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The Perfect Case

sarbz

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Feb 1, 2005
Messages
1,319
I'm interested in what people here think the perfect case would be......I need a new challenge, and I want to design a near "perfect case". I know everyone has different needs for cases, but I would like to get input as to what features you would like to see.

I'm going to be designing it and rendering high-end 3D images and posting them, so the more input the better. Let me know what you want for outside & inside looks & functionality, number of bays, number of fans & sizes, form factor, etc.....

If no one is interested, I guess the thread will just die soon...
 
i would lik an ALL aluminum construction case with the outside look of a praetorian or an ATC case but with 120mm intake/exhaust and of course the internals of a praetorian ( i lik it simple )
 
Things I'd want in my case...

  • Removable Motherboard Tray
  • Removable HD Cage
  • 120MM Fans (Intake/Exhaust)
  • Aluminum all around
  • Probably the look of the PC-65 or PC-75
 
only 120mm fans, perhaps one intake, one outtake, and one blowhole.

Midsized case which fits a regular ATX board, might need to be a bit deeper than normal to accomodate the 120mm blowhole.

aluminum construction

removeable mobo tray

removeable HD tray like the ones in the Antec P180 (they are made to use included silicone grommets to mount the HDDs)

Simple elegant design on the outside, no frills. Like a Lian-Li, Antec P180, or earlier CoolerMaster ATC cases.

Oh yeah, and a good cable management system is a big plus, something like the Chenbro Gaming Bomb II where there is space behind the mobo tray to route wires from the PSU and then holes to get them back through.
 
All 120mm fans, 1 or 2 on the front, 1 or 2 in the back, 1 blowhole, and 1 on the side

Aluminum with a window, black annodized.
 
My perfect case would be a Lian Li but half the price. In the meantime I'm happy with my antec p180.
 
The whole front 5 1/4" bays, like the CMStacker. Hard drives can mount farther back, possibly beneath a blowhole, vertically. Design a matching 3 1/2" adapter in case you want to use a floppy/ZIP/whatever.

Power pre-routed to a "power strip" that runs down the side of the drive cage, so you only need little 2" or so pigtails to connect any drive. A pigtail near the power supply cage plugs into a modular PSU to power the "strip".

Huge, slow-spinning custom-built fan on the side panel (I'm talking 30cm+). Quieter than any array of little fans, moves at least as much air. Put a heavy metal mesh and a fabric dust screen in front of it.

Pop-up handles on top (for transport).

Wide, shallow rubber feet bolted on, none of that glue nonsense.

Integrated "junk box", preferably rubber-lined metal, no tacky plastic.

That's just a start...
 
SocceRich20 said:
It's called the Silverstone TJ03 Nimiz. Can't get much nicer than that :)
i won't ever be buying a case not made by SilverStone, unless they gou out of business(unlikely based on the quality of their cases).

i'm using the lascala lc14 right now, and it's fanfuckingtastic. my next machine will be built in a TJ06.
 
It's impossible to build the perfect case. There is always compromise somewhere along the line.
 
IMO, the perfect case(or near perfect) would have to be the TJ07.

I'm designing my own version of it now but was wondering what I would need to make it look better since im a total noobe to it. I'm using Solidworks 05 just need to make it look better when I finish. Could you help me out on what software/thing I need to do?

Thanks
 
i agree with the statement that the pc65 is a near perfect case, but it's only 85% of the way there.

here's my "perfect" list:

- 1x120mm intake + 1 92mm intake, 120mm exhaust (this is assuming everybody has an artic cooler on their cards and the PSU has a fan as well, hopefully achieving near balance in intake and exhaust CFM)
- removable mobo tray (see lian-li)
- removable harddrive cage (see lian-li)
- removable PSU mount (see lian-li)
- WTX style mount, that is, ATX in the BTX format.
- pre cut holes in the necessary spots for wire management.
- removable front panel (see lian-li)
- THUMBSCREWS
- no pre-stamped fan covers.
- rubber mounts so as to minimize noise vibration.

extra: it'd be kinda neat to see like a pre-wired set up as far as power and data cables go. sort of like how a shuttle computer is but on a larger scale obviously. some heatpipe tech for the harddrives as part of the cage would be neat (sort of like the zalman ones) the main points would be quiet, cool, with open possibilties for bling effect. and this is all obviously for air cooling.
 
