HOT or NOT!!! Computer Case with 425W Power Supply - $39

[skorgaonkar]

I am building a PC and was shopping around for a Case and bumped into this one:

Case

Looks pretty hot to me so thought of sharing..

 

[Doomer]

Make sure you check out tigerdirect at resellerratings.com before you order.

 

[Lurker1]

Computergeeks has some nice inexpensive cases as well. I have their $34 400W case, and their $69 450W Raidmax case. The Raidmax is extremely quiet, even with the 4 fans going. The other one I don't really know, becase I have 4 SCSI drives in that one, and the drives make more noise than the case.

 

[Boonesmi]

im not a big tiger direct fan. personally i wouldnt buy anything from them

also none of the pics give a closeup of the powersupply, making it impossible to read the specs (this is probably intentional, and the powersupply is probably crap)

 

[akaricke]

Check Dealsonic.com they have tons of cases with and without PS even lower than that. Here is one for $35 with 500watt PS and side window Link

 

[Ionizer86]

I got a compgeeks case before. $40 + $15 shipping with 400W PSU. Not recommended. Bad construction, Powmax PSU, etc. The PSU is really loud, the fan is soldiered on (hard to replace), and it spits out heat like no other.

 

[Lurker1]

Originally posted by: Ionizer86
I got a compgeeks case before. $40 + $15 shipping with 400W PSU. Not recommended. Bad construction, Powmax PSU, etc. The PSU is really loud, the fan is soldiered on (hard to replace), and it spits out heat like no other.

And I'd disagree - the Powmax was fine for the money, the RaidMax is better and quieter.... but twice as expensive.

Your expectations should be in line with what's offered. You're not going to get a $100 absolutely silent PS in a $35 case and PS combo.

 

[NucEm]

I've been looking for a full tower case similar to Linky The full towers seem to be getting more difficult to find especially with a good power supply.

 

[Elixer]

Just remember when looking at the PSU, you want high AMPs on the +12 & 3.3 rails. Watts don't really mean much when you compare say a 300w versus a 400w.

It usually lists this info on the PSU itself. That is why I was dissapointed in the Raidmax Scorpio case, shows 420W, but the amps on those rails are not gonna cut it for my system.

 

[mindless1]

Many junky power supplies still have high amperage ratings on their labels, the only assurance of a decent PSU is to buy known name-brand quality.

This steel case w/PSU is 18 lbs... way too light for a decent set. You want cheap more than quality, this is it.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: Elixer
Just remember when looking at the PSU, you want high AMPs on the +12 & 3.3 rails. Watts don't really mean much when you compare say a 300w versus a 400w.

It usually lists this info on the PSU itself. That is why I was dissapointed in the Raidmax Scorpio case, shows 420W, but the amps on those rails are not gonna cut it for my system.

yup, "400" watt psu's ..just consider em 300-350max.

your better off spending 20-30 dollars more and getting a real chieftec/antec case. larger, better build, won't cut you, engineered far better for cooling and access etc. cases last through upgrades generally, its not the place to skimp.

 

[doinmybestatlast]

Not Hot. Since ComputerGeeks is out of stock of my favorite cases I found 3btech.

Link

Nice PowMax cases at prices better than CG shipped. I have made over 30 systems using the PM 400 watt PS. This is by far the best crappy, decent PS made. They have never blown a MB. I have had crappy MB's blow the PS on numerous occassions.

PowMax PS at $10 acortech.com At this price you can't go wrong. If you buy the cases and don't want the PS, PM me. Buy yourself an Antec. I have one in my personal system and wonder why I paid for it when I have made systems with Raid configs stable with the PowMax.

 

[simo]

Originally posted by: NucEm
I've been looking for a full tower case similar to Linky The full towers seem to be getting more difficult to find especially with a good power supply.

I've got that case, Directron used to sell them. Mine currently holds 2 HD's (one is a full height SCSI) and 3 optical drives, plus a 500W PSU and 7 case fans - it's great for airflow, I usually get a 21C case temp.

You can pretty much only find it on eBay these days (company that makes them is known as Hon Hai, CasEdge and FoxConn).

The only other comparable option is a Lian Li PC-75 for almost $300!

