suggestions for a cheap but sturdy case

[ratdude747]

Re: suggestions for a cheap but sturdy case

i got the money; i am ordering it tonight.

[ratdude747]

Re: suggestions for a cheap but sturdy case

It came in!

pictures:

the front:



hey- ugly sticker alert!



look what was underneath the sticker!



that explains why mine has 2 drive doors, not one and why the dorky dragon logo is on mine but not the originals. fry's discontinued them and sold them to the geeks super cheap. i'd rather it say fry's than the ugly dragon; time to get some goo gone for that residue

back to your regularly scheduled pictures:

the front header panel:



the inside of the case:



it came with a decent fan (92mm):



the drive area:



not a bad case... the metal is a s thick as that of my chieftec and my foxconn. the quality seems good. for $17, not a bad deal, eh?

[Wizard]

Re: suggestions for a cheap but sturdy case

Not too bad but the tool-less type for drives makes me wary. But case is good.

I have a decent case and very thick metal 1mm, that uses tool-less drive design except they are rails with pegs to fit into drives and slid into case and make a click-click via metal latches then front plastic is snapped onto case. Very secure. Hard drives are secured via screws. Side panel is tipped into bottom rail via tabs and secured with one screw and one hole tab that plastic panel pegs into at upper area. Nice case through. Need a good mainboard to put in.

These fans you think are decent are in fact generic, sorry.

Cheers, Wizard

[ratdude747]

Re: suggestions for a cheap but sturdy case

hmm.. i thought jamicon was decent... i have an 80mm out of a bestec, it moves a lot of air for its size, which is good for the 92mm as it was going to be undvervolted via q-fan... whatever... it should be ok since it will not be run full blast all the time.

better than some of the really bad ones i see...

as for the tooless drives, they are twist type, with a roll pin to fit in the drive screw hole.

once i get back to my house in lafayette, i will put the guts into it:

asus a8n32-sli
athlon x2 3800+
evga nforce 7600gt (the ones TC got off ebay for polymodding)
4gb ddr 3200
250gb maxtor maxline 5 (i think)
toshiba dvd burner/samsung dvd-rom
floppy
dynex internal card reader
mostly recapped/modded ultra V 500w

[370forlife]

Re: suggestions for a cheap but sturdy case

Jamicon aren't off brand. They aren't Sanyo Denki, but they aren't off brand. I would say on par with Yate Loon/Ong Hua.

[stj]

Re: suggestions for a cheap but sturdy case

the only bad thing is the damned hole in the front for a floppy.
unfortunately a common problem that afflicts several of my cases too.

[ratdude747]

Re: suggestions for a cheap but sturdy case

i was going to install a floppy anyway. the other bay is for the card reader. no problem.

[Scenic]

Re: suggestions for a cheap but sturdy case

a computer without a floppy drive is worthless

[Agent24]

Re: suggestions for a cheap but sturdy case

a computer without a floppy drive is worthless

Yeah, how do people without floppy drives live?


Nice case, and the fan is fine, use it until it wears out I say. If it becomes noisy you can probably extend the life by putting some more grease in it.


Only thing I can complain about (and this is common with a LOT of cases) is that the rear fan holes are useless.

If you want actual airflow, cut the whole thing out with a nibbling tool\hacksaw\can opener and replace it with a chrome wire fan guard

[ratdude747]

Re: suggestions for a cheap but sturdy case

i may dremel out the metal part of the vent, the plastic is about perfect. there is no way of mounting a wire guard there... the back is uneven... but for now i will not mess with it.

[stj]

Re: suggestions for a cheap but sturdy case

a computer without a floppy drive is worthless

if it's an AMIGA!

[c_hegge]

Re: suggestions for a cheap but sturdy case

Nice. Other than two main problems
1. the uneven back which prevents you replacing the grill
2. Screwless mounting on the drive bays. the only cases I've ever seen where thew screwless mounting actually works are CoolerMaster Centurion 5s

I think Jamicon fans are good. I've pulled a couple from ageing PCs and PSUs which are still running.

[ratdude747]

Re: suggestions for a cheap but sturdy case

my plan will be an eventual dremel mod, as there are 2 vents over the fan; a metal one and a plastic one. i will dremel out the metal one as the plastic one is good. the metal is too thick. the reason i don't do it immediately is my parents might not like me working on it as i just bought it.

[Scenic]

Re: suggestions for a cheap but sturdy case

Screwless mounting on the drive bays. the only cases I've ever seen where thew screwless mounting actually works are CoolerMaster Centurion 5s

it actually works pretty well on my NZXT Beta.
Plus it's combo mounting. means you can either use the screwless clips or use the 4 screws..

that way it also doesn't matter if you lose the clips over time..

[weirdlookinguy]

Re: suggestions for a cheap but sturdy case

You know, that case doesn't look half bad. I don't know why, but... I kinda like it

I remember Fry's sold computers in those cases way back in the day when Fry's still sold branded machines.

I've found a few old Jamicons still spinning along after several years of service in old PSUs. I'd say leave it, it should be a decent fan.

[ratdude747]

Re: suggestions for a cheap but sturdy case

i was also thinking that... i bet fry's sold geeks.com those cases when they went out of the pre-fab computer business. it explains why mine is different that than the the others i have seen elsewhere (two cd drive doors instead of one, mainly)...

hey, $17 plus shipping, probably the best case for that price... i remember that the flimsy cases actually cost MORE at the geeks... odd...

[bgavin]

Re: suggestions for a cheap but sturdy case

Last week I bought an Antec P183 at Fry's for a client. Paid $139.
Today, they are $89.


At least she is paying the bill..

Good luck with the case. I hope it works out..
I gave up on cheap cases because they are to fiddly for me.
Time = Money, and I want something that is easy to use and works well.

[ratdude747]

Re: suggestions for a cheap but sturdy case

she's been re-boxed; monday afternoon it goes up to my house in Lafayette so i can give it some guts. since it will be in the back of an S10, it needs protection...

[weirdlookinguy]

Re: suggestions for a cheap but sturdy case

Completely off topic but S10's are legit, what year is yours? Good luck with your move.

[ratdude747]

Re: suggestions for a cheap but sturdy case

specs:

1997 Chevy s10

2wd

long bed ('97 was the last year they offered it)

sky blue

normal cab, seats 3 (midgets... the middle seat has NO room)

tilt wheel, stock radio w/tape deck

auto tranny

v6 vortec

a little over 200k on the odometer

it has a bit of a story... we bought it off ebay in new jersey; my mom needed both a newer truck AND a reason to go to jersey; she loves the beach and has friends out there. it was the summer between my 4th and 5th grade ('03)... we bought it, we paid $2700, the kbb at the time said it was worth $4800... only issue with it was some thief cut the spare tire winch to stel the tire, we never have fixed it :/

around 4 years ago, some fucktard in a lexus came rolling around the corner; he was looking for his dropped cell phone instead of looking ahead; we were stuck behind a slow semi (i was taking a pet rat to the vet), he didn't see us, wham bam, his car's totaled, we need a new bumper + 2 brackets... insurance covered it, he learned an expensive lesson.

it does us well, last month it lugged a washer/dryer in one load (2hr down US 421/SR43 and 3 hr down I65 the next day); a fridge in another (same trip as ^'s second day)...