Spiritual successor to the P180B?

A

Azymn

Weaksauce
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Oct 26, 2007
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I love my P180B, it's got solid sound dampening and superb aesthetic minimalism. I'm planning on building a new rig in Q1 (like many of you) and wanted to keep my existing machine in the P180B if possible.

The problem is, I can't find a case that I like as much as the P180B, and buying another original P180B seems to have too much of a premium attached due to scarcity. I didn't really like the look of the later P1XX line, and the closest I could find to a successor was the Fortress FT02B, which I might have considered getting at what seems like a tremendous cost if it weren't for mixed reviews about the build quality.

Definitely prefer minimal designs, and I'm not a fan of windows. It's gotta be black.

Can anyone here suggest their favorite cases or share good experiences with cases that I have unjustly overlooked?
 
FT02, IMO, is the sucessor. I have a P180W (mini white, the mATX buddy :p) - I bought mine for it's air cooling properties, and overall silence. FT02 fits the bill nicely for me.

FT02 comes in black/white windowed/flat.

There are P180 still out there... Amazon was clearing the whites out for 50usd+shipping a week or so ago.
 
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This is the spiritual successor to the P180 case IMO:
$90 - Lian Li PC-7B Plus II ATX Case
$105 - Fractal Design Define R3 Black ATX Case (Fill in the ++++ with "N C I X" without the spaces)
$105 - Fractal Design Define R3 Titanium ATX Case (Fill in the ++++ with "N C I X" without the spaces)
$105 - Fractal Design Define R3 Silver ATX Case (Fill in the ++++ with "N C I X" without the spaces)

Though this might be a better sucessor:
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cases/2010/11/19/fractal-design-define-xl-review/1

And this is coming from an owner of the first gen P180 case.
 
jeremyshaw said:
FT02, IMO, is the sucessor.
Click to expand...
I really liked what I saw of the FT02, but hearing the word "flimsy" applied to components in many of the reviews I read combined with the cost steered me away. If it dropped below $200 I'd probably be willing to make allowances, unless the reviews I read were simply too harsh. Do you have one?

Danny Bui said:
This is the spiritual successor to the P180 case IMO:
$105 - Fractal Design Define R3 Black ATX Case (Fill in the ++++ with "N C I X" without the spaces)
Click to expand...

Thank you, that Fractal Design series is stellar! They are eerily similar to the P180s. I'd never heard of them before, why are they so scarce?

86 5.0L said:
LIAN LI PC-A71F
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112244

I've been looking for a replacement for my P180b, but theres nothing quite like it :(
Click to expand...
That is a solid looking offering. Some unfortunate drawbacks in the comments there but I dig the minimalism, and that's one of the best looking cases I've seen from Lian Li.


I've just started digging into these links, but do any of you know offhand if any of these have an issue with the longer video cards?
 
I've only felt the one at Fry's... too expensive for me :(

I didn't like the second raven's design, I didn't like the first raven's plastic, the fortress seemed like a well built case, and rather heavy, too!
 
Looks like Fractal Design Define R3 might be a good choice.
But I must say that it very much depends on what are your priorities. R3 is a decent case from what I have read, but it aims at silence and not airflow and performance.
 
Azymn said:
Thank you, that Fractal Design series is stellar! They are eerily similar to the P180s. I'd never heard of them before, why are they so scarce?
Click to expand...

They're new to the computer hardware market actually

Azymn said:
I've just started digging into these links, but do any of you know offhand if any of these have an issue with the longer video cards?
Click to expand...
AFAIK, no.
 
I'm suprised you've read issues about the FT02 feeling flimsy. They had issues at the beginning with their drive cages, but those are all fixed now. Other then that, they're extremely well built, and Silverstone makes one hell of a case. I'm sure you could probably find a place to check one out locally.

You can also browse the last pages of the FT02 thread, as it has a LOT of info.
 
I have one of the older FT02's and there's nothing flimsy about it. It's a really solid case.
 
I really wish the Fractal was available in the states. I want it so badly, but just can't pay $150 for a $100 case (shipping from Canada is outrageous).
 
I know my ft02 drives cages are garbage but other than that the case is great

their support is crap been back and forth on the drive cages for a few weeks now... jeez send me 3$ worth of plastic cases already.
 
If you are afraid of FT2 being flimsy you should stay really far away from Fractal.
 
I'll take a look at the gargantuan FT02 thread, there's clearly some top notch lovin for that chassis! It sounds like the reports I read elsewhere about flimsiness may have been exaggerated, perhaps due to its cost. I've never seen one locally; some hands on time would be huge. Are the drive cages easily replaced?

The Define R3 is still very appealing, though a $50 shipping fee dampens that a bit. Michaelius - can you elaborate on structural issues with the Fractals?

As hybry pointed out, I'll broadcast that my primary intention is to make a gaming machine, so I'm attentive to cooling, which the FT02 is vastly better at than the Fractals, but I'm willing to take a hit on internal temperatures (I don't OC yet) for cost/benefit advantages with a cheaper solution (Fractal).
 
From what i know side panels are flimsy (very thin metal they are mostly held stiff by mat inside).

Still it isn't bad but from all i know FT2 is built like a tank compared to fractal.
 
FT02 seems like it's quiet and has very good cooling performance, I'm leaning towards it to replace my 180mini.
but I have to admit that 90degree mobo setup is very interesting...
 
I appreciate all the responses; I'm glad I posted the question here.

Based on your comments and some further research, the FT02 is back in the running, and I'll be keeping an eye on the Fractals and some of the Lian Li's mentioned here as well.

Thanks again.
 
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