Want a case with decent air flow!

Scythe · 24 Oct 2007 at 09:11

Hi, I've got air flow problems in my rubbish oem case. I've got nowhere to put the cables and it is seriously affecting airflow. This is a pic before i cleaned it up:

It is better than that now though, about a 5c decrease in temps all through the system. Although I would like some where decent to put the cables and its very small to work around in!

So, I want a good quality case from around £40 with no psu? It must have good cooling and if possible a good place to hide the cables to increase airflow. It also would be handy if it had some fan places to put fans (e.g. holes in the side to mount fan)
EDIT: I also have 2 akusa ambers (80mm) to fit in new case
Thanks in advance

randal · 24 Oct 2007 at 09:21

Stick an extra £20 on that and you can muster a Lian Li PC7 from.. er.. somewhere.

Delvis · 24 Oct 2007 at 09:25

Yeah, if you can stretch out then a PC7 from lian-li would be a good choice. Only problem is it will be about £70 delivered =/

Otherwise for a lower buget theres always the Akasa Zen? Not sure what that's like in cooling though, someone else can confirm that.

You may have to up our bidget slightely if you want something that's "more worthy" so to speak

Scythe · 24 Oct 2007 at 09:59

Is the PC-7 that good? it doesnt look very good but it seems like marmite - you either hate it or love it

I've been looking at this: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-013-GI&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=

any good?

EDIT: Is this the PC7 you are talking about? http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-038-LL&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=

randal · 24 Oct 2007 at 10:18

Yep, that's the one. You might have to lop off the direct linkies to that certain shop matey.

Scythe · 24 Oct 2007 at 10:53

randal24 said:
Yep, that's the one. You might have to lop off the direct linkies to that certain shop matey.

Its overclockers? you know the shop that owns this forum?

randal · 24 Oct 2007 at 11:08

I thought it was frowned upon to mix shop and forum?

Scythe · 24 Oct 2007 at 11:12

randal24 said:
I thought it was frowned upon to mix shop and forum?

Competitors shop. You are allowed to link to OCUK only if it for a shop or something like that. Read the FAQ

randal · 24 Oct 2007 at 11:28

I've always erred on the side of caution, as I got my legs slapped for breaking the rules ages ago. Good to know though. Ta.

topshot · 24 Oct 2007 at 11:32

PC7-II is a very good case for the money, comes with 2 120mm fans with the option of roof mounting an 80mm fan

jontwhale · 24 Oct 2007 at 11:35

i can recommend the icute gamers system.... £40.
google icute

Scythe · 24 Oct 2007 at 12:38

topshot said:
PC7-II is a very good case for the money, comes with 2 120mm fans with the option of roof mounting an 80mm fan

Aah right, sounds perfect for what i need

topshot · 24 Oct 2007 at 14:38

if you buy the clear side panel it also comes with mesh so you can mount a fan right next to your graphics card

Scythe · 24 Oct 2007 at 14:53

topshot said:
if you buy the clear side panel it also comes with mesh so you can mount a fan right next to your graphics card

Thats what I have done now with my OEM. I cut a hole in the side.

topshot · 24 Oct 2007 at 15:21

ahh fair one :cool:

Sinny · 24 Oct 2007 at 21:39

I have the silver version, its a very well built case in m opinion but as with many cases it has its flaws, for the price it comes with hardly any sound dampening prospects but i do have it running on a wooden surface so its not really ideal for sound proofing.

The front Headphone/Mic jack is too short for most motherboards, and if you have a large card, ie x1950/8800/2900 then its most likely it wont reach to the connector.

Doesnt come with Stealth CD Bevel which is highly irritating as i have a bulky looking cd drive staring at me from the front of the case, and im not going to spend £10 on something that will hide it when it should come with at least 1.

On a more posative note.

Everything comes off really easily, as when i received my watercooling equipment i found it really easy to dislodge the hdd drive, take out the hard drives/psu cage with hardly any effort and hardly any time.

The case is made out of Aluminium so when i was drilling holes into the case they came off cleanly and didnt leave any scratches.

PSU mounting bracket is possibly the best feature of it, i can easily take out the power supply when i am cleaning out the case or changing any watercooling parts in the case.

Came with 2 120mm Fans, although if used for anything other than PWM they can be extremely noisy at 1000rpm so only really good for in case airflow on a lower setting (which is mainly what i use them for soon yates for 120.2)

Overall i would give it 7/10, it could be better but is good for what it is, i will most likely be upgrading to a G70 or something similar as i love the simple office type look of cases.