Are there any ROOMY good-looking Desktop cases?

[wisdomtooth]

The Overture is OK... The only downside is that it has the same TFX-form-factor PSU as the Coolermaster Cavalier.

to Wolfschanz: Have you tried mounting that HD on the removable HD rack under the 5.25" bay in your LC03?

There is another Silverstone desktop case that is a bit longer... The LC01 is 450mm deep-- That's 35mm (about 1.4 inches) longer than the LC03. It also takes a standard ATX PSU and full ATX mobos. Though lookswise I think my LC03 is nicer-looking (the price I pay to have a nice-looking case).

 

[Injury]

Originally posted by: mrscintilla
maybe he doesn't want to be helped. has that ever occured to anyone?

Maybe it's just that you guys are naming of your favorite cases with no concern for what he said he wanted?



Perhaps you can find one you like here:
http://www.directron.com/desktop.html

Or a little time and effort with a beige case and some black spray paint and you have yourself a very good looking case.

 

[doublejbass]

What about just turning a tower on its side?

 

[Wolfshanze]

What about just turning a tower on its side?

Ummm... no. I have no desire to have all my drives on their side or have the tower bottom exposed on the left side.

Wisdomtooth, the LC03 I got on your recomendation, and it's fine for now, but I can't see using this long-term because of space issues... had I gotten it before I switched to a GeForce6600GT, I would never have gotten my older FX5900 to fit in the case at all, and I fear if I upgrade in the future, I might end up with a video card that doesn't fit either.

As for moving the HD under the 5.25 bay, it's not much of an option. Because of the incredibly cramped space in the LC03, combined with the fact I am using 5 bays (2x5.25" and 3x3.5"), and my PSU has a ton of cables, the spare cables are all going under the 5.25" bay, and the cramped conditions of the case means I should place the HD in the best place for cooling, which at the bottom of the 3.5" bay just over the intake fan (which helps keep things cool). Right now, the LC03 is looking good on the outside, but I have to almost rip the entire case apart to change a single thing because it is so cramped, so I'm not happy with the long-term aspects of using this case down the road.

The Silverstone LC03 is a pretty sweet case, and my best option at the moment, but it's that darn 16" depth that is killing me... could it have killed them to make it a bit deeper?

I am still searching for "the perfect case".

Injury, I've been looking a lot at Directron... I'm no artist and have two left thumbs when it comes to paint jobs (I'm sure I would do a hack job), but apparently Directron does some custom work, so maybe I can do something with them and a biege case like the Enlight 7200 (18.8" deep!). I'm looking into that angle now.

 

[doublejbass]

That was a joke, by the way. Nice job, Bill in Syracuse.

 

[Wolfshanze]

Well if it's a joke, it was funny. Of course around here, I would half-expect someone to be serious with such a suggestion!

 

[akira34]

Have you looked at the Lian-Li PC-9300 case??

 

[TRUMPHENT]

Originally posted by: doublejbass
What about just turning a tower on its side?

Wolfhanze is looking for exactly the same thing I am. A tower turned onto its side will place the mainboard in the horizontal position but, it will move the optical drives into the vertical. Hard drives, floppies, cardreaders etc. can go either way.


I first thought that "cube" cases would have the mainboard horizontal. Wrong!

The only thing I have found that might be close are 4U and 5U rackmount server cases.

 

[Wolfshanze]

The Lian-Li PC-9300 is a MICRO-ATX/FLEX case... definately NOT what I'm looking for. I need a full ATX MB case with ATX PSU slot, AT LEAST two 5.25" and two 3.5" external bays, and 17" or greater depth.

Essentially a mid-tower case turned over on its side! []

 

[UnklSnappy]

If you can find one a Coolermaster ATC 410 sx1 makes a very nice desktop case. This is how I use mine.
It has modular drive cages that can be mounted for tower or desktop use.

 

[Wolfshanze]

Thanks for the tip... I looked it up... seems more of a rackmount case with no 3.5" external or reset button. Nice and roomy, but not quite what I'm looking for... why can't they just make decent mid-tower sized cases for desktop use that isn't Rackmount or HTPC?

 

[thegimp03]

Why don't you just buy a beige one and paint it the color you want. Pink would be a nice look for ya.

 

[northerner]

sure is a lot of smart asses in here not offering much help!

