Super Case for Conroe System

mcdermotx

mcdermotx

mcdermotx

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Lads,
putting together a new Conroe system with a view towards SLI or X-Fire..
Anyway, looking through the cases I'm in a spot as to the best case. I'm willing to spend money to get the best, but I'm after a case which wil provide a good balance between cooling and silence with excellent build quality (I know thats the Holy Grail!)..
After using a Wavemaster for the last couple of years, I'm keen to go back to a slightly larger box, always found the WM a little too cramped for 3 HDDs....but I'm not married to size..
Has anybody out there had experience with the TT Tai-Chi (Water-cooled or not), LianLi v1100, S80, V2000, Antec P180, NZXT Lexa etc ?
I like the look and features of the TaiChi and originally liked the look of the Stacker830 (but what people are saying about the build quality has put me off)..
Any inputs would be greatly appreciated guys,,

P.S. will eventually end up having to put a fairly highly rated power supply in there as well whenever dual GPU goes ahead
 
Cheers Cuchulain,
bit of an ugly bugger though isn't it..........I've seen a few other people singing its praises though............what's its noise situation like?
 
mcdermotx said:
Cheers Cuchulain,
bit of an ugly bugger though isn't it..........I've seen a few other people singing its praises though............what's its noise situation like?
Click to expand...

Mines practically silent, low speed 120mm fans, the only real noise is from the PSU.
 
S80, V2000 are the two of the ones listed that I would look at in more detail. Ive got a v2000, and its more than capable of holding any rig that you can put together. Its got loads of space for harddrives, 5 1/4" devices and loads of space around the mobo. Have a look at http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17596975 for Yewen's view on the S80. It looks and sounds like an excellent case, especially if your going to use Aircooling or an external watercooling solution. If you want to venture into the world of water cooling, another case you might want to add to that list the Lian Li G70.
 
The S80 looks like it could easily fit a 120.3 in the roof. If anyone ever wants me to check just send me the dimensions of the rad.

The Tai Chi and NZXT Lexa are a completely different class of case to the others, mainly cheap cases with high price tags.

Any of the other cases listed would be a superb choice, and which ever one you go for you will be very happy with. Just see which one you like the look of and which ones price you prefer. :)

Any of the cases listed bar the Tai Cheap and NZXT Lexa would be a superb choice, up to you from there.
 
Yewen said:
The S80 looks like it could easily fit a 120.3 in the roof. If anyone ever wants me to check just send me the dimensions of the rad.

The Tai Chi and NZXT Lexa are a completely different class of case to the others, mainly cheap cases with high price tags.

Any of the other cases listed would be a superb choice, and which ever one you go for you will be very happy with. Just see which one you like the look of and which ones price you prefer. :)

Any of the cases listed bar the Tai Cheap and NZXT Lexa would be a superb choice, up to you from there.
Click to expand...

Yewen,
I'm in the middle of your thread about the S80.........love the sound of the build quality...........how do you find the temps on general day-to-day use ?
I like what I see of it so far, but I want to be sure there'e an adequate airflow keeping the temps down.
 
mcdermotx said:
Lads,
[snip]...and originally liked the look of the Stacker830 (but what people are saying about the build quality has put me off)..
Click to expand...

The Stacker 830 is not as bad as everyone is making out but hey, I'm now biased as i've got one so you'll have to take my opinion with a large pinch of salt. ;)
 
The Stacker is as bad as everyone says, when you compare it to say a S80. Side by side it is a load of rubbish, on its own its a great case, until you look at the competition.

Temperatures of my S80, I am running a x2 4400+ on a Zalman Reserator 1+ and 2x 7800gt's silenced.

My temperatures are:

CPU 33 load for all 5 hours.
Graphics top: 54
Graphics bottom: 56

Not bad temperatures at all, considering the rig is completely inaudable from 10cm away. I can drop 10deg of the graphics card temperatures, but then I can hear my PC.

Its one of the better cooling cases I have used, although the stock fans it comes with are dire for noise, but cool well.

(My idea of noise is, if you can hear it its bad. I can't stand it so you will probably be happy with it.)
 
Yewen said:
The Stacker is as bad as everyone says, when you compare it to say a S80. Side by side it is a load of rubbish, on its own its a great case, until you look at the competition.

Temperatures of my S80, I am running a x2 4400+ on a Zalman Reserator 1+ and 2x 7800gt's silenced.

My temperatures are:

CPU 33 load for all 5 hours.
Graphics top: 54
Graphics bottom: 56

Not bad temperatures at all, considering the rig is completely inaudable from 10cm away. I can drop 10deg of the graphics card temperatures, but then I can hear my PC.

Its one of the better cooling cases I have used, although the stock fans it comes with are dire for noise, but cool well.

(My idea of noise is, if you can hear it its bad. I can't stand it so you will probably be happy with it.)
Click to expand...

Cheers Yewen,
which replacement fans would you recommend as the best for noise/cooling ?
I know what your saying about noise,rather sensitive to it myself so I'd be willing to pay a bit more for real quality fans......the noise that really bugs me on my other setup is really just the 7800GTX when its under load
 
Elric said:
The Stacker 830 is not as bad as everyone is making out but hey, I'm now biased as i've got one so you'll have to take my opinion with a large pinch of salt. ;)
Click to expand...

I think that's a little unfair. Those of us who have tried what we know of case cooling on the Stacker 830 have had disappointing results. If you know of a good way to set it up, then explain and I promise, I'll willingly recant my anti-830 stance. I'm not that fussed about build-quality for some jobs and it's big enough for almost anything so I'm very willing to be converted.

@the OP - you might also want to consider the Nexus Breeze case. It's silent and comes with a really good PSU - all for a little over £100.

@Yewen - Tai cheap? It's like the good old days of slagging off Thermaltake ;)
 
The Tai Chi is not bad, but with the watercooling I am now referring to it as the Tai Cheap.

My best mate, went from Antec 1650, Lian Li PC7, Lian Li v1000 and has sold my old V for a Tai Cheap! :(

It deserves its name, the whole thing for the money is very poor. I would have an Armour or Eureka anyday over one.
 
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