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Help me find a NICE case - wife is picky

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Originally posted by: trexmgd
RE: Sitting the wife down at the computer. I like that idea and in fact started to do that once, but we both got overwhelmed with all the choices.

1) I want to have a few choices to give her that I approve of (with you guys' recommendations). My luck she'd pick some POS that runs hot, loud, and will tear up my hands.

2) She did look over the cases at Fry's and really liked the P-150 from Antec, but as much I like that case, I worry about that PS and would hate to pay for something I wouldn't use.
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You could always sell it, like somebody previously mentioned.
 
How about the Antec SLK3000B for about $50? It has nice design touches for being quiet - 120mm fans, thick metal for less resonant noises, rubber grommets for the hard drives and it doesn't come with a PSU. Oh yeah, it's plain black. Only negative (for me) would be the door over the drive bays but some like that.

Originally posted by: Zepper
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You a programmer?
 
Zap - well I do program for the heck of it and did a payroll check printing proggy (and a few others) where I worked back in the CP/M days. But I just had an item that I had left out and belonged at the top of the list, so that was the geekly thing to do... 😉

.bh.
 
I bought the I-Star Nitro AX based on it 'black monilith' looks. It's gorgeous, quiet and cool-running - with a few internal mods.

Does anyone here actually own a Kingwin 523 case? I read some of the reviews and looked closely at the review photos, and it looks like you'd have to run the case with the front door open for decent case ventilation.
 
UPDATE: I looked up several of the recommended cases, read the reviews, compared prices, and eliminated some on looks. I was going to sit down with the wife and review a few tonight, but a better opportunity presented itself. While out running errands, I spotted a PC Club store and swung in there with the wife. This way, she got to look at real cases and get an idea of the finish and looks. I got to check out the features and size of the cases as well. While not every case mentioned here was available and out for display, she did like the looks of the Cooler Master Centurion 5. I didn't pull the trigger with their $95-$109 price tags (remember when PC Club was cheap?), so I haven't fully committed yet. I'll do some price checks and in the mean time I may still try to check out a couple others this weekend, so keep the suggestions coming.


Thanks to all that have responded.


PS What really threw me off on that Lian Li PC G50 I linked above, is that it appears that the right side of the case is open (which is the "wrong" side to me). Wouldn't you have to mount your mobo upside-down to make it work?
 
Originally posted by: trexmgd
UPDATE: I looked up several of the recommended cases, read the reviews, compared prices, and eliminated some on looks. I was going to sit down with the wife and review a few tonight, but a better opportunity presented itself. While out running errands, I spotted a PC Club store and swung in there with the wife. This way, she got to look at real cases and get an idea of the finish and looks. I got to check out the features and size of the cases as well. While not every case mentioned here was available and out for display, she did like the looks of the Cooler Master Centurion 5. I didn't pull the trigger with their $95-$109 price tags (remember when PC Club was cheap?),
Click to expand...
For second there I misread it as "Cookie Monster Centurion", not that I wouldn't mind having a case based on a sesame street character. As to the P150, if you can get it locally, go ahead and buy it, if the PSU doesn't work, return it for another one and go for another case. If your wife liked it, it's at least worth trying once,
 
Yes the mobo is mounted to the left side in that Lian Li so it would have to be upside down from the normal right-side mounting. thats why I called it an inverted Inwin (and the BTX reference (BTX mobos have the I/O ports to the left and the card slots to the right)) as Inwin has a very similarly designed case but with the mobo mounted "properly". And the PSU can get in the way of one's plans for a giant heatsink just like it can in the LL.

.bh.
 
p180
silentpcreview.com
and forget flash cases or just looking at cases on shelves. only the p180/150 seem to take silencing seriously.
 
Originally posted by: trexmgd
RE: Sitting the wife down at the computer. I like that idea and in fact started to do that once, but we both got overwhelmed with all the choices.

1) I want to have a few choices to give her that I approve of (with you guys' recommendations). My luck she'd pick some POS that runs hot, loud, and will tear up my hands.

2) She did look over the cases at Fry's and really liked the P-150 from Antec, but as much I like that case, I worry about that PS and would hate to pay for something I wouldn't use.
Click to expand...

As others have said, the PSU that comes with the P150 only has problems with some motherboards (not DFIs). They can't read the voltages properly and shut down. 430W should be more than enough power since it's a quality PSU. Personally, I think the P150 is a very classy case. I prefer the Sonata myself but only because of the door that hides the drives.


Originally posted by: trexmgd
she did like the looks of the Cooler Master Centurion 5
Click to expand...

Cooler Master makes really good cases. That one has a 120mm exhaust fan. Not sure how quiet the stock fan is, but there are a lot of good, quiet 120mm fans with high airflow. The PSU is "only" 350 W, w/ 16 A on the +12V. It'll do if you're not using a high-end graphics card. Seems like a good choice if you both like it.
 
Originally posted by: 2kfire

Originally posted by: trexmgd
she did like the looks of the Cooler Master Centurion 5
Click to expand...

