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Case recommendations

neutralizer

neutralizer

Lifer
I'm looking for a good-looking case (showing off in college) hopefully made of aluminum that's going to have a good enough airflow to cool my hot P4 while still being very quiet (meaning 120mm fans ftw). Preferably I'd want to have a paneled door on the front, side windows, and toolless, but as long as it's good-looking and aluminum and around that price range, I'd probably want it. Some help guys? Thanks 🙂.
 
Sell the P4+Mobo and replace it with an AMD setup and you'll triple your case spending budget.

And then I'd suggest a MGE Quantum an 500W+ PSU. 😉
 
Originally posted by: Izusaga
Sell the P4+Mobo and replace it with an AMD setup and you'll triple your case spending budget.

And then I'd suggest a MGE Quantum an 500W+ PSU. 😉
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I don't have the time to sell it and rebuild and reinstall. I also don't need a new PSU (my Enermax 350 W is working just fine).

Any other suggestions?
 
Is aluminum a requirement? Some real nice Antec cases with twin 120mm vents come to mind (Ala Sonata, Sonata-II). Packages on those include PSU's with 24/20 ATX power connectors so they are generally pretty versatile.

Are you looking for good cooling or cosmetics? Usually for less than $100 for the whole shibam you can only get one or the other, Case/PSU combo's with both good cooling and snazzy looks tend to be $125-200 range.

I do this scenario for various clients a LOT, cosmetics is big to many people (myself included, but I tend to be more classy on cases than retro). Lemme know more specifics on your goal and I'll see what I can suggest.
 
Aluminum isn't exactly a requirement, but more of a strong preference due to aluminum's heat dissipation and lightness. At the same time I'm into the cosmetics aspect, kind of a showoff aspect. I'd rather not get a case/PSU combo and spend more money on the actual case. Coming from a generic steel midtower, I'd like to get something of quality that looks nice and built nice. BTW, I think the Sonata's look rather plain.

I've actually been looking at this
 
To be completely honest, I have built about six systems with the Tsunami. I personally find the case to be rather flimsy in comparison with most of the steel cases I've built - However I've also never really dealt with a truly crappy aluminum case so I don't have a very good base of comparison. The Sonata's do look rather plain, but for $100 you get a solid steel case with twin 120mm fans and a good PSU. Thats really a hard deal to beat.

Personally, I feel for gaming if you go for a cheap PSU with one of the nice looking $100 cases you'll end up just replacing it due to low quality either way.

These Cooler Master cases seem reasonably popular, and have a similar look to the style of the Tsunami. I've never used one myself however they do come with a reasonably rated 380w CM PSU.

RaidMax makes some pretty "trendy" appearing gaming cases, this one is slightly more conservative and looks really nice in the dark. I personally don't like the front panel's split colored bevel but they sell really well so they must have some magic.

Personally I don't like the overall feel of the Tsunami, and prefer to get solutions from MGE like the Titanium and the Quantum (which oddly enough was on Newegg 3 minutes ago and now isn't, who knows, their code is generally crappy anyway so I just linked the one from ZZF. They're the same case with different paint jobs).

Going for cosmetics with anything less than $150 is just going to end up getting you a sub par to average PSU at best, which is honestly your biggest danger.
 
My advice to you is to look at Lian Li PC-60, PC-61, PC-65, and PC-7 Plus. Also, check out the Antec P180, Chenbro Gaming Bomb II, ...
 
The Quantum and Titanium are ugly? 😕

I tried to pick a few cases based on what he asked for. Tsunami like flash, ect, under $100. Wasn't going for what I liked, was an attempt at being practical.

Then again, I personally feel Lain Li cases are pretty boring.
 
Originally posted by: Izusaga
The Quantum and Titanium are ugly? 😕

I tried to pick a few cases based on what he asked for. Tsunami like flash, ect, under $100. Wasn't going for what I liked, was an attempt at being practical.

Then again, I personally feel Lain Li cases are pretty boring.
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I feel Lian Li cases pretty boring as well.

Aluminum tends to be more flimsy compared to the steel cases just because steel is a much durable, stronger metal than aluminum.

Spending $100 on cases isn't a problem and wouldn't be low quality for me because I already have a nice PSU so I'd rather focus all the money on getting a case without a PSU.
 
In which case I think you should just go with what YOU like. You've mentioned the Tsunami, and it's sitting at $105ish I believe? If that falls into your budget, go for it. I personally really like the way the Tsunami looks, and at one time I was going to get it. I don't own a single aluminum case, however. My rigs are usually very heavy, 600-700w PSU's and dual graphics cards when available so I tend to require a nice heavy steel case. Honestly out of all the cases I have ever owned, the Titanium and Quantum pair are probably my favorite.

Here is a snapshot of the downstairs computer room before I packed everything up. 1 Antec housing the filesharing machine, two MGE cases, Quantum shown left, Titanium shown right. My 4000+ rig shown in signature is in the black Quantum, the 3200+ gaming rig is in the silver Titanium.

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It will of course look a LOT nicer, and be on a MUCH more expensive desk once I move into the new appt this weekend. Not to mention I can stack them ontop of eachother and the onscreen temp LED is a must-have for overclocking.

God I know I am NOT going to miss that shag carpet. Talk about a dust nightmare.
 
On screen temp readout is trivial when you have MBM and Samurize IMO. I still think those are ugly cases - to each his/her own.
 
Originally posted by: Izusaga
In which case I think you should just go with what YOU like. You've mentioned the Tsunami, and it's sitting at $105ish I believe? If that falls into your budget, go for it. I personally really like the way the Tsunami looks, and at one time I was going to get it. I don't own a single aluminum case, however. My rigs are usually very heavy, 600-700w PSU's and dual graphics cards when available so I tend to require a nice heavy steel case. Honestly out of all the cases I have ever owned, the Titanium and Quantum pair are probably my favorite.

Here is a snapshot of the downstairs computer room before I packed everything up. 1 Antec housing the filesharing machine, two MGE cases, Quantum shown left, Titanium shown right. My 4000+ rig shown in signature is in the black Quantum, the 3200+ gaming rig is in the silver Titanium.

Text

It will of course look a LOT nicer, and be on a MUCH more expensive desk once I move into the new appt this weekend. Not to mention I can stack them ontop of eachother and the onscreen temp LED is a must-have for overclocking.

God I know I am NOT going to miss that shag carpet. Talk about a dust nightmare.
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Hey those look nice. BTW, I've looked at the CM Cavalier that you linked before, it seems very heavy, but I'm thinking that being heavy shouldn't be a problem since I don't plan on having lans in college. I'll only need to move it in once. On the other hand, the Tsunami has a beautiful mirror finish. I guess I might drop by Fry's to see what it looks like in person. And browse the other cases.
 
LED's only degrade from the visual appearance if they are truly tacky. I think subtle blue with black and silver is a highlight, personally.
 
Originally posted by: Izusaga
LED's only degrade from the visual appearance if they are truly tacky. I think subtle blue with black and silver is a highlight, personally.
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Definitely. Too many lights all over the place makes it confusing. An elegant glow is nice.
 
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