Spec me a case (plz)

Gerard · 16 Mar 2008 at 19:32

Basically im fed up with my p182, i like the case in general but imo the bay for the psu is far too cramped and not enough air is getting to it causing the fan to spin up some which can get pretty annoying.

Im looking for a case that will have quiet operation, good airflow, a psu mount in the regular position (top of the case, or bottom of the case if it has plenty of room around it) and lends itself to watercooling. Budget would be a max of £150 id say, prefer to spend £100 though.

Frame352 · 16 Mar 2008 at 19:46

I'd go for the Lian Li PC P-60.

J/k

I have no experience of it but the Cosmos might tick most of your boxes?

Gerard · 16 Mar 2008 at 19:57

Been looking at the cosmos, the s version looks pretty good but ive heard theres meant to be another revision in the woreks, something to do with a variable speed side fan or something along those lines. Ive read some reviews though and people that have it seem to think the side fan noise is not noticable. Noise is very subjective though =/

I think the psu might be fine in that case seeing as the case is elevated a the psu can draw in air from underneath.

PinkFloyd · 16 Mar 2008 at 20:07

G70

/Thread

chris74 · 16 Mar 2008 at 20:18

^^ second that.

I purchased my G70 last week and i cant believe how great this case is.

Its huge looks great imo and leaves lots of options opened should i ever wish to watercool down the line.

Gerard · 16 Mar 2008 at 21:12

G70 actually looks pretty nice inside (pretty bland outside). What is it though with lian li cases always having the fan behind the cpu serving as an intake instead of an exhaust? I know the fan on the bracket serves as an exhaust but surely that wouldn't do much to take heat away from the cpu area?

chris74 · 17 Mar 2008 at 09:31

Well personally with a Zalman ZM-MFC2 i think mines looks great.

Its a subtle classic imo and of course looks better in the flesh rather than the poor picture Overclockers have of it on their site.

What I did with mines, was to simply turn the fans at the back and side around so the top rear is exhausting and the side blowing air on to the graphic cards. Its only 4 screws so you have the option how you wish the air to be circulated of course.
Having the option to place the PSU on the top or bottom gives you good options should you even wish to add another as and when needed.

Just do a search on google for prices and you'll see these are still going for £170. So its a fantastic deal OCUK's have.

There is a lot of fashionable cases available at the moment but how are these going to look 6 months or 12 months down the line?. The G70 is a classic imo and will still look great.

PinkFloyd · 17 Mar 2008 at 09:58

Gerard said:
What is it though with lian li cases always having the fan behind the cpu serving as an intake instead of an exhaust?

Lian Li doing alternative thinking. Who knows.
Just swap it over

Gerard · 17 Mar 2008 at 13:22

At the mo its between that lian li and the cosmos. hmm decisions =/

chris74 · 17 Mar 2008 at 16:26

I was exactly in the same boat however i liked the original cosmos not the sport.

I was upgrading from a Lian Li Pc60 so I knew that Lian Li offered great quality for your money, however the cosmos rc1000 was something i liked even though it had no active harddrive cooling, it is easy enough to fix.

I once saw a fully copper anodised G70 on fleabay and fell for its simple and subtle looks which ultimately swayed my decision. It was full tower which i required, all 120mm fans including one which could blow air on my hot 8800gtx so I ultimately opted for it. One major plus was its price and besides I wasn't in financial position to buy the silverstone TJ07 which if given the choice, would be my ideal case.

Whatever you opt for I think you'll be happy. If its the Cosmos sport i believe there is an issue with large heatsinks due to the massive side fan and if all reports are to believed it isnt the quietest case. If its the original then once you've sorted the harddrive cooling I think you'd be happy too but the G70 for me looks great. Great price and the option to add another psu in the future bodes well as i plan to keep this case a long time.

Gerard · 18 Mar 2008 at 16:49

Is the hard drive cooling a big issue on the cosmos regular edition? Last i read the drives seem to go itno little drawers almost.

chris74 · 18 Mar 2008 at 21:27

I think the issue was that there was no active cooling as standard on the original cosmos. However there is the option to add a 120mm fan to actively cool them so its easily fixed or addressed.
Unfortunately coolermaster dropped the harddrive drawers instead opting for the cheaper and tackier imo cage. They also dispersed of the VGA cooling that they had in the original. Now thats not saying that they weren't any improvements but instead of tweaking it to perfection they rather changed things around. Some to improve it and some that got rid of the good that made up the original.

Personally I believe there is no case out there that is perfect.

You get what you pay for really. Choosing a case can be quite difficult as you have to weigh up the pros and cons of which there will always be regardless of which case your looking at.
My advice would to be pick three or so that you like. Read reviews but especially look for threads on that case here. Actual users advice hold more water than the paid for adverts that are some review sites.
Shop around for said case and enjoy whatever case you opt for. Again its just my opinion but im sure you like whatever case you opt for.