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Looking for a clean case

T

TheGardenTool

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Mar 12, 2006
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There are so many case designs available now, that I am having a hard time sorting through all of them. I am looking at building a new computer probably to coincide with the price drops of the Core 2s, but I'm trying to get a good idea now on what to use.

I am not looking for any dragon, alien, etc looking case. This seems to be the trend after the Alienware and old ThermalTake cases of years past.

I want a case that has good enough cooling for a modest build, but with enough room to take a water cooling route later. I would be using at most 3 hard drives, so I don't need one with room for 6-8 like some I've seen. The TJ07/09 look like great cases, but I could never justify a $300 case, $100-150 is more in the price I would like to spend.
 
I second the antec P180, it is a very clean looking and stylish case, and is one of the best made quality cases . The cooling is more than ample and it runs very quietly. Everybody at silentpcreview chose it as the best case for airflow and temperatures, while being incredibly quiet.

If you want to get more information on the case, silentpcreview is the best place.

I bought mine from the UK, but I think they are about $100 in the US. The Antec P180 is silver, and the P180B is the black version.

They are not available with a window from Antec, but I had a window fitted on mine while still keeping the clean style of the case and this is what it looks like:

PC1.JPG
 
cst-422.jpg


This is the best case. I have one that I am currently modding for a triple rad. It is HUGE! and sexy. ;)

EDIT: it is a Lian Li PC-G75B. They also have the G70b without the window.
 
Hm the P180 doesn't look too bad. The only thing I don't like is the front door, as I've always been use to not having one.

For me, it would be a complete build so I wouldn't mind finding a power supply with longer cables if that is what it needs.

Do they fit 9" cards without any moding?
 
I just don't see the appeal of the P180's.. clean yes, utterly boring yes, mini-fridge most definately. Also after you open the front panel, the plastic looks cheap and from [H]'s own review its not as quiet as its advertised. Not to mention wiring routing in one of those is a nightmare.

That said, I would highly suggest you look into the Lian-Li's PC 6 & 7 series. Very cleanly designed, no cheap plastic, great wire routing options, good HDD & watercooling space and below $130 or so w/ side window.



 
Nearly all the new PSU's come with long enough cables now. The 2 PSU's that are most used with the case are the Seasonic M12 and the Corsair HX series, which definately have long enough cables no problem, and also run extremely quietly.

I have seen people fit the 8800GTX into the P180, so yes long PCI cards do fit OK.

I can confirm that the fans in the P180 set on low are VERY quiet, and I am a silence freak so trust me. However, I would recommend replacing them with Yate Loon D12SL-12 and when running at 5V, you literally cannot hear them running. You can get the Yate's from jabtech for dirt cheap.

I also like the Lian Li's , but in the UK they are very expensive so I thought it didnt fit within your budget, but if they are in your budget I would seriously consider the Lian Li aswell. However, if you are looking for a quiet system, I think most Lian Li's only use 80mm fans which generally run very loud.
 
Dark Prodigy said:
I just don't see the appeal of the P180's.. clean yes, utterly boring yes, mini-fridge most definately. Also after you open the front panel, the plastic looks cheap and from [H]'s own review its not as quiet as its advertised. Not to mention wiring routing in one of those is a nightmare.

That said, I would highly suggest you look into the Lian-Li's PC 6 & 7 series. Very cleanly designed, no cheap plastic, great wire routing options, good HDD & watercooling space and below $130 or so w/ side window.



Click to expand...
Most of the Lian Li's look like boxes riddled with bullet holes imo; except the PC-A10, god that thing is goregous.:eek: I have been searching for a good looking case with good build quality and airflow and plenty of room to work in for under $200 but I haven't found any. The P180 is nice but it has cheap plastic as you said and it's cramped. And why do many case manufacturers insist on using annoying screws on the expansion slots instead of thumb screws? They save so much time...:rolleyes: The case I have is ok but it's airflow but it has cheap plastic parts and is made from thin 1mm aluminum that rattles all the time and feels flimsy. I like the G-70 but the airflow setup is really strange and it's quite expensive.
 
TheGardenTool said:
$100-150 is more in the price I would like to spend.
Click to expand...

I spent more time choosing a case than choosing any other part. I decided on the Lian Li PC-6085A. No front door, pretty plain, with some front lighting and not riddled with holes. It's aluminum in a silver finish. It cost me C$115 so likely just under US$100.

It's the only affordable case that I found that didn't have serious problems with installing or maintaining components. It has 3 80mm fans, so not as quiet as one with 120mm fans (possibly). All fans are included, so I don't have to keep shelling out money. There's a dust filter on the intake (front) fan, The other two (exhaust) are on the top and back. MB and rear connectors are on a sliding drawer like the fancier Lian-Li cases. Overall a decent case at a reasonable price.

The review I saw on it installed water cooling IIRC. Google "PC-6085A review" and you should find it, pics and all.

PS - Why the heck after all these decades are so many poorly designed computer cases out there. You's think that they'd figured out the right way to do it by now. One review pointed out a flaw in one Big Name case maker's model - you had to remove the MB to replace a hard drive!!! Oh, well, it's been over a century and they still make some crappy cars.
 
Man, I hate Alienware for making some of the case designs so mainstream. Yes they were cool and different, 6 years ago, but now they have flooded the market with cases I do not want in my house.

The Lian Li PC-A16 looks like a great case. I was actually looking at it on the egg right before you posted that, L1ght.

The Lian Li PC-G75B is too expensive. The same goes with the PC-Vxxx series, too expensive, just like the Silverstone TJ07/09.

On second thought, the P180B is nice but I would prefer aluminum over steel. The door also is just a real turn off.
 
Lian Li A10
Antec P180
Silverstone TJ04
Lian Li PC 60/61/65/etc etc
 
The Lian-Li PC-7B Plus II and PC-60B Plus II are both very nice cases. Great airflow and aluminum. The 7B has 2 120mm fans with an optional 80mm top fan while the 60B has 1 120 mm fan in the front and a removable motherboard tray.
 
I've got the Lian-Li PC60B Plus II. It's nice. It's got 2 120's (front intake/hd cage cooling and removable side exhaust) and 2 80's (blowhole and rear). The rear fan is set up as an intake by default, and has a removable shroud to direct air over the cpu. If you got that, and you were concerned with noise, you'd want to swap out the fans - they're not exactly quiet, but I don't notice them after a while.

Overall, it's a good case.
 
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