistant, DLC-coating woudn't be bad thing...
 
E.T said:
Also A71 I got has additional screw holes for fixing HDD cage so that it's possible to have their cables on left side removing need to open both side panels (in default position cables are hidden behind HDDs) when adding/removing them, not much that kind details in other cases.
Click to expand...

The A70 HDD cage can be reoriented too. Lian-Li's website shows the A7x10 series as having an included fan control, I like the look of a bay controller better but for those with doors the included fan controller might work out better, no knobs that prevent the door from closing. It would be nice to see some pics of the currently shipping A70B cases. Newegg is still using the old pics. I figured I would get whats pictured at newegg when I clicked on the order button so if I do not get the updated new stock I will still be happy. Lian-Li's website offers no info or pics that show any updated specs or pics for the A70/A71 cases. Almost need a translator to understand some of their English translation. Their English is a heck of a lot better than my Chinese I learned watching Bonanza (first run) as a kid though. Lian-Li has their own forum now, looks as if the one at hexus.net is gone. Lian-Li's forum is pretty deserted, full of SPAM, lacks decent moderation and offers no worthwhile product support.

It took more time researching cases (only went $47 over budget on my case) then it did for everything else for my newest build. Will be nice to get my parts in a case, bench tested for a full month now. ;) I have a feeling choosing a new monitor is going to be as long of a proceess as picking a case was. Good thing I am not in a hurry!
 
flylow said:
Lian-Li's website shows the A7x10 series as having an included fan control, I like the look of a bay controller better but for those with doors the included fan controller might work out better, no knobs that prevent the door from closing.
Click to expand...
Hole for that fan controller switch is also in front frame of my A71.
There's fair 2cm of space behind door (seems to be same in all Lian Lis) so you can fit quite big knobs to there and small lever switches of some fan controllers should also fit.

It would be nice to see some pics of the currently shipping A70B cases. Newegg is still using the old pics. I figured I would get whats pictured at newegg when I clicked on the order button so if I do not get the updated new stock I will still be happy. Lian-Li's website offers no info or pics that show any updated specs or pics for the A70/A71 cases. Almost need a translator to understand some of their English translation.
Click to expand...
Common parts of my fifth of May assembled A71 seems to have all "new" features of A7x10 serie I've seen in review pics of those so I'll try to take few pics tomorrow now that I haven't yet started covering every free spot by damping mat.
Lian Li's product pages don't actually show all pics for every case. Just grab address of one image and remove file name from URL and you'll have folder open with all pics.
I noticed lot of language errors but I don't find text hard to read at all... compared to some texts I've seen in various forums during years. Structurally entirely different native language might also help in "decoding" flawed English texts.
I have a feeling choosing a new monitor is going to be as long of a proceess as picking a case was. Good thing I am not in a hurry!
Click to expand...
After good CRTs IPS is only really good (at least mostly) LCD type.
 
Hey everyone. I was about to make a thread asking almost the same question, but I saw this one!

I'm looking for a full-sized tower case, with the condition that the front be minimal. I like that Lian-Li one posted above, and I've always been partial to the Coolermaster Stacker 810. Can anyone recommend any more similar cases?
 
E.T said:
Common parts of my fifth of May assembled A71 seems to have all "new" features of A7x10 serie I've seen in review pics of those so I'll try to take few pics tomorrow now that I haven't yet started covering every free spot by damping mat.
.
Click to expand...

Don't take pics just for me, I'll have my A80 on Wednesday. I, of course, do not know the assembly date so I may or may not get the updated features.

I am curious if your case has the newer and better power supply support as shown in http://lian-li.com/v2/tw/product/upload/image/A77/a77t07.jpg

Thanks for the great info!

djBon2112 said:
I like that Lian-Li one posted above, and I've always been partial to the Coolermaster Stacker 810. Can anyone recommend any more similar cases?
Click to expand...

New Cool Master ATCS 840 is one that would have been on my shortlist but the official launch date is not until 11/25 and I needed a case last month. Looks as though it probably will be pricier than the A80/A81 Lian-Li cases. My budget was under $150 so I did pretty good for me ending up with an A80 for $191 plus shipping...

http://forum.coolermaster.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10923&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

If you live in the US your local BestBuy might have a Rocketfish left. Built by Lian-Li and on closeout for quite awhile but pretty scarce at the present. No longer available online. Great deal if you can find one.

www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=179487&highlight=rocketfish
 
E.T said:
Looks like A77 has need of drill for removing rivets of that airflow blocking mesh...

