Which case?

Big Dee

Big Dee

Big Dee

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Joined
17 Oct 2005
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Location
Hampshire
Hi,

I'm considering building my own PC which would be my first one and it will be used for normal home office use.
I was considering the Antec brand and in particular the P180 but having read through numerous OCUK posts I feel that this is not highly recommended.

I am prepared to pay around £80 for a first case as I think my PC build will be around the £1000 mark.
My PC will rarely get used for Gaming and will be sitting on the floor under my desk.
I would like the PC to have minimal noise, good cooling and I'm considering a black aluminium case.

The cases that seem to get recommended here, over and over again, are Lian-Li PC7+, Lian-Li P100+ and the Akasa Eclipse 62.
I have seen some of the feedback people have given and hopefully someone can answer my queries and help me decide what is suitable for me:

Antec P180
- is the flimsy door still an issue or has that been resolved?
- is the cooling not as good as the manufacturer make out?
- not a good build
- assembly is difficult
- everytime I need to access the drives I'll have to use that flimsy door.

Lian-Li PC7+
- there are different versions of the model and no guarantee it'll be the latest one when you buy.
- it has a smaller case and the build may be difficult
- the standard fans are noisy - does that mean that they need to be changed with the Akasa ones?

Lian-Li V1000+
- maybe a bit pricey for me
- the cooling is not so good
- the standard fans are noisy and may have to be changed

Eclipse 62
- the panels are thin but good build
- better cooling than P180 and Lian-Li
- it's a large'ish case - will all the component cabling be long enough to reach other components?
- is the plastic door a real problem and that bad looking for a home office PC?
- Looking at the pictures, this case looks nice. I find the PC7+ a bit boxy and plain in design.
- is this a better case under £100 and a good compromise between PC7+ and V1000+, regarding the features ?
- are two 120mm fans Ok for an average PC? will I need any additional?

Some of the components I have considered for my build are:
- Seasonic PSU
- Seagate Barracuda HDD
- Plextor DVD + - RW drive

I'm totally confused now and don't know how much in-depth I should look at the pros & cons of these cases.
Why is it that out of all the brands and models available (looking at OCUK) that only these three models get recommended?
It's going to be my first build so I want it to go as smooth as possible and would like it to be a solid build that'll see me through for a few years.

Can you suggest one case that'll suit my needs please?

Thanks
 
Hi Yewen,

How do I add you to MSN? but may not be possible since it's a work account and laptop. So may be easier to give me any feedback here if that's OK.

We'll rule out the V1000+, in this scenario then.

I can see PC7+ but not PC7+II on OcUK.
Whats the price difference?
Are the two 120mm fans OK on PC7+II or will they need to be changed (upgraded)?
Will the PC7+II be quieter than the Eclipse-62?

Do you think the components I have mentioned be compatible with either Eclipse-62 or PC7+II?

What fans would you recommend for the Eclipse-62?

Thanks.
 
Thanks Mekrel, BigDom & Yemen.

Seems that the best solution would be to upgrade the two standard fans.
I saw Akasa Amber fans mentioned in the forum. If these are Ok, could you give me the details please.

What does "7ving" mean?

Can you adjust the speed on the replacement fans?

I don't think I'll be going for the V1000, so my "other" component choice looks good. Nice to know :)

I've had a look at some other websites for photos of the PC7+ and it looks quite good actually, just a Yemen said. Hmmm, I might just be tempted.
Looks like the black case will do nicely as a home PC.

I still appear to have had no answer from my first post why it is that out of all the brands and models available, that only about few models get highly recommended in these forums? I'm just curious.
 
Hi Mikey1280,

Thanks for your fan recommendation, looks good to me. Is there are point in going for the colourful ones? I guess the PC7+II is fully enclosed.

Cheers.
 
Silly question I know........if I purchase the two Akasa fans and replace them with the ones provided with the Lian Li case, how do you install/check them to insure that the front fan lets air in and the rear fan lets air out?

Thanks.
 
