Indecisive over case...help please

Vidar · 19 Apr 2009 at 19:02

Hi guys, really hope im not doing anybody's head in with this but really dont want to regret anything ive bought...

Id pretty much decided on the Coolermaster Cosmos (S) as it looked sleek, a little bit showy but not so much as to be repulsive. Ive started hearing from a few guys on here that for the cost build quality isnt that great...

rjkoneill said:
It's not too bad
I can think of worse.
The build quality isn't fantastic tbh

And this is echoed on some other review sites etc.. One thing I have heard is that Silverstone Cases are the dogs doodahs in build quality but im on abit of a budget... though ive managed to raise it slightly I cant push it enough to get one of the more expensive models, however I do rather like the look of the Silverstone RV01B-W Raven!

So given the choice which would you guys choose overall?

Blackhawk47 · 19 Apr 2009 at 19:37

NW_SKINHEAD said:
however I do rather like the look of the Silverstone RV01B-W Raven!

No no, no no. :rolleyes:

Have you had a look at a lian li or antec?

Also what are your needs?

Vidar · 19 Apr 2009 at 19:51

To be honest I dont really like how the Antec's and Lian Li's look... I definatley need a full tower as I want pleanty of room for crossfire etc later on.

The Raven seems to have some great reviews about so could you explain to me why you are so against it?

EsaT · 19 Apr 2009 at 19:56

Definine word "quality".
Is it about usefull features vs. fashionable features...
Strong enough to do its job or over engineered for tank like strength in which case aluminium pretty much looses its weight advantage...
Every fitting feature and gimmick included vs. good base for modding...
Lot depends on that and you really can't get everything because most design choises/features are mutually exclusive.

Ss Raven has certain sense in component positioning but after that problems start... like that cabling sticking upwards from case.
Also as example of what I meant with design choises those fashionable plastic HDD caddies/trays are acoustically very questionable and unlike hard HDD mounting they still prevent conductive cooling of HDD through metal structure. Then drives are packed very densely inside very restrictive cage (personally wouldn't put more than three HDDs in there) and you can never use lowermost 5.25" bay because then HDDs won't have any airflow.

If bling bling is what you're after Lian Li has now also such cases:
http://www.lian-li.com.tw/v2/en/product/product04.php?cl_index=1&sc_index=25&ss_index=61

Vidar · 19 Apr 2009 at 20:14

Hmmmmm thanks Esat that kind of puts things into perspective,

What I want most from a case is for it to be robust and have pleanty of room, though I also want it to be attractive.

Ahwell back to searching i go! lol

EsaT · 19 Apr 2009 at 21:17

NW_SKINHEAD said:
also want it to be attractive.

Like mesh front and rounded corners?
Or colourful and flashy? (like cheap chinese toys... well, that covers also previous)

Fans aren't fixed part of case so just look features of case instead of lack of LED fans.

For enough space for long graphics cards E-ATX motherboard support is good measure.

reflux · 19 Apr 2009 at 21:19

-1 for the Raven - I've read some pretty bad reviews about it. Just like the Antec Skeleton, it's great on ideas but poor on execution.

Vidar · 19 Apr 2009 at 23:47

Its gonna hurt but im pushing my budget a little more but what about the Silverstone Temjin TJ09B Aluminium Tower Case?

Audigex · 20 Apr 2009 at 03:10

The cosmos is a great case. It's not the strongest at the size, but it depends what you want it for? Lugging it around to LAN parties or sitting on your desk?

As long as you move it "occasionally" (ie every 3 months to clean your desk) then it'll be fine. It's only if you have to start taking it in the car to another location that you have to start being concerned about the case, and then you probably need to worry about your HSF damaging your motherboard anyway.

steveinspain · 20 Apr 2009 at 06:24

NW SKINHEAD - we seem to be struggling in the same way - I too can#t work out what I want from a case and how much it is worth spending - a new case would be the same as a new hard drive, and my budget is miniscule - sadly, I am not entitled to use the memebrs market yet (not enough posts) as i would love to pick up a second hand cae such as the Antec 300, p180 or p182, and have not seen one on ebay yet..
EsaT seems to talk a lot of sense about how to choose though - his posts to you are helping me sort my thoughtS !
Good luck fella !

