• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Need New Case Advice

R

Ryan220587

n00b
Joined
May 19, 2007
Messages
13
i was needing some advice on purchasing a new case. i want something of relatively high quality, and was wondering what the lian li's have to offer. my budget would be no more than 400AUD (roughly 330USD) as i would like to go water cooling for this build also.

i noticed that most of the cases come with the psu mounted at the bottom, and wondered what the advantage of having this would be? i currently have a case with psu at the bottom and i think it's horrible for cable management. i really like the look of the v2000b, however after seeing some of the mods in the lian li gallery, i wanted to see what else would be on offer. i would also be looking for something that comes with pre-drilled holes for the water cooling if possible? any help would be appreciated. thanks.
 
The PSU mounted at the bottom is supposed to stop the heat being emitted from the power supply to the rest of your components. My case has the PSU at the bottom completely in its own compartment, isolated from the rest of the components with the cables running out of one small hole, so it isn't much of a cable management problem. As for a new case, the Thermaltake Armor LCS-VE2000BWS is a good choice. It has an integrated liquid cooling system, which is convenient. Thermaltake makes pretty solid cases and that particular case comes in both black and silver. eWiz.com has it for $219 USD. Good luck finding a new case.
 
Agreed, perhaps some more information about your watercooling plans would help with case selection. What type of rad are you going to be using, internal vs external (I'd assume external because of predrilled holes), etc? The Silverstone TJ07 is a solid watercooler but at the outer edge of your budget.
 
It would help if you were a little more specific. Do you need a lot of 5 1/4 bays? How many hard drives are you gonna use? What type of radiator are you gonna be using?

Recently I've been thinking of changing to a Lian Li PC-A16 ($150 USD)
http://lian-li.com/product/product05.php?pr_index=22&cl_index=1&sc_index=1&ss_index=4
I think it's just right for most people, and it seems to fit your OP, so check it out. It has the predrilled holes for mounting an external 120 rad. The drive bay covers are perforated so you can prolly mount an internal 240 rad up front. If you need more than 3 hard drives, you can buy an extra matching hard drive rack to bring it up to 6.
 
thanks for the replies, guys.

i am looking to buy the water cooling as a kit, as it's my first time and i think it can be a cheaper option, depending on what you're looking for. the swiftech h20-220 apex ultra kit is probably what i will go for (the radiator is the mcr220 (dual 120mm rad) and i'll probably get some better tubing as well (most likely the clearflex 60 premium 1/2" tubing).

as far as hard drives go, i'm using only 1 x 250gb atm, but would like room to expand later on. i would be happy to spend a bit more and get the tj-07, if it is going to mean better expandability, but i will definitely check out that lian li too (pc-a16). i don't really see the need for a lot of 5 1/4" bays though. if there's anything else i've missed, please let me know.

thanks again.
 
The Corsair Nautilus is actually pretty good. They typically sell for $150.00 and do a great job of keeping things cool. Brent once used one to cool a processor and two 8800GTX video cards and got managable temps with that setup.

Not bad for $150.00.
 
thanks for the advice dan, but i think i'll probably stick to the swiftech kit...

as for the case, the lian li a16 does look very good, and appears to suit my needs (water cooling ready, psu at the top, etc...). the price is just right too. i think the silverstone is still a little bit out of my budget, but maybe for my next build (i have to work my way up the ranks first).

so i guess it will be the a16, unless anybody else has some other suggestions, other lian li models or anything similar that might be appropriate for my build?

p.s i spoke to a colleague today who told me that lian li's are very difficult to build into. is this information true? even if it is, i will probably go for a lian li...simply because i build computers for a living and i really wouldn't mind...
 
case + watercooling = thermaltake tai-chi or the koolance cases with w/c system ontop they fit your budget
 
koolance is unfortunately way out of my price range...

i am really starting to like the look of the v1100b though. has anyone had any experience with this case? i guess another thing i'd be looking for is a case that i can definitely get a side panel for. would this case be ok for a water cooling setup?

also, is it a possibility for the rad to be fitted on the inside of the case? would this be more effective that outside of the case?

sorry for all the questions, but i'm in the middle of researching and there's so many questions i just can't answer without help! i'm also having second thoughts on my water cooling setup...starting to discover some of the things that are available to me.

any help would be great. thanks agian!
 
Well most cases are somewhat difficult to build in for one reason or another. Very few of them are easy 100% of the time. The Lian-Li cases run the gamut as you might expect. Some are easier to build in the others. Generally speaking, the larger the case the easier it is to work in. Though that isn't always true. The Stacker 830 isn't th easiest case I ever worked with, but the STC-T01 probably is.
 
yeah, that's a fair enough call...

i am STILL undecided on this case. i really want a lian li, but i don't know if i should go for something like the a-16, or something a little more roomy, such as the v2000b (this was the first lian li case i really wanted to get). the only thing is that it's only got a half window on the side, which i think is a bit ugly, tbh.

i think at this stage it is a tossup between the PC-A16 or the V1100b. i really like the cases in different ways, but i would like to know what my options are in terms of side windows, i would like to have pretty much a full side window if i can. both cases are within my budget, the only thing being that the v1100 doesn't have any pre drilled holes, and i was planning on an external rad.

i really love the look of the tj-07 silverstone case too, but i'm afraid that case is just out of reach financially. i also loved what some people were doing with the tj-03, which would also be a much more feasible option.

i couldn't find many other lian li models with pre drilled holes, other than that A16. is it easier to just forget about the external rad and install an internal one? is that what most people tend to do?

thanks again.
 
I saw a lot of cases online when shopping. Then I went to CompUSA and actually saw a lot of the same cases and realised what rubbish they looked and felt like. So I got a Lian Li and it was very well made and looked good. Its modular and has a mobo tray so it was easy to work on in some ways. My only caution concerns the screws. On my model and some others I know of there are lots of screws. My hard drives and my floppy had to be screwed into sleaves that then had to be screwed into the frame. I always liked pulling and swapping drives and my case makes it a drag. Plus for whatever reason my floppy would not work screwed in frmly to the frame (and I tried 2 drives that both worked in other machines. I finally read a post by guy who had same problem with his Lian li) I can only used two half tightened screws to "sorta" hold floppy in place or it stops working. Of course it took me 2 days and a few dozen attempts at an F6 driver install to figure it out.Screwless next time for me.
 
fair call with the tool less design, but i personally don't mind taking a bit of time with everything. i've been through hell building rigs at work and don't mind the extra blood ;)

that performance pcs link is great, it has all the upgrade options...the only problem being that i live in australia, and getting a case from overseas might not be a feasible option. i can get the cases in australia, but i would need to find out whether i can have the side window included. if i can, i might go for the v1100+.

thanks for all the advice, i should be find to choose the case now. i have a pretty good idea of what i would like to go for. i will now look into the water cooling. i have a place in mind to source this from too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top