Broadway Case Model "82-4HL-Gray"

[bradyapba]

I just bought it becuase it was in my price range, had a 500W power supply, and 3 fans already installed. On a budget, and its just going under my desk, so it didn't have to be pretty. Just wondering if anyone had any experience with this companys cases.

http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=11-162-028&depa=0

http://www.bccpc.com/82-4hl%20prescott.htm

Again, thanks a lot!

Chris

 

[Jeraden]

Hard to say without seeing any more detailed pics and stuff. But for $45 for a case + PSU, I doubt that 500W PSU is going to be very high quality.

 

[bradyapba]

Jeraden,

sort my thoughts exactly. Thus, my wondering if anyone else has used them. New Egg, as well as quite a few other sites, carry quite a few models of broadways cases, So i was hoping to hear from someone who had actually used them before.

Worst case scenerio if i dont like the power supply, i can always replace it.

I had to build a system fairly quickly, and had to spend case only.. so i was on a very tight budget, and the case fit the bill.. i will be able to upgrade as funds become available.

The wife doesn't want to hear... "but honey, that case is soooooo cool!"

 

[Operandi]

Wouldn't it be prudent to ask for advice on something before you buy it?

Anyway it looks like a generic case to me, I'm sure the PSU is the same, AKA garbage.

 

[bradyapba]

would of been.. but hindsite is 20/20.

Since i am new to psu info.. could you go into more of an explanation of AKA garage....?

thanks,

Chris

 

[Operandi]

Well a good 500 watt PSU is going to cost you at least $75 by itself, that alone should be enough to tell you something is wrong.

The PSU in that case it going to be at best not very good; not 500 watts, poor quality. Or worst case scenario complete crap and a risk to anything you try to power with it.

 

[bradyapba]

Why would it not be 500w? And what does AKA garage mean? IS AKA a name brand? A type of PSU? What makes a PSU $75?

Just saying "it wont be good" or its "cheap" doesn't really explain to me why. Could you explain it a bit better? Explain the differences say for a "aka garage" to a $75 PSU?

thanks again!

Chris

 

[Operandi]

"aka" = "also known as"

Good 500 watt PSU's doesn?t come cheap, that?s just the way it is. If it was possible to make and sell a good 500watt unit for $40, nobody would be buying the $100+ ones. Some are better deals then others but in general you get you pay for.

 

[Jeraden]

he said garbage, not garage.

Here's some of the problems with an el-cheapo 500W power supply.

1) chances are it will be extremely noisy
2) it will probably be ultra-light weight, meaning it has insufficient heatsinks among other things
3) if you ever get anywhere near 500W of power draw it will likely end up frying itself from overheating
4) You'll most likely see drastic power fluctuations between when your pc is idle and when its under a heavy load, making your system in general kind of unstable.

Now, none of them mean its worthless really. It will probably work perfectly fine for most things. It just gets a bit dangerous if you start to use components that require massive amounts of power.

 

[bradyapba]

Aha....Now some of it is starting to work into my thick head..

When I saw AKA in Caps.. i thought he meant a Name brand, and I was missing something.

And OHHHH.... i thought he was making them in his garage!!!!! Just a typo on my part, trying to multitask at the same time...

Jeraden -

thanks for the explanation. That makes more sense. The noise isn't a big factor for me. Overheating and instability is though. Is there a program out there that monitors this stuff so i can tell? I will have more cash next month to replace it, if need be.

What would be components that require massive amounts of power?

This is what i have as parts.

MSI neo2 939 plat. motherboard, athlon64 3000+ processor, gigabyte rocket cooler HSF, floppy, CDRW/DVD drive, dual layer DVD drive, 200 gig WD HDD, fortissimo 7.1 sound card, 56 K modem, PDP 3200 dual layer mem, and a pny 6800 video card agp, and of course this case.

How am i on power? My cheapo PSU going to be ok there? Do i have anything drawing a lot of power? Any help would be appreciated. Any one know of any links for PSU reviews? I may look into getting another one in a month or 2 if it seems this one is not enough.

Thanks for everyone who replies! I am learning a lot! You can teach an old dog new tricks!

 

[Operandi]

Even under a low load a cheap PSU will be far more likely to fail then a reputable name brand unit, trust me I've been through this before.....

Why not just cancel your order or send it back and invest your money in somthing worth while?

 

[bigpow]

Originally posted by: Jeraden
Hard to say without seeing any more detailed pics and stuff. But for $45 for a case + PSU, I doubt that 500W PSU is going to be very high quality.

I concur.

 

[bradyapba]

Well lots of reasons.

1. Cant cancel, already have the case. I suppose i could send it back, but really whats the point? I was already over budget, so If i need to replace the PSU later on, i will. So im not going to afford to spend more on another one.

2. Its an Okia 500W power supply. Anyone heard of them? Any experiences?

thanks,

Chris