Need a new case

Dougiebabe2003

Dougiebabe2003

Dougiebabe2003

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31 Oct 2005
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Hi there,

I currently have a Coolermaster Cavalier and I can't get good temps with this case with the side case on.

I have a E6600 OC to 3ghz and on full load I got around 60C on both cores with a V core of 1.275 in the bios & Arctic Freezer Pro 7.

I also have a 2900XT which never see's idle temps of less than 60C and load of around 70C with the fan cutting in sometimes.

This is all with the side panel off. With the panel on CPU temps rise to 68C under load and GPU goes to around 80C I think.

I don't want to spend any more than £90 really but may budge to £100.

Don't really care if there are lights or not as I have to sleep in the same room as it. If it does have them I don't want them to be blinding... a nice subtle glow is ok tho;)

Also would like it kinda quiet but not expecting absoutle silence. A hum is ok whereas Harrier Jump Jet taking off in the room is a no-no.

I was looking at the Antec 900 but can see a few things that bother me to do with the way the air would move in the case... and it's not tool-less which I would also like. If the whole thing isn't tool-less then just the HDD's would be good & the way the 900 takes the HDD's looks a bit annoying to me.

So basicly I want (if possible):

Better cooling than I currently have
Not to bright that my room turns into a disco
Not to loud that it turns into a RAF base
Preferebly tool-less, if not then HDD's tool less would be great.
Less than £100

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers in advance, Doug.
 
hp7909 said:
Antec P182
Click to expand...

Had a look at that and I must say I am rather impressed.

Would you rate this case above the Antec 900? I have been reading up more on it and the only thing that I feel let's it down is:

No dust protection
Could be quite loud
Could be verrrry bright
No tool less design

I will admit that my G/F turned round to me straight away and said I should get the 900 and not the 182 but she is only going on looks only.... she won;t be the one digging out the dust and have to take off both sides to get to the HDD's.

I really like the P182 because it is basicly the reverse of the 900 in downpoints. The one thing I really like about the P182 and the Thermaltake is that they have rubber mounts for everything so no vibrations etc. How much would I notice this on the 900 or would it be more the fans that would be annoying?

How does any one rate the Thermaltake VA8003BWS Armour Super Tower?

That's at the top point of my budget but it looks like it would keep everything cool but may be loud and bright?

Would I be right in saying that the 900 and the Thermaltake are more about noise, lights and keeping everything cool and the P182 is more about subtly, silence but still doing a good job with the temps?

Cheers, Doug.
 
P182 is alright but still needs improvement. 5.25" lock-down brackets, deeper as bottom HD cage is still cramped with power & sata cables.

The P182 isn't amazingly quiet, you need to set all fans to low. Although it does quieten HD clicking, but you must have quiet HD's in the first place. I'm using a 182 for the HTPC.

For a gaming rig I'd get something with a bit more airflow, generally louder but you're going to have sound system on anyway. As long as the case/system doesn't like a Delta screamer at full whack it really doesn't matter.
 
badbob said:
P182 is alright but still needs improvement. 5.25" lock-down brackets, deeper as bottom HD cage is still cramped with power & sata cables.

The P182 isn't amazingly quiet, you need to set all fans to low. Although it does quieten HD clicking, but you must have quiet HD's in the first place. I'm using a 182 for the HTPC.

For a gaming rig I'd get something with a bit more airflow, generally louder but you're going to have sound system on anyway. As long as the case/system doesn't like a Delta screamer at full whack it really doesn't matter.
Click to expand...

Cool, thanks for that!

I think I could put up with a bit of noise, esp if I can turn the fans up when gaming then down when going to bed etc and fancy a bit of overnight downloading.

My case I have atm is a nice-ish size and from what I belive the 900 is about the same size and the Thermaltake is a bit bigger.

Are there any other sub £100 cases that would do the job? Im not to keen on the X-clio's as I reckon that would be like living on a runway:eek:

If there are no other cases avalible (that would warrent an upgrade) what case out of the above three would people suggest with my spec?

Cheers again, Doug.
 
Hello and thank you to all for replying!

I think I have finally made my descion...... Im going to wait:rolleyes:

I really like the 900 but... I dunno, it just doesn't seem to be MY case.

The P182 looks great on the inside, would prob be the most quiet and not blind me while I sleep but again, it just doesn't feel like a case I want.

