How many builds have you reused your case?

[MichaelD]

I reused the same beige Chieftec/Antec 1200 cases (I think that's the model number) full tower with the four 80mm fans that sit in those ugly, plastic purple carriers for about 10 years/5 builds. Then I bought a $300 Lian Li, which rattled like crap and dented if I looked at it the wrong way, so i sold it. Then I bought an Antec P180 (awesome case) and had about 4 builds in it. Then I decided to go whole hog.

I bought a 30U, 30" deep rack and two 4U rackmount cases/rails. I replaced the fans in both cases with desktop-grade fans vs. the jet engines they came with. My two systems are quieter than most PCs. The noisiest thing is the 5 traditional hard drives in my NAS.

One case holds my NAS which has only changed once in 6 years. The other holds my main PC and I've had about 5 builds in there. It's bigger inside than a full tower, I can just slide it out and remove/replace whatever I need to and slide it back in. No more cut hands, no more broken fingers from trying to snake wires every which way. The rack is right next to my desk.

Sure, the rack takes up a lot of room but I have my printer on top, a big UPS that sits on the bottom, out of sight, and an 8-port Gigabit switch mounted on the back with a single connection to my router. I do miss the excitement of buying a new case but the ease of maintenance and assembly makes up for it.

This thread is timely as I just emptied out a storage unit I had and found a 5U pedestal case (YeonYoung W201 I think) that is rack mountable. It has a nice, quiet 120mm intake and exhaust fans. Cha-ching! I'm transferring my main PC into that this weekend. Should be even quieter than the two 80mm fans in my main PC/rack case I'm currently using and as a bonus, the Hyper 212 cooler I've not been able to fit in the 4U will fit in this baby! I'm stoked.

This is the 5U case

And for the heck of it, the product page. http://www.yycase.com/yy-w2xx.htm I got the version with the feet but they screw right off as do the top/bottom panels which exposes the mounting holes for the rails.

The case came with an 80mm fan mounted in front of the drive cage (pictured below) but that was an easy mod to a quiet, 120mm fan.

ps
All my rackmount cases have removable front filters and I tape off any side/top ventilation holes that all rackmount cases have in order to ensure proper front to back airflow with the lower-speed fans I use. It was a lot of research and work, but worth it to me.

 

[MichaelD]

Nice! Brings back memories. I never got into the whole case window/LED thing but I modded every one of my cases. Dremeled out the restrictive fan grills and used wire ones, made holes for cable management, that sort of thing. Cool stuff, BonzaiDuck.

I'll throw in on this question. [Maybe, I can even find some "pics."]

From 2002 through 2008, I chose to visit a computer-recycler and buy old 1990's-era ATX full-tower cases for at most $2 each. Then I'd use my Dremel and other tools to mod them.

Eventually, my friend the recycler had a 1994 Compaq ProLiant Server case with sliding hot-swap bays and trays for SCSI drives. I modded those so I could stack two to four drives per tray and still utilize the tray mechanism. Somebody gave me a cheap IBM midtower case which had a PSU cage that swiveled out and away from the case -- a "toolless" design for the PSU. I incorporated that into the ProLiant project.

The huge Compaq case got a bottom fan-tray (x2 140mm fans), reinforced bottom frame and four 3" double-wheeled caster wheels with locks:

http://webpages.charter.net/psywar_sentinel/chrome window.jpg

I custom-fit the Lexan sidepanel window, and applied auto-window-film to present a mirror when the interior LEDs of the computer were turned off.

Other machines in the house were built of salvaged pre-millennium ATX cases from OEMs like Gateway, or case-makers like INWIN. Still have two of those running 24/7, modified fan-holes and larger fans, etc. etc.

I was going to keep the "Chrome Window" case, but it's just too big. So I passed it and the Q6600 rig that it contained to a sibling.

What I learned with that case gave me focus in further case-selection, purchase and modding. I settled on the CoolerMaster HAF models, discovering that I could still add 2" double-wheeled casters with brakes -- little or no modification to the case sheet-metal itself.

These days, my case-modding is simpler and more subtle. If case has ample ventilation and I want to pressurize and direct the airflow, I may block off extra ventilation or fan ports with black foam art-board -- as I've done for the top 200mm fan-holes in the HAF cases.

I will certainly recycle the cases I have as long as practical with newer processors and motherboards. Nor will I spend money anymore on expensive all-aluminum cases like my CM Stacker. Certainly, the Stacker will be re-used, and I have plans to use it for an Ivy Bridge build or a Haswell -- sometime after September, with no urgent deadline for that project.

 

[Vinwiesel]

Never. The old pc gets relegated to backup/HTPC duty, and the new system gets a new case.

 

[Primergy]

Not my main machine but I was lucky years ago to find the cool looking case of an Intergraph TDZ2000 workstation for a few bucks and have used it since (~10yrs).
I am now on the 4th motherboard/build.