I want a horn here, here, and here.
You can never find a horn when you're mad.
And they should all play `La Cucaracha'.

What about a separate soundproof bubble-dome for the kids with optional restraints and muzzles?

Bullseye!

All my life, I have searched for a car that feels a certain way.
Powerful like a gorilla, yet soft and yielding like a Nerf ball.
Now, at last, I have found it.
 
more case modding ideas and less simpsons quotes.

(even though i do know that specific episode)
 
this is all good input....I'm building a list, and I'll start laying something out very soon..
 
Raised standoffs for more room under the mobo

plently of wide holes in the mobo mounting tray

handles to carry it with that can be hidden
 
Othersider said:
Power pre-routed to a "power strip" that runs down the side of the drive cage, so you only need little 2" or so pigtails to connect any drive. A pigtail near the power supply cage plugs into a modular PSU to power the "strip".QUOTE]


That is a really good idea.
 
Not something that could be easily done, but you should check out http://www.hoojum.com/index.php . It's a company called Hoojum Design, and they build the case out of three pieces, a front piece, a back piece, and a "case" piece. They extrude it out of aluminum, and everything slides into it on seperate trays, that just fit right into slots on the inside.

I'm not sure how you could use it in a full-sized design, but it's certainly something to keep in mind.

Edit: The image here (http://hoojum.com/jpgs/guts.jpg) shows how it fits together.
 
8+ Removable HDD "toaster", so you can pop in/out single HDDs as well as easy full removal incase of emergency (rather take the whole case though).
 
DSC00707.JPG

That with all 120mm fans, a bulgin switch, slightly shorter, and removable HD cage.
 
My perfect case would have to be made out of carbon fiber, just because. Removable motherboard tray (something that slides easily out the back), removeable harddrive rack, and simple styling. I don't really like big flashy cases but something simple, well designed, and functional would be amazing. Oh yeah and did I mention it has to be made out of carbon fiber. :D
 
the bottom open grate, like the stacker so less dust accumulates.

tools less HD / Cdrom /floppy drives

removable side and top panels

direct airflow over all components with min, fan's needed

solid frame (could handle say a 150lbs person standing on the case)

dual PSU capability

EATX capable (only takes an extr 2-3 inches)

room to hide cables behind say mobo / drives
 
hmm, ok. It has to be stealthy and sterile looking. (preferably pure white) :p

Capabilities:
-Small case, nothing big. (make it easy to fit everywhere)
-Internal water cooling, maybe with an intercooler on the front. (like a car radiator, except for turbo apps)
-Quiet intake an exhaust fans to keep air circulating through.
-Powerful power supply with clear casing to see into it.
-Window on the side of the case with a slim clear fan over graphics card. Maybe etched with a logo.
-UV sleeving (blue) over all wires and cables. --expandable screen with heatshrink style.
-Custom molex connectors that are UV reactive. (blue)
-Hidden UV lighting in the bottom and top of case.
-Fan controller/display and temp probe indicator on the front of the case. (digital with LCD readout) --white to match.
-Floppy/Card reader combo with no markings on it. --white to match.
-Removable front hard drive concealed in an opening in the front of the case. Below it would be firewire, usb2.0, headphones, and line-in (mic).
-Custom UV paint on motherboard and all add-in cards.
-All blue LED indicator lights. (power, hdd activity, dvd-rom act., dvd-rw act.)
-Round cabling (blue uv)
-Hide almost all cabling, except the obvious viewable cables that you can't do anything about.

Specs:
-550+watt clear power supply. (mod if needed)
-Smallest possible AMD X2 compadible mobo.
-AMD X2 4800+
-2gb ram
-1x Geforce 7800GTX or GT
-2x 74gb raptors sata
-1x removable 300gb drive (or bigger...)
-bluetooth/802.11a/b/g
-SB Audigy Platinum with white front panel.
 
The PERFECT case would be invisible and soundproof. It would likely levitate too, so I could hide it behind my monitors in the corner, but not have it in the way of my feet.

Other than that, anything quiet and simple really floats my boat at this point in my life.
 
hrmm, the perfect case. . .

