Killer Computer Cases Research

[willawake]

Again i was on one of my research trips which consist of checking out a product category, researching the products for days, selecting a winner and not buying anything heh.

The subject for this particular mission was a premium computer case, something killer but functional for the office heh.

I narrowed it down to the following. Personally i do not like computer cases with doors, i want access to my drives all the time. so that narrowed down the choices considerably. Furthermore i do not like over the top cases either and i dont want to be restricted to much in the amount and positioning of drives.

I am sorry only thermaltake had good images on their webpages. check the review links for much better pics. any of these cases is a killer.


thermaltake armor

http://www.hardcoreware.net/reviews/review-280-1.htm
http://www.overclockercafe.com/Revie..._VA8000_Armor/
http://www.bigbruin.com/reviews05/tt...dex.php?file=1
http://www.thermaltake.com/xaserCase.../va8000bws.htm


cooler master cs stacker

http://www.hexus.net/content/reviews...mlld19JRD04OTA
http://www.atruereview.com/cm_stacker/index.php
http://hwhell.com/articles/cooler_master_stacker/
http://www.coolermaster.com/index.ph...1+CM%20Stacker


lian li v1000

http://www.systemcooling.com/pc-v1000-01.html
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=2040
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=900519
http://www.dansdata.com/pcv1000.htm
http://www.lian-li.com/Product/Chass...C_PC-V1000.htm

The v1000 looks sick with lights inside shining through the front grille but is no good for me because of the distance to the hdds so sata is a requirement. the v1000 is also built like a brick shithouse as they say (built very strong) anyway it was gonna be either the stacker or the armor because of the flexibility of positioning the drives. The cooler master stacker is nice and functional but like the v1000 the window is extra. the thermaltake armor is the best thing i have seen to come out of thermaltake in a while. it is good to have the window included in the case and the armor doors look like they can be left open without obstructing use like a normal door. it looks incredibly sick in black and that is the one which i would like to buy although it is reported to be more flimsy in construction than the competitors.

[bushytails]

whatever happened to a nice beige box, rather than hideously ugly shiny things with windows and lights that light the room up and look like crap?

--Randy

[willawake]

i used to think the same but after getting a black microsoft keyboard and mouse and then a black/silver samsung 710v, it would just finish it off with a black windowed case with lights heh. like on the desk heh towering......

shit i think i buy it the thermaltake armor on monday. its gonna go nice with my new secondhand desk (closing a section of the office so up for grabs) I figure :

thermaltake armor black - euro 145
teac floppy + card reader combo black - euro 30
nec nd3520 dvdr black - 65
total = 240 euro

i started going into this whole new....cpu, ram, albatron mobo but i need to control myself.

yeh i could have a :

p4 530 3.0ghz - 170 euro
albatron px865pe7 - 90 euro
kingston 400mhz 512 x 2 - 99 euro

totalling = 598 euro

but cmon...........

well i will have the most cool looking cusl2 with an 866 p3.......

what they dont provide you with a computer.....no i started to buy my own shit years ago cos i spend most of my time at the office. otherwise i would be stuck with a 200mhz. when i leave its all coming with me heh.

anybody have any idea about the firefox images problem. this thread was ok but after a few refreshes the images are permanently gone for me....

[Topcat]

whatever happened to a nice beige box, rather than hideously ugly shiny things with windows and lights that light the room up and look like crap?

--Randy

^^
2nd!! I like my plain cases with no ricey crap and neon lights. I'll post up some pics of my big Lian Li server tower (which is my personal system) and my HUGE servers tower, which holds 2 motherboards... The servers are being revamped anyway, good time for a photo session!!

[willawake]

ok but i am a few years younger than u guys

[kc8adu]

you wanna see a odd case?
i will take a pic of one at the store monday if it is still there.
has a devil face with horns on the front with windows,ricer lights,ect.

[stretch0069]

ok but i am a few years younger than u guys

TC just looks old.

[willawake]

has a devil face with horns on the front with windows,ricer lights,ect.

oooh Mikey will like that one....

[stretch0069]

oooh Mikey will like that one....

Mikee runs OVER ricers.

[rugger]

I reckon the Antec SLK3700 BQE "was" a brick shithouse in a previous life. Makes it a pain to drag anywhere, which is good

While it does have a door (to hide beige drives that I am too cheap to replace), it is solid, and easy to work on.

Not exactly a premium case, but not a yum-cha, fall apart in a year, case. And no fancy styling either.

[willawake]

yeh i got some Chieftec DX-01W / Antec SX830 cases. really solid and without the doors i hate. i dont use them for builds though cos people complain about the weight and i am not into doing house calls anymore, prefer people to bring it to me.

anyway i didnt buy a case in the end as usual. i wouldnt mind getting some rackmount cases and clearing the mess up at home heh.

[Chris1992]

@Rugger: What about the Antec slk3700amb? Looking into using that for builds because of its size and colour.
@Willawake: why waste a Tt Armor on a P3 sys?! honestly..... I wouldn't put anything less than an a64 in that case.

