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Case issue



 
 
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  #1  
Old December 1st 17, 02:34 AM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
NIl
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 73
Default Case issue

I'm into my computer build (first since 2006!) that I mentioned in a
previous thread. Parts are on their way, and the first to arrive was a
case I bought from Newegg:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16811352070

I guess I'm behind the times, because I never even consided the
possibility: there are no front-accessible bays to accommodate an
optical disc reader/writer, which I require. I was looking for a case
that was very insulated and quiet and this looked like a good choice,
so now I'm very surprised and disappointed. I have to decide whether to
return it (probably on my dime) or keep it. So...

- I guess I'd be willing to spring for an external USB drive *IF*...
[a] they burn reliable (I guess I still remember the days when the
computer/OS could barely keep up with a burn and you'd get frequent
crap-outs during a write operation). and [b] are the drives within the
caddys replaceable? In my experience, optical (CD/DVD) burners have a
short lifespan and must be replaced every few years. But internal
drives are cheap, so it was no big deal - I consider them to be
consumable items. So, if I can replace the drives in the USB caddys for
$10 - $15, that's acceptible. If I have to replace the whole caddy for
$20 - $40, that's not so acceptible.


  #2  
Old December 1st 17, 03:25 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Paul[_28_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,467
Default Case issue

Nil wrote:
I'm into my computer build (first since 2006!) that I mentioned in a
previous thread. Parts are on their way, and the first to arrive was a
case I bought from Newegg:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16811352070

I guess I'm behind the times, because I never even consided the
possibility: there are no front-accessible bays to accommodate an
optical disc reader/writer, which I require. I was looking for a case
that was very insulated and quiet and this looked like a good choice,
so now I'm very surprised and disappointed. I have to decide whether to
return it (probably on my dime) or keep it. So...

- I guess I'd be willing to spring for an external USB drive *IF*...
[a] they burn reliable (I guess I still remember the days when the
computer/OS could barely keep up with a burn and you'd get frequent
crap-outs during a write operation). and [b] are the drives within the
caddys replaceable? In my experience, optical (CD/DVD) burners have a
short lifespan and must be replaced every few years. But internal
drives are cheap, so it was no big deal - I consider them to be
consumable items. So, if I can replace the drives in the USB caddys for
$10 - $15, that's acceptible. If I have to replace the whole caddy for
$20 - $40, that's not so acceptible.


I think I'd just return the case, and get
a case I really want.

You can "make" your own optical drive, by buying
a 5.25" enclosure and putting a 5.25" full tray drive
in it. That's what my "floater" optical drive is, a
full sized one. If the drive failed (none have),
I could just replace the mechanism for $20.

If you buy pre-packaged "slim" drives, there's
a good chance you'll be throwing out the thing
if it fails. It has pros and cons. The slim drive
will be smaller than the full-sized one, and take
up less storage space. You pay a premium for slim.

But I'd really rather have the computer case that's
right for the job, and "holds all the junk I have
planned for it". Even if it costs $20-$30 to send
that thing back. That case might be good for an
"SSD person" or something. It wouldn't do me much good,
as I have one machine with average three drives in it,
and the machine I'm typing on has three to five drives
depending on the occasion. A case with two drive bays
total, would be nuts.

Even with SSDs, it's better if you can house them,
just for appearances sake. I had two SSDs hanging down
in the other case (while doing some cloning thing),
and it doesn't look all that good. I don't have any
tray adapters to convert from 2.5" to what my case
has inside it. The SSDs were an after-thought.
(One is for the laptop, the second one is sneakernet.)

Paul
  #3  
Old December 1st 17, 04:07 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Larc[_3_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 383
Default Case issue

On Thu, 30 Nov 2017 20:34:55 -0500, Nil wrote:

| I'm into my computer build (first since 2006!) that I mentioned in a
| previous thread. Parts are on their way, and the first to arrive was a
| case I bought from Newegg:
|
| https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16811352070
|
| I guess I'm behind the times, because I never even consided the
| possibility: there are no front-accessible bays to accommodate an
| optical disc reader/writer, which I require. I was looking for a case
| that was very insulated and quiet and this looked like a good choice,
| so now I'm very surprised and disappointed. I have to decide whether to
| return it (probably on my dime) or keep it. So...