 

[SilthDraeth]

http://www.colorcases.com/Cases/gothdesktop.htm#
http://www.colorcases.com/Cases/htstar3.htm

 

[Wolfshanze]

Northerner, you said it... I'm not sure what fuels these people to think they are so clever for being so blatently non-helpful.

SilthDraeth, thanks for the links. The "HTStar3" is actually what I have on my desktop right now... it's a Silverstone LC03 case that is 16" deep, which is part of my problem (depth concerns).

The other case you listed I've seen elsewhere too, and though it appears to be something I'm looking for, it seems to be not much (if any) deeper then my LC03 case.

ALAS... I seemed doomed not to find the dream case, but I do appreciate all folks giving links and trying to help!

I am beginning to think the case I seek does not even exist, which I suppose is a distinct possibility.

 

[Blain]

To find your perfect desktop case, it will cost you $$.
Why not buy a plain case that fits your requirements and just pay someone to shoot it...
red, blue, green or whatever color you like?
Even a dump body shop, should be able to pull that off. Better yet, find a high school student that's into air brushing and tell him what you want.

 

[Wolfshanze]

Blain, that's actually what I'm looking into right now... I might get the Enlight 7200 and have it custom painted... will cost some $$$, but it seems the only way I'm going to get a decent sized desktop case that also looks good... the Enlight 7200 was king of the desktop cases (18.8" deep!), but it's so dull... of course, with a good paint job...

I've placed some inquiries to Directron about doing just that.

 

[wisdomtooth]

Wolfshanz,

Interesting aside... I checked out the dimensions for the old IBM PC, PC/XT and PC/AT, being that I remember 20 years ago those were HUGE cases.

The dimensions did reveal a surprise to me: Those cases are not roomy because they are deep-- They are roomy because they are wide. Even the PC/AT 5170 was only 16.5 inches deep (not much deeper than a Silverstone LC03), but it was a whopping 21.3 inches (!) wide.

I do have an old genuine IBM PC 8088 case at the bottom of the closet gathering dust. I will be modding the thing to take a current ATX motherboard and PSU eventually when I find the time. Now THAT will be the ultimate old-fashioned roomy case, the only one IMHO that wears beige well.

Meanwhile, to get along with the LC03, you might want to head on over to HTPC News and check out their Cases and Cooling forums-- There are a lot of LC03 owners there, some of whom have done spectacular jobs with cable management, which goes a long way to making the case feel less cramped. You might want to post there and ask them what their secret is.

HTH.

 

[wisdomtooth]

Whoops, hit post twice. Sorry.h

 

[Wolfshanze]

Wisdomtooth... I still like the Silverstone LCO3, but dang, with a huge mega-cable 480w PSU, five drive bays in use, and several AGP & PCI cards, my case might look sweet on the outside, but DANG it's cramped on the inside.

Still, I manged to do a half-decent cable job on my current setup in the LCO3, and believe it or not, I've got a lower ambient temperature in the case now then in my last desktop case... probably due to the fact the intake fan is blowing straight on the HD, which I like.

If I left my system as-is for the rest of eternity, the LC03 would do... but I know me, and I know I will be doing upgrades in the future. I have two main problems with the case right now that concern me about future upgrades:

1) the 6600GT (not a long video card by any means) is right up against my HD.
2) the system memory on my MB are practically making love to my DVD-burner and have IDE cables that would like to join-in.

I don't think I could ever get a longer video card (or my older video card) or add any more memory to this LC03 case because of space concerns.

Adding width, and especially depth to a desktop case would aleve these problems that I currently have with the LC03 (which like I said is okay for now, but not for future upgrades). If I do end up going with the En7200, that will add nearly 3 inches of depth and a little more width to boot, freeing up both video card room, and removing my system memory from underneath my 5.25" bays.

Like I said, friends who come over really dig my pimped-out LC03 case, but I hide a dark secret inside the case... mainly, I can't do much else to it because of space concerns... hopefully I will be able to find my dream case and end this hunt once and for-all!

 

[Wolfshanze]

Okay, well I'm takin the plunge into unknown waters. Since nobody can find a big-enough desktop case that looks swank (myself included) I decided to go ahead and grab the ageless, roomy king of desktops; Enlight 7200 case as such:
http://www.directron.com/endesatx3064.html

Since it is the oh-so-dull basic beige, I have located a company that does custom case paint jobs... Computers Divine
They were recomended by Directron, who I have ordered from before several times without problems.

