Decent Midi Case Under £40?

fallenangle

fallenangle

fallenangle

Associate
Joined
11 May 2013
Posts
77
I was going to do what I did with my first build and go for a very cheap solution to case and PSU: Coolermaster Elite 330U + Coolermaster 500W PSU bundle. But when I mentioned this on another board here it was suggested that the PSU is a bit rubbish and I should get something better.

Problem is that throws my budget out as I'd earmarked no more than £60 (inc. delivery), preferably less, for this part of the build and I really can't stretch it any further.

If power requirement calculators are to be relied on a 400W PSU would be OK but a 500W better.

I have nothing against the Coolermaster case mentioned, it has been used by plenty of pro PC builders in the past and the general build quality is fine. BUT it has one not so good feature:the main on/off button is flimsy.

Some reviews mentioned this but I ignored it and it has been worrying me ever since. I have read a couple of later user reviews where the button, which apparently uses a plastic spring, has broken rendering the whole otherwise decent case unusable as it can't be reliably repaired or replaced.

I was looking at some cheap cases last week and in comparison to the Coolermaster they were made of what seemed little more than tin foil. So is there any better made midi-case/PSU solution at <£60?
 
Last edited:
What are the rest of the planned specs? What will you be using it for? Does the midi-case need to be ATX capable as well as micro-ATX?
 
Danny75 said:
What are the rest of the planned specs? What will you be using it for? Does the midi-case need to be ATX capable as well as micro-ATX?
Click to expand...

I was looking at the MB options and was considering a m-ATX but I have settled on Gigabyte or MSI H87 ATX.

It will be a low/medium spec i3 machine, stock cooler for now, 2x2GB RAM (for now), HD Radeon 7770 IGB GPU, I x HDD (for now), DVD-RW drive and one, maybe two additional fans if space allows. A soundcard is another later possibilty I might need to accomodate.

The size of the Coolermaster case I mentioned is:-

Dimension (W x H x D) 189 x 425 x 485 mm / 7.44 x 16.73 x 19.09 inch

I really don't want anything much smaller particularly the width which is less than many other midi-cases I looked at. Internally it has 163mm of available space and only just OK with the cooler I used on my previous build.

Raikiri

Thanks good looking case that and I could live with a white one. It is a bit narrower than the Coolermaster though if only a few mm. I'll have to look into the internal dimnsions.

I have been considering other BitFenix one's - are they generally all decent build quality too?

Any PSU recommendations to go with it at the price point wanted?
 
There are cases and PSU's for under £60 (inc.shipping) but none that I'd spend money on. Maybe ask in the Customer Support section. The OcUK staff might know of something that could be made available for that price, that is decent.

Otherwise, the closest to budget at the moment that I'd spend money on for a budget build are:

YOUR BASKET
1 x SuperFlower Amazon 450W "80 Plus Bronze" Power Supply £39.95
1 x BitFenix Comrade Midi-Tower - Black £29.99
Total : £81.64 (includes shipping : £9.75).



The Comrade recommended by Raikiri. Also available in black. One 120mm fan. USB 3.0.

YOUR BASKET
1 x SuperFlower Amazon 450W "80 Plus Bronze" Power Supply £39.95
1 x Aerocool V3X Evil Black Edition Midi-Tower - Black/Orange £25.99
Total : £75.54 (includes shipping : £8.00).



A budget Aerocool. One 120mm fan and one 92m fan. USB 3.0.
 
If you should go for a BitFenix case and have an complaints then I can help should you get no joy from a retailer.
 
fallenangle said:
Raikiri

Thanks good looking case that and I could live with a white one. It is a bit narrower than the Coolermaster though if only a few mm. I'll have to look into the internal dimnsions.

I have been considering other BitFenix one's - are they generally all decent build quality too?

Any PSU recommendations to go with it at the price point wanted?
Click to expand...


It's available in black too, I've had no problems with my BitFenix Raider quality wise, although the new NZXT looks pretty good so I'll be trying that next.

PSU wise the Superflower Danny suggested would be my budget choice, I did use a 350w Antec for a friends build and that was fine also, but the cables are really short.

What specs are you looking to use?
 