I got this case and am happy with it. 2 external bays that will accommodate CD/DVD
drives. No side window. I did buy an extra fan for the front.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16811129199

Larc
  #4  
Old December 1st 17, 04:45 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Paul[_28_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,467
Default Case issue

Larc wrote:
On Thu, 30 Nov 2017 20:34:55 -0500, Nil wrote:

| I'm into my computer build (first since 2006!) that I mentioned in a
| previous thread. Parts are on their way, and the first to arrive was a
| case I bought from Newegg:
|
| https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16811352070
|
| I guess I'm behind the times, because I never even consided the
| possibility: there are no front-accessible bays to accommodate an
| optical disc reader/writer, which I require. I was looking for a case
| that was very insulated and quiet and this looked like a good choice,
| so now I'm very surprised and disappointed. I have to decide whether to
| return it (probably on my dime) or keep it. So...

I got this case and am happy with it. 2 external bays that will accommodate CD/DVD
drives. No side window. I did buy an extra fan for the front.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16811129199

Larc


I like the side-load trays on mine.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...9SIA6ZP3KT7120

https://images10.newegg.com/producti...129-086-15.jpg

By pulling the trays out of two machines, I have
a total of eight trays to rotate through there.

*******

If you have liquid cooling plans, then other kinds of
cases might make more sense. Liquid can help with
some of the high power stuff now, if you want them
to remain stable. (At least one video card comes with
a water block, as proof it uses too much power :-) )

*******

The above case is no good for really long video cards.
And again, you have to sacrifice your drive bay setup
somewhat, to accommodate a long video card. Even some
motherboards have been known to cause problems.
(I think there was a ThreadRipper board which was
extolled as being good for running a bunch of
video cards, but the designer "forgot" to leave
room for the long video cards that might be used.)

Newegg may have a thousand different computer case
models to choose from, but you'll find at least
a few in the "what were they thinking category".
Products that I wouldn't ship back, and just squash them
and put them in my recycling bin.

Paul
  #5  
Old December 1st 17, 05:57 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Mr. Man-wai Chang
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 697
Default Case issue

On 1/12/2017 9:34 AM, Nil wrote:
I guess I'm behind the times, because I never even consided the
possibility: there are no front-accessible bays to accommodate an
optical disc reader/writer, which I require. I was looking for a case
that was very insulated and quiet and this looked like a good choice,
so now I'm very surprised and disappointed. I have to decide whether to
return it (probably on my dime) or keep it. So...


Buy some quiet fans from Noctua, whether you are using liquid cooler or
not. They are expensive though.

- I guess I'd be willing to spring for an external USB drive *IF*...
[a] they burn reliable (I guess I still remember the days when the
computer/OS could barely keep up with a burn and you'd get frequent
crap-outs during a write operation). and [b] are the drives within the
caddys replaceable? In my experience, optical (CD/DVD) burners have a
short lifespan and must be replaced every few years. But internal
drives are cheap, so it was no big deal - I consider them to be
consumable items. So, if I can replace the drives in the USB caddys for
$10 - $15, that's acceptible. If I have to replace the whole caddy for
$20 - $40, that's not so acceptible.


Internal Blu-ray combo drives are always cheaper. And these days
terabytes hard disks and large capacity SD cards are cheap. So don't
bother using CD/DVD/Blu-Ray for backup.

You might spend some money on a SSD as system drive for fast booting.

--
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/ v \ Simplicity is Beauty!
/( _ )\ May the Force and farces be with you!
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  #6  
Old December 1st 17, 06:28 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Flasherly[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,407
Default Case issue

On Fri, 01 Dec 2017 10:45:48 -0500, Paul
wrote:

I like the side-load trays on mine.


Mine's much older, but loads 3.5" drives sideways, and though Antec
still making it, appears they changed that back to the tradition
orientation.

https://techreport.com/review/4771/antec-lanboy-case

Heat. The cooling on a side load, at least on mine, is somewhat
obstructed due to the cage design, and drives reflect a few degree
higher operation.