EsaT · 20 Apr 2009 at 10:13

NW_SKINHEAD said:
Its gonna hurt but im pushing my budget a little more but what about the Silverstone Temjin TJ09B Aluminium Tower Case?

Construction should be sure strong (closing that over engineering) but quite hefty price for only six HDD bays and four 5.25" bays.

And looks like solid front became some mandatory goal and then they didn't know how to make cooling of front end work and crammed HDDs there with stub of overly complex airflow and added some meshes and hole through case for making it look fasionable and so that marketing department can start making fancy claims.
HDD mounting is another of these countless wannabe soft mountings, there are some strips of (probably too hard) material there but then HDDs are attached to that cage with "good old" hard metal screws allowing direct conduction of vibration... could have at least left those thermal insulator strips away for allowing conductive cooling or put fan to either side (like in TJ07) for blowing through HDD cages.

Vidar · 20 Apr 2009 at 12:12

EsaT said:
Construction should be sure strong (closing that over engineering) but quite hefty price for only six HDD bays and four 5.25" bays.

And looks like solid front became some mandatory goal and then they didn't know how to make cooling of front end work and crammed HDDs there with stub of overly complex airflow and added some meshes and hole through case for making it look fasionable and so that marketing department can start making fancy claims.
HDD mounting is another of these countless wannabe soft mountings, there are some strips of (probably too hard) material there but then HDDs are attached to that cage with "good old" hard metal screws allowing direct conduction of vibration... could have at least left those thermal insulator strips away for allowing conductive cooling or put fan to either side (like in TJ07) for blowing through HDD cages.

I believe I read in a review that you can add a 120mm fan directly beneath or in the lowest section of the HDD cage. Also im not likely to need 6 HDD bays although I do like that its available and the same is true of the 5.25" bays

EsaT which case do you use and what would you recommend personally? I know im stretching to almost £200 though id prefer to save the difference and stick around £150 or less if possible

EsaT · 20 Apr 2009 at 13:08

NW_SKINHEAD said:
I believe I read in a review that you can add a 120mm fan directly beneath or in the lowest section of the HDD cage.

There's one fan between cages but it's quite restricted position and airflow is very complex/non-laminar.

I'm using Lian Li A71 with combination damping mats, and few small mods.
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13843368&postcount=2223

Vidar · 20 Apr 2009 at 19:02

Looks very nice mate and might save me some cash if I go for it, though am not overly keen on the design again (I know I know....lol) ive also heard that the side panels are very weak and dent very easily

EsaT · 20 Apr 2009 at 22:12

I think adding some not too bright (moderate glow looks much better than bright) blue or red LEDs inside door could give nice "stealthy" glow through holes in door's sides.
There are few "ready" holes which could be utilized for getting wires from inside case to LEDs in door... I just covered those holes with mats.

NW_SKINHEAD said:
also heard that the side panels are very weak and dent very easily

I measured thickness of side panel after noticing that side panel of Coolermaster Stacker felt flimsier after working with A71 and it turned to be ~1,15mm so it's actually slightly thicker than steel panels. (which are 1mm at most because of weight)
Lot more expensive Lian Li V2x10 would have apparently 3mm sides but I disqualified it because of other failures/deficiencies. (also light weight can be rectified, design/feature deficiencies not)

Originally I wasn't really looking for aluminium case but size/space requirements and all features I wanted basing to reading and my ~16 year long PC experience narrowed down potential cases really effectively and now I wouldn't anymore consider steel cases because of high weight.
Sure it's not strong enough for banging it around (no proper way for treating PC with components) but because weight has big impact to what something feels combination damping mat takes away lot of that flimsy feeling and increases vibration resistance to lot better than plain steel sheet. Going to scale carrying case told empty case was maybe 8.5kg and with those damping mats that increased to 11 kg compared to already aluminium side paneled (and smaller) CM Stacker's ~14.5kg without any damping and up to 18kg of similar sized steel case.
That kind weight difference is really nice thing when you have half dozen HDDs and full 5.25" bays.
Also there's already enough fans in case for making 1kg of weight.

Too bad we can't have cases made from titanium which puts strength to weight ratios of both aluminium and steel to shame...

Vidar · 21 Apr 2009 at 00:12

EsaT said:
Too bad we can't have cases made from titanium which puts strength to weight ratios of both aluminium and steel to shame...

Indeed

Thanks for all your advice EsaT im looking forward to putting it to good use!