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Case and Power Supply Recommendations

K

Kadence

Senior member
I'm looking for advice on what to get in terms of a case, and a power supply. I've never built a computer before, so if some cases are easier to build with than others (don't know if that's true), take that into account.

I've never done overclocking, but might do some of it, maybe more if it when the CPU gets older; probably won't ever push it too much if I do.

I plan on getting a Q9550 with a P45 Asus P5Q Pro, and an Asus HD4850 graphics card. I might add another HD4850 for Crossfire in a few months.

I'll also have 8GB of DDR2 1066 RAM, and a 300GB Velociraptor; as well as 1 or 2 secondary hard drives, an internal DVD burner, and maybe a floppy drive.

I've got a flexible budget and am looking to get something solid at a good price/value point. I preferably don't want to ever have to get or install any cooling supplies other than whatever the case comes with. And I do care about the aesthetic appeal of the case 🙂
 
Originally posted by: Kadence
I'm looking for advice on what to get in terms of a case, and a power supply. I've never built a computer before, so if some cases are easier to build with than others (don't know if that's true), take that into account.
Click to expand...
Yes, some cases are easier to build with for a variety of reasons. Some have motherboard trays designed to have cables routed behind them, allowing you to easily reduce the clutter inside the box. Some are larger and easier to work in than others. (On the other hand, a larger case is heavier to move around.) Some have better instruction manuals than others, on the occasions that that matters.

Originally posted by: Kadence
I plan on getting a Q9550 with a P45 Asus P5Q Pro, and an Asus HD4850 graphics card. I might add another HD4850 for Crossfire in a few months.

I'll also have 8GB of DDR2 1066 RAM, and a 300GB Velociraptor; as well as 1 or 2 secondary hard drives, an internal DVD burner, and maybe a floppy drive.
Click to expand...
Decent choices, although most people don't really benefit from a quad core chip yet, and certainly not enough to spend $500 on a processor when there are $200 models which are very speedy. What do you intend to do with the computer? Unless it's very CPU intensive you're probably better served by buying a fast dual core now, and upgrading to a quad core if it becomes necessary in the future. As far as RAM, there's really no reason to pay the price premium for DDR2-1066 when DDR2-1000 is nearly as fast for less money. With your modest overclocking goals there won't be any performance difference between the two.[/quote]

Originally posted by: Kadence
And I do care about the aesthetic appeal of the case 🙂
Click to expand...
Meaning what? Some people find windowed cases with LEDs and ornate bezels attractive, while some prefer the understated aesthetic of plain cases like the Antec Solo, Coolermaster Centurion, and most Lian-Lis.
 
Thanks for the suggestions so far.

Why is the Corsair 650TX power supply cheaper than the 520HX? Is the HX quieter or something? I probably would care about that, though I'm not sure if power supplies even make noteworthy noise.

The case I'm most looking at right now is the yellow RaidMax Aztec ATX-619WY, as I really love the way it looks. Does that case have a solid rep for cooling etc.? Can it compare decently with the Antec Nine Hundred, which I've seen mentioned quite a bit? I'm also fond of the Sunbeam Transformer line - how does that stack up?
Originally posted by: DSF
Decent choices, although most people don't really benefit from a quad core chip yet, and certainly not enough to spend $500 on a processor when there are $200 models which are very speedy.
Click to expand...
I'm planning on waiting for the expected price drop later this month. The computer's price overall will easily be cheap enough anyway.
Meaning what? Some people find windowed cases with LEDs and ornate bezels attractive, while some prefer the understated aesthetic of plain cases like the Antec Solo, Coolermaster Centurion, and most Lian-Lis.
Click to expand...
I prefer the ornate looking cases like with the X's in front, though the Antec Nine Hundred looks fine to me. I definitely don't want something that looks like a plain box however.
 
I should also note that at these prices, sub $200 for case and sub-$150 for power supply, I'm not particularly price sensitive as long as it's a solid product for me.
 
Originally posted by: Kadence
I should also note that at these prices, sub $200 for case and sub-$150 for power supply, I'm not particularly price sensitive as long as it's a solid product for me.
Click to expand...

The 650 is cheaper because the 520 has modular cables.
 
IMHO a Cooler Master Centurion is much easier on the eyes than that bumblebee particularly after the novelty factor fades. The first thing you should do when you get a Raidmax case is swap out all the fans. Their fans don't tend to last very long and even when they do work, they're noisy and low quality. Also, note that they won't replace any parts if they break or get slightly damaged even if you offer to pay for it. Last time I had an inquiry on my Raidmax X-1, they just said to check buyraidmax.com and buy it. Unfortunately, buyraidmax.com doesn't even have the part I'm looking for so I'm shit out of luck there. Also, full front doors are a pain in the butt if you have the case on carpet and if you ever want to move your computer. It always felt like my Raidmax X-1's front door was going to come off during transport so eventually I just ripped the thing off and said screw it.

