Need some case advice

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cr0ssfire

Senior member
Sep 10, 2005
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I've been a lurker on these forums for a little while, mostly to catch up on the latest hardware since I'm planning on building a computer to replace by burned-out "value" computer that I had built for me a while back.

Well, let me elaborate on what I mean by 'burned out'. Several years ago, I had an aging Micron that just wasn't getting the job done and I didn't want to buy a Dell, HP, Compaq, et cetera because I've always thought that they're overpriced. My father knows someone who works as an IT guy at a certain facility, so I told him that I needed a new computer and he paid the IT guy to build me a decent computer.

Little did I know he would make some glaring errors in making the system. The case was some obscure knockoff by Foxconn with sharp, SHARP edges and a single 92mm fan in the back and a few ventilation holes here and there. And the Power Supply was a generic brand which was rated at about 200 watts and generated enough heat to warm an entire office building. Needless to say, after a few years of running the computer in a scorching hot room my poor components couldn't take it anymore and the motherboard and video card burned out.

After a summer working as an intern for a Senator, I made enough cash so that I could finally afford to build myself a decent computer. I may be a college student, but darn it...I deserve to have a good gaming machine that I can rely on! I bought an IBM laptop through the school and it turned out to be overall not that great aside from the ATI graphics card that was integrated into the whole thing. It's definitely not meant for gaming; the bottom of it feels like a furnace even when I'm surfing the web, and the wireless card integrated into it is on the fritz. So, with that in mind I'm finally getting around to making myself a new computer.

I'm definitely paranoid about getting good cooling this time around. I do NOT want my components to overheat, but I'm not in the financial position to go with water-cooling at this time. That said, I've been looking over a number of different cases trying to find a case that suits what I'm looking for:

*Conservative, but stylish
*Preferably at least moderately lightweight in case I decide to take it to a LAN party (I work out on a regular basis, so weight really isn't too much of an issue)
*Fairly sturdy; doesn't feel like it'll bend if you breathe on it, like an Antec LANboy
*And most of all...GREAT cooling

I've narrowed the field down to a few choices and I wanted to know what you all think of my final selections. If you've had any personal experience with any of them or if you know something that I most likely wouldn't, I'd appreciate hearing it. Or hey, if there's a case out there that'd be better than any of these I'd like to hear it! So, without further ado here's the list:

1) Lian-Li PC-60b PLUS

This case looks like it'd be great but I can't find a lot of reviews on it. It's VERY light and Lian-Li has a rep for quality, so that's a plus. It's also one of the most conservative cases out there...but I think it'd look great with a window on the side. I'm wary of going with a case that has several 80mm fans in it, though, and I'm really not sure how effective the cooling would be especially with that little 'blower' in the back.

2) NZXT Trinity

I guess if I wanted to save some money I could go with the Trinity. I'm not entirely sure I like the front of it, but it's lightweight and it looks to have good airflow. It also comes with a temperature sensor, which is always nice. There are reviews on it out there, but nobody has really out-and-out called it exceptional as far as I can tell. And apparently, nobody on any of the popular tech forums actually owns one.

3) Gigabyte 3d Aurora

I was crazy about this case for a while, but...now that I look at it, I'm not so sure I like it. The front part juts out and I don't like how that looks, and I'm wondering if having the two 120mm fans in the back would be any worse than having a fan on the back and a fan on the top. It's also got quite a lot of blinky-blinks and glowing stuff that I'm not sure how I'd like.

4) Silverstone TJ-06

I like the Wind Tunnel that's in this - it'd work well with a nice passive cooler. But while the Wind Tunnel would definitely keep the CPU area cool, there's very little cooling for the hard drives and fresh air for the rest of this very large case is taken care of by an 80mm fan. Although...there is enough space in the back so that I could probably install a fan there if I wanted to.


And no...before you even suggest it, I'm NOT getting an Antec P180. I can't take that to LAN parties!
 
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cr0ssfire

Senior member
Sep 10, 2005
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Yeah, I've seen that one before. I could be wrong, but it looks to me like that one's just a PC-60b plus without the little air duct, blower, and the removable motherboard tray. If I could actually see some good thermal benchmarks for the PC-60b, that'd make things a lot easier...
 
JBDan

JBDan

Platinum Member
Dec 7, 2004
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So your looking for light weight and good cooling essentially. Never owned a Lian myself, but there quality is second to none. How about the Thermalrock Eclipse (brownie points in theN Anand review) or some of the Coolermaster cases (centurion). I hear that the CM's use a heavy guage Al like Lian Li's.
 
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Zepper

Elite Member
May 1, 2001
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The TJ06 is not a lightweight and the air flow is all screwed up in that case design (basically the same case can be had from Aerocool, Enermax, Thermalrock, etc.) and there is lots of wasted space.
. Start with the Antec SLK3000-B a lot of expensive cases could use some tutoring from the 3k on basic cooling and noise goodness. If you want something a bit more fancy while still being conservative, look at the Kingwin 424 series - very well made for a bit less than LianLi. Some of the new CoolerMaster Centurions or Praetorian are worth a look.
. See the mass review of cases that was just posted over on the Anandtech side.
. Some others to consider are the Vtech and Nexus cases here: http://www.jab-tech.com .
. I also sort of like the "Just PC" Gazelle see it at newegg et al. It is a lot like one of the Nexus cases.

.bh.
 
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GalvanizedYankee

Diamond Member
Oct 27, 2003
6,986
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Being a charter member of The Dull Men's Club, I say go with the PC-7B Plus also..

If that case does not come with a top fan, put one in. If you really want air flow across the case, there is just barely room for a second 80mm below the stock rear one. I belive that case does have a port cut out for a top fan. For<$100 you will not be disapointed.
I got two LL mid towers. Just use a fan buss to control noise if you decide on hi-speed 80mm
fans.

There is a mid-tower case review at the top of our home page.

Your very first post!! Wellcome to Anandtech Forums cr0ssfire :)
 
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cr0ssfire

Senior member
Sep 10, 2005
379
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The Thermalrock Eclipse is nice and all, but...it's got too many blinky blinkies for my liking. I just really don't like the design. Thermaltake's cases in general have always seemed to be too gaudy and flashy for my liking.

I actually did find a Vtech case (the 7105) that I thought would be a great choice, Zepper, but a quick google to see how the reviews went showed that the case was a wiring nightmare, had flimsy sides, and the stealthed drives didn't work. What a shame! Even by my boring standards, it still looks good...but I've never really bought anything just for the looks. :(

I'm getting the impression that a lot of people throw their support behind the PC-7B Plus instead of the PC-60 Plus not just here but on other forums, too. Is there any particular reason that you recommend it over the 60? Does it cool better than the 60 with its air duct and blower, or is it a matter of value? Saving some money with the 7 to get more or less the same cooling than the 60 is something I would definitely be down with...but I haven't really seen thermal benchmarks for either of them.

Oh, and...I did notice that there's a little space on the back of the PC-7B that could possibly fit a blower like the one that comes with the 60. Could I buy and attach a blower there if I wanted to?
 
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GalvanizedYankee

Diamond Member
Oct 27, 2003
6,986
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You say that gamming is in the plan...

I have never worked with a 60 plus. There are several big mutha HSFs comming out that are suppose to be bitchin. The duct on the 60 plus would most likely have to be taken out anyway to fit a really good HSF. Fitting a Zalman thin fan over the PCI slots would allways be an easy
to do later. Reread my first post if you get a LL-7B. Use three moderate speed 80mm fans
and later you may want to go for a faster/more CFM 120mm. I'm doing my second soft mod on a low-cost SkyHawk and for me its not one third the case