Good Case?

Cyber-Mav · 11 Oct 2006 at 15:58

ok had my case now for over 5 years and its basically a hacked up AT full tower case with couple of blow holes added.

was thinking of replacing it with one of these:

a coolermaster stacker.

but im worried, how long will the atx standard be here for? or will btx take it over? im just worried about futureproofing with a case as expensive as this one is. although for £130 i can;t think of any other case that offers as much as this case does.

Cyber-Mav · 11 Oct 2006 at 16:04

i just read this review up on it:
http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?art=2528

looks like the stacker is btx compliant so looks like its the case to go for. gutted that i need to fork out extra for the 9 12cm fans this case can hold.

wonder how loud 9 12cm akasa amber fans would sound? :confused:

Cyber-Mav · 11 Oct 2006 at 16:15

Minstadave said:
I'll get this bumped over to case cental

what there is a seperate section for cases?? lol how did i miss that one??

Cyber-Mav · 11 Oct 2006 at 16:15

Minstadave said:
There is nothing quite like a Stacker, they're huge cases. I'm getting rid of mine now I'm moved to a Shuttle, but I will miss the Stacker, so much space for watercooling

was yours the black stacker case? also whats the cooling like in them? from reviews it seems the stacker is probably the best case on the market.

Cyber-Mav · 11 Oct 2006 at 16:26

benjo said:
I've seen this mentioned many times on here. The new 830 Stacker should be avoided.

edit: No SM3.0 support either

can;t talk me out of it, iv placed the order along with high speed shipping so it should be here for friday.

ordered the black case too. for £100 all in i just had to buy it :eek:

Cyber-Mav · 11 Oct 2006 at 16:43

i only got around 3 12cm fans at my disposal, 2 akasa ambers and a noiseblocker fan.

if i load out all 9 spaces for fans, which would be the best fan to use?
i know the akasa amber fans i have are very quiet, but not sure how loud it would be with like 9 of them running at once?

only other thing i could wish fore was more desk space to put the case on top of the table. but the way my desk is i have all the machines under the table.

Cyber-Mav · 11 Oct 2006 at 16:56

Zefan said:
Am I on your ignore list or something?

lol sorry mate i must have missed your post. thats good then if decibels don;t stack.

iv got some pics of my current case and the desk, but my isp is refusing ftp connections for some reason.

edit: hang on a minute, if decibels don;t stack, would 9 delta fans be just as loud as a single delta fan?? :confused:

this sounds like a plan....

Cyber-Mav · 11 Oct 2006 at 17:01

Zefan said:
I'd expect the vibrations from them would be nigh on impossible to dampen. Your Pc would move itself

what if i put a cement block at the bottom??

Cyber-Mav · 11 Oct 2006 at 17:05

BillytheImpaler said:
All I've ever heard about the 830 is that it's total crap. It's way overpriced for what you get. The original stacker or the 810 are far superior.

yea iv heard that too, but from all the reviews i have read on it, and it has a damn high number of reviews, no one can fault its performance.
cases are a subjective matter, although the stacker looks almost as bad as a naked margaret thatcher would look, im just basing my purchade decision on its performance.

looks wise the only time i look at my case is to see the hard drive light flash and the use of the power button. (and when overclocking constant use of the reset button).

but if i can get my pics online you will then be able to see what im comming from.

Cyber-Mav · 11 Oct 2006 at 17:29

BillytheImpaler said:
If you want performance, why not get an Eclipse?

yep was considering getting one of those but needed a larger case.

on further inspection the side panel of the stacker case can house 14cm fans? does such a size in fans actually exist?

Cyber-Mav · 11 Oct 2006 at 17:34

Minstadave said:
Yup, the Aerocool Streamliner

how are they for noise?

Cyber-Mav · 11 Oct 2006 at 17:38

Yewen said:
You can get 140mm and 160mm fans quite easily.

All cases are indeed subject to the persons opinion, but most of the reviews I read on the net rate cases so highly in general its just a joke, the Stacker 830 has really shoddy build quality, its the major issue with the case really.

If you get a good one your laughing, but the case is as bad as the P180 for issues.

yep, i decided to get the black one since its newer and hopefully better than the silver one. also black will get less dirty.

mind you once the system is built i never really go inside it. all it does is sit there.
last time i went inside my case was just to fit the new psu and the gfx card.
also i get real bad dust congestion inside my current case. whats the best method of keeping dust out of a case? is it to have more fans blowing in rather than sucking out? or the other way round?

Cyber-Mav · 11 Oct 2006 at 17:51

yea the eclipse has a very similar design internally to the antec slk3000b which i have for my 4th pc. very good cooling setup too. but for the cooling im intending on the stacker should work out well for me.
i got a thermaltake big typhoon, and the stacker will allow me to have a couple of fans placed directly over it for cold air intakes.

but with a case like the stacker, its gonna get a bit confusing which way to have fans mounted to either have intake or exhausts, looks like its gonna be some trial and error.

but im assuming that the 4 fans on the side panel should all be intakes, the front fan intake, then the rear fan, psu fan, and top fan should be exhausts.

but that makes only 2 of the case fans exhausts excluding the psu, and 7 intakes. unless the front intakes are switched over to being exhausts, :confused:

dang it im confused already.

Cyber-Mav · 11 Oct 2006 at 18:01

ahh damn it, i just realised, the 2 dvd drives i have and the floppy drive i have are standard beige colour, and the damn case i orderd is black.

oh well atleast its got a lid to cover up the shame

Cyber-Mav · 11 Oct 2006 at 18:32

ok i cancelled the order on the stacker, since everyone on here doesn;t seem to like it much.

so that leads me to---- whats the best case going for £150 not too bothered about looks, more interested in functionality

Cyber-Mav · 11 Oct 2006 at 18:36

Zefan said:
Akasa Eclipse or some sort of Lian Li.

Akasa Eclipse?? lol when everyone mentioned the Eclipse case, i though tthey were going on about the thermaltake eclipse with the stupid cd drive thingy.

let me check the akasa out.

Cyber-Mav · 11 Oct 2006 at 18:45

the akasa case does seem a bit small to me.

also does the akasa case come with a side panel? or do you have to add it seperatley?

another thing is, the width of the case, my old full tower case is too thin to alow a internal 12cm fan on the side panel so i had to mount it externally. is the akasa fan wise enough to allow a side panel fan to fit and not end up hitting my thermaltake big typhoon?

Cyber-Mav · 11 Oct 2006 at 18:46

benjo said:
Easily persuaded?

It's the right choice at the end of the day though

yea was a hard decision but decided on cancelling it. bit gutted but will wait and see now.

i still need a new case, as soon as i can get my current case pics up, then all will become clear.

Cyber-Mav · 11 Oct 2006 at 18:47

what size fan goes in that extra side panel?

Cyber-Mav · 11 Oct 2006 at 19:35

hmm, internally the eclipse doesn;t seem to be much different from this case:
Antec SLK3800BUK Black Quiet Midi Tower Case - 400W SmartPower PSU (CA-048-AN)

except for the additional side panel that will have a 12cm fan insted of the 8cm one on the antec.

not fully convinced with the akasa case.