Need a Kick-Ass Case!

Hi,

I have just sold my 4 months old AMD system which was housed in an ANTEC
SX630II Mini Tower case. I did like the ANTEC but it was my *Value* option.
I intend to build a new system (AMD I reckon) but this time I want to
push-the-boat-out with the Case + PSU.

I am an overclocker, I like ABIT mobos and Radeon Graphics. I want to use
at least 4-6 hard drives + assorted optical drives.

So far the thing I want to try the most is this *removable* mobo tray but I
am not sure if this works as I think it might?. The thing I didn't like
about my ANTEC case was that it was a tight fit with My ABIT NF7-S and it
was impossible to mount the HSF (AERO7 LITE) when the mobo was inside the
case, so I had to attach the HSF on the mobo outside the case then lift the
bare mobo (with HSF attached) and fumble-finger it down into the case, no
fun at all. This meant that if I wanted to swap out HSF or try a new CPU I
would literally have to disassemble my ENTIRE PC, screws out from Mobo and
everything! what a PAIN!. I do not know of a way to take the HSF on/off
while the mobo was inside my case as the clip for the HSF was facing the
inside. . towards the PSU, so yeah I could remove the PSU to unclip the HSF
but still a pain.

If I had a case with *removable* mobo holder tray, would I be able to slide
the mobo in/out with a HSF attached? If so this would be *Kickass* but I'm
not sure if this is possible? If I can't do this then I see little point in
having a *removable* mobo tray?

So with this in mind, I am looking for these features in my new case:

1) Aluminium - To help system cooling
2) Removable Mobo Tray - To help make frequent HSF/CPU changes as painless
as possible
3) External USB2.0 ports - Preferably that will connect to my mobo easy
4) Space and Cooling for several HDDs
5) Plenty Fans - Blowhole on top is desirable

= = = = = = = = = = =
So far I am very tempted to get this case:
CoolerMaster Praetorian PAC-T01-E1 - Silver (£94.17)
http://tinyurl.com/3dghv
= = = = = = = = = = =
Of course I would need to power my new system. My best PSU choice so far is:
ANTEC TrueBlue 480 Watt PSU (£76.36)
http://tinyurl.com/2lsy4
I have a blue theme goin on, even though I have no side window in my spec.
= = = = = = = = = = =
TOTAL: £170.53
= = = = = = = = = = =
Thanks for reading, I am quite new at deluxe cases so maybe you could lend
me your experience
--
Wayne ][

did you check out the Lian-li PC-70USB or other variants?

check www.dansdata.com for reviews



"Wayne Youngman" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I have just sold my 4 months old AMD system which was housed in an ANTEC
SX630II Mini Tower case. I did like the ANTEC but it was my *Value*
option.
I intend to build a new system (AMD I reckon) but this time I want to
push-the-boat-out with the Case + PSU.

I am an overclocker, I like ABIT mobos and Radeon Graphics. I want to use
at least 4-6 hard drives + assorted optical drives.

So far the thing I want to try the most is this *removable* mobo tray but
I
am not sure if this works as I think it might?. The thing I didn't like
about my ANTEC case was that it was a tight fit with My ABIT NF7-S and it
was impossible to mount the HSF (AERO7 LITE) when the mobo was inside the
case, so I had to attach the HSF on the mobo outside the case then lift
the
bare mobo (with HSF attached) and fumble-finger it down into the case, no
fun at all. This meant that if I wanted to swap out HSF or try a new CPU
I
would literally have to disassemble my ENTIRE PC, screws out from Mobo and
everything! what a PAIN!. I do not know of a way to take the HSF on/off
while the mobo was inside my case as the clip for the HSF was facing the
inside. . towards the PSU, so yeah I could remove the PSU to unclip the
HSF
but still a pain.

If I had a case with *removable* mobo holder tray, would I be able to
slide
the mobo in/out with a HSF attached? If so this would be *Kickass* but I'm
not sure if this is possible? If I can't do this then I see little point
in
having a *removable* mobo tray?