There's just no use for such mesh in there:
.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the pics!

Looks like the A7010 still offers a sturdier support for the power supply than the A70b.
According to Lian-Li's website that is a pic of the the A7010. The same as the A77 so they used the same pic.

http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/produc...ex=215&cl_index=1&sc_index=25&ss_index=61&g=t

Same support for the a7010 is shown at: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowI...tion=LIAN LI PC-A7010B Computer Case - Retail

IMHO the power supply support is a lot stronger on the A7010 than the A70 but newegg wants an additional $110 for the A7010.

Lagoom is selling the A7110B for $267 (less $5 coupon code) plus $18 shipping (to WA State), newegg is charging $330 plus $30 S/H. newegg can be very expensive on some things.

Lagoom is based in Fremont CA (near San Francisco) but my case shipped from City of Industry down by Los Angeles. I would like to be a newegg fanboy and order everything from just one etailer like so many other Americans do but I would rather not pay more $ than I have to. I can still get a few gallons of gas, a bag of groceries or party for $80.

Only a day and a half until my A70 is delivered, I hope FedEx does not damage it. I always feel like a kid on Christmas Eve when I order computer parts. Finally replacing my old $99 newegg refurbed Chieftec full tower (same as Antec 1240). Talk about built like a tank, you can sit on those old Antec/Chieftec/Chenming cases if you wanted too and they don't notice.
 
flylow said:
IMHO the power supply support is a lot stronger on the A7010 than the A70 but newegg wants an additional $110 for the A7010.
Click to expand...
PSU doesn't need that much more support, especially at cost of introducing lot of airflow impedance for PSU's fan.

Also A7x10's HDD mounting is acoustically much worser, giving both danger of loose rattling parts and not doing really anything to stop vibration:
http://www.3dgameman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53098
(and door of A7110 doesn't anymore block direct noise escape path well)
 
E.T said:
PSU doesn't need that much more support, especially at cost of introducing lot of airflow impedance for PSU's fan.

Also A7x10's HDD mounting is acoustically much worser, giving both danger of loose rattling parts and not doing really anything to stop vibration:
http://www.3dgameman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53098
(and door of A7110 doesn't anymore block direct noise escape path well)
Click to expand...

I am not very noise sensitive, living closer to I-5 than I prefer definitely has desensitized me quite a bit to minor things like fan noise. So as long as the case doesn't rattle, creak, moan or emit some strange annoying echo. whining sound or cause the dogs to bark at Hoodoos all should be okay. Some fan noise is actually welcomed as it drowns out a lot of the traffic noise in the summer when the window is open. Traffic noise is definitely much worse than fan noise.


After several days of liquid sunshine it appears that strange glowing orb might appear again. The rest of the world, I think, calls it the Sun. Here in Western Washington State it is seen so seldom people often drop to the ground and start praying when it appears. ;)
 
Road nearby definitely creates more than enough noise to drown noise of quiet computer... "collection of holes" noisy design cases would probably also do without problems.
Better just to use headphones when listening music.
Last year in August I was week in Moscow and hotel was apparently near one of the ring roads and smoke of traffic was even better reason than noise for keeping window closed during day.

Try visiting Alaska around winter solstice... there people probably wouldn't even notice if sun stayed couple days behind clouds. (unless weather there is much less cloudy than typical late autumn/early winter here in Finland)
 
I spent several years back in SE Wisconsin about an hour from Chicago. The mosquitoes, humidity and thunderstorms pretty much ruined the summers. Winters were way too cold and dreary that it just seemed desolate. I was quite happy to get back to Western Washington State. Even with all the rain we get here it seems to me that the number of outdoor shirt sleeve days per year are the same. I did not care for the rust belt at all. I did notice that back there moss only grows on the north side of trees though. I do not know why anyone would live there if they did not have to.

My A80 should be delivered tomorrow. Still poking around online and I have not found another case that suits my needs/wants that comes close to the A80B. Will undoubtedly be the highpoint of my week. Hmmm, I really need to look into getting a life...
 
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