Do I really need HIGH Quality

[dakotagts]

I have mulled through the forums and seen all of the people reviewing and recommending great cases to go with. Most common is the Lian Li PB-7.

I am not going to run a killer rig with 5 HD's 2 vid cards and all kinds of crazy fun stuff.

I am going to have:

Conroe midrange or AM2 64x2 4800 will not OC unless its minor on the Conroe
nvidia 7900gt, maybe 7950
sata 3.0 harddrive
Some creative sound card
2 gig ram

Thats basicly it. The reason I ask this is that I have seen some really cool looking cases that look fun to have on my desk, however I dont really know much about them. The ones that I have seen are

Aspire X crusier
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications...etails.asp?EdpNo=1446794&Sku=A107-1050

Ultra Blue case minus the stupid power supply, unless anyone thinks it will do
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications...m-details.asp?EdpNo=1902625&CatId=1848

I dont know, but I just want to get something that is more FUN looking then these vanilla cases. I know that cooling is key, but if my DELL 4550 case does fine for its system, then these cases have to be better. I am not saying I would take a peice of junk, but there has to be some middle ground.

I prefer something like these cases, if you know of one please suggest. I love dark blue or black, maybe a silver too. Please give me some input based on the system I want to run. And what major flaws to stay away from...

Dakota

 

[essasin]

Who cares what other people think. You are the person who will be looking at the case everyday so buy what you like.

 

[Howard]

Then again when he tires of the flashiness (and he will) he'll likely regret it.

 

[jonnyGURU]

Systemax for their Wildcat machine

Originally posted by: dakotagts

Ultra Blue case minus the stupid power supply, unless anyone thinks it will do

Well, despite the PSU being "stupid" it would actually be more than adequate for your build. I had one driving a pair of 7800GTX's before I gave it up for a "fanless" external unit that was (obviously) quieter. Also, it's the same PSU used by http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications...m-details.asp?EdpNo=1902625&CatId=1848 which uses an FX60 and a pair of 7800GTX cards.

Of course, if you go into an endeavor thinking something is stupid before you even buy it, then you're never going to be happy and find every excuse to bitch and moan. I'm the same way whenever I have to rent a vehicle built by GM whenever I'm out of town on a business trip.

That said, why not just buy the Aluminus case w/o the power supply?

Blue: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications...Details.asp?EdpNo=1215770&sku=ULT31825

Black: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications...tem-details.asp?EdpNo=1215768&CatId=32

Silver (even cheaper): http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications...Details.asp?EdpNo=1215770&sku=ULT31825

 

[Zepper]

Here are a couple of Skyhawk cases that have a good amount of bling and are better made than many. 1.0mm aluminum, motorized drive bay door, LCD display. All that and free 3-day shipping too right now - hard to beat at the price...

Then there is one of the Rosewill cases mentioned in the thread on this page. It is one of the R6Axx series. It has a bit of bling on the front and a window could be arranged. Very good basic case design.


Skyhawk Linkage

I'd put my money in a good PSU and skimp on the case if it was necessary to skimp at all.

.bh.

 

[jonnyGURU]

Originally posted by: Zepper


I'd put my money in a good PSU and skimp on the case if it was necessary to skimp at all.

Excellent advice, actually. A case doesn't really effect the performance of your system. A power supply does.

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: dakotagts
I have mulled through the forums and seen all of the people reviewing and recommending great cases to go with. Most common is the Lian Li PB-7...

I just want to get something that is more FUN looking then these vanilla cases. I know that cooling is key...

If you know of one please suggest...Dakota

Ah, yes, B-L-I-N-G... There's something I can get into!!!

The King of Bling (branded Mountain Mods U2-UFO case)... (example)

First runner-up, The Queen of Bling: Alienware case... (example)

Vin's pick: Mountain Mods U2-UFO Opti-1203... (example)

If those don't float your bling boat, you are NOT looking for true bling! :laugh:

 

[QueBert]

The Ultra case is nice, I love the X2 PSU, $100 for both that's one hellova deal. That PSU has tons of power.

