I'm building a new computer and I'm really having trouble with the case. Here are the things I really need:
1. at least 5 internal 3.5" bays. I've looked into enclosures that fit into 5.25" bays, but I really don't want/need hotswap, just a place to put hard drives with proper cooling.
2. must have really good cooling. Ideally 120mm fans in front, rear and side, but smaller fans wouldn't be a deal killer.
3. has to fit some longer PCI/PCIe cards. My current RAID card is about as long as an ATX motherboard, and I will continue to use this. I will also be getting an nvidia 8800 GTS. I know the GTX has some length issues, and it's too expensive anyway.
4. I would really like to keep it at $200 or less.
5. I don't like big doors that cover up access to the front of the case.
here is my current setup. I will be keeping the hard drives and RAID card. As you can see I had some length issues so I had to leave one spot empty. Please mock me for this setup, but then give me some good suggestions for my next computer.
Here are some I'm considering:
LIAN LI PC-60BPLUSII
Hard drives are mounted vertically, so I really hope PCI card length isn't an issue, because then I wouldn't be able to fit any hard drives in there.
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811112100
iStarUSA S-8/350SATA
I know I wasn't leaning towards a hot swap enclosure, but this one is still pretty cheap. Card length probably won't be an issue. My only problem is that the enclosure doesn't seem to have very good cooling. If I went with this one, I would probably try to screw a fan onto the side panel.
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811165044
LIAN LI PC-V1000BPlus II
A little spendy, but I don't think there would be any fitment issues. Plenty of big fans. I'm not sure how I feel about the upside down motherboard thing. I've heard some negative things, but other than being different, I don't see how it would be a problem. The only other problem is I'm pretty sure my parallel ATA cables wouldn't reach that far, but that can be solved.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811112058
Any comments about these or other cases would really be appreciated.
1. at least 5 internal 3.5" bays. I've looked into enclosures that fit into 5.25" bays, but I really don't want/need hotswap, just a place to put hard drives with proper cooling.
2. must have really good cooling. Ideally 120mm fans in front, rear and side, but smaller fans wouldn't be a deal killer.
3. has to fit some longer PCI/PCIe cards. My current RAID card is about as long as an ATX motherboard, and I will continue to use this. I will also be getting an nvidia 8800 GTS. I know the GTX has some length issues, and it's too expensive anyway.
4. I would really like to keep it at $200 or less.
5. I don't like big doors that cover up access to the front of the case.
here is my current setup. I will be keeping the hard drives and RAID card. As you can see I had some length issues so I had to leave one spot empty. Please mock me for this setup, but then give me some good suggestions for my next computer.
Here are some I'm considering:
LIAN LI PC-60BPLUSII
Hard drives are mounted vertically, so I really hope PCI card length isn't an issue, because then I wouldn't be able to fit any hard drives in there.
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811112100
iStarUSA S-8/350SATA
I know I wasn't leaning towards a hot swap enclosure, but this one is still pretty cheap. Card length probably won't be an issue. My only problem is that the enclosure doesn't seem to have very good cooling. If I went with this one, I would probably try to screw a fan onto the side panel.
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811165044
LIAN LI PC-V1000BPlus II
A little spendy, but I don't think there would be any fitment issues. Plenty of big fans. I'm not sure how I feel about the upside down motherboard thing. I've heard some negative things, but other than being different, I don't see how it would be a problem. The only other problem is I'm pretty sure my parallel ATA cables wouldn't reach that far, but that can be solved.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811112058
Any comments about these or other cases would really be appreciated.