Need a Kick-Ass Case!

i know the three drive opening for the 3.5" floppy is a bit much but if you
have a floppy and say a zip plus a 3.5" fan controller you would make good
use of the space


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

thanks for helpful replies. I still didn't decide on a case yet. Lian-Li
was my 2nd choice after Coolermaster. Why do Lian-Li have three small
'floppy-disk' style slots on the face?.

1) Slidable mobo tray

2) Hold 4 hard-disks (and cool them)

3)Plenty of 80mm (or120mm) fan holders/holes

4) USB2.0 ports (preferably with case ports that can connect to mobo
easily)

5) NO DOOR over the cd-rom drives or case front

6) Quick release mobo pin header cable (HDD light. reset etc)

7) Midi Tower, not a full tower, I don't need 6 CD-Rom bays

I do like the look of the Lian-Li PC60/65, it's just that I don't really
the
the way it has 3 floppy bays on the outside. I would prefer it with less
floppy holes and the fans on top of each other instead of side by side at
the bottom (like the Lian-Li PC60/65).

I'm a tricky customer I guess, but thanks again for all helpful comments

Wayne Youngman wrote:


Why do Lian-Li have three small 'floppy-disk' style slots on the face?.


Lian-li makes a 3.5" temperature sensor readout, and simple symmetry.
If you go Lian-Li make sure you invest in some drive covers for
burners and stuff. Makes it look sharp!

Enkidu

Thermaltake's xaser III cases look pretty smick, not sure if they have a
removable drive bay though and you have to buy the PSU separately. Heck they
have a high price tag too both ways but still

wypfiwyg.

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 ][

"Wayne Youngman" wrote in message
...
....

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


May I suggest:

6) room for dual PSUs

You don't have to put a 2nd one in from the outset, but once you get all of
those HDDs, fans, and such...

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.

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. :-)

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.

I'm a picky case seeker myself. We all have different needs/desires
in a case, and I hate to say it but there is no "perfect" case out
there for everyone, there's always some sort of trade-off. Sometimes
it's affordability (Sorry but Lian-Li cases are expensive!!) cooling
(you'd be surprised how many cases don't have a good fan
intake/exhaust setup in place) slide out mobo tray (which not a lot of
cases have anymore) etc, etc etc. After looking at cases for hours, I
finally decided on this one for myself. It's not perfect, it wasn't
"exactly" what I was looking for, but it'll do the job. Let me know
what you all think.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...156-133&depa=1

-GV

"GlassVial" wrote
snip
Let me know
what you all think.


http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...156-133&depa=1



Hi,
yeah for the money that looks like a nice case. I like that massive 120mm
fan hole at the front. That case reminds me of a JNC case I own. It needs
a bit of moddin' though.

Still the search goes on, my fave at the moment is:

#1: CoolerMaster Praetorian PAC-T01-E1 - Silver

#2: Antec P160 Anodized Aluminium Super Midi Tower case

Both about £100.00 without PSU. I'm in U.K by the way, wish we had a newegg
here
--
Wayne ][

"GlassVial" wrote in message
...
I'm a picky case seeker myself. We all have different needs/desires
in a case, and I hate to say it but there is no "perfect" case out
there for everyone, there's always some sort of trade-off. Sometimes
it's affordability (Sorry but Lian-Li cases are expensive!!) cooling
(you'd be surprised how many cases don't have a good fan
intake/exhaust setup in place) slide out mobo tray (which not a lot of
cases have anymore) etc, etc etc. After looking at cases for hours, I
finally decided on this one for myself. It's not perfect, it wasn't
"exactly" what I was looking for, but it'll do the job. Let me know
what you all think.


http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...156-133&depa=1

-GV

I like the look of that case for reasons that have nothing to do with
aesthetics ( it is pretty cool looking as well). Every case I've see that
has space for two 80mm exhaust fans, or one 120mm exhaust fan turns out to
give good airflow and exhausts hot air well. This one also appears to have
mounts for two 80mm intake fans as well.
The only question mark is the generic 350W PSU.