But Antec evidently loves its Lanboys, anticipates such quirks, and
provides a model for everyone these days.

https://www.bit-tech.net/reviews/tec...-air-review/2/

For a $50 case, what mine cost then (discounted sale cost) -- it's the
best I've yet owned. Light as a soda can, cheers.
  #7  
Old December 1st 17, 06:51 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Larc[_3_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 383
Default Case issue

On Fri, 01 Dec 2017 10:45:48 -0500, Paul wrote:

| Larc wrote:
| On Thu, 30 Nov 2017 20:34:55 -0500, Nil wrote:
|
| | I'm into my computer build (first since 2006!) that I mentioned in a
| | previous thread. Parts are on their way, and the first to arrive was a
| | case I bought from Newegg:
| |
| | https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16811352070
| |
| | I guess I'm behind the times, because I never even consided the
| | possibility: there are no front-accessible bays to accommodate an
| | optical disc reader/writer, which I require. I was looking for a case
| | that was very insulated and quiet and this looked like a good choice,
| | so now I'm very surprised and disappointed. I have to decide whether to
| | return it (probably on my dime) or keep it. So...
|
| I got this case and am happy with it. 2 external bays that will accommodate CD/DVD
| drives. No side window. I did buy an extra fan for the front.
|
| https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16811129199
|
| Larc
|
| I like the side-load trays on mine.
|
| https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...9SIA6ZP3KT7120
|
| https://images10.newegg.com/producti...129-086-15.jpg
|
| By pulling the trays out of two machines, I have
| a total of eight trays to rotate through there.

The P100 also has side-load trays that accommodate 3.5" and 2.5" drives.

I like the Sonata Proto as well and have it for my bedroom PC. 2 minor shortcomings
(IMO) are having to open the door to access the start button and the bottom mount for
a 2.5" drive. But there's an excellent cheap option to overcome the latter item.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16817994162

I've tried costlier brackets that weren't nearly as good and easy.

Larc
  #8  
Old December 1st 17, 07:04 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
NIl
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 73
Default Case issue

On 01 Dec 2017, Larc wrote in
alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt:

I got this case and am happy with it. 2 external bays that will
accommodate CD/DVD drives. No side window. I did buy an extra
fan for the front.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16811129199


That looks pretty good. It's on my list of possibilities. Thank you.

The window isn't something I want, either. The case I got is available
with or without the window, and I originally had the windowless one in
my on-line shopping cart. I really don't need to see blinking lights
and whirling fans. But *JUST* as I was checking out, the price suddenly
jumped up more than $20! Bad timing! So I went back and bought the one
with the window, thinking I could cover it up if the light inside
became annoying.
  #9  
Old December 1st 17, 07:14 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Paul[_28_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,467
Default Case issue

Larc wrote:
On Fri, 01 Dec 2017 10:45:48 -0500, Paul wrote:

| Larc wrote:
| On Thu, 30 Nov 2017 20:34:55 -0500, Nil wrote:
|
| | I'm into my computer build (first since 2006!) that I mentioned in a
| | previous thread. Parts are on their way, and the first to arrive was a
| | case I bought from Newegg:
| |
| | https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16811352070
| |
| | I guess I'm behind the times, because I never even consided the
| | possibility: there are no front-accessible bays to accommodate an
| | optical disc reader/writer, which I require. I was looking for a case
| | that was very insulated and quiet and this looked like a good choice,
| | so now I'm very surprised and disappointed. I have to decide whether to
| | return it (probably on my dime) or keep it. So...
|
| I got this case and am happy with it. 2 external bays that will accommodate CD/DVD
| drives. No side window. I did buy an extra fan for the front.
|
| https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16811129199
|
| Larc
|
| I like the side-load trays on mine.
|
| https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...9SIA6ZP3KT7120
|
| https://images10.newegg.com/producti...129-086-15.jpg
|
| By pulling the trays out of two machines, I have
| a total of eight trays to rotate through there.