Cooler Master makes really good cases. That one has a 120mm exhaust fan. Not sure how quiet the stock fan is, but there are a lot of good, quiet 120mm fans with high airflow. The PSU is "only" 350 W, w/ 16 A on the +12V. It'll do if you're not using a high-end graphics card. Seems like a good choice if you both like it.
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Thanks for pointing that out - Now PC Club doesn't seem so bad. I was comparing the versions the N.Egg sells w/o Power Supply and didn't realize that there are versions that come with the P/S.

You guys have just about talked me BACK into a P-150!!!
 
I'd take the Antec P180 over the P150 and Cooler Master Centurion 5.

The P180 looks stylish, is quiet and is very efficient at cooling. What more do you want?

Oh yeah, it also looks better than the other 2.
 
I run a p180 rig and its actually noisy. Maybe I have a loud cpu and gpu fan. The fans on mine are set to medium.
 
Originally posted by: Fullmetal Chocobo
My advice: set her at the computer, and have her browse cases at newegg. That's why I did with lizardth. She ended up picking the CM Centurion 5.
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Smart man.! OP, never shop for a woman, you must let her chose. 😉

...Galvanized

 
Originally posted by: Orcishhuman
Lian-Li PC60/V1100 (depends on your budget) or P180 if it's not too big (best case ever xD)
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Originally posted by: ft66
I'd take the Antec P180 over the P150 and Cooler Master Centurion 5.

The P180 looks stylish, is quiet and is very efficient at cooling. What more do you want?

Oh yeah, it also looks better than the other 2.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I see why you guys like that Lian Li v1100 - it does look awesome, but as I mentioned earlier, I (read she) threw it out because of the size. Same is going to go for the P-180, plus I don't want to deal with all the short cable issues I see about the postion of the PS.

 
Originally posted by: Zepper
Here are a couple for you:
Kingwin 523 comes in silver or black w/ or w/o a window. You can leave the lighting unplugged...

Beantech Igloo (aka Kingwin 424 series) IMO, one of the nicest cases ever, and it doesn't hurt that the price has dropped a lot from near $100. in the middle of last year. Easily mistaken for a Lian Li both in build quallity and general design. Available in black or silver w/o window. If you want a window, ZZF et al. may still have the Kingwin 424 version - it looks like Kingwin has discontinued this model so what's out in the channel may be it.

.bh.
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guh! both of those are fvcking hideous.

dude, seriously, go with the lian li v1000.... screw what everyone else thinks. the lian li v1100 is ugly, too. screw that. go with the v1000.
 
Originally posted by: GalvanizedYankee
Originally posted by: Fullmetal Chocobo
My advice: set her at the computer, and have her browse cases at newegg. That's why I did with lizardth. She ended up picking the CM Centurion 5.
Click to expand...

Smart man.! OP, never shop for a woman, you must let her chose. 😉

...Galvanized
Click to expand...

Must be something about that case (phallic symbol somewhere?) that makes the chicks pick it!
 
Originally posted by: trexmgd
Originally posted by: GalvanizedYankee
Originally posted by: Fullmetal Chocobo
My advice: set her at the computer, and have her browse cases at newegg. That's why I did with lizardth. She ended up picking the CM Centurion 5.
Click to expand...

Smart man.! OP, never shop for a woman, you must let her chose. 😉

...Galvanized
Click to expand...

Must be something about that case (phallic symbol somewhere?) that makes the chicks pick it!
Click to expand...

Are you referring to the Centurion 5, or my case? :laugh: :laugh:
 
Originally posted by: mike3uz
I run a p180 rig and its actually noisy. Maybe I have a loud cpu and gpu fan. The fans on mine are set to medium.
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I had the stock tricool fans in the lower mid, mid front, and topside configuration set to low as well as some Delta fans on the cpu and rear exhaust. Damn thing was loud as hell.

So one day I removed the rear exhaust and replaced it with a TriCool set to low. I removed the top exhaust and cut out a piece of cardboard to plug the hole. I set my cpu fan to be controlled by my Asus motherboard with Cool 'n Quiet enabled. I also set the front and lower TriCool fans to Low.

Awesomely quiet now and not too bad of a hit in temperature increase. I bet I could get it even quieter if I replaced the stock fan on my 7800GT. 🙂
 
Originally posted by: trexmgd
Originally posted by: Orcishhuman
Lian-Li PC60/V1100 (depends on your budget) or P180 if it's not too big (best case ever xD)
Click to expand...

Originally posted by: ft66
I'd take the Antec P180 over the P150 and Cooler Master Centurion 5.

The P180 looks stylish, is quiet and is very efficient at cooling. What more do you want?

Oh yeah, it also looks better than the other 2.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I see why you guys like that Lian Li v1100 - it does look awesome, but as I mentioned earlier, I (read she) threw it out because of the size. Same is going to go for the P-180, plus I don't want to deal with all the short cable issues I see about the postion of the PS.
Click to expand...
Did you take a look at the CoolerMaster PAC-T01, and WaveMaster? Both cases are equal with the V1100 in terms of build quality as well as fit and finish; definitely worth a look.
 
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