So with this in mind, I am looking for these features in my new case:

1) Aluminium - To help system cooling
2) Removable Mobo Tray - To help make frequent HSF/CPU changes as painless
as possible
3) External USB2.0 ports - Preferably that will connect to my mobo easy
4) Space and Cooling for several HDDs
5) Plenty Fans - Blowhole on top is desirable

= = = = = = = = = = =
So far I am very tempted to get this case:
CoolerMaster Praetorian PAC-T01-E1 - Silver (£94.17)
http://tinyurl.com/3dghv
= = = = = = = = = = =
Of course I would need to power my new system. My best PSU choice so far
is:
ANTEC TrueBlue 480 Watt PSU (£76.36)
http://tinyurl.com/2lsy4
I have a blue theme goin on, even though I have no side window in my spec.
= = = = = = = = = = =
TOTAL: £170.53
= = = = = = = = = = =
Thanks for reading, I am quite new at deluxe cases so maybe you could lend
me your experience
--
Wayne ][

D wrote:

did you check out the Lian-li PC-70USB or other variants?

check www.dansdata.com for reviews



"Wayne Youngman" wrote in message
...

Hi,

I have just sold my 4 months old AMD system which was housed in an ANTEC
SX630II Mini Tower case. I did like the ANTEC but it was my *Value*
option.
I intend to build a new system (AMD I reckon) but this time I want to
push-the-boat-out with the Case + PSU.

I am an overclocker, I like ABIT mobos and Radeon Graphics. I want to use
at least 4-6 hard drives + assorted optical drives.

So far the thing I want to try the most is this *removable* mobo tray but
I
am not sure if this works as I think it might?. The thing I didn't like
about my ANTEC case was that it was a tight fit with My ABIT NF7-S and it
was impossible to mount the HSF (AERO7 LITE) when the mobo was inside the
case, so I had to attach the HSF on the mobo outside the case then lift
the
bare mobo (with HSF attached) and fumble-finger it down into the case, no
fun at all. This meant that if I wanted to swap out HSF or try a new CPU
I
would literally have to disassemble my ENTIRE PC, screws out from Mobo and
everything! what a PAIN!. I do not know of a way to take the HSF on/off
while the mobo was inside my case as the clip for the HSF was facing the
inside. . towards the PSU, so yeah I could remove the PSU to unclip the
HSF
but still a pain.

If I had a case with *removable* mobo holder tray, would I be able to
slide
the mobo in/out with a HSF attached? If so this would be *Kickass* but I'm
not sure if this is possible? If I can't do this then I see little point
in
having a *removable* mobo tray?

So with this in mind, I am looking for these features in my new case:

1) Aluminium - To help system cooling
2) Removable Mobo Tray - To help make frequent HSF/CPU changes as painless
as possible
3) External USB2.0 ports - Preferably that will connect to my mobo easy
4) Space and Cooling for several HDDs
5) Plenty Fans - Blowhole on top is desirable

= = = = = = = = = = =
So far I am very tempted to get this case:
CoolerMaster Praetorian PAC-T01-E1 - Silver (£94.17)
http://tinyurl.com/3dghv
= = = = = = = = = = =
Of course I would need to power my new system. My best PSU choice so far
is:
ANTEC TrueBlue 480 Watt PSU (£76.36)
http://tinyurl.com/2lsy4
I have a blue theme goin on, even though I have no side window in my spec.
= = = = = = = = = = =
TOTAL: £170.53
= = = = = = = = = = =
Thanks for reading, I am quite new at deluxe cases so maybe you could lend
me your experience
--
Wayne ][





I have a Lian Li case and you just slide the motherboard out.Great case
regards Al

I have a Lian Li case and you just slide the motherboard out.Great case
regards Al

Yep. I love my Lian-Li cases (I now have two since I liked the first
so much). The best part about the aluminum case is that it isn't magnetic!
You can use magnetic screwdrivers when mounting disks and things and
the case doesn't yank the screwdriver out of your hand and send the little
screw on the end down some impossible to reach hole where it will lurk
until just the right time to short something out :-).
--
== The *Best* political site URL:http://www.vote-smart.org/ ==+
email: icbm: Delray Beach, FL |
URL:http://home.att.net/~Tom.Horsley Free Software and Politics ==+

On Thu, 22 Jan 2004 22:24:26 GMT, (Thomas A.
Horsley) wrote:



Yep. I love my Lian-Li cases (I now have two since I liked the first
so much). The best part about the aluminum case is that it isn't magnetic!
You can use magnetic screwdrivers when mounting disks and things and
the case doesn't yank the screwdriver out of your hand and send the little
screw on the end down some impossible to reach hole where it will lurk
until just the right time to short something out :-).