 

[Icebones]

I'll add my name to the Chieftec Dragon users

I love the quick release side panel with the large window
and that the case is aluminium :thumbsup:

Mine has been through at least 5 builds that i can recall
K6/2-533Mhz
PIII 1.0Ghz
XP2600+
P4 2.8Ghz
and now my current build
Athlon II x3 455 Rana(unlocked to Phenom IIx4 B55) w/ Hyper 212+ cooler
ASRock M3A770DE motherboard
Powercolor AX6770 - Radeon HD6770 w/ 1GB GDDR5
Kingston HyperX Blu 4GB DDR3 (2x2Gb)
Thermaltake TR2-430

If you want you can check out a video of it here

 

[Phantomaniac]

Never used the same case from primary to primary build. I wait 5 years between primary builds and by that time my idea about what I want in a case usually changes. Back in high school I had some shitty Logisys with a side window and cold cathodes. Then for my next build in late college I decided I didn't care about windows anymore and went with a hefty Cooler Master that could handle crossfire/SLI. Now 3.5 years later I never bothered with a crossfire/SLI setup and would rather have something more portable.

 

[fatpat268]

Yea, I'll reuse my case often, but I'm kind of weird though... when I change to a new case, every time I've done it in between builds as an "upgrade." Meaning I take everything out of a functioning case and transplant it, I never start with a new case on a new build.

Over the years, I've only had 4 cases or so. I started with an oem gateway tower, then a Coolermaster Centurion, Antec P182, and now an NZXT H2. Out of those, I absolutely hated the P182. It had some terrible design issues that was just a pure headache. I hated how it segregated the PSU from the rest of the case, and then forced the hdd cage down in the same area making it cramped as hell.

But yea, I've moved on to the NZXT H2. It has a lot of features that are nice, and I've switched all my hard drives to hotswap bays, so now I never have to open my case again if I'm upgrading hard drives. This is something I'm surprised more people don't do. The hotswap bays usually cost $15-$20 and take up one of those 5.25" bays that are probably unused. Makes everything a lot easier.

 

[WT]

I'll add my name to the Chieftec Dragon users

:thumbsup: That case is such a freakin' beast !! I paid about $36 for it back in the day, I think it was $19 + 17 S/H. Mine's been through only two builds, and currently functions as my workbench rig.

This was its original build. All of that gear was yanked out last year, replaced by an MSI 790X-G45 and a PII X4 965 B.E.

The original Asrock 939 Dual SATAII board continues to live on, and if that board wouldn't have so many upgrade paths built into it's design it would have been retired a long time ago. It remains my all time favorite board.

 

[Remobz]

Problem here is that all the Computer companies carry the cheap generic cases. By the time I do a serious upgrade its better to just buy a new cheap case.

Bare in mind, to buy a quality case here one needs to do a special order from the USA which will cost three times what you pay for it by the time it clears customs and duties.

I am in computer hell here

 

[kalrith]

I used my previous case for 3-4 builds, but bought a P280 a couple months ago for $70 AR. I really like the new case. It's quiet, roomy, and allowed me to route and tie down all my cables behind the motherboard tray.

 

[computergeek485]

I've had my rc-690 since 2008 and have seen many internal component upgrades at least 3-4 total hardware changes.

 

[ajemm]

Just finished my third build in my Antec Solo.

 

[e-g]

Still using my Chieftec Dragon aswell, got it with my first selfbuild back in 2002.

Several mods, including top mounted 120mm hole, front USB ports, and tearing out some HDD bays, still make it a workable case, altho I've lost all the expansion slot covers, the front door, and several of the external bay covers along the way.

Originally it held a Socket A setup including an Athlon XP1900+, ABit NF7-S V2.0, Geforce Ti4200. Fully watercooled. Good times......

These days it just runs my i7 rig from 08, concidered replacing it back then, sometimes concidering replacing it still. But it does its job.

Oh and yeah the apple for the haters.

Btw, best case ever.

 

[nageov3t]

I've never rebuilt my entire computer at once... but defining a new build as a new motherboard, probably 3-4.

I've had the same case (Antec P180) for about 10 years now.

finally getting ready to replace it soon, after which it'll probably be relegated to the trash. I don't really have any need for a second desktop and after so long (and multiple moves), it's a bit too banged up to really think about selling.

 

[dougdoberman]

Typically just one build per case, though on occasion I've put new guts in my #1 case and passed all the others on down the line.

At the moment though, my #1 system is the third system that's been housed in the case it's in. That's just a temporary arrangement as I finish modding the TJ07 that it's destined for.

I've still got some of my cases from the early to mid 90's waiting to maybe be used for the current oh-so-trendy retro beige case builds.

 

[ronopp]

I have a coolermaster haf932 with
Three builds in it. Only because you can put any vid card made in it

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Current case is a Cosmos S and I've used it for 2 builds and if I build again, it will be reused.

 

[MrK6]

I switched cases a lot going from ATX to mico-ATX back to standard ATX, but I've had my CM 690II for two years and two builds now and I don't think I'll be changing any time soon. For me it's simply finding a case that does everything I want, and right now I have a great water setup that's completely internal. The case also has a ton of other features like a window, light switch, top HDD/SSD dock, fan filters, etc. that I use all the time and I also just really like the look of it aesthetically. I'll definitely stick with this case until I get sick of watercooling or no longer have the time to maintain it, and then I'll probably build a small mini-ITX box to go on my desk or something.

Pic:

 

[brennok]

I always plan on reusing my case, but I end up just building new in a new case. I tend to only build new ever few years though.