 

[dakotagts]

Ok so the PSU is not one of the Junkers that they throw into a case...

Well I like what I am seeing, now to move in the right direction and buy something.

 

[dakotagts]

I think I am going to go with the ultra, and do that power supply. I also was looking at the Enermax Liberty PSU, should I skip the ultra package and spend a little more and get the Liberty?

 

[Bobthelost]

The enermax liberty is a very nice PSU, i'd pay the extra if it's not too much. Remember that you don't need a 500W PSU, a 430W would handle all of that with ease. Nvidia GPUs aren't that power hungry, conroes are even less power hungry than A64s. All told you won't be drawing much power at all.

 

[dakotagts]

Yes, I realize that I dont need 500, but I may add some HD's to it, or may bump up to a SLI i the future. If I did the Liberty it would be about 170 for case and PSU, where as I am saving 70 bucks to get this ultra power supply.

 

[Bobthelost]

Check out the Conroe write up here
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2795&p=7

Your build will be less power hungry than that as it's only a 7900GT (but a bit more as the GPU isn't being stressed there). Call it 200W all told From the wall

Another 7900GT means 260W, chuck in 2 HDs at 10W each and you're at 280W From the wall, or around 220W from the PSU, if 95% is on the 12V rails that means you need at least 18A or so, stick in comfort blanket and call it 22A. That's for SLI, which odds are you won't be doing. Spending money on a might be is rarely a great plan.

So on second thoughts, how about the 380W one?

Or just go with the ultra, i'd spend the extra myself but the odds of an explosive demise aren't huge so it's up to you.

 

[dakotagts]

So we are talking 380w to 430w. With that, I may do the 7950 (some benchmarks show that it is about the same as 2 cards.) With that card, do I still need a SLI rated power supply?

It looks like I will do the conroe, and I may even think about the OC'ing, I would like to have a 3.0 conroe running.

The other thing I see about this deal is that it has no fans... will the ultras that they advertise work? or should I look at the scyth fans?

If I dont add a fan controller, will the fans adjust on their own? If I do a fan controller can it run in auto mode so that I dont have to mess with the adjustments?

This build needs to be around 1200 once done. So i cannot get crazy with the accessories.

 

[Bobthelost]

The 7950GX2 deserves a good name 430W, the 550W Ultra will handle it too, i just don't like ultra.

Scyth do good fans, reasonable prices if memory serves. If you want low noise keep the 120mm fans to 1200rpm or so, if you can stand a bit of air noise then 1400 to 1600 and if you don't care that your hearing has just disapeared then 1600rpm+. Yate loon do better quality fans, akasa are about equal to scythe in my opinion and there's quite a few others worth a mention that i will short change by ignoring.

A fan controller is basically a knob you turn to decrease the speed of the fans, i don't bother with them, if you get 3 tailed fans you can run them from the motherboard, and if you get 1200rpm fans then you probably won't want to slow them down any further unless you're a low noise freak (i fall into this category some times). If you run them from the motherboard then it is possible to use something like speedfan to regulate their speed based upon temperature. Guides are around to do so, but i don't have them to hand.

If you're tight on money then by all means go for the Ultra, that case and a few scythe fans, but ask yourself do you need a 7950GX2? A 7900GT or X1800XT is enough for a 19" LCD a GX2 is more 23" widescreen or CRT type stuff. Think about saving a few hundred $ and then getting a next generation card when they are released perhaps.

 

[dakotagts]

Originally posted by: Bobthelost
The 7950GX2 deserves a good name 430W, the 550W Ultra will handle it too, i just don't like ultra.

If you're tight on money then by all means go for the Ultra, that case and a few scythe fans, but ask yourself do you need a 7950GX2? A 7900GT or X1800XT is enough for a 19" LCD a GX2 is more 23" widescreen or CRT type stuff. Think about saving a few hundred $ and then getting a next generation card when they are released perhaps.

I think that I will stick with the ultra, it does have a 36 month (3 years) warranty on it. Hope they stand behind that.