1. WTX form factor (ATX upside down)
2. 2 120s on the back, 1 on the front, and 1 on the side. front and side with removable filters.
3. all 4 fans have "modder's mesh" grills
4. 2 hard drive racks that hold 3 drives apiece. one rack that is tooless and the other with the rubber silencing grommets ala p180
5. aluminum skin with a good steel frame (i want to be able to stand on it, if i need to)
6. different motherboard standoffs, allowing for a good inch under the motherboard for wire management
7. inverted power supply mounting (as a blowhole) at the back of the case, with a support arm that will hold most water-cooling pumps
8. the usual front panel accessories (audio, mic, usb x2, firewire) covered by a door
9. front panel mounted connections for sata power and data (some are hot swappable, and it would make testing friends out easier ;) )

hrmmmmm, what else?

<edit> baa spelling
 
ok, here's what I've done so far. This is mainly the shell. I like clean and simple, and that's what most people have suggested. All aluminum, lots of bay space, wtx, big aluminum front door to stealth everything, water cooling support, etc.....

I really like the idea of built in support for h2o cooling, and pre-wired power & cables for drives. That's a really cool idea. I'll be incorporating that later.

So far, it's got a "grate" at the top that will fit a dual 120mm rad, a 120mm intake, and a psu idea I had from another project. The psu will draw air from the outside, and exhaust it out the back, never pulling warm air from inside the case. This helps most psu's keep the fan rpms down as the computer heats up, and results in far less fan noise & overall heat.

It also has a solid rubber bottom. It's hard to see in these renders, so I'll do some more later. It's basically like a rubber pad. Should dampen any vibrations.

1.jpg

2.jpg

3.jpg

4.jpg

5.jpg

6.jpg

7.jpg
 
Tenchi4U said:
They already make a near perfect case, its called the Antec P180

I do like that case. But I like the idea's given here for built in wiring & support for water cooling components.
 
For me, the P180 was just 36 pounds away from perfetion for me and a few other people. It also doesn't support BTX, WTX, easy wiring, and it's not very easy to cut space for a large radiator, but it's definately one of the best silent cases in today's market. There was another thread where uzor did a really nice Photoshop of mating a TJ06 and a Stacker, where a lot of people put in their ideas for the perfect case as well. If I didn't want something as big, I would be seriously looking at the Gigabyte 3D Aurora, if it had a little less restrictive intake in the front and maybe slightly simpler looks. For me, I'm probably just going to get a P160 when the price drops under $100 again.
 
sarbz said:
ok, here's what I've done so far. This is mainly the shell. I like clean and simple, and that's what most people have suggested. All aluminum, lots of bay space, wtx, big aluminum front door to stealth everything, water cooling support, etc.....

I really like the idea of built in support for h2o cooling, and pre-wired power & cables for drives. That's a really cool idea. I'll be incorporating that later.

So far, it's got a "grate" at the top that will fit a dual 120mm rad, a 120mm intake, and a psu idea I had from another project. The psu will draw air from the outside, and exhaust it out the back, never pulling warm air from inside the case. This helps most psu's keep the fan rpms down as the computer heats up, and results in far less fan noise & overall heat.

It also has a solid rubber bottom. It's hard to see in these renders, so I'll do some more later. It's basically like a rubber pad. Should dampen any vibrations.

If you made the fan grilles more discreet or attractive then that would be a vast improvement
 
6.jpg

OMG freaking perfect! You nailed my description nearly right on. I guess the window could be optional, but something simple with rounded window corners would look awesome. The white is sexay and clean looking. Blue LED lights used in the power indicator or HDD activity lights would give it a nice "cold" look. I LOVE IT!
 
Case should be white aluminum ... most made of atleast 3mm aluminum.

Fan grills should be less obvious except for the one on top ...

Power button also hidden .. maybe under the case ?

bottom of the case = |____|
and the power button = /\

this way it won't be out there ..

What will you be doing with the optical drives ?

The fan idea for the gpu is a little too big ... take of the cover ...

I like the idea of the opening door in the front, just split it so that the fan isn't exposed ...

Making the front open and then slides back inside to the side, this action pushes a lever that fronts up the optical drives to make the case go from say this look to a ATC / PC65 look.
 
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