Hi again,

I think this will be my PC build with the PC7+ (as recommended with the 2 Akasa fans):

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17582511

But having seen some other pictures of the V1000+ case on the web, I think it looks very nice (as everyone says) and with my PC spec it may make it worth the extra investment.

I know Yewen did not recommend this case as a first build but if I did choose the V1000+, what things would I need to do?
Change the fans to something else (please be specific so that I can look it up on OcUK).

Is the cooling on V1000+ as good as PC7+?
Is the build that much more difficult on a V1000+?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of V1000+?

Thanks.
 
Please see my comments ###

v1000+ would have the same fans as the PC7+.
### Are you saying that the V1000+ and PC7+ come pre-installed with the same type fans _and/or_ that the Akasa Amber fans need to be fitted to the V1000+, just like it was suggested for the PC7+ ?

You can't have a motherboad that uses heatpipes, and if you can try not to get a modular PSU, if you do want a modular PSU you have to remove space for 3 hdds giving you a capacity of 3. (Not a issue as if you need 4+ hard drives then you should not be using modular in the fisrt place.)
### I'm confused. I assume that you've seen the post about my PC spec and you think that I cannot have the Arctic Freezer 64 attached to CPU as it will affect the PSU?
Would you mind clarifying this as I don't completely understand? otherwise I may have to get another PC spec done :-(

Cooling on the v1000+ varies from terrible to better than the PC7+, but still behind the Eclipse.
### How comes the cooling varies? does it depend on the components used or the quality of the build ?

The build is easier in a v1000+, only tricky thing is the front panels as the instructions tell you the 5" bay plates come down and out, after you remove the bottom one. You have to do that or you risk damaging the case. Nothing bad about the build, or build quality on the whole case.
### I build/assemble routers for the internet, do you think this will be a problem for me? are instructions enclosed about the panels?

Its a great case, I used a v1000 and then my current case which is a v1000+ since release; I think overall they are the best case around taking into acount my taste in looks and the price, which at the time was £180.

Now onto the problem with the v1000+, not a big one but would put some people off. Fans; there is no right or wrong way to install them, some PC's run better with the rear as a intake (mine) and if you run it as an exhaust it just sends the temperatures soaring on the graphics card. Some people have it the other way round; all depends on your rig.
### My PC will be located in the corner of the Study on the floor, just under the desk. What do you recommend about the fan directions for the front and rear?

The issue comes in that you may have to spend half a hour or so turning fans around so you get the case cooling ok, you can add me to msn and I can give you a rough idea of what should be best, you can knock 5/6 deg of a air cooled rig with the fan placement. Again may not make a diffference as I have rigs that don't really care, and some that scream to me because they are cooking, change the airflow and wolla they are cool.
### What do you mean by "turning fans around so you get the case cooling ok"?

I could list the pros now but my fingers are cold, there are to many things to list but on the v1000+ Lian Li went all out with the little touches, it is a superb case and I have yet to find a review of it getting anywhere near the performance I get out of the case.
### Thanks for your feedback. I'm a bit worried now about my PC spec and need to be sure about what I'm buying and that it all fits together properly.

To give you an idea, the Eclipse fanboy WJA96 has a modded v1000b+ as his main PC case if I remember correctly
 
Thanks Mikey1280.

So if I decide to stick with my decision to buy the PC7+, then there are no "heatpipe cooler" installation issues, right? (see my pc build link above).

To make life easier, I may stick with the PC7+ as a first build.
 
Hi Guys, sorry for the questions :-(, I just want to avoid build problems.
Yemen, you're not nit-picking, it's me asking silly questions

Well it seems I can choose either of the cases without problems, which is good.

How does the air get out of the PC7+ case if both fans are letting air in?
 
Are the coloured Akasa Amber fans (Akasa AK174CB-4BLB 120mm Blue LED Fan (FG-008-AK) ) as quiet as the regular fans (Akasa AK-183-L2B Ultra Quiet 120mm Fan - 3 pin (FG-024-AK) ) ?

I can't see info about dB levels for the coloured ones and they don't use the term "ultra quite".
 