ComputersDevine has a lot of experience at good custom paint jobs on cases, so hopefully, my Enlight 7200 will come out looking like I hope, and be a lot better then it's current boring self.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: columbiaflier
Desktop is not a form factor. ATX is a form factor.

"Desktop" is a general case form-factor. ATX is a motherboard form-factor. The two are not mutually-exclusive.

That said, I don't think that there are too many generic cases being made in a desktop form-factor, and even less being made in non-beige, and even less still ones that are "roomy", at least as roomy as a full-tower case.

In short, good luck to the OP, you are looking for the [case] at the end of the rainbow.

 

[Wolfshanze]

I wasn't necessarily looking for "roomy" in the Full Tower sense, but even roomy in the Mid Tower sense would be nice... since there are many, many mid-towers that I would consider "roomy".

It's a shame too... desktops and HTPC cases are always so cramped... I don't understand how hard it would be to make a mid-tower sized desktop. Oh well, the Enlight 7200 is big, and with a custom paint job it should look pretty sweet.

 

[Ornery]

You had every right to bitch about the lame info you received early on in this topic, Wolfshanze. You were VERY specific about what you wanted. I don't know why so many nitwits would end up confused. IMO, especially where computers are concerned, form should follow function, and a desktop case fills that bill.

I'm in the process of upgrading my son's 2001 vintage PC, which is using an Enlight 7200 case. It's getting several hundred dollars worth of new guts, but the first thing my wife asked was,"Is it getting a new case?" :roll:

It's still using a beige colored 19" Viewsonic P95f+ (not the monitor pictured), and beige speakers, though I do have black ones available, as well as black keyboards. I kicked around buying a black desktop case, but I can't see spending $150 for the Silverstone LCO3. All I'd be gaining is a better looking case, and it wouldn't look so great with a beige monitor anyway! If I do happen to get a black monitor or flat panel in the future, I may want to try painting the EN7200. How did yours turn out, Wolfshanze?

 

[Wolfshanze]

Thanks Ornery for the vote of confidence. I was beginning to feel I wasn't speaking in English for awhile there (either that or the world is full of wise-@ss's).

Anyways, I'd love to tell you how it went, but I'm not sure yet. They say the turn-around time is three weeks after they get it. So far it's been about two weeks since they got it, so I got another week to wait I guess. This is a custom professional airbrush job and they can do pretty much anything you want to the case.

I just realized I gave a bad link before, so here is the corrected link to Computers Divine. You can see what they are capable of on that link, or at least what they advertise... I can't give a full recomendation until I see the results myself, but I do have high hopes for my Enlight 7200 case (I already have a black monitor too). Trust me, I will post pics when I get mine back, but it'll probably be another week!

As for costs and justifications... realize Computers Divine charges about $100 bucks for the custom paint job, so if money is an issue, either find another case or grab a few cans of paint and the current March issue of MaximumPC and do it yourself (odd how my case is being custom painted and MaximumPC does an article how to do it yourself). I was willing to fork-over the dough because I have 10-thumbs when it comes to painting, and I could find NO cases that fit my needs.

As for the Silverstone LC-03, it is what I am using right now. However, as a long-term solution, I do not like it at all. My system components (in my sig-line) are CRAMPED TO THE MAX in the case. I feel like I can't add any more memory or any video card of my choice... thank God I have a GeForce6600GT, because if I had my old FX5900 or a newer GeForce6800 it would NOT have fit in the case... also, anytime I want to do just about anything internally, I have to practically disasemble the entire setup just to reach stuff (it's THAT cramped)... so unless you have few components and never go into the system, I wouldn't recomend the LC-03 for somebody who likes to swap stuff out and upgrade from time to time... the LC-03 is some 3-inches shallower then your Enlight 7200 in depth!

Silverstone has come out with the LC-13, which was not available at the time I decided to go the En-7200 route. The LC-13 is basically an enlarged LC-03, which is all good. It's an inch deeper then the LC-03 (going from 16" to 17") and while not a whole lot bigger, any increase in depth is greatly welcomed. If I had gotten an LC-13 in the first place (not that it was available at the time) I may have never posted this thread at all... I could probably live with 17" depth (though I will love the 18.8" depth of the EN-7200... just hope the paint job comes out great... it should for $100 bucks!).

Here's some pics of my current LC-03 setup:
My Desktop 1 and My Desktop 2