Examples of poor design

ShellShock · 19 Aug 2006 at 18:50

I thought I would post an example of really bad case design:

This is my existing case, that I bought a couple of years ago from a competitor. The picture shows where you screw expansion slots to the case - note the metal flange above the screws (running vertically to the left of the screws). This flange means I have to flex and bend the card to force it pass the flange so I can screw the card in. You would be amazed at how much give there is! I sometimes think the card is about snap in two before I can force it home. You can see the scratches in the metal as a testament to my perseverance.

What genius designed this? They obviously did not use it for real before letting it out of the factory door.

My PC needs a spring clean, so I have decided to take it apart completely, clean all the components and then put it back together. I can't face battling with my existing case, so I am going to buy a new one. Any recommendations? Here are some requirements:

ATX Tower, preferably biege/white (not black)
No see through or glowing bits.
Ease of use! e.g., screwless internal drive bays, panels etc.
Up to about £70.

Anyone else have horror stories they would like to share?

Yewen · 19 Aug 2006 at 19:08

Screwless is usually a waste of time, the really high end cases are far from screwless and just use thumbscrews, says it all really.

Have a look at the Akasa Zen, Antec Super Lanboy, Lian Li PC7+ for starters, all of them are quite good cases, with the PC7+ obviously being the best one there.

orderoftheflame · 19 Aug 2006 at 19:28

I also had a screwless idea for PCI brackets on one of my cases, fortunantly there were still normal screw holes fitted bellow it. It's been quickly ripped off and replaced.

JRS · 19 Aug 2006 at 19:52

During the brief time I owned a computer made by an OCUK competitor which I shall not name, the case it was in had a metal bracket that fitted across the AGP/PCI cards where they screw onto the chassis. All well and good...unless you fit a dual-slot AGP graphics card as the metal bracket fouled on the backing plate of the card.

As for case recommendations - I wouldn't dare disagree with Yewen, so I'll recommend the PC7+ and Super Lanboy (as long as they have some left).

Yewen · 19 Aug 2006 at 19:54

If everyone agreed with me this section would be very boring, although I challenge you to make a suggestion, bar the Soprano that can even cut it close?

JRS · 19 Aug 2006 at 20:16

Yewen said:
If everyone agreed with me this section would be very boring, although I challenge you to make a suggestion, bar the Soprano that can even cut it close?

I know the limits of my computer experience, and it ends just before we arrive at Cases

Heck, my comp is sat in an A-Top Gladiator right now - not even close to the Lian Li offerings, but it keeps my rig in good order and impresses customers....which says something about those customers, but I'm not about to change it out if it looks good to them!

ShellShock · 20 Aug 2006 at 09:13

After some browsing, I'm considering one of the following

Antec Solo £64
Antec P150 Quiet PC Case with 430W PSU £81
Antec P180 £91

I will be putting a DVD drive and a CD drive into the new case. What I'm not sure about is when the specification says 4 HDD bays, is this in addition to space for the DVD and CD drives? Or will I only have 2 bays for HDDs after I've installed my CD and DVD?

I'm not too fussed about a PSU at the moment, but I think quietness is a factor, so I will be upgrading other components soon to achive this.

samcat · 20 Aug 2006 at 09:16

I have a P180 and am MORE than happy with it. Have owned many many cases in my time and the P180 is good value for money.

Cheers,
SaM C

goreblast · 20 Aug 2006 at 09:33

Nicely organised. but you'll regret using that matting stuff.

slap ed · 20 Aug 2006 at 09:54

goreblast said:
Nicely organised. but you'll regret using that matting stuff.

matting stuff , why's that ?

Nix · 20 Aug 2006 at 09:56

slap ed said:
matting stuff , why's that ?

Tried removing it?

It doesn't silence or cool anything, it only ever makes things hotter.

slap ed · 20 Aug 2006 at 09:56

is it just the picture or is your case bowed at the top ?

samcat · 20 Aug 2006 at 10:21

Nix said:
Tried removing it?

Its DYNAMAT.. It removes easily using a hot air gun and a scraper.

Nix said:
It doesn't silence or cool anything,

Remember, its DYNAMAT, NOT akasa paxpate (carp!)...
Mass loading of the panels reduces vibration and it made a big difference to the noise.. My silencing is at such a point that the transmitted hard disk vibrations were making the most noise (even though they are mounted using rubber gromits). The Dynamat made a huge difference to the noise levels

Nix said:
it only ever makes things hotter.

HAHAHAHA... (sorry!)

The case has a negligable effect on the cooling if your airflow is half decent and well designed. The p180 panels are ALREADY a 3 layer bonding of aluminum and plastics (for noise reduction reasons), so no heat could be conducted anyway... But even on an all aluminum case the actual case has a minimal (not measurable) influence on the cooling.

Been in the silent computing game for years, along with car stereos and have assisted in putting together a few anechoic chambers... so I have a vague idea of what works

slap ed said:
is it just the picture or is your case bowed at the top ?

Its just the picture, just put a straight edge (steel ruler) on it and its perfectly flat. If you look closely the left and right are showing similar artifacts from the photo...

Cheers,
Sam C

ShellShock · 20 Aug 2006 at 10:30

I've been put off the P180 by what I've read - the PSU being at the bottom sending all its heat upwards.

I'm now tending towards the Lian Li PC7+ as everyone is raving about it. I think I would replace the stock fans with AcoustiFan Dustproofs (not Asaka's as I don't like all that glowing LEDs - seems tacky to me).

My question is, how many replacement fans should I get? Is it:

1 * 80mm
1 * 120mm

Where do the fans sit? On top of my existing case I currently have my flatbed scanner. Would this block the top vent in the PC7 case?

Nix · 20 Aug 2006 at 10:33

ShellShock said:
I've been put off the P180 by what I've read - the PSU being at the bottom sending all its heat upwards.

I'm now tending towards the Lian Li PC7+ as everyone is raving about it. I think I would replace the stock fans with AcoustiFan Dustproofs (not Asaka's as I don't like all that glowing LEDs - seems tacky to me).

My question is, how many replacement fans should I get? Is it:

1 * 80mm
1 * 120mm

Where do the fans sit? On top of my existing case I currently have my flatbed scanner. Would this block the top vent in the PC7 case?

1 x 80mm
2 x 120mm

http://www.yewen.co.uk/overclockers/pc7

- Yes.

Raikiri · 20 Aug 2006 at 10:37

The Akasa fans that most people buy don't have LEDs btw, get the 80mm acoustifan and 2x120mm akasa imo

Global_Inferno · 20 Aug 2006 at 11:11

ShellShock said:
I've been put off the P180 by what I've read - the PSU being at the bottom sending all its heat upwards.

Out the back?? Where all the hot air goes? Why would that make a difference?? I'd expect a gfx card in a "normal" system to kick out more heat "upwards" than a PSU anyways... :confused:

ShellShock · 20 Aug 2006 at 12:12

Raikiri said:
The Akasa fans that most people buy don't have LEDs btw, get the 80mm acoustifan and 2x120mm akasa imo

Yes, I've decided on Akasa Ambers. Thanks for your help

V F · 20 Aug 2006 at 13:27

Nix said:
Tried removing it?

It doesn't silence or cool anything, it only ever makes things hotter.

Why would you remove it? It's not like its going to get damaged. When was these acoustic absorption materials ever advertised for cooling....? and its made no difference in heat to mine.

Doosht · 20 Aug 2006 at 18:57

thats a good quality case in my eyes