 

[unhuman]

I have this case.... I bought it when it came with a 350 Watt Intel approved Power supply.

The case is a bit chintzy. It's very thin and the screws recepticles for the case are easily stripped. The door covering the USB ports broke off pretty quickly too.

The power supply is fine with my AMD 2100+, so I have no complaints about that.

It is a nice looking case for those of us who can't stand windows....

-H

 

[phillydog]

Sexy case....... yippee

Tigerdirect....... bummer

 

[Ionizer86]

And I'd disagree - the Powmax was fine for the money, the RaidMax is better and quieter.... but twice as expensive.

Your expectations should be in line with what's offered. You're not going to get a $100 absolutely silent PS in a $35 case and PS combo

I have a few other PSUs for comparison, even a Gateway OEM Astek 250W. I can really say the Powmax is that bad. I mean it spits out heat like no other, and I haven't seen many good PSUs with fans soldiered on. My Enhance 300W had a 2-pin plugin fan, so I easily switched out the tornadolike fan for a Panaflo. Powmax blows.

As for the $35 case comment, my $40 case came with the Enhance, and after switching the fan, it was a very quality unit in terms of heat, power, and noise.

 

[Lurker1]

Originally posted by: Ionizer86

And I'd disagree - the Powmax was fine for the money, the RaidMax is better and quieter.... but twice as expensive.

Your expectations should be in line with what's offered. You're not going to get a $100 absolutely silent PS in a $35 case and PS combo

I have a few other PSUs for comparison, even a Gateway OEM Astek 250W. I can really say the Powmax is that bad. I mean it spits out heat like no other, and I haven't seen many good PSUs with fans soldiered on. My Enhance 300W had a 2-pin plugin fan, so I easily switched out the tornadolike fan for a Panaflo. Powmax blows.

As for the $35 case comment, my $40 case came with the Enhance, and after switching the fan, it was a very quality unit in terms of heat, power, and noise.

To be honest, I'm not sure what you're referring to by a soldered on fan. The powmax case I have has a 400W PS with a single fan (internal to PS). No soldering that I can see.

I will say that the case isn't as finished or heavy as I'd like (refer to price comment). But, for the <$45 shipped cost, it was perfectly acceptable. It has run a system with 5 SCSI drives (and extra fans) without incident. The heat's about the same as with the Raidmax. (Since the PS fan pulls air through the PS, the PS adds almost no heat to the case)

So, I'm not sure how you're measuring this "spits out heat" thing.

And, as for power ratings, the general (and to me, disreputable) practice of doing a maximum power rating without regard for quality given is bogus, so I generally take 3/4ths of a PS's rating and say that's about all it's capable of.

As for what you need, realize the CPU at most takes <100W, so the rest is for the other components. (ie, that leaves 200W of headroom on a "400W" PS) If you only have 1 drive plus a DVD something & a CDRW, odds are you're well under the power capabilities of your PS. (Note that ATI graphics cards do suck some power - they'd have to be included, but it's far less than your most power hungry CPUs)

If you have a PS that's generating a lot of heat, that's a bad PS. The powmax in the CG case does generate some heat, but not excessive amounts. (IMHO) I probably will replace it with another, though, as the 5 drives are probably a bit much for it, especially if I add any more.

So far, the RAIDMax case is running nice and cool, so that'd be the one I'd recommend over the $35 cases, but $85 delivered might be more than some want to pay. Matter of fact, I like it enough to order a second one for myself.

 

[weepul]

svc has some nice case deals too.

//krunk (^_^x)

 

[mikeford]

I like the cases I pick up at the swapmeet for like $40, names like Turbo Case, or Cyber Case, and model numbers like ATX954/320. The guy even tapes the top to make a nice handle so its easy to carry to my car.

OTOH I am kinda thinking about making a NICE system, quiet, black, to put HTPC into, and having it live with the rest of the AV equipment in the livingroom. Current HTPC box was $29 at Fry's and feels like a beer can, but seems functional enough.

 

[420phisher]

I've covered the half dozen computer stores here and find that most have an option or two in this price range that sans shipping compete with most of the deals already linked in this thread. Think global, buy local.

 

[mikeford]

The trouble with a lot of the comparing is that its easy to lose siight of quality, not all cheap cases are created equal.