New case dilemma

Ian Marsh

Ian Marsh

Ian Marsh

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Joined
31 Jul 2007
Posts
224
Location
Lancashire
I am about to build a new system but not sure which case to go for. The system will be run on a good air cooling setup as water cooling looks a little daunting for someone who has never done it before. At the moment my case is a Coolermaster ATCS710 a nice case, but not sure if the 8800GTX will fit. Also its now 5 years old, so time for a change. There are three cases I like, they are -

Lian Li PC-A71
SilverStone TJ09
Thermaltake VA8003BWS Armour

From what I have read they are all very good cases and I am swaying towards the SilverStone TJ09. I like the idea of the clear side panel window with a lighting kit.

I will be using the E6850 3.0 GHZ, and a 8800GTX. Does anyone have the SilverStone TJ09 ?
 
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Thanks for the imput. The Akasa Eclipse 62 was something I looked at and the reviews I have read all say its an excellent case. But for me it just does not have the same wow factor as the Silverstone or the Lain Li cases, just personal taste I guess. But for value for money the Akasa Eclipse 62 compared to most other caes has to be up there, no doubt.

Just read some more reviews on the Akasa Eclipse 62 and it seems that it really is a great case, I never knew choosing a case would be so hard. lol :)
 
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if you want build quality get the silverstone tbh its a brillaint case, lian li's are good but very overrated imo
 
I have a Mirage 62 , the brother of the Eclipe and I thought it looked great, having worked with it a little bit I'm not so impressed, several of the screw fixings wont line up properly (for me on the m/b tray and the 3.5 inch front bay) and one of the rivets that holds the upper right hand side strut to the back panel popped off and the second has loosened up so I'm goign to have to repair that myself somehow possibly with a nut and bolt arrangement.

I was laying it down by holding it by that strut and the back and carefully lowering it onto its side, there was this loud pop which scared the hell out of me.

Combined with the badly lined up screw holes it really doesnt inspire confidence over the build quality of the rest of the chassis.

If I had to do it again I'd get a Silverstone, my htpc case is an LC11 and its very well built and sturdy.
 
I've got a Silverstone and have had Lians before.

As I was was new to watercooling thought I'd buy the Thermaltake Kandalf LCS (big brother of the Armour) and the watercooling roughly works out to £50. Great case not as well built as silverstone or lian but once it's built and sitting there so what ??? The water cooling is basic by all accounts but can be upgraded piece meal as you get more confident (thats what I'm looking to do).

If you get the kandalf and decide you want just air cooling you basically remove the radiator and have 4 x 120mm fans on the front (3 in the door 1 in the hard drive rack) 1 x 120mm fan on the back + 1 x 92mm and 1 92mm on the top for venting all included.

I wanted the CM Stacker but that came out to be loads more with the options I wanted.
 
Thankyou

Some Silverstone fans here too. I really do like the TJ09. Just another question. All the photos of the Akasa Eclipse 62 I have seen have been on castors. Do they also provide feet for the Akasa Eclipse 62 too ?
 
The akasa eclipse build quality is superb not sure about the mirage am sure you could break any case contorting it.
I don't think the silverstone would be better for watercooling than the eclipse.
As for holes not lining up like the pci slots you get this on pretty much every case and it's random.All my holes luckily line up.
Just can't justify the cost of the tj09 don't think it will aceive lower temps
than the eclipse.
 
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I refute that the build quality is *superb*, but we'll just have to agree to disagree on that.

The Mirage comes with feet fitted and the castors seperately in a little box.

Stacks of room inside the Mirage/Eclipse, you could hide most of a body in there.
 
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