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Need a new case, something big, pretty, and around $150 or less

C

ChorniyVolk

Senior member
What I need out of a case is to look good, nothing that looks like it's made of cheap plastic, you know, something sleek, don't care about the color much. The less needless LED's and supah kool gaimer action super awesomeness, the better. Also, that mesh metal stuff looks like shit, blah. Something simple that looks smooth and sleek would be awesome.

I also need to to be fairly big, bigger than a Cooler Master 690 (what I have now), just so that even if I suck at wire organization, I can still get good airflow without trouble.

Oh, and another thing I hate about the 690 is the lack of screws in the back where I mount the video card and such, because the 690 uses plastic thingies that snap into place, but do a shitty job at keeping my cards from bending down a little, which I imagine isn't good for anything. I don't want wobble room, so I'd prefer a case with screws.

I'm going to have a definite 5 harddrives and would like space for more as well, so that'd be nice.

Oh, and I'd like something other than the generic cooler master insides, you know, plastic slide in harddrive stuff in the lower right, nothing special for the motherboard/psu area etc. I'm tired of seeing that, I want something new, something fresh, like that COSMOS (too bad I missed the $130 deal) that looks kind of like Corsair's new one.

Full tower or mid tower, don't care, would prefer the former as I want it to be big and scary, but hey, maybe there are some big and scary mid towers as well.

I was hoping to spend around $150 or less (preferably), a bit more is fine ($200 would be pushing it, but eh), I'll take it on a case by case basis. Also having it be available on newegg (though I do get charged tax as a CA resident, so I might end up changing where I buy from by the time I buy) would be good.

Thanks for any and all help, really appreciate it.
 
ABS Black Pearl? Plenty big, uses screws on expansion slot, good cooling, no glitzy LED crap, it's a rebadged Lian Li PC-V2000b so It's all aluminum and good quality. It's $130 at newegg, and you're not really gonna find a quality case thats much bigger than CM 690 for under $100
 
minor? god i would be embarrassed if that were my case. i vote for the black pearl if the budget is tight.
 
Originally posted by: alyarb
minor? god i would be embarrassed if that were my case. i vote for the black pearl if the budget is tight.
Click to expand...

Just the side panel, quite clean otherwise. Well reviewed and $70 after rebate. I could live with the side panel for that much less.
 
How about this?
While it does have some plastic, I wouldn't say it's cheap.
It's another rebadged Lian Li...the PC-P50, albeit in a steel version (& $110 cheaper).
 
Originally posted by: Tullphan
How about this?
While it does have some plastic, I wouldn't say it's cheap.
It's another rebadged Lian Li...the PC-P50, albeit in a steel version (& $110 cheaper).
Click to expand...

Damn, I forgot that I have 4 harddrives now and might be adding 2 more, with a chance of adding more in the future, so 4 slots isn't enough. 🙁, it's actually a really awesome case otherwise.

Hmm, I'll have to look into increasing mu budget I suppose, but first I need to get the rest of my build sorted.
 
that lancool gets my vote. it has all the cable management features i absolutely love about the HAF932 and 922, for the cost of a Coolermaster 690. doesnt have as much airflow as a 690 though, and they are around the same price. if airflow isnt your biggest concern or you run with the side panel off, i would get the lancool, otherwise the 690 is a good alternative

ed: nvm there is space for dual 140mm fans in the top which i couldnt see at first, just get the lancool lol
 
Originally posted by: ChorniyVolk
Originally posted by: Tullphan
How about this?
While it does have some plastic, I wouldn't say it's cheap.
It's another rebadged Lian Li...the PC-P50, albeit in a steel version (& $110 cheaper).
Click to expand...

Damn, I forgot that I have 4 harddrives now and might be adding 2 more, with a chance of adding more in the future, so 4 slots isn't enough. 🙁, it's actually a really awesome case otherwise.

Hmm, I'll have to look into increasing mu budget I suppose, but first I need to get the rest of my build sorted.
Click to expand...

If you're getting 6 HDD's you are gonna need to look at something the size of the P18x/19x and bigger.
 
Originally posted by: potato28
Originally posted by: ChorniyVolk
Originally posted by: Tullphan
How about this?
While it does have some plastic, I wouldn't say it's cheap.
It's another rebadged Lian Li...the PC-P50, albeit in a steel version (& $110 cheaper).
Click to expand...

Damn, I forgot that I have 4 harddrives now and might be adding 2 more, with a chance of adding more in the future, so 4 slots isn't enough. 🙁, it's actually a really awesome case otherwise.

Hmm, I'll have to look into increasing mu budget I suppose, but first I need to get the rest of my build sorted.
Click to expand...

If you're getting 6 HDD's you are gonna need to look at something the size of the P18x/19x and bigger.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm going to have to get my budget settled with all the other components as well, someone offered up a suggestion for a large revision that I need to consider, though it does save me quite a big amount of cash. So til I get that settled I guess I shouldn't bother thinking about the case.

Will get back to you guys in a few days when I've got everything figured out, who knows, might even have a better budget for my crazy demands. Thanks.
 
Hey look, the Black Pearl dropped in price and matches my original budget now, cool.

Still accepting other suggestions.

My only problem with the black pearl is that it's backwards. I'm used to everything being mounted the opposite way, and me being able to put the case to my right with the ass towards me so I can plug everything into the vid car/soundcard/motherboard without any problems regarding wire length. Plus, I've read some bad reviews about heatsink placement and all that because the MoBo is upside down. Do like that temperature gauge, along with the fan control stuff. If only there existed a Black Pearl the right way around.