You shouldn't use magnetic screwdrivers around anything electrical,
and especially not near a HDD.

Have you ever pulled apart a hdd before ??
The magnetism in the servo arm will surprize you
A screwdrive with the small amount to hold a screw and the short amout of
time will not a damage the hdd nearly as much as a screw floting around the
case :S.

"McCrack" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 22 Jan 2004 22:24:26 GMT, (Thomas A.
Horsley) wrote:



Yep. I love my Lian-Li cases (I now have two since I liked the first
so much). The best part about the aluminum case is that it isn't
magnetic!
You can use magnetic screwdrivers when mounting disks and things and
the case doesn't yank the screwdriver out of your hand and send the
little
screw on the end down some impossible to reach hole where it will lurk
until just the right time to short something out :-).

You shouldn't use magnetic screwdrivers around anything electrical,
and especially not near a HDD.

D wrote:
did you check out the Lian-li PC-70USB or other variants?

It depends on the size of the complete CPU HSF assembly. If using something
big, you can't slide the tray out on a Lian-Li either.

Then there's the LED/speaker/button head, which Lian-Li decided to use
single pins for. There's no single plug to disconnect/reconnect if you want
to slide the tray out (on some model, there's a plug midway on the cable
though, but on the wrong side of a clamp to help when removing the
motherboard). Combined with the normal amount of other cable heads,
including IDE, USB, WLA, power and others, it's going to be a lot of
fiddling anyhow.
BUT -- to help with the original user's problems: On the Lian-Li cases, you
can very easily open the back panel too, meaning you don't normally have to
remove the motherboard if the fastening bracket is the reason why you
otherwise need full access to the motherboard to change the CPU.

--
*Art

"Wayne Youngman" wrote in message
...
[snip]

If I had a case with *removable* mobo holder tray, would I be able
to slide
the mobo in/out with a HSF attached? If so this would be *Kickass*
but I'm
not sure if this is possible? If I can't do this then I see
little point in
having a *removable* mobo tray?

I have a Lian Li 6070, I can remove mobo with hsf and pci cards
still attached.

So with this in mind, I am looking for these features in my new
case:

1) Aluminium - To help system cooling

The extra cooling from aluminium is next to nothing, but aluminium
cases look cool.

2) Removable Mobo Tray - To help make frequent HSF/CPU changes as
painless
as possible
3) External USB2.0 ports - Preferably that will connect to my mobo
easy
4) Space and Cooling for several HDDs
5) Plenty Fans - Blowhole on top is desirable


Check http://www.overclockers.co.uk they stock Lian LI as well as
lots of others, delivery is always excellent and they're a friendly
bunch.

= = = = = = = = = = =
So far I am very tempted to get this case:
CoolerMaster Praetorian PAC-T01-E1 - Silver (£94.17)
http://tinyurl.com/3dghv
= = = = = = = = = = =
Of course I would need to power my new system. My best PSU choice
so far is:
ANTEC TrueBlue 480 Watt PSU (£76.36)
http://tinyurl.com/2lsy4
I have a blue theme goin on, even though I have no side window in
my spec.
= = = = = = = = = = =
TOTAL: £170.53
= = = = = = = = = = =
Thanks for reading, I am quite new at deluxe cases so maybe you
could lend
me your experience

Good choice of psu.

HTH

--

Ian

A7N8X Deluxe v1.04
Uber Bios 1006 + Sata Bios
XP2500 @ 2400MHz
Corsair Twinx1024-3200LLPT
200 x 12.0
ATI Radeon 9700Pro
2 x Maxtor 120GB 8MB SATA RAID 0

IanDunbar wrote:
"Wayne Youngman" wrote in message
...

1) Aluminium - To help system cooling

The extra cooling from aluminium is next to nothing, but aluminium
cases look cool.

That depends on how well you transfer heat TO the case. If using heat
pipes, it can be very efficient in cooling, and Zalman has even released a
completely fanless Al case that works like a huge heat sink.

Regards,
--
*Art

On Fri, 23 Jan 2004 08:03:54 -0500, "Arthur Hagen"
wrote:


That depends on how well you transfer heat TO the case. If using heat
pipes, it can be very efficient in cooling, and Zalman has even released a
completely fanless Al case that works like a huge heat sink.

Regards,

Yea, and it costs well over a grand to buy. :-)