The P100 also has side-load trays that accommodate 3.5" and 2.5" drives.

I like the Sonata Proto as well and have it for my bedroom PC. 2 minor shortcomings
(IMO) are having to open the door to access the start button and the bottom mount for
a 2.5" drive. But there's an excellent cheap option to overcome the latter item.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16817994162

I've tried costlier brackets that weren't nearly as good and easy.

Larc


Taking the door off mine, was the very first step :-)
Just the hinge sits there flapping in the breeze.

On an earlier Sonata, I removed the bottom front bezel
for better cooling.

I usually mod them a bit when I get them.

I removed that stupid dust filter. If I didn't,
I'd be cleaning that filter every three months.

Still, it's a nice case, compared to some other
things I could have bought at the time.

Selecting computer cases is really time consuming.
I don't wanna cut myself on some "soup tin" case.
The reports of cases arriving with the side kicked
in because they were too thin, doesn't impress me
either. I think some of my earlier cases had 1mm
thick sides on them, but the Sonata isn't quite
as thick.

My very best case, is a piece of junk :-) However,
I'm attached to it, mainly because of my
"after-the-fact" discoveries about it. One day I
was working on it, when it occurred to me "is that
a motherboard tray I'm looking at" ? And sure enough,
the thing had a removable tray, so you could easily
get the motherboard out from the "wrong" side of the case.
The second thing that was super-cool about that case,
is the drive bays are arranged in such a way, that
a really long video card would fit. And when I originally
got the thing, I really dumped on it, thinking it was
crap. But in fact it had a pretty decent feature
set. Since my very first PC was built up at the
computer store, I didn't get all the promotional
material I might collect when I build them myself.
So I don't have the box the computer case came
in, and there's no branding stamped on it either.
But it's turned out to be pretty sweet to work on,
even if it's really old looking.

Paul
  #10  
Old December 1st 17, 07:42 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Paul[_28_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,467
Default Case issue

Nil wrote:
On 01 Dec 2017, Larc wrote in
alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt:

I got this case and am happy with it. 2 external bays that will
accommodate CD/DVD drives. No side window. I did buy an extra
fan for the front.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16811129199


That looks pretty good. It's on my list of possibilities. Thank you.

The window isn't something I want, either. The case I got is available
with or without the window, and I originally had the windowless one in
my on-line shopping cart. I really don't need to see blinking lights
and whirling fans. But *JUST* as I was checking out, the price suddenly
jumped up more than $20! Bad timing! So I went back and bought the one
with the window, thinking I could cover it up if the light inside
became annoying.


The window would make it more noisy.

A couple of things help computer cases:

1) Mass. A heavy case (with maybe some rubber feet
on the bottom), can damp out vibration a bit.
One of the marks I have against the Lian Li cases
I used to look at in the computer store, is the cases
were all shaky lightweight aluminum cans. And they'd
magnify any noise sources inside.

2) Stiffness. You don't want loose fitting multi-piece-part
designs. Rivets or screws, strategically placed crossbars,
can give a case more strength. Even the drive bays could be
contributing to strength (as the drive bay is a
kind of scaffold in the front of the case).

The window would be an example of a loose-fitting
piece of material. A solid side would be a better
purchase.

I like computer case sides with the pull-out latch handle,
rather than those ones with the knurled screws that are
a bitch to unscrew. The latch handle seems to hold securely
enough that it doesn't rattle. The screw-based ones fit
pretty tight (and sometimes have EMI spring fingers in
the gap, that ensures a tight mechanical connection).

There is a third thing for reducing noise, which is
to add absorbent materials inside the case. But this
also has a tendency to drive up the case air temperature
inside a bit. So that idea isn't all that popular.

If I wanted a silent PC, I'd buy the Intel 2W SDP processor
for $17, plus an SSD. Then I'd have a fanless, vibrationless PC.
But then, I'd have bought a tablet (as that's what they use).
The downside, is the processor is gutless. And once that
is realized, then "we're headed to noise city" to cool
off a better CPU.

Paul
 




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