So to conclude this little bit...get a simple looking case with good cooling from the get-go and avoid the animal/robot/monster looking cases. You'll end up spending less and it'll be less of an eyesore when you grow out of it. I went from a crazy looking Raidmax case with LEDs out the wazoo to three Cooler Masters (Cavalier 3, Centurion 534 and Centurion 590) and will never look back.
 
Originally posted by: DSF
The 650 is cheaper because the 520 has modular cables.
Click to expand...
I would think there has to be more to it than that, but from what I hear modular cables are very helpful.
Originally posted by: RallyMaster
So to conclude this little bit...get a simple looking case with good cooling from the get-go and avoid the animal/robot/monster looking cases. You'll end up spending less and it'll be less of an eyesore when you grow out of it. I went from a crazy looking Raidmax case with LEDs out the wazoo to three Cooler Masters (Cavalier 3, Centurion 534 and Centurion 590) and will never look back.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice, but I'm definitely not interested in a plain boxy case whatsoever 😉 The only non-"crazy" case I'm considering so far is the Nine Hundred because of its rep, and it's also pretty decent looking itself (though I'm not fond of the big fans in front).

Anyone have experience with an Raidmax Aztec or Sunbeam Transformer? The Aztec reviews seem very good, the Transformer OK.
 
Originally posted by: Kadence
Originally posted by: DSF
The 650 is cheaper because the 520 has modular cables.
Click to expand...
I would think there has to be more to it than that, but from what I hear modular cables are very helpful.
Click to expand...
They're a godsend in a small case. In a larger case it's not such a big deal.
 
The Antec P182 is an excellence case with a good layout, is very quiet, has user adjustable fanspeeds on the included case fans, some find the appearance a bit basic, but for a mid tower case in this price range you can't do much better in terms of overall excellence.

$150 @ Newegg

Corsair HX620 - Modular, adequate power for 2x 4850s (but not 4870s, only has 2 PCI-E connectors), maybe more than you want to spend...

$165 @ Newegg w/o rebate ($140 w/ rebate)

My roommate built a comp recently with both of these components after seemingly years of research. I'm jealous of how quiet his P182 can be. I wanted to use one in my recent build, but newegg had the best price at the time and it was out of stock. I tried several other vendors who said they had them in stock but later canceled my orders due to them actually being out of stock. I couldn't wait for newegg's stock to replenish and I didn't want to pay more for the same case somewhere else, so I splurged on a case that cost twice as much (flawed logic much?).

A non-modular PSU may be the way to go if you truly plan to crossfire 4850s. The 650W Corsair sounds like a good choice to me, although I'm not familiar with that exact model. But the price sounds great: $110 on sale @ newegg.

Corsair 650TX @ Newegg

The Antec 900 is a pretty solid choice as well, if you don't mind the additional noise over the P182. I have heard that the 900 is a little cramped (but then again, all mid-tower cases sound cramped when you have a full-tower case).

Antec 900: $120 @ Newegg

Good Luck!
 
A power supply is something that I'd want to keep past most future upgrades, so I don't mind spending money on a good modular one like the 620HX.

But why is it that it would have enough for 2x4850, but not for 2x4870? I don't quite understand - the 4870 needs more connectors?
 
Originally posted by: Kadence
A power supply is something that I'd want to keep past most future upgrades, so I don't mind spending money on a good modular one like the 620HX.

But why is it that it would have enough for 2x4850, but not for 2x4870? I don't quite understand - the 4870 needs more connectors?
Click to expand...

The 4870 requires two power connectors from the power supply.
 
I might want the flexibility of more connectors then. Are there quality brand modular power supplies with 4 PCI-E connectors in the 600-850W range? The Corsair 1000HX seems like overkill.
 
Plenty of them. The Corsair 750TX has four according to Newegg's spec sheet, and there are plenty of others.
 
Thanks, that one looks like a great deal. So the 2 x 6Pin, 2 x 8Pin would work for pretty much any two video cards?
 
The only fancy cases I would go for are NZXT or some Apevia cases. In particular, I like the tempest

It has similar cooling capabilities and looks to the Antec 900, but I think it's a bit cheaper and it looks like it can hide cables better.

Or you could look at an Apevia TelStar/Jupiter. Xclio is another option. Most good cases aren't super flashy, so I'm digging a bit deeper here.

Finally, I like this one. xion onyx

Unless you must have yellow?
 
I ended up getting the Corsair 1000HX from zipzoomfly. They had it for $209 with $20 rebate when I got it last month (it's actually $229 now), which I thought was a great deal; Newegg sold it for $269 with $30 rebate at the time. The power supply is way overkill for my needs, but I'm glad I got it. Also really glad I went with a modular PS.

For a case I did get the Raidmax Aztec in yellow. Nice case, I'm happy with it. Really like the way both side panels can fold out.

Only minor problems are that the standoff holes don't properly align with my mobo (Asus P5E Deluxe), I can only screw in the bottom two standoffs, don't know if that's the fault of the case or Asus; and the 80mm fan on the clear side panel has to be removed or else my Thermalright TRUE black heatsink won't fit - but that's just because the TRUE is a beast, had no idea it'd be so big. And that removed fan can actually be moved to an extra fan slot on the other side of the case.
 
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