budget gaming case

Never tried one myself but must say it looks ugly. For the price tho it seems very good. Looks like there would be plenty of room for a decent sized card.

What are you planning of putting in there?
 
Really don't see the appeal of "gaming" cases. How does a case aid "gaming" in any way shape or form? Just results in a tacky looking plastic molded lump of ****.

No style :(

I'd rather have a cheap "plain" case, like an Antec 300 (which oddly calls itself a gaming case).

Infact, my server is housed in an... Antec 300.
 
puma luke said:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-020-NX&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=35

anybody had any experience with these?
i no you get what you pay for and everything but this looks quite good for the price.
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I've looked at that one a lot myself. Seems like the best value for money case I've seen but it's only got one fan in it as standard unfortunately. If you want it really cheap go for the none windowed version (same size so despite slightly different name it's the same case)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-019-NX&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=
and use the £10 saved to chuck in an extra fan if you want. Just my recommendation though as you can get the windowed if you wish.
 
theres not really a budget as such but i cant justify payin much for a case at the minute as the one i have currently has no issues. temps are fine, loads of room for cables etc but its just a plain boring old case covered in dents and scrapes from over the years.
i dont need loads of room for water cooling rads or 7 hard drives etc but equally id like space to expand in the future. its a toss up between the antec 300 and this i suppose...
 
I'd personally have a cardboard box over an Antec 300. Used one in about 10 different builds now and hated every single one.

However I've now built 2 machines with this and have been very surprised by its looks in the flesh and how much room there is in them. Very good value for money imo.
 
puma luke said:
theres not really a budget as such but i cant justify payin much for a case at the minute as the one i have currently has no issues. temps are fine, loads of room for cables etc but its just a plain boring old case covered in dents and scrapes from over the years.
i dont need loads of room for water cooling rads or 7 hard drives etc but equally id like space to expand in the future. its a toss up between the antec 300 and this i suppose...
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NZXT BETA Classic Series Case £35.76
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-016-NX
430 X 200 X 501 mm (H x W x D) (from NZXT website)

Akasa freedom £46.99
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-039-AK&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=
445 x 200 x 482mm (H x W x D)

NZXT Gamma Mid-Tower Case £35.76
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-019-NX&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=
NZXT M59 Mid-Tower Windowed Case £45.97
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-020-NX&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=#
449 x 190x 508mm (H x W x D)

same case really, either go for cheaper one to save money or the more expensive for looks.

Lancool Dragon-Lord PC-K58 Mid Tower Case £56
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-004-LN
496mm x 213mm x 498 mm (H, W, D)

If you want a guaranteed high quality case lancool always get good reviews but price may be pushing too high.

I'd go with the lancool for build quality or two NZXT Mid-tower cases as they have more room and more fan slots than the others so for cooling and space they'd probably be the best. Down the line if you wanted them quiet you could get all silent fans and end up with a good price, good noise level, good size case.

These are probably the better cases below £50 (other than lancool) so you should be fine with any of them. Antec 300 is another option but slightly smaller than these (maybe not internally though).
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-101-AN&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=160
 
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I've got a NZXT M59 - I really like it - keeps the system nice and cool too. Cable management is fairly good and it just feels good quality being steel internals - the edges have been rounded nicely - so no sharp corners, and it's all black too - which just looks so much better than painted grey.

The pictures make it look uglier than it really is - though it's still not exactly 'pretty'.
 
hm so i think ive narrowed it down to the antec 300 or the akasa freedom. most important factors for me are: good cable management, good airflow, quality of supplied fans and quietness. also id like it to have plenty of room for me to experiment with water cooling in the future, should this steer my decision?
cheers:)
 
Custom water cooling in a mid tower case just appears to be HARD work because of the restrictions of internal space. If your going for a H50 that obviously is not a issue!
 
puma luke said:
hm so i think ive narrowed it down to the antec 300 or the akasa freedom. most important factors for me are: good cable management, good airflow, quality of supplied fans and quietness. also id like it to have plenty of room for me to experiment with water cooling in the future, should this steer my decision?
cheers:)
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I'm guessing the antec would be the more solid case based on it's popularity and good reviews. I've not got either and can't say which has the best fans but to me the Akasa sounds like it has better fans included but airflow I'm unsure about. I doubt I can be of much more help really, sorry. Best I could do is guess and that would be that the antec 300 would be the better case. It is taller so more likely to fit the watercooler (which are thin but tall generally) and it's got great reviews.
Anyway I think you'd be happy with either but not sure which is best.
 
I've found on my NZXT Tempest, the switches have terrible build quality, even though the rest of the case is faultless. On more than one occasion, I've pressed the power switch and pressed it through the other side! Could just be my case though...
 
puma luke said:
too late now... the 300 is on its way!
what makes u prefer the freedom one anyway?
i dont like the perpendicular 3.5" drive bays as the wire has to wrap around the back and will look untidy and the general consensus is that the 300 is the 'best' budget all rounder on the market
review; http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cases/2009/11/12/akasa-freedom-xone-case-review/3
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Its for exactly the reason you've mentioned there that I hate the 300.

Because the cables stick out towards the motherboard they steal valuable real estate, which there isn't a lot of in there.

Check the crappy phone image below of the Feedom Xone I built for a mate of mine last week. (he already had the components I just put it together).

Akasa.jpg


You simply don't have those types of cable management options on the 300. And referencing reviews on cases is very dodgy imo.

For instance the Freedom Xone has been criticized in some reviews for its thermal performance, however the build above has an E6750 @ 3.6ghz and has load temps of 51c, in another build however I would get a different result because of factors such as thermal paste application & room temps.

Anyhow enjoy your new 300 fella and as long as it suits your needs then you'll be fine.
 
Seems to have blown the "Antec 300" myth out of the water with one pic of a very tidy build ManCuBus !!!! Well done. Informative info with proof to back it up!!!

Anyone going to post a pic of a 300 with same components (3 HDD's and large GPU etc)???
 
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