I didnt even think about monitor size with the vid card, just the processing. I love to run on high and not get any hick-ups. But you may be right for now, then upgrade later. This build is suppose to be a solid computer that will last me around 3 years, like my dell 4550 has done.

 

[jonnyGURU]

Originally posted by: dakotagts

I think that I will stick with the ultra, it does have a 36 month (3 years) warranty on it. Hope they stand behind that.

Actually, it's a Lifetime Warranty if you register it. Just make sure you save your receipt.

 

[Bobthelost]

Originally posted by: dakotagts

Originally posted by: Bobthelost
The 7950GX2 deserves a good name 430W, the 550W Ultra will handle it too, i just don't like ultra.

If you're tight on money then by all means go for the Ultra, that case and a few scythe fans, but ask yourself do you need a 7950GX2? A 7900GT or X1800XT is enough for a 19" LCD a GX2 is more 23" widescreen or CRT type stuff. Think about saving a few hundred $ and then getting a next generation card when they are released perhaps.

I think that I will stick with the ultra, it does have a 36 month (3 years) warranty on it. Hope they stand behind that.

I didnt even think about monitor size with the vid card, just the processing. I love to run on high and not get any hick-ups. But you may be right for now, then upgrade later. This build is suppose to be a solid computer that will last me around 3 years, like my dell 4550 has done.

Personally i'd get a cheaper graphics card now. DX-10 will be around in a year or two, at which point even your GX2 won't be able to run all games with all the eye candy working (if at all). Buy to last a year or two, and try to leave upgrade routes open for the CPU and GPU.

[random eVGA plug]
If you go eVGA then there's a step up process, for three months after you've bought the card they will let you send it back to them and pay the extra to upgrade to a newer/more expensive card. This meant that people with eVGA 7800GTs got a (nearly) free upgrade to 7900GTs. There's rumours that G80 might be out within three months in which case eVGA is really worth looking hard at. I think G80 may be a DX-10 card too.
[/random eVGA plug]

For a 7900GT and a 19" screen you're talking about running at native resolution with either all the eye candy on, or very close to it and playable frames. A 7900GTX means full eyecandy and good frame rates. Check the oblivion review on the main site here.

 

[dakotagts]

THanks for the advice, nice thing is that I am not starting the build till sept 1st. So I get to sit here and watch all the hipe die and hopefully the prices drop on the change in the CPU market, then i will have a great chance at buying the true best deal for the money. Also if that is true that the DX10 is 3 months out, I may look at that eVGA 7900gt then. What are they going to call the new line of DX10 the 8series?

 

[0roo0roo]

p180, go for silence, not flash. its also an excellent cooler. silence=better computing experience. flash=something u don't notice after a week and starts to lose its cool in a couple months, then looks tacky and old.

 

[QueBert]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
p180, go for silence, not flash. its also an excellent cooler. silence=better computing experience. flash=something u don't notice after a week and starts to lose its cool in a couple months, then looks tacky and old.

I can't agree with your suggestion, flash isn't exactly something you notice after awhile *true* but silence is only golden is everything else goes smooth. The p180 is far too fragile for how much it costs. The front door issues alone make me recommend against this case for most people. Best Buy has the case on demo, I was there when they were putting it out. Went back 2 days later the door was FUBAR'ED. You shouldn't have to treat a $120+ case like a peice of china. The Ultra case is kind of too flashy for my tastes, but you can make it very quiet with a few extra fans. Lesse

p180 = 130'ish with no PSU a decent PSU will run you at least $50 more
Ultra case +X2 PSU = $100 + a few nice coolermaster fans $20 more.

The same as with Antec's PSU's, the p180 is overrated IMHO. If this case was in the $70-80 range it would be a decent deal. It's not a good case though.

 

[dakotagts]

QueBert,

Thanks for keeping my budget in mind. If I were to go for all out quality with no Flash it would be the Lian Li PB-7plusII and the enermax liberty PSU.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

^^ then why not go for it? that looks like a killer combination

 

[dakotagts]

Ultra PSU is here, but I missed the UPS guy. Stupid I HAVE TO SIGN to recieve package

 

[Geomagick]

Different but quite expensive.