Check out the Gigabyte GZ-G2Plus case they are about £45-£50, will come with 3 120mm fans pre installed and a 80mm rear fan, tooless installation and usb 3.0 support, good build quality for the money! i use it on my partners rig, she like is because the fans are green........ dont worry i know...
 
Thanks for the suggestions which I've been mulling over this weekend and trying to free up something from my budget to up the amount I can spend.

I do like some of those cases suggested but after checking I realised the minimum recommended PSU for the HD Radeon 7770 is 450W and I'd appreciate advice on whether getting a 500W PSU or a 'certified' 450W 80 PLUS would be more sensible.

My power requirements in the system build calculators I've used recommend 350+W even with the 7770 would be OK. I prefer to go with the higher figure recommended for the 7770.

Problem is I've had difficulty finding any decent ie. 80 PLUS 450W or 500W PSUs for much under £40 like the Superflower one Danny75 suggested earlier.

I've been trying to stretch my budget to the Corsair 200R case at around £50 but there's no way I'll be able to afford that unless I can find a PSU (all including delivery) for under £30 ie. £80 total.

So any PSU recommendations to go with that case and meet the power requirements specified are very welcome.

BTW I've become aware that Haswell CPUs like the i3-4340 I'm going to use require PSUs compatible with the C6/C7 specification low power state. This is yet another criteria the PSU will have to meet and a bit of a worry as none of those I've been looking at state that they are are suitable for use with Haswell CPUs. :(
 
Last edited:
Thanks, that is in line with what others have suggested too. If AMD say systems using the 7770 should have a 450W PSU you do tend to take them at their word. But it has never made much sense to me when PSU calculators recommend under 350W which you would assume was an over estimation in any case.

Any info on the Haswell CPU PSU compatibility issue?
 
Not sure on Haswell but with the recommended specs you have to remember that they allow for poor quality PSUs. They don't want someone using a rubbish 400w PSU then complaining because it didn't work.
 
Exactly but where does that leave me?

Should I be looking at a medium quality 450W - 500W PSU which will easily do the job because even if the real output is 20% lower it will be more than adequate in power to run my system.

Or do I look at a better quality but lower powered PSU with a more consistent output and just how much lower in power can I go safely?

The two, pretty comprehensive power calculators I've used suggest a 300+W PSU would be OK. So I would have thought I too would be looking at a good quality 350W PSU for my expected system with a bit of leeway built in.

Edit:-

I think I've found what I want as regards the PSU matter:-

XFX 450W Pro Series 80+

Goodish reviews, matches the AMD 450W 7770 Radeon PSU recommendation, very good value and also states in the specs I've found that it is C6/C7 Haswell friendly.
 
Last edited:
I'm in the same boat as you and have been looking at reviews of this case, looks pretty good and I may end up getting one myself too. Comes in white & black.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Zalman Z3-Plus Midi-Tower - White £39.95
Total : £49.55 (includes shipping : £8.00).

 
The spec looks good for the price but that Zalman case is not really to my taste. I don't like windows and LED lighting of any sort, unnecessary and distracting IMHO.

As is still the case :) my favourite choice is the Corsair Carbide 200R. Plain but well made and a professional looking piece of kit.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-107-CA&groupid=2362&catid=1489

But I'm being messed around by the seller of the new HDD I ordered through eBay and I've have no idea what my budget will allow until (and if) I get that sorted. :(

Edit

HDD matter sorted and I received the PSU today. Looks very good but maybe one of the reasons it is relatively cheap is something not mentioned in any of the specs or reviews I read before buying. Unlike most of the XFX PSU Pros Series range it uses 85 degrees Centigrade rated capacitors rather than 105 degree Centigrade ones.

In a low powered rig like the one I'm building this is likely unimportant. At 55C you could use the thing for 8 hours a day 365 days/year for over 5 years before any cap might be expected to fail. So in real world use it should last twice that at the very least.

Also ordered the Corsair Carbide 200R case. I did loads of comparison and it was a close run thing with NZXT 210 Elite because I'd found some reviews of the Corsair saying that off the shelf ie. wiith no additional fans, its narrow frontal air intake design affected the internal temperature level detrimentally. But looking at comparison figures and considering the relative low powered spec of my system I decided that it wasn't significant. I always intended to add at least one extra intake fan anyway.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom