Please help me Spec a case?

Gimpymoo · 28 Feb 2009 at 03:21

Ok, my new Phenom II setup is homeless, living in its box and needs a new place to call home

For around the 15 years I have had computers, I have only had myself OEM or cheap cases, never though to splash out on anything deecent, but back then it was all in my bedroom and I didnt care and now its downstairs in my own house so I want something which looks ******* awesome, people walk into the house and go "WOW".

I plan to install some pretty lights etc.

My requirements (I think) are pretty straight forward:

Budget: £130

EXCELLENT CABLE MANAGEMENT IS ESSENTIAL
For the reasons I described above.

ROOMEY
With the cheap/OEM cases I have had in the past, I have hated the lack of space, I want to be able to stick my head inside the thing so I can easily see if anything goes wrong

Removeable Motherboard tray
Not essential but would be nice.

A minimum of 6 internal HDD compartments. More preffered.

I also dont want to have to fret about "OH NOS, WILL THIS VGA CARD FIT".

Front panel connectors
The obligatory USB, headphone and Microphone are essential. ESATA would be a bonus but how often am I likely to use it?

I allready have a Miele so anything else which consumes dust is NOT required

I have looked at the Antec 900-2 Nine Hundred Two Ultimate Gaming Case and the Coolermaster RC-1000 which I like but would probably prefer a window, or do i????

Crazily, I also looked at the Lian Li PC-A71B - I like it, but is it worth £150?

Many Thanks.

Gimp.

Blackhawk47 · 28 Feb 2009 at 13:19

I would recommend either the antec 900-2 or the antec 1200. Even more so if you want a window.

If you dont want a window and want a sleeker looking and a very quiet case then the antec p182 is what you will want.

From what i have seen the antec 900-2 and the 1200 both have great cable management out of the box.

The P182 has good cable management also.

gt_junkie · 28 Feb 2009 at 13:22

2nd the suggestion of an Antec 1200.

Great case, excellent thermal performance and good cable management - REVIEW

gt

EsaT · 28 Feb 2009 at 22:39

CM Cosmos has problems in cooling many HDDs.

Gimpymoo said:
Crazily, I also looked at the Lian Li PC-A71B - I like it, but is it worth £150?

A71 is excellent. after installing damping mats it's also one of the quietest cases and weight stayed ~2kg lower than that of mid tower Antec P182.
(seven AAM disabled WD drives and seek noises are hard to hear with door closed)

10 soft mounted HD bays and component never block access to some other component...
Unlike in Antec's Stacker copies. Antec 900 is horribly small tiny tower and every little longer graphics cards needs shoehorning in. 1200 has enough height but still lacks E-ATX support meaning long graphics card will be blocking rear access to 5.25" bays:
http://metku.net/reviews/antec-300-1200/1200_valmis.jpg
(that card is good 3cm shorter than longest cards)

If you're not after quietness cheaper A70 is same case without direct noise escape path blocking door and because of lack of door's weight it has spring loaded clips attached front panel making cleaning air filters much faster.

At stock there's not much cable management but there's plenty of space and after some work it doesn't have anything to shame:
http://www.nordichardware.com/skrivelser_img/532/A71_20.jpg

Gimpymoo said:
I want to be able to stick my head inside the thing so I can easily see if anything goes wrong

With short distances focusing becomes slower and also DOF gets very small so it's better to put hands inside case and look from outside.

Blackhawk47 · 28 Feb 2009 at 23:39

EsaT said:
SNIP

Do you post that everytime.... :rolleyes:

Blackwhite · 1 Mar 2009 at 00:09

EsaT said:
A71 is excellent

Nothing personal mate but for sure it is not excellent cable managment

Helios1234 · 1 Mar 2009 at 02:52

Lian li B25 although you'd be limited to 6 hdds.

SMB30 · 1 Mar 2009 at 03:06

Agreed about the Antec 900s, its far too small for any big graphics cards

Gimpymoo · 1 Mar 2009 at 03:22

EsaT said:
after installing damping mats it's also one of the quietest cases and weight stayed ~2kg lower than that of mid tower Antec P182.
(seven AAM disabled WD drives and seek noises are hard to hear with door closed)

How quiet is it without that mats?

EsaT said:
10 soft mounted HD bays and component never block access to some other component...

Thats an important factor so a tick for me.

EsaT said:
1200 has enough height but still lacks E-ATX support meaning long graphics card will be blocking rear access to 5.25" bays:
http://metku.net/reviews/antec-300-1200/1200_valmis.jpg
(that card is good 3cm shorter than longest cards)

Seems like a valid point so thanks for pointing that out.

Blackwhite said:
Nothing personal mate but for sure it is not excellent cable managment

EsaT said:
At stock there's not much cable management but there's plenty of space and after some work it doesn't have anything to shame:
[URL="http://www.nordichardware.com/skrivelser_img/532/A71_20.jpg"]http://www.nordichardware.com/skrivelser_img/532/A71_20.jpg[/URL]

That does not seem too sloppy?

EsaT · 1 Mar 2009 at 11:30

Gimpymoo said:
How quiet is it without that mats?

Didn't test that but went directly to modding/silencing despite of reviews like this.
Noisewise pretty much all except SPRC reviews are quite useless because of consistently low standards and "can't hear car's engine noises over artillery firing range" syndrome so it's better to look images for features and design solutions.

Design itself is one of the quietest but because of light weight of aluminum (~9kg vs 14kg of Antec P182) at least some mass damping is needed for realizing that quiet case. (unlike with P182)
Top edge attachment of side panels is little loose so "at stock" tapping case with finger made side panels slightly rattle but that stopped completely after damping because of mass added by bitumen layer of damping mat.
Also HDD mounting isn't full elastic suspension so there would be still some vibration induced noise without mass damping. (at least with these numbers of HDDs)
Door itself is heavy and would dampen intake fan/component noises well without any lining.

As rule damping itself can't make noisy PC quiet but only quiet more quieter.
What few reviews there are with measurements show that combination damping mats can lower noise 3 to 6dB depending on coverage of damping mat and listening direction.
Also case design is very important factor... Except for decreasing vibration induced noises damping doesn't help much if there's direct noise escape path like front full of open 5.25" bays or side full of holes. Again silencing friendly case with soft HDD mounting and lack of direct noise escape paths (except completely away from listener) always allows higher damping effect when primary noise is one passing through sides/various panels.