I love the COSMOS 1000 as well, it has a unique look, both inside and out, and has some great features. I just wish that $130 deal lasted a bit longer.

There's also that AZZA Solano 1000 going for a good price, but it's ugly, and a few inches too small in a lot of areas, especially for a full Tower (the 690 is a little bit smaller height and length wise, and bigger in width!)
 
Originally posted by: ChorniyVolk


I love the COSMOS 1000 as well, it has a unique look, both inside and out, and has some great features. I just wish that $130 deal lasted a bit longer.
Click to expand...

Here's a Cosmos S 1000 (albeit refurbished) for $119 + ~$20 shipping.
 
The black pearl is definitely good. I don't know what you mean about the wires, they still come out the back... length should be no more issue with that case than with another. Heatsink placement is the same as any other motherboard, I don't know how someone would have trouble installing one. Highly recommended
 
Originally posted by: ChorniyVolk
Hey look, the Black Pearl dropped in price and matches my original budget now, cool.

My only problem with the black pearl is that it's backwards. I'm used to everything being mounted the opposite way, and me being able to put the case to my right with the ass towards me so I can plug everything into the vid car/soundcard/motherboard without any problems regarding wire length. Plus, I've read some bad reviews about heatsink placement and all that because the MoBo is upside down. Do like that temperature gauge, along with the fan control stuff. If only there existed a Black Pearl the right way around.
Click to expand...

Do you look at the monitor or the computer case?
 
Originally posted by: ChorniyVolk
Stacker-time?

Anyway, changed budget and added some info, give me your best my friends.
Click to expand...



OK...you want something big...well, check this out.
I got an e-mail this morning from CoolerMaster. They're running a special on the CM Stacker & the Hyper TX2 for $99.
The only drawback for some people would be that it's a silver case. Since it has a door, however, that shouldn't matter. Of course, though, you stated in your OP that you didn't care about the color much. 🙂
 
Tullphan, that case looks pretty badass, is there anywhere I can get decent pictures/video of that specific case? I can't seem to find anything and the stuff on the site doesn't give me much. And are the dimensions in centimeters?

BTRY B 529th FA BN, what's that supposed to mean?

yh125d, I meant externally. I have the case up to my left against the wall and I like it to be facing me with it's ass for easy access to all the ports and whatnot. If I have to flip it around, I not only will lose easy access to all of that, but my wires will have to stretch all the way across. I normally wouldn't worry too much about this, but other cases in this price range have caught my eye and as it is a big flaw, I think it's valid in terms of what I need out of a case. Still, it is sexy.

And you're sure no one has problems with the board being upside down? Just that I read some reviews about all the placements making it hard to use an aftermarket HSF and some other stuff.

 
Originally posted by: ChorniyVolk
My only problem with the black pearl is that it's backwards. I'm used to everything being mounted the opposite way, and me being able to put the case to my right with the ass towards me so I can plug everything into the vid car/soundcard/motherboard without any problems regarding wire length. Plus, I've read some bad reviews about heatsink placement and all that because the MoBo is upside down. Do like that temperature gauge, along with the fan control stuff. If only there existed a Black Pearl the right way around.
Click to expand...

I understand what you are saying about the motherboard orientation being upside down compared to the typical orientation you are accustomed, and as such the mobo is located on the lefthand side of the case versus on the righthand side.

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2332213&enterthread=y

But it really poses no installation issues whatsoever. All my cables fit the distances just fine, didn't have to buy a single cable to move my rig into the Black Pearl. And my cpu temps are definitely not negatively effected by the air flow direction.
 
By wire length, read my response to yh125d, it's in terms of external wires having to go around the case if I put it up against the wall to my left. But I'm still considering it, along with the COSMOS and the $100 case posted a few posts above, just been a bit busy and don't have time for computer decisions at the moment heh.
 
Originally posted by: ChorniyVolk
Tullphan, that case looks pretty badass, is there anywhere I can get decent pictures/video of that specific case? I can't seem to find anything and the stuff on the site doesn't give me much. And are the dimensions in centimeters?
Click to expand...

Dimension: 250mm x 536mm x 638mm (W x H x D) = 9.84 x 21.1 x 25.1 inches

Videos...take your pick...Google is your friend! 🙂

It appears most of the videos are of an older style Stacker. The Stacker in the deal doesn't appear to have the same mesh front & it appears the side may have a window or no mesh at all.
It's still the same internally, however, as best as I can tell.
 
Originally posted by: ChorniyVolk
By wire length, read my response to yh125d, it's in terms of external wires having to go around the case if I put it up against the wall to my left. But I'm still considering it, along with the COSMOS and the $100 case posted a few posts above, just been a bit busy and don't have time for computer decisions at the moment heh.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah I see what you mean. Coincidentally this is what I also had to do.

My case used to sit to my right, but with the black pearl I now sit it to my left which required me to replace by two 6' DVI cables with two 10' cables (cost me $27 shipped) and I had to get a longer USB cable so my hub on my desk could reach the computer without me having to move anything on my desk. I already had the cable so it wasn't an issue.

I actually like my rig on my left now that it is there, its a personal choice obviously but I wish I had moved it to my left long ago.
 
Hey, I'm going to stay away as far as the guts and the monitor, but is there any problem with ordering a case from ebay? I was going to check out mice and keyboards on there to save a few bucks, and then realized that a case might also be a good idea. If I find a good deal and it's in good/new condition, and the seller has good feedback, any reason not to bite?
 
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