FONG KAI FK320 w/ 300W PS - $90 Shipped

[Loricariidae]

From Newegg.

 

[Grimp]

This case is kind of blah . . . you could get an Antec for the same price.

 

[trikster2]

There are some pretty good reviews for this case. I don't know if it is "blah" the antecs all seem pretty blah to me.

This case will take a 120mm fan, don't think any antecs will do that, so should be able to get good cooling.

Also I like that you can use either rails or screws to mount your drives.

The front door looks cool: it slides out of the way when not in use, and you can see through it so you can see drive activity lights without opening the pannel. OTOH I've seen in some reviews that it's kind of flimsy

Directon has this case for $85. Don't know if it comes out more or less than newegg with the shipping and all.

Tempted, but $85 is kinda pricey for a non-al midtower and it looks too weird for me.

 

[dentalboy]

hope not a refurb, hate for it to be broken after the 90 day warranty

 

[Piblokto]

I've owned/built several Antec cases and two Fong Kai cases (the FK-603, little brother to the FK-320). Both are of above average quality, and won't disappoint. But IMHO, the Fong Kai is the clearly superior case.

 

[MarkM]

For me the biggest question mark is the PS. Is it an ENP-0730 model or an ATX-730 model - the latter AMD rates only up to ahtlon 950. They are both Enhance brand 300W powere supplies, and the similar model numbers make it even more confusing! Some reviews indicate it is an ATX-730, but the FK site shows there is an "enhanced option" for the case that uses the ENP-0730. I wrote to newegg to ask which the ones they are selling features, but haven't gotten a reply. The base unit at directron is clearly an ATX-730, so if newegg features the same, it's not a very hot deal at all (either you drop another $50 or more to get a good PS, or yuo can onoy build a sub-ghz Athlon -- and whose going to spend $100 on a case for an athlon 950 machine??? maybe that's why they've been running the shipping specials, come to think of it (search the forum and you'll see they had the BLACK FK320 for $90 shipped just after Halloween ...)

though there is another question of the CPU fan duct. A guy who owns this case told me on another thread (over in cases & PS forum) that he had to remove it in order to use a PAL8045 cooler setup. I would think taking out the duct would ruin the carefully-engineered-airflow-design-and-all-that.

Finally, there is the observation that you could just go over to outpost.com and get the antec sx830, also w/ 300w PS, for $20 cheaper final cost (it was $40 cheaper until recently, but still a good deal, esp with the free shippng)

 

[Mustanggt]

MarkM I bought my FONG KAI FK320 from directron and it came with enhance ATX-730 model 300w ps. an XP 1600@1575 MHz no trouble. the FONG KAI FK320 is a very high quality case this thing weighs 40 pounds loaded up Im keeping mine for long time just keep changing out PS as needed.

 

[MarkM]

mustanggt, thanks. yeah, i can imagine running a 1.4 tbird was borderline in this case!

 

[gotincon]

I have a 320, and I will take a picture of anything you want on it.


I can attest that this case is VERY nice, and very high quality. Best cooling around outside of putting fans int he top and sides.


I have 4 fans in my case. One 120 mm in the front, sucking air in.

one 92 in the back, blowing out. The p/s fan blows out, and I have the black label delta 62 cfm fan on my mc462 swiftech. Yes, you have to remove the included cpu shroud to run a huge heatsink like mine, or you can cut it some. I choose to remove. And no, that doesnt kill its cooling qualities. Air flows very nicely in my case. I have a 1333 thats been oc'd to 1500 for the past 7 months, have all my pci slots taken, have a geforce 3, 2 cd-rw drives, 1 dvd-drive, and a ton of usb compnents all on the supposedly weak little power supply. I have never had ANY problems. No random lockups, voltages are where they should be. Now, if newegg is using a cheaper p/s, then this doesnt apply. I got mine from envision.


My temps full load are 105 F CPU, and 80 MB

 

[tryanasaurus]

I bought this case from newegg and set it up with the ECS K7S5A and 1700+ two days ago. I've set up tons of systems and this is one of the nicest cases I've had the pleasure of working with. It's laid out very well and is quality constructed all around. A bargain at $90 shipped IMHO.

 

[IshmaelLeaver]

I have this case and the Enermax version of the Antec SX1030, and though I like both cases a lot, I feel the Enermax and the SX830 are superior. The Antecs are easier to work on, look nicer, and are slightly more solid.

I really dig the cooling in the Fong Kai, though. One regular 120MM and one HO 92mm and you're set!

 

[Wingznut]

I love my FK-320. (Except I bought mine for like $140 shipped, about a year ago.) The layout is awesome as is the cooling.

 

[jmg888]

I loved my Fong Kai 603 so much, I recently bought a 320 from Newegg. Now the 603 is my fileserver and the 320 is my gaming rig. My 320 also came with the Enhance ENP-0730 p/s, which I immediately upped to a 400w. I'll take it over those aluminum cases any day.

 

[Midnight Rambler]

<< though there is another question of the CPU fan duct. A guy who owns this case told me on another thread (over in cases & PS forum) that he had to remove it in order to use a PAL8045 cooler setup. I would think taking out the duct would ruin the carefully-engineered-airflow-design-and-all-that. >>

That particular Alpha cooler is not the only one which can sometimes interfere with the CPU exhaust duct, but it's not like it's a huge problem. You can easily mod the duct to clear the HS/fan assembly. I've done three such mods on these cases' ducts, and essentially it was only a matter of cutting a corner off the duct inlet area. Since the duct system is not a closed system, it does not significantly (if at all) affect it's exhausting capability.

 

[Baaka]

do people actually like this case?? for realz i think that front side look so UGLY!! but that; s just me

 

[MarkM]

I just got the reply to my question on the PS from newegg:

Dear Customer, I just checked that case you were talking about, the picture we have shows that its an Enhance Power supply, but I'm unable to determine the model of the power supply. Sorry couldn't be of more help. Thank you Dave Newegg.com Customer Service

unfortunately I'm stuck pretty much where I started -- you don't know which enhance PS you get with it. Based on posts on this and other threads in the forums, it sounds like it is a crap shoot. if it's the ENP-0730 it's a warm deal (hard to call it hot, when you can still get the antec sx830 from outpost for $20 less AR -- not as good as the $50 shipped deal they had a week or two ago, but still arguably better than newegg's FK320 deal). if it's the ATX-730 that others have gotten (eg mustanggt, & some of the review models) then i'd have to call this a pretty "cool" deal, since you have to end up buying two power supplies. unless you never want to run an athlon above 950mhz!

 

[Diablo6178]

I have this case for a new system I'm building. I replaced the Enhanced 300W PSU with an Enermax. I also have a Palo Alto PA-810 Case. Personally they are both wonderful cases both accept 120MM Exhaust fans and 92MM intake. The PA-810 uses a rail system which is more conveinent, but the FK-320 has a 4 HD removable drive cage where the PA-810 only has a 2 HD. So for me its a toss up.

Also just FYI the FK-320 is the oem case for the SGI Workstation Zx10 . If you like the way it looks you can order the 4 panels form SGI for 40-50 shipped. I'm going to do that since I have a 1600SW now.

Zx10 PDF

 

[Guinness]

Damn, I thought this was for teh black one. Still looks real good, tho...

 

[MarkM]

I just received my FK320 black case from newegg today. To answer the question I first posed here, this case does include the ENP-0730 case (the better one, rated all the way up to 1900+ by AMD). Or at least mine does -- when I asked newegg they wouldn't give me an answer, and so I chanced it.

The deal is dead, but I'm folowing up just in case anyone orders it anyway, or a new deal starts.

Mark