Reviews for PC ATX Cases? 53
Jason asks: "Well, I am stumped. While there are hundreds of sites for PC case modding -- water cooling, titanium-alloy, pyramids, etc -- there appears to be no sites I can find dedicated to simply reviewing ATX cases. Case manufacturing seems to have come a long way, with many successful vendors (and imitators). Tom's Hardware, Anandtech, et al, might cover an especially significant case here or there -- but where is a general source of information for Luan-Li, Antec, Superflower, Enermax, CaseTek, Inwin, Cooler Master. Geez! They all have their varying price points and obvious style lineations... where can a geek go to get some comprehensive info?" If no specific site has such information, feel free to use this space to make your own reviews of ATX cases. What sites are the best for finding information and/or reviews on the latest PC cases?
Dan's Data has a lot of good case reviews (Score:4, Informative)
http://dansdata.com/altindex.html [dansdata.com]
google says: (Score:2, Informative)
pc some more [pricegrabber.com]
Here is an article (Score:4, Informative)
I know that people here seem to hate Tom's Hardware, but this is a
pretty good article:
http://www4.tomshardware.com/howto/20030428/index
-ft
get over it (Score:1, Offtopic)
Re:get over it (Score:1)
Re:get over it (Score:5, Informative)
Re:get over it (Score:2)
Aluminum cases are good. Very good even. Very light, and they dissipate heat tons better than 'normal' cases.
[and of course good airflow is important to dissipation as well]
Re:get over it (Score:2)
Re:get over it (Score:1)
FWIW, I did look for a nearly screwless case on my last machine. I look for that kind of jazz for drives, as those are the only components I regularly replace.
Re:get over it (Score:2)
The language you used before was a little too coarse to be justifiable by that sort of argument, particularly when used without provocation. I mean, I regularly behave like a bit of an asshole, but what you said was a bit over the top even by my poor standards.
Maybe you should ask yourself this: What is the point in possessing social skills if you don't use them? For that matter, how is anyone supposed to know whether you actually have
Re:get over it (Score:2)
Re:get over it (Score:2, Informative)
Depends on what you consider a cheap case. I'm assuming you're talking $30-50, in which case I would disagree. I usually spend around $80-120 for a case. The last three cases I've bought were all Antec (SX830, SX635, SX1040). All three cases use basically the same design with a few differences here and there. The side doo
did you try STFW? (Score:1)
Arstechnica.com (Score:4, Informative)
They have a nice page devoted to cases and cooling [arstechnica.com].
NewEgg! (Score:2, Informative)
Re:NewEgg! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:NewEgg! (Score:3, Informative)
Anyway, yes, I've written negative reviews. The worst thing that's happened to anything I wrote is that an editor seems to have removed phrases like "crap" and "needs to be beaten down with a stack of 75GXPs" (that whole phrase, BTW, was replaced with Xs).
As far as cases go, I'm partial to Compucase. I like the HEC PSUs, lack of crappy drive rails and t
Re:NewEgg! (Score:2)
I do usually make decent profit on ebay, however.
Re:NewEgg! (Score:1)
Another poster above cautions that negative reviews could be removed, but I've always found enough clusters of them scattered through to be satisified that there's not too much
Tom's Hardware (Score:1)
http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20030428/inde
The ones they pick in the end seem rather expensive relative to what I am used to, and none of them are toolless (boo!), but they do look pretty. *shrug* Tom's is usually a good resource for reviews in my experience.
Don't sweat it (Score:4, Insightful)
Here's how to buy a case:
0) Go to your local no-name computer shop.
1) Find the cheapest case that still looks decent.
2) Jam a quiet (Panaflo, etc) case fan in it.
3) Spend the $100 or so you saved over a CoolerMaster on a sweet pair of headphones or something.
Re:Don't sweat it (Score:2, Interesting)
If you're a light duty gamer sort whose hardware goes obsolete ever six months, th
Re:Don't sweat it (Score:2)
Here's the problem with expensive cases: motherboard form factors change every two years. Even if the power supply still fits, you're going to have a hard time fitting the plugs on the back of a new motherboard into the back of your high-quality old case.
Re:Don't sweat it (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Don't sweat it (Score:1)
There's also full-AT, and there are all the proprietary layouts. Every two years? Ridiculous.
Re:Don't sweat it (Score:3, Insightful)
Sorry, but I have to disagree. While I wouldn't advise going all-out, don't just get the cheapest one you see either. A bad case can make putting together your own computer a far less pleasant experience...example: a friend of mine got a cheap case and within a day managed to accidentally break the connection between the power button and the wire that goes to the motherboard. Ever since then, he's had to manually touch the t
Re:Don't sweat it (Score:1)
Re:Don't sweat it (Score:1)
Ended up buying a *2nd* unit just to serve as spare parts for the first unit (was almost cheaper then the replacement modules for the P/S).
Needless to say, my next case will be a SuperMicro cas
Re:Don't sweat it (Score:2)
Re:Don't sweat it (Score:1)
Re:Don't sweat it (Score:2)
Until the cheap-ass power supply shorts on the DC side and cooks your hard drives. That 1337 RAID array won't save your butt because both drives will be cooked. Or worse, wait till your drives die a slow, horrible death from weak, out-of-spec voltages.
