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Help me pick a case >.<

J

Jackyl

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 15, 2005
Messages
174
I've been trying to make up my mind on a new case for like a week. I need some help!

My price range is up to $200~ or so. It will be housing an AMD San Diego 3700+ system(with Thermalright XP120 & a panaflow fan) on an Asus A8N SLI Deluxe board along with an eVGA 7800GT CO card (will add another for SLI down the road). It will have a couple optical drives and a 10k rpm boot drive along with 1 or 2 7800rpm drives. Finally it will be powered by a PCP&C T51SLI (the 510watt SLI version).

So now that you have an idea of the kind of heat being generated (or will be generated once the second 7800gt is added for SLI), what would be a nice case to house it all? I do plan to overclock the cpu and the video card a bit. So I think good cooling is the top priority. Next would probably be a roomy case for easy installation. Last would be looks. Still, a good looking case would be a plus :)

I've been looking from really cheap cases ($30~50) that have dual 120mm fans (for intake and exhaust) to some higher end ones such as the P150/160/180, VB1000, etc.

One part of me is saying I should invest in a nice case that I can reuse for future machines, and the other part of me is saying I should get a cheap case and save those extra bucks to save up for the second 7800gt card. Any input/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! :D
 
You don't have to break the bank. I've got the Antec SLK3000B for my second "uberquiet" machine, and it is a great case. Set the rear fan to medium-speed, put another 120mm fan of your choice at the front for intake (I've got one of these), and you'll have a well-ventilated case. The side VGA vent will let your 7800s breathe better, and the CPU duct allows you to direct fresh air straight into the XP-120.

By the way it is a Thermalright XP-120, not Thermaltake. Avoid confusing the two. ;)
 
Grab a Lian-Li if you're willing to invest. I wouldn't trade my PC-61 for anything.
 
Let me tell you my friend lian li and then antec recommended to you are great i have own lain li's and antec i find them both great. They each have there pros and cons mind you.
 
I second the Antec recommendation for your specifications. I have the older model of that case, no side ducts, and it's a pewter color (which I prefer to black IMO, less fingerprints) but my roomate just got the new 3000B and it's even better now.

CANNOT be beaten at the price, not by anything out there that I've found. I'd recommend some dampening material inside the edge of the front bezel (foam from packaging + xacto = you're good) because it seems to vibrate sometimes which is about the only complaint I have with the case. Mine is two years old, and has been moved a lot though. I replaced the fans with Vantec Stealths, pretty quiet and pretty cool. We're not going to talk about my temps, as I'm in a room between the hot water and heating systems for the other three units on this side of the building, but my roomate's AXP-M cannot be made to go any higher than 42 degrees under full, prolonged load with an XP-120 on there (at 2.4+ ghz)

LiLis are just too expensive for what I want a case to do, that being, hold the PC and keep it cool. I just keep getting Antecs because I get great deals on them. I'm not a huge fan of their PSUs these days, though, PC&P's Silencer line is pretty cheap, and a much better buy for the money. For just a case, though, the Antec is hard to beat.
 
Well he said his price range is ~$200, these would be my recomendations:
Lian-Li V1200
SilverStone TJ-06B
Antec P180
Lian Li PC-75

The Lian-Li V1200 has a lot of room and good cooling (might need to be modded to fit an XP-120 though, a small cut though). The SilverStone TJ-06B is a really nice case, housing 2 120MMs and an 80MM, and also has that air duct. The P180 Has a good amount of 120MM fans and is great if you don't want a noisey computer. The PC-75 is basically a bigger version of the PC-60, and has lots of room.

On your decision of saving for a second 7800GT or getting a nice case, I would really spend money on a nice case, I cheaped out on my case too and ended up regretting it. A 7800GT can handle itself for a while, I would say you'd be better off with a good case ;)
 
Finally made my decision and just placed the order. Cooler Master Stacker 810 :D

Got the black version from sundialmicro.com. Should be here on friday!
 
Jackyl said:
Finally made my decision and just placed the order. Cooler Master Stacker 810 :D

Got the black version from sundialmicro.com. Should be here on friday!
Click to expand...

good choice :p
 
chrisf6969 said:
my favs are:

Thermaltake Tsunami - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811133132 - very quiet, just helped a friend build a PC in one of these and I liked it a lot.
&
Lian-Li PC60B-Plus - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811112078

edit: just noticed you already bought the Cooler Master Stacker 810. Do you really need that much drive space?!!?
Click to expand...

initially? no. it will house my gaming computer which won't have that many drives. but i do like a roomy case and this one seems to have a lot of airflow which I wanted. Also, i might convert it into a server case with 12+ drives a few years down the road :)
 
chrisf6969 said:
Thermaltake Tsunami - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811133132 - very quiet, just helped a friend build a PC in one of these and I liked it a lot.
Click to expand...
Seriously? I thought it was very noisy... with quiet components inside. The side 92mm fan produces the most noise (the grille is the source), and the restrictive front vents don't help either. I seriously didn't like working in that case... very cramped, very flimsy, and not very pleasant.
 
UPS delivers!

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oh, and i threw the 7800's in for fun :D

one of those will be going back to zip zoom fly (idiots sent me the wrong model).
 
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