I think the problem is I want a window as well as good cooling. I understand now that i'm going to have to make sacrifices for the case I want... BIG sacrifices!

I think I am going to cable tidy my PC, maybe check to see if my HS needs lapping and live with it until the Antec 1200 is out ;)

I will only want the air model & not the water cooling one as I have NO water cooling equipment + it will be wayyy out of my price range.

I understand that having 3 120mm fans in the front, 2 120mm in the back, an extra 120mm in the side case (I think) and a 200mm in the top it's not going to be quiet and with all those fans being LED's it's probably going to blind me,

The better things are:

I can always replace the fans if they are to bright and noisy
IT HAS DUST FILTERS:D:D
It has tool-less desgin
It's nice and big hieght wise, my g/f likes it and as she always says to me 'Bigger is deffinatly better' ;)

Just wondering now if anyone knows when it is due to be released and for how much?

Cheers very much for all your help, Doug.
 
I certainly wouldn't put tool less design, what's the big deal with using a Philips screwdriver? Not only that but tool less usually have naff plastic clips. Hardly a sturdy method of claming down stuff (PCI card) regardless you'll need a philips screwdriver to fit the motherboard.

My gaming rig is in a Stacker 810, although I like the 180 HD cage (quicker than Stacker's own) much bigger case with more airflow potential. Although I guess if you put a 12cm on the front of the Antec 182 it'll come pretty close. Probably need a quite high cfm fan to match the two exhaust fans though, to get equal amount of pressure.
 
badbob said:
I certainly wouldn't put tool less design, what's the big deal with using a Philips screwdriver? Not only that but tool less usually have naff plastic clips. Hardly a sturdy method of claming down stuff (PCI card) regardless you'll need a philips screwdriver to fit the motherboard.

My gaming rig is in a Stacker 810, although I like the 180 HD cage (quicker than Stacker's own) much bigger case with more airflow potential. Although I guess if you put a 12cm on the front of the Antec 182 it'll come pretty close. Probably need a quite high cfm fan to match the two exhaust fans though, to get equal amount of pressure.
Click to expand...

Hey,

I really only care about having tool less on my HDD's, optical drives im not bothered about and although my current case has tool less PCI deelee's I do use them with normall PCI cards but with my GFX card I use screws.

Things that stay in my PC for a while I don't mind being screwed in.

Until I get an external HDD I have to keep carting my HDD round to pick up games, movies etc from mates.

I think I over played tool less desgins a bit but if you look back it was always mentioned that I wanted it for the HDD more than anything else.

The Antec 1200 looks to be quite a good buy. Estimated price is AROUND £90 I think and it has exellent future upgradeabilty for a nice water cooled beast:D

I think though I will wait until some reviews are out.

Also it can;t be a bad idea to try and stream line my current case as much as I can because my bro will prob be having this case after me so will want to know hwo to get the best out of it. Also if I have a go at lapping my HS in this case I will see the benifits more easy.

When I had my Athlon 64 in this case it was fine but I think that had something to do with the thermalight xp120 and it using the holes in the case for sucking fresh air in where as my AF7 doesn;t suck fresh air in... in fact the air it's sucking in will prob be hotter than the chip is idle:eek: ... with the side panel on.

Cheers, Doug.
 
If you're carting data between locations, why not buy two SATA removeable server trays, fit one in yours, other in mates, then ferry data across? Better than naff USB enclosures, and no need to open case all the time.

Antec 1200 looks copied Stackers ;-)
 
badbob said:
If you're carting data between locations, why not buy two SATA removeable server trays, fit one in yours, other in mates, then ferry data across? Better than naff USB enclosures, and no need to open case all the time.

Antec 1200 looks copied Stackers ;-)
Click to expand...

Dunno about thhose SATA removeable server trays... never heard of them but I do make do with taking my HDD when ever I need to. Doesn't have a lot on it ever. I take it there, copy data then put data onto another HDD.

I do think the antec 1200 looks simalar to a Stacker... perhaps that's why I like it so much;):D
 
Dougiebabe2003 said:
I think the problem is I want a window as well as good cooling. I understand now that i'm going to have to make sacrifices for the case I want... BIG sacrifices!
Click to expand...

PC-7+ and window, or Akasa Eclipse and window.

Both are sterling cases for cooling, and the windows are easily findable. Both in your price range (which the Antec 1200 wont be i think), both subtle without "blingy" lights ect.
 
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