Cases, cases, cases...

[Coherence]

As soon as the ATi 9800 Pro is released, I'll probably be building my new system, based around an Asus A7N8X Deluxe nForce2 board.

The only part I've never really thought much about is the case. I pretty much have all the "guts" decided on, but what makes a good case for this mobo?

I've always thought Antec cases were supposed to be "the standard" for home-built systems, but when looking at photos of various Antec cases, it looks like the port holes on the back won't match up right for this mobo (with it's dual LAN ports, in particular).

Cases are generally the red-headed stepchildren of the PC world, so how about suggesting a good blond-haired, blue-eyed case?

My tentative specs:

Case: TBD

CPU: AMD Athlon XP 2800+ (non-Barton, probably)

Mobo: Asus A7N8X Deluxe

RAM: 512MB Corsair TwinXMS (256 x2 for dual-channel nForce2)

HD: Seagate Baracuda V SATA x2 (or may go with a couple Maxtor drives with Serillel adapters)

CDRW: Lite-On LTR-52246s 52x24x52x

DVD-ROM: Toshiba SD-M1712

Mouse: Logitech MX700 Cordless Optical

Sound Card: TBD I was thinking of TB-SC, but Soundstorm (since it does all audio processing instead of the CPU) on the deluxe nForce2 mobos may be as good. I care more about avoiding a hit on the CPU than actual sound quality, anyway, and can save a little money by using Soundstorm.

Video: ATi Radeon 9800 Pro

 

[SOSTrooper]

The retail motherboard, in your case, the A7N8X-Deluxe, will come with a corresponding port hole plate. Most motherboards come with a plate if it has an altered design than the standard design. So pretty much just get a case that you think looks good with lots of interior space. I would probably get a case w/o a power supply and go ahead and get a separate powerful one like 400W or 450W from reputable manufacturers like Enermax and such.

 

[NoSpeed]

Try http://coolcases.com/ and direct your questions to the owner, Jim Hanson. He is often found on this forum in the Cases & Cooling section. I bought an Addtronics case from him several years ago and have been very happy with the purchase. He offers quiet cooling fans and his prices are very fair.

 

[Macro2]

RE:"The retail motherboard, in your case, the A7N8X-Deluxe, will come with a corresponding port hole plate."

It does because of the 2 Ethernet ports.

 

[Bojangles139]

i like AMS cases, are pretty looking. can be found at newegg.com.

brandon