Should I replace my Armor with a V1000?

N

Neutrino

Gawd
Joined
Nov 10, 2005
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602
Well as the title says I am thinking about replacing my Thermaltake Armor with a Lian-li V1000 and I just cannot make up my mind, therefore I am turning to you guys for advice.

The Armor is the black steel model with the side window:
http://www.thermaltake.com/xaserCase/armor/va8000bws/va8000bws.htm
It is a great looking case with plenty of space my only problems with it are:

1. Its bulky and heavy making it a pain to lug around especially at LAN parties.
2. I want the side loading HD system an in the lian-li because I mess with my HDs all the time.

Looking for a replacement the best one that seems to suit my needs is the lian-li V1000B (or perhaps the V1200B to have it Extended ATX):
http://www.lian-li.com/Product/Chassis/M_V_C_PC-V1000.htm

I do have a few questions about this case though:

1. It looks great in pictures but I've never see it in person so is it really good looking? (Yes aesthetics matter for my PC cases)
2. Will 5.25 pannels ruin the look since it does not have a front door (in particular audigy/xfi platinum)
3. And last but not least if I fill all the 6 HD spots will the 3 drives in the back still receive plenty of airflow from the one fan?


I would like to thank you guys in advance for your input.:)
 
i say go for the lian-li. i personally have a v-1000b. its a little on the bulky side taking it to lans, but its not heavy at all. the case empty weighs like 3kg. the harddrive racks are awesome. they cool the back drives pretty well. you might want to arrange the drives though, say you have 3 maxtors, and 3 other drives, put the maxtors right beside the fan. the case cools alot differently. when i went from a normal beige case to the lian-li my temps went down about 5*C because everything is in a different compartment. that fan does move alot of air though. the 5.25 panels look fine as long as they are black. it would look pretty off if you threw a beige audigy in there er sumthin.

my lg dvd burner looks great in there. better without the bezel it comes with actually.
 
i have 1200b, there are SO MUCH MORE room than ANY standard ATX case i've owned. More room for you to work with, maybe even a internal watercooling kit will fit in there.
 
the PC-V1000B is the nicest case I have seen. it is pretty well designed, well manufactured and really looks good in person. Li Li did a really good job with the look and feel of this case.
 
Why would you want to spend some $200 or more to buy the Lian Li when the Armor is really nice case? I just got the armor and it is really nice...IMO
 
Silencer said:
the Lian Li has problems with larger PSU units... so check first.
Click to expand...

not true. the bracket in the PSU area can be easily removed without compromising case integrity. you can put in as long a PSU as you like.
 
or you could get a v-2000 (or is it 1200, cant remember) the one with like 24 harddrive trays, 2 psu slots. you could put like 12 harddrives in one side, and have an apartment in the other harddrive rack. those are the biggest cases ive ever seen...
but yea...if you're seriously considering the lian-li, i would definately go for it. you could prolly sell your armour in teh classefieds or on ebay...unless its all shredded up
 
I got the black window-less armor filled with 11, soon to be 13, hdds and with everything in it, it is very very heavy...so its not without some effort that I bring it to lans (its my file server) but hey...thats how I roll (I bring 2 comps to lans, file server and gaming rig).

The fact that its heavy is not the problem for me, its the "bulkyness" of the case and all cases this size that makes it more difficult to transport then a mid tower like my Super Lanboy, so I'm looking into designing a handle or my own carrying strap for it.
 
{NcsO}ReichstaG said:
Why would you want to spend some $200 or more to buy the Lian Li when the Armor is really nice case? I just got the armor and it is really nice...IMO
Click to expand...

I agree the Armor is a great case, good looking and spacious but as I said its a bit bulky to lug around and the hard drives are not as easy to access as in the v-1000

Silencer said:
the Lian Li has problems with larger PSU units... so check first.
Click to expand...


yes i have noticed that in pics however i only have a PC power and cooling silecncer 470 which is fairly small in size. And as the poster below you noted you can remove the bracket to stick a larger one. Furthermore i'll be considering the v12000 for the bit extra lenght.

demortey said:
or you could get a v-2000 (or is it 1200, cant remember) the one with like 24 harddrive trays, 2 psu slots. you could put like 12 harddrives in one side, and have an apartment in the other harddrive rack. those are the biggest cases ive ever seen...
but yea...if you're seriously considering the lian-li, i would definately go for it. you could prolly sell your armour in teh classefieds or on ebay...unless its all shredded up
Click to expand...

yes i have looked at the 2000s and they are very nice, but i as with the armor i would run into the same issue: bulky

Intel_Inside said:
I'll buy your armor, if it's the black one. ;)
Click to expand...

yes it is the black one, and its in mint condition (always baby all my comps) however i promised it to sell it to my friend. Its funny both him and one of my roomates are after it. I guess the 130 price i ask for it its good.

kuyaglen said:
I got the black window-less armor filled with 11, soon to be 13, hdds and with everything in it, it is very very heavy...so its not without some effort that I bring it to lans (its my file server) but hey...thats how I roll (I bring 2 comps to lans, file server and gaming rig).

The fact that its heavy is not the problem for me, its the "bulkyness" of the case and all cases this size that makes it more difficult to transport then a mid tower like my Super Lanboy, so I'm looking into designing a handle or my own carrying strap for it.
Click to expand...


LOL you remind me of one of my friends he has like me the black armor but curently with 11 drives in there. I love how much splace he has bur personally i'm not the biggest fan of dealing with that many drives, i rather buy a few really large ones (despite their price).


Btw if any of you knows of anyone selling the black model or perhaps a good online deal please drop me a line. So far i was only able to find good deals on the silver model.
 
kuyaglen said:
I got the black window-less armor filled with 11, soon to be 13, hdds and with everything in it, it is very very heavy...so its not without some effort that I bring it to lans (its my file server) but hey...thats how I roll (I bring 2 comps to lans, file server and gaming rig).

The fact that its heavy is not the problem for me, its the "bulkyness" of the case and all cases this size that makes it more difficult to transport then a mid tower like my Super Lanboy, so I'm looking into designing a handle or my own carrying strap for it.
Click to expand...

you should invest in a file server. . .or a SFF rig. Because I can't see why you would wan't to lug around 11 HDD's to every LAN you go to. LAN rigs should be about simplicity and efficiency. So lugging around extra HDD"s that are creating heat and slowing down your system aren't really recommended for a LAN system, especially if you arent even using any of the data on them. I would keep the armor, put all your good system hardware into a super lanboy or something light and easy to transport like that, then buy a cheap mobo with integrated( video,audio,10/100/1000, etc) and get a decent northbridge cooler for the ARMOR and you should be ok. (plus memory,psu, and other obvious things). With a KVM switcher you wouldnt have to bother with input and output devices, they would be shared and switchable with a simple keyboard command. That seems to cover all the bases, unless you absoluletly need to lug around all your anime,animal porn, and pirated movies to every lanparty you should reconsider your system layout. :D
 
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