For my next upgrade, I am looking seriously at the Nexus NL-3000 [nexustek.nl] power supply which is super-quiet and was well-received by many reviewers. A PSU is *not* something you ski
Antec cases (Score:2, Interesting)
Then again there's not much science to cases at that level, unless you go to the high end. One of my boxes at home is an older Gateway and it comes with the most kickass high end (non-moddy) case I've ever seen. Can't tell the manufacturer though.
Old but good... (Score:5, Informative)
I've been using the Supermicro 750A for a long time. It is an awesome case, both in design and size. Bringing it to a lan party is an exercise close in scope to Stonehenge...
What I like about it:
1) Size. It fits 4 hot scsi drives, a floppy, 2 optical drives, and a flash-card reader without a problem.
2) Cooling - plenty of places for cooling fans. And you really don't need to use all of them. I have 4 10kRPM HDs, and I only have 4 case fans used.
3) Solid construction. Buy two and a door, use it as a desk. Stand on the desk. Put 3 21" monitors. No problem. Also, no sharp edges anywhere. I don't think I've cut myself on the metal in the case in 4 years.
4) No stupid windows! Stop the insanity!
What I don't like:
A) I needed a new power supply: the 300W supply that came has been replaced with an Antec Truepower 480W.
B) My version doesn't have a slide-out tray
C) No drive-rail clips.
D) No front mount usb/sound/firewire. I got around that with an internal flash card reader/usb panel
E) expensive and/or discontinued.
My friend recently bought an Antec full tower with a locking front (pesky kids!). That is a nice case -almost as big, drives mount on rails, front usb and firewire, Antec truepower 430W ps, pewter grey color, and 2 extra leds for an internal lan or whatever. It cost $129 at Frys. Just don't drop it on your foot.
Re:Old but good... (Score:3, Informative)
The Addtronics versions of the case, the 7890-series IIRC, are nearly identical to the Supermicro 750A case (Addtronics is the
One more note (Score:2)
Case review in a nutshell (Score:3)
Based on my past experiences, I have the very subjective view that for the most part if you're blindly buying a case based on specs from an online retailer, go with Antec. They've never once let me down, whereas many of the other major brands have. The only case that ever impressed me more than an Antec was CoolerMaster's ATC-201C, if I was looking for really good thermal properties for a known-hot setup, I'd probably buy from them again. But in the overall, it's Antec for general purpose stuff. On a related note, even in my CoolerMaster I use Antec's power supplies, they're hard to beat, especially the newer TruePower series.
get it right, man (Score:1)
Some good sites (Score:3, Informative)
I know cases are dirt cheap nowadays, and Coolermasters are a bit expensive, but you get what you pay for: great looks, great performance, and great construction. No matter what, I reccomend going with an aluminum case. The difference in weight is well worth it if you ever move it around. Another thing you get with better cases is a slide-out motherboard tray, which makes installations and upgrades a breeze.
Dan's Data (Score:2)
newegg (Score:2)
Jinco, baby... (Score:3, Informative)
They've got all kinds of stuff there.
Don't have reviews, but they tend to have enough specs and sometimes all the pictures you could possibly want.
Surprise... (Score:2)
Antec is much better. Heavier too.
Re:Surprise... (Score:2)
Sometimes rolling over and playing dead isn't the best way to handle business transactions...
Re:Surprise... (Score:2)
Because the shipping was almost the same as the price of the cases themselves ! And once 'modified' they worked fine for the purpose of the cluster (with a few extra fans).
And because I just suck at business. Specs, code and bugs I can handle, but not a vendor that says: "sure, send them back, we'll give you only 30% restocking fee."
two brands only (Score:1)
Thermaltake [thermaltake.com]
Someone send me some cases... (Score:2)
Anything for freebies. And I've got enough buddies to 'share the wealth' with in order to get more than just my opinion.
Anyone? Helllooo?
Get it from the source... (Score:4, Informative)
I've always hit up the manufacturers websites to get all the information I need in choosing a case for a particular rig. Online retailers are usually handy for getting some snapshots of cases you are interested in. If you're not seeking maximum airflow or some watercooling setup, then it really comes down to a few things:
1. Will it hold all the drives you need?
2. Can it supply enough power for your system?
3. Is it going to fit under your desk?
4. Do you mind slicing your hand open to save $30?
The last one is obviously a reference to no-name cases - they'll work just as good as an Antec or Enlight case with a good power supply, but you may also shed some blood in the process. Having a good quality power supply is what usually makes or breaks a general use case, as long as it meets your other requirements.
That being said, I'm particularly fond of Antec's Performance and Solution series cases. They're just as good as an el-cheapo case at holding everything in, but you get nice features like removable drive cages and rails for all of your external devices. Plus a good quality power supply that will actually last a few years. I'm rocking an Antec SX1040B right now, which is absolutely humongous, but holds my slew of hard disks and 5.25" devices.