Kinda Curious? How long do your case's last?

Snappshoota

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jun 8, 2005
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How long do you guys keep the same case?

I was sitting here looking at my ancient Antec Superlan boy (missing: both panels, 120mm fan in the front, couple bay covers) , that Ive had for almost 7 years now, and its been through 8 different builds, and got me thinking.

What is the normal lifespan of a case?, or does everyone just go by a when its broke, Ill replace it.
 
Till whenever you get the upgrade itch
sFun_mischieviousbig.gif
 
A case can last as long as you want it to last. By the way, that mischievous smiley face is great. Throughout all the changes, I've only had one computer to work with.

CM WaveMaster (Socket 754 ATX) for 4 years
Antec P180 (Socket 775 ATX) for 15 months
ABS Black Pearl (Socket 775 ATX) for 7 months
Lian Li A05NB (Socket 775 ATX) for about 2 weeks until I had to RMA the motherboard from the previous two builds - went to brother eventually
Lian Li A05NB (Socket 1366 mATX) for 2 months
Lian Li PC-Q08B (Socket 1156 mITX) for 1.5 months
Lian Li PC-Q11B (Socket 1156 mITX) for about 1 week now (hopefully this is the last time)
 
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I had my old Chieftec (antec clone) for 7 years till I passed it down to my son last January. It housed 5 different systems and was completely torn apart(rivets drilled out and down to bare panels) for custom paint twice. I still love it but it just didn't have the airflow I needed for my last build.
 
So far, I always bought the cheapest no-brand suitable case I can find for each new rig.
I am not a gamer, so I leave them virtually unchanged for 4-7 years, I kept only one as file server.

That's funny, I just realized my 3 last PCs were built in 3 different countries.
My Win7 machine is almost 4yo, built when the expensive power hog Nvidia 8800GTX just released (with barely adequate Vista drivers) and I plan to build a new one next year, when the SSD market will be more mature.
 
its gotta be almost 7 years on my current case, an old thermaltake xaser 3. its had 3 different full builds in it, and numerous parts swaps over the years. but, its getting old and its time for a change. the case is kind of noisy, cable management is non existent (i honestly dont care about this much, as i dont show it off i just like having nice smooth airflow) and i have a fan thats going out. oh, right, and i stripped out 2 or 3 binding posts.

anyways, im looking at picking up a silverstone ft-02 some time. kind of aiming for a 150 + shipping or less price point.
 
My trusty Centurion 5 I got in early 2005 lasted me until I picked up the A05NB. So it did me well for about five years and I don't miss it at all. :p
 
I've still got every case I've ever owned, right down to an old 386 tower that I'm planning to retrofit/mod in the near future. All of them are in fairly good shape, and could be used if I had the need.

Generally though, I get a new case whenever I switch platforms (939 to 775, 775 to 1366 etc). I figure, if everything on the inside is getting replaced, why not replace the case and complete the "New Toy" feel? So as long as I'm still just upgrading a build, the case stays the same (for my main rig anyway).
 
I've been using my Cube server case for the past 6 years and will continue to use it as long as I can.
I paid $230 just for the case, no PSU or Fans.
cube-drives.jpg
 
I guess it depends on what type of case you buy. Is it mostly metal and durable, or maybe one with a lot of plastic that can break over time. I like the case I currently have. Its a CoolerMaster 830 SE in black. Its HUGE! Ive had it for about two years now and I can see this thing lasting 10 more years, and it still would be in good shape.

Of course, I have had my eye on newer cases since then. When I find one I really like, then I will change it out.
 
I think it entirely depends on how much time you spend on forums and build threads. It's the kid in a candy store affect. We see something new and want it even though what we currently have works just fine.
 
I think it entirely depends on how much time you spend on forums and build threads. It's the kid in a candy store affect. We see something new and want it even though what we currently have works just fine.

Yeah, I partially blame being a member of this forum as part of the changes. Going through 5 cases in a year (two of them the same case and 3 of them within 3 months is not what I normally do).
 
Several months at least. I've had my Tagan Black Pearl for two years now. I am getting the upgrade itch, I really want a Lian-Li PC-A20.
 
Until it breaks somehow... or I upgrade to a new system while keeping the old one.

I still have this old-ass Chieftec tower running a full ATX Q6600 server with ~10TB in it. Great case. Weighs about a ton.
 
I had a Chieftech Dragon from Jr. high school through my junior year of college. I bought a Silverstone TJ07 last year and I don't plan on switching again for a long time.
 
I still use my old Cooler Master ATCS 201C-SX2(the brushed aluminum one) from 2001 (or there abouts). That thing is a tank and will last me a pretty long time. Not quite as airflow or upgrade friendly as modern design but I love the minimalist style and the fact that the front piece of aluminum is a good 3/4 of a centimeter thick and the rest of the case is 100% metal.
 
yea i think the main reason people change cases are either:
1. u get bored with the asthetics
2. find a case with better options (ie:airflow, internal design)
3. are always wanting to jump on the old bandwagon of wanting "the next new thing", which probably refers alot to the first 2 options as well.

for me in my own system, which has seen 4 or 5 upgrades over the last many years, ive only had 2 cases.

antec sx835

antec 1200
 
P180b, no suitable replacement found so far

1st build - Sept 2006
2nd build - Sept 2009
3rd build - whenever skt2011 decides to come out
 
Yeah my P180 lasted me 4 years until I grew sick of the having to open the door to access the DVD drive. Also I wanted to use a double bay touch screen fan controller so I got a Lian Li instead. But I think with all the newer cases with excellent airflow, I don't see the need for another upgrade for a while until they decide to completely change the motherboard form factor.
 