Hi Yewen,

I'm still torn betwen the PC7+ and V1000+, can you *finally* confirm that *if* I went for the V1000+ (with 2 new Akasa fans) then all the components will fit together without having any problems, as per my build spec.

I would like to order the parts asap but hesitant until I'm comfortable with the details. I apologise for the numerous questions but I'm nervous (but really excited!!) about this first build. It's different if you've seen and done a build before but I haven't. I think you understand.

Thanks again your help and advice (from others too) - it has been brilliant!!
 
This is my PC build spec as recommended in the HW forum, with the PC7+ case (but it does not list any software here, still got to add that):

CA-054-LL Lian-Li PC-7 PLUS Black Aluminium Midi-Tower Case (No PSU) (CA-054-LL)
£48.95 £48.95
FG-024-AK Akasa AK-183-L2B Ultra Quiet 120mm Fan - 3 pin (FG-024-AK)
£9.95 £19.90
CA-008-TG Tagan TG530-U15 530W ATX2.01 Easycon SLi Compliant Modular Silent PSU (CA-008-TG)
£61.95 £61.95
CP-152-AM AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+ (Socket 939) - OEM (CP-152-AM)
£161.95 £161.95
FG-000-AR Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940) (FG-000-AR)
£14.95 £14.95
MB-088-AS Asus A8N-E nForce4 Ultra (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-088-AS)
£53.95 £53.95
GX-097-SP Sapphire ATI Radeon X800 GTO 256MB DDR3 TV-Out/DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-097-SP)
£59.95 £59.95
MY-006-MK Mushkin 2GB DDR EM3200 Enhanced Performance Dual Channel Kit (2x1GB) CAS3 (991461) (MY-006-MK)
£109.95 £109.95
HD-058-SE Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 250GB ST3250824AS SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM (HD-058-SE)
£53.95 £53.95
CD-030-NE NEC ND4570 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM (CD-030-NE)
£21.95 £21.95
HD-002-MI Mitsumi FA 404M 7in1 USB 2.0 Floppy & Media Drive - Black (HD-002-MI)
£12.95 £12.95
MO-052-VS Viewsonic VX2025 20" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Silver/Black (MO-052-VS)
£259.95 £259.95
KB-058-LG Logitech Cordless Optical Desktop Rechargeable Black/Silver - OEM (KB-058-LG)
£29.95 £29.95
Subtotal £910.30
VAT £159.31
Total £1,069.61

Any comments?

How would this list be if I went for the V1000+?

Thanks.
 
Thanks Guys for looking at my spec.

Well it's good that I have the choice of either case.

The Mushkin brand was recommended to me on this Forum and was told its as good as Crucial. I have no idea, so may stick with Mushkin. Seeing as I won't be gaming, hopefully it should not make a difference.

Again Seagate was recommended to me. I'll take a look at the Western Digital though.

Yes, that's 2x120mm front & rear fans.
If you think I should go for the 80mm (top) fan then that's Ok with me too.

The "KB-058-LG" is a keyboard and mouse package.

Yes, I would like speakers and sound card but could not decide atm (I have asked in the Sound City forum).
Have a look here: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17581939

I am open to suggestions for both items (for 2.1 and 5.1 systems). My first preference was a 5.1 system but I'm told that 2.1 is worth considering and now I'm confused. Really, I should hear them first before I buy. Can I add these items at a later stage?

Thanks.
 
I will take a look at your suggested keyboard and mouse. Cheers.

Oh yes, I will be listening to music and watching DVDs, so a decent system is needed really.

Thanks for your suggestion of the Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 4 7.1 card.
I assume this is a safe bet for me and it would be still be OK for 2.1 and 5.1 (downward compatible). I won't be hooking up to a hi-fi.

I was suggested the Aego M's for the 2.1 speakers. Shame I can't go some shop to hear the variety of speakers :-(

My PC & desk will be located at one end of a Study 4ftx8ft approx, so would a 2.1 system be OK? If I got a 5.1, would I really notice the difference? 2.1 will mean less cabling too!!
 
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