can someone suggest me a case please

Stripe · 27 Apr 2006 at 09:58

hi!

think i'm gonna have to replace my case because of heat issues. My last PSU melted and I think this 3 week old enermax liberty 500w is on the way out as it's started making this high-pitched whine. here's my current spec:

gigabyte k8-nmf-9 m-atx board
leadtek winfast 6800gt
amd athlon venice with stock heatsink
2 sata HDDs
DVDrw (which is quite long for a 5.25" drive)
2 x 512 geil value ram

so along with cooling, keeping it quiet is one of my main concerns. It doesn't have to be micro atx (in fact, it might be better if it isn't) but i'd prefer one that lies horizontally on a desk. if it looks good too then that's a bonus.

Thanks

edit: I have a black DVD/rw and black front control panel so it might be better if the case is generally black.

Yewen · 27 Apr 2006 at 15:01

You missed out the most important bit of information, budget.

Silverstone Lascala's or the Zalman desktop are a good bet.

Stripe · 27 Apr 2006 at 20:06

thanks, I'll check them out.

I'm probably looking at sub £100 but would pay more for something really special.

my new idea is to make 2 new rigs, one for gaming and one HTPC, by salvaging/selling components from the rig described.

any suggestions on what I could do with the components I have?

I'm looking to make a (pretty much) silent HTPC which will only be used for playing music and videos, watching digital tv and surfing the web. any ideas what my cheapest options would be?

I don't really want any components not being used to their full potential, especially if they're hot/noisy.

by "gaming" i mean I'll play far cry and half-life 2 and not much else tbh.

thanks

Yewen · 27 Apr 2006 at 21:45

Well from the top of my head, some Silverstone Lascala models fit in your budget and the older ATCs 620 and 630 do, a Qtec case also fits the bill.

Have a look around some online shops at the Lascala cases or their website http://www.silverstonetek.com/product-case.htm and see if any fit your liking, but check the prices as they go up to £450.

wellibob · 28 Apr 2006 at 13:16

Silverstone Lascala , nice case indeed.

Yewen · 28 Apr 2006 at 13:46

Which Lascala do you think is nice?

LC09 is a nice one, but mini ITX so useless for you but my personal favourite.

Stripe · 28 Apr 2006 at 23:19

yeah, really liking the look of the silverstones, thank you.

just wondering, on the cases with horizontal PCI slots, how exactly does this work?

are there plug in things of different heights that let you put cards in parallel with the motherboard?

Yewen · 29 Apr 2006 at 00:37

Yeh its a card that plugs in a slot on the motherboard, then the slots come off that.

Stripe · 29 Apr 2006 at 00:51

so does the card just plug into one slot on the motherboard? how come that works?

Yewen, you're obviously the person to ask about cases on here. Any idea about the Zalman HD160? Have to say I like the look of it a lot (though not the price tag so much)

edit: the second bit.

Yewen · 29 Apr 2006 at 00:52

Yeh, and then it branches off into more from the adapter.

Silverstone have some info on their site.

Stripe · 29 Apr 2006 at 00:57

ah, just beat me before i did my edit.

cool thanks. It's going to be a tough decision when I come down to making it.

Also (sorry about all the questions) do you think a case where the PSU "slot" is next to the rear case fans would have better cooling as hot hair from it could be blown straight out of the case? In my current setup the PSU blows air straight onto my PCI cards and gfx card and I don't think it does any favours for my temps. It seems that some silverstone cases (if you look at them from the back left to right) have PSU "slot", mobo i/o slot + fans, pci slots. Others seem to have mobo i/o + fans, pci slots then PSU "slot".

Yewen · 29 Apr 2006 at 01:08

Depends on a lot of things, I have not used enough HTPC cases, while paying attention to that specific thing to be able to tell you from my experience.

But as a educated guess, it could make a difference, but it also depends on the intakes near the PSU, what size the psu is etc.

It is not just one thing.

Zalmans cases are nice, not had chance with one of them yet though, seen through glass is as close as I have gotten.

Which of the Lascala's have tickled your fancy?

Stripe · 29 Apr 2006 at 01:26

I really like the:

LC20M
LC20
LC16M
LC10M
LC10

as they take ATX PSUs and have plenty of pci slots. I read that the screens on the M versions aren't compatible with seasonic PSUs though which is a shame as I've heard they're very quiet and reliable.

I really like the look of the LC11 and LC11M but the PSU size puts me off them a little. Also I'd worry that the slimness of them would limit my cooling options.

What's really attracting me to the the HD160 is the card reader. Strange how I'd consider dropping an extra £100 on something that costs a few quid.

Do you know if these machines take standard 5.25" DVD-RW drives btw?

I'm really excited about the idea of having an HTPC now. I think I'd use desktop X to make a desktop that would hide non-media features, just so my other rig won't feel too redundant.

how come you know so much about different cases anyway Yewen? do you just get bored of cases and replace them all the time?

Yewen · 29 Apr 2006 at 01:32

Can I throw another idea at you, a cheap mini ITX system for a HTPC type rig, what I am doing

(LC09)

It will say if they take the drives or not, I will not go through and get all the specs for each of the cases but it does say if they take 5" or laptop style, most will be normal style.

And I generally replace them, and I do a lot of system builds for people, so get to use them then, I browse shops a fair bit and see them then. Also got a few other projects through the work I do which gives me the excuse to try a variety of cases out.