Chieftec Dragon @ geeks.com $82.99 + ship

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,570
10,204
126
"geek special", so that means that codes won't work. I don't know how much shipping is, but it's probably pricey.

link

This is mainly only a hot deal to those of you who particularly want this case. It's an awesome case, very solid, large, easy to work with. But availability is rare nowadays, so if you want one, grab it.
 

tbogstad

Golden Member
Feb 3, 2003
1,564
0
76
I have this case, atleast a much older version of it, with no door on the front, and is white, I paid about $100.00 for it shipped like 5 to 7 years ago, so long ago i forget how long its been.

Always have my best rig in it, probably will never get another new case until I have too.

has tons of fans, and room for 6 hard drives, and any video card wil fit in it, its large and incharge.
 

country2

Senior member
May 1, 2001
598
4
81
I'll also add that on mine the top 5 1/4 drive spot is useless unless you have a drive that will mount flush.
 

marvdmartian

Diamond Member
Apr 12, 2002
5,442
27
91
If you're looking to build a file server, this would be a helluva case to use! Six 5.25" bays, six 3.5" internal bays and two external 3.5" bays........you could easily fit a dozen hard drives in this thing, and if you're creative, you could even stuff a couple more above the power supply, where the 90mm fan exhausts air out of the case.

I have one of these sitting around here, only in beige. Good job spotting this, OP! :)
 

bigi

Platinum Member
Aug 8, 2001
2,490
156
106
I have this case. It holds SERVER mobo 4 hdds and there is plenty of room left.
I don't know if I would pay $85 for it, you can have a server case for this much.
 

slashbinslashbash

Golden Member
Feb 29, 2004
1,945
8
81
I have the mid-tower version of this case with a side window, in blue. This was my first hot deal, I remember it was from SVCCompuCycle back in 2002 or so. Still love the case, like tbogstad I still keep my best/main system in it and it is still going strong. A few scratches in the paint but still better than 90% of cases out there.
 

Arglebargle

Senior member
Dec 2, 2006
892
1
81
I also have the Mid Tower version of the Dragon, though Alienare re-badged. Best case I have had, a joy to work with. Definitely my main system stay.
 

TekDemon

Platinum Member
Mar 12, 2001
2,296
1
81
I have a dragon, but it's an outdated case compared to the newer stuff. All the vent holes are 80mm, no dampening for any of the drive mounts, and mine developed a rather annoying buzz from the parts getting loose over time.
If you really need something this huge I guess it's a decent price but if you can live with a mid-tower I'd wait for a hotter deal on a newer design. Of course if you're actually planning on using it as a server case where you can fill up a lot of the bays and you don't care about it rattling like mad or needing a ton of 80mm fans (noisier than using 120's) then it's not a big deal.

The build quality with rounded metal edges is nicely taken care of though, better than in the cheaper new antecs (like the sonata, etc.) but higher end antecs generally have nicer finish and build (P180 or better). If you don't need the huge server size I'd probably wait for a P180/P180b/P182 or something (I paid $100 for mine, a p180b and it was the new version with p182 features), great case and it's significantly better built than my dragon.

This case was great back in the day like everyone mentioned, but in 2009 you can get cases with dampened drive mounting systems, nicer drive rails, quieter fans, dust filters on the intakes, better sound dampening, etc. So it's not really quite as awesome a case anymore-it's not that it's become unusable or crappy, it's just that the playing field got a lot better.
 

Jabbernyx

Senior member
Feb 2, 2009
350
0
0
Wow! Now you've got me feeling nostalgic. I miss my old Ti4400 AXP 2000+ build in an Enermax dragon clone case :(
 

john3850

Golden Member
Oct 19, 2002
1,436
21
81
I have a dragon with a hot 680 and sli even with water this case runs hot and noisy.
Replaced all 80 fans with 50cfm 80s and MB was still hot.
After replacing 80 fans with 4 120 125 cfm fans and moving PS to the top this case was cooler.
Learned one thing avoid 80 fans.

 

Dravic

Senior member
May 18, 2000
892
0
76
Have the old blue version of this exact case(4 of the 5 1/2 bays rather then 6).. love it. still tempted to move my new build to this case because of the better air flow..
 

Dravic

Senior member
May 18, 2000
892
0
76
Originally posted by: country2
I'll also add that on mine the top 5 1/4 drive spot is useless unless you have a drive that will mount flush.

I used to put one of those dual 92mm 5 1/2 bay exhaust fans in there..



at the peak..

2 92mm
4 80mm
1 HSF
1 chipset fan
1 vid card fan
1 PSU fan


10 fans.. always cool.. headphones helped..

 

Jabbernyx

Senior member
Feb 2, 2009
350
0
0
Originally posted by: john3850
I have a dragon with a hot 680 and sli even with water this case runs hot and noisy.
Replaced all 80 fans with 50cfm 80s and MB was still hot.
After replacing 80 fans with 4 120 125 cfm fans and moving PS to the top this case was cooler.
Learned one thing avoid 80 fans.

Not necessarily. My CoolerMaster Praetorian is cooling an E6600 @ 3.6GHz + 4890 just fine with 4x 80mm Panaflos.
 

corwin

Diamond Member
Jan 13, 2006
8,644
9
81
Originally posted by: Jabbernyx
Originally posted by: john3850
I have a dragon with a hot 680 and sli even with water this case runs hot and noisy.
Replaced all 80 fans with 50cfm 80s and MB was still hot.
After replacing 80 fans with 4 120 125 cfm fans and moving PS to the top this case was cooler.
Learned one thing avoid 80 fans.

Not necessarily. My CoolerMaster Praetorian is cooling an E6600 @ 3.6GHz + 4890 just fine with 4x 80mm Panaflos.

Definitely not...I have a couple of the smaller version of this case (4x 5 1/4 bays) and used them for many builds over the years, heat was never an issue and I never used both of the rear 80mm fans, only 1, though I did have fans in both of the HD bays. Alas they are still big and now just gathering dust in my garage..:(

 

Baked

Lifer
Dec 28, 2004
36,052
17
81
With all the current gigantic heatsinks, I would not buy a case without a removable or slide out mobo tray. Even if the case is huge, it'll still be a pain in the ass to install 4 point spring loaded anchor system thermalright heatsinks use. In addition, I would not buy a case where the PSU slot is on top.
 

MichaelD

Lifer
Jan 16, 2001
31,528
3
76
IIRC, Chieftec OEM'd for Antec. I.E. the famous antec 10XX and 8XX cases. I have three of them, all different models/variations on the same theme.

The case is a rock; you would have to try hard to break it. Also, the case design (airflow) is really good. 80mm fans are loud but cooling was never a problem in these cases.

If you don't use a CD-Rom (network/flash drive OS install), you can fit two, 5-drive cages up top. 10 drives outside+6 drives inside=16 hard drives without even blinking.

Also, if you're into case modding and want triple radiators, 200mm blowhole, etc. this is the case to get.

The downside to this deal is shipping, unfortunately.