I have had my Lian Li for ages, I want to upgrade it because it is thin aluminum and it vibrates a fair bit (which is annoying since everything else is super silent)

If it wasn't for that, I would keep it. Has been going on 4 years now.
 
I bought a bigass full tower case back in 2001 and used it until Starcraft 2 came out. The case has awful air circulation compared to new cases, and SC2 was causing my system to run quite hot. I decided to retire it and my surviving 9800(one died before the switch), so I bought an HAF 932 and 460 SLI. I'll be keeping the 932 for a long time.
 
I generally have 3 to 5 processor upgrades between switching out cases

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1034172168#post1034172168

or whenever the technology changes such that the new motherboards will not fit. As a result the average age of my two tower cases is over 9 years.. I am even longer on monitors. I purchased 2 21 inch CRTs on auction for $350 each in 1996 and I am still using 1 of them (the other one died.)
 
have had the original antec that was highly cloned for almost 10 years and the p180 since it was released, going to switch over to rackmounted equipment so hopefully it will be the last cases I buy
 
Prior to November 2003, changed case about every 2 years, mostly because I worked in a computer store and it was easy.

Post November 2003:
MightymouseCube
Mountain Mods UFO case (Paid $360 US) - modified countless things
Has been through 5 different motherboard/CPU combos and rebuilt almost yearly to be bigger and better in many ways. Initially stored 1TB, now holds more than 44TB's.
Initially had two full computers inside of it. One gaming rig, one file server 2 PSU's.

I dont see myself ever leaving this case for my main rig (countless others have come and gone as second/third/fourth gaming rigs). Unless they really get rid of ATX form factor, but even then it is likely MountainMods will make a replacement motherboard tray.

Hand polished aluminum, big enough case to hold just about anything, and flames on the plexi windows. I dont really see myself outdoing my initial build. Just evolving it over time. Maybe another 7 years, who knows.
 
For me, normally 2 builds then I usually give my computer away to a family member when I do the next full build.
 
Ive had my Lian Li PC-V1000 For over 6 years! Paid around 300 shipped for it back then and it was worth every single penny.
Bought it in 04, housed a 3.0ghz P4 for a number of years before I completely rebuilt it in 07 around a Q6600.
And this year I tore it down and completely modded it (looks amazing still!)
I honestly dont know if I will ever get rid of this case.
 
lol i just had my upgrade itch when they started to introduce cod black ops...and im almost ready for tommorow!!....
 
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I usually keep my case as long as possible. Sometimes I see a case that looks amazing and then I do a little research on it and usually the techie part of me wins out and I buy the case.
 
...I have notebook plus Big Tower "server" which is from Chieftec. With replaced PSU (Thermaltake at the moment) it lasts greatly, several motherboards changes, etc. Seems like I would never need another case, so it was a great investment :)
 
My last case lasted me about 8 years. I finally upgraded to a nice new shiny case a couple months ago.
 
I have been using the same case for 10 years now. I think it is on build 5 now. It was some beige piece of shit that I modded the hell out of.
 
I have had my LL V2000 for the last three years. I love it to death and I will not be replacing it anytime soon.
 
Usually when I run out of room for either the motherboard I want to upgrade to or the video card(s) I want to use.

Heat played a large part of why I chose the current case because having 5 drives in a P180 was just not cutting it without a lot of fan noise.
 
I keep them as long as they provide enough airflow and space inside.

So with my freshly bought Raven 2 unless high end video card go above 12" long i should be as future proof as possible.
 
I find that PC cases outlast the contents inside by a long shot as far as wear and tear. One usually upgrades before waiting for it to actually fall apart. After all its basically a metallic box.

My oldest PC case is from a no-name PC we got back in 1997. It is about 14 years old and for the most part, it is no different condition than when we got it. It runs our family beater wagon setup. The only thing is that airflow is not great having no rear exhaust and with the weird design in the back (not flat) its not easy to cut a 120mm fan hole (though I do have a hole saw that I can use). I probably will eventually get rid of it not because its broken but because its obsolete.

My Rosewill TU155 is still going well since 2005. Still need to cut one more big hole in the back panel to access the other side of the drive bays. Then install handles I purchased and do some modifications to the window and do a final painting and for the most part I will be finished with it. It only has a 92mm fan opening in the back so airflow is limited but since I don't run much in my rig, it is fine for my needs.
 
The oldest case I'm still using is a Centurion 5, which is about 5 years old. I've also got a Centurion 590, which is about two and a half years old. Before that I was using cheap shitty cases, which are all long gone.
 
I have only used 4 cases for my Primary computer for the last 12 years.

1999, Antec, something close to the SLK1650, its PSU wasn't enough for my Celeron A 366/550 OC.

2000, Generic Purple Jelly case (basically free). Worked with my overclock (had a decent 400w PSU I think). Named it Craptakular. Most of my upgrade frenzies lasted in this case. Held a 366/550 Celeron, and a Athlon Thunderbird 700 running at 950 MHz with the pencil overclock.

2002 Antec that became the basis for most generic full towers (and even some Thermaltakes) closest compared to the discontinued TX1050B. This housed an Athlon 1.2 GHz (Palimino), Althlon XP 1800+ (Tbred A), and an Athlon 2500+ (Barton).

2005 Antec P160 (purchased in 2004 but didn't do overhaul till 2005). First case I bought PSU less and only one I have ever upgraded the PSU (original an Early 650W Thermaltake, now a 850 PCP&C). This has housed a Athlon64 X2 4400+ and a Phenom 9950 BE (going to put a Thuban in once BD hits).

2011 Starting new build. Case already picked out Cooler-Master Haf X.
 
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