[rugger]

@Rugger: What about the Antec slk3700amb? Looking into using that for builds because of its size and colour.

its pretty roomy for the price. The main difference between the amb and bqe cases is that the amb does not have individual removable hard drive cages.

The BQE has the hard drives rotated 90 degrees, with individual cages that mount the drives on the base. This makes installing and removing individual hard drives quite simple. The disadvantage of the 90 degree design is that cables are a lot harder to route and attach.

The AMB has a single removable hard drive cage. It still uses rubber gromets to isolate the hard drive from the case (good for noise and vibration, may have a minor negative effect on drive performance), but to install and remove drives, you need to either squeeze it in like a normal case, or disconnect all the hard drives.

The only other minor thing is that the AMB may not have a very good stampouts for the 120mm fan on the back. The stampout is fairly restrictive compared to the brilliant bqe hex stampouts.

Another thing to consider is the colour. I don't think anyone makes any bronze coloured drives that would match the case.

But all in all, I am pretty impressed with my case.

[Chris1992]

Of course, the slk3700amb has a door, right? Can't I just hide my ugly beige/black drives behind it?

[willawake]

Re: Killer Computer Cases Research

well lol i never bought any of those cases. i see that Akasa 62 Eclipse is available here in another version, the Mirage 62 http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=5015 which has a cool door on front instead. unfortunately i am not really into doors, especially for 162 euro.

so i am maybe gonna build a cheapie office computer for myself and i will need a case. i came across this chieftec ba-01 which even though it has a door, its in the price and spec range.
http://www.chieftec.com/products/Workcolor/BA-01.htm
http://www.pcgamma.com/showthread.php?t=7471

well i know its going to be the heavy duty chieftec build so thats good. its frickin enormous though hehehe has 2x120mm rear fans but no front. it has 92mm fans for the hdd which are not so great. i would probably omit those. so thats 99 euro with a 360w which is ok. sell the psu and the price is good.

[Baron]

Re: Killer Computer Cases Research

I have the TT Kandalf (ali) case, which to me is much the same as the Armour, but with front doors.
However, these can be removed, just leaving the two small 'wing's like the Armour.
What I like is the ability to mount stuff in the front of the case in whatever order you like.
The case comes with one 3 hdd cage + 120mm fan that sits in the front. I have since bought another cage, so my 4 drives are now in those.......2 drives per cage, so there is plenty of airflow over/around the drives.
I removed the small 3 hdd cage from up top in front of the PSU as I felt that as it was shoved right up against the PSU fan it might restrict its airflow.
The only niggle I had was installing the PSU which fits in vertically, as it is a bit fiddly, but found that removing the 92mm blowhole fan in the top of the case first, it was easier to install the PSU. It does come with a support bar to fit to help support the PSU, but I couldn't figure out how to insert it, so left it out, and it doesn't seem to make much difference to me as the PSU seems well supported anyway.
The Kandalf also comes with a drive bay for the front that can either hold a HDD, or a floppy drive and also contains the power/reset buttons and led's.
This of course can be placed anywhere you fancy in the front of the case.
It also comes with a plastic storage drawer, that again can be mounted anywhere in the front bays, and I find it handy for keeping a couple of floppy discs in................it will take CD's, but only by themselves, not in a case.
So I reckon the Armour is pretty much the same as the Kandalf............nice and light compared to my previous TT Xaser III steel case, which weighed a ton
Ummmmm....sorry, I have rambled on a bit.............

[Maxxarcade]

Re: Killer Computer Cases Research

I absolutely love my old Inwin Q2000AX server case, plain beige but not boringly plain. Only problem is the door over the drives has worn to the point that it falls off easy.

Basically I like any case that's roomy. Not the shallow ones where the drives block the motherboard or that need a small power supply. I also like removable motherboard trays and nice thick metal that doesn't flex when I insert a card or RAM. I also prefer plainer looking cases. Color or windows don't bother me near as much as those cases with the really curvy molded bezels that cover the floppy drive so you have to use your pinky to insert and remove disks.

[pentium]

Re: Killer Computer Cases Research

I would really love a case that has a small LCD on the front so I can see what is happening cpu, memory, disk and fan wise.

Just to get that professional look

[Maxxarcade]

Re: Killer Computer Cases Research

Those are neat. The first time I heard if LCD's on cases, it was back when it was really cool to interface an LCD to Winamp through the parallel port. And before retail cases started coming with them. Seems like all the case mods (windows, LCD's, neons etc) started as hobbies and hacker type stuff. Then the retail business gradually picked it up as well.

I still remember my first venture into water cooling, back before there was retail water blocks, pumps, and whole kits. I made a custom water block in the machine shop at college so I could run my previously loud computer in my dorm room at night without waking the roommate. The water container was an old thermos, and the radiator was an old transmission cooler I found in my Dad's shed

[arneson]

Re: Killer Computer Cases Research

The water container was an old thermos, and the radiator was an old transmission cooler I found in my Dad's shed

I wish you had marketed that, The Maxx Cool, would have been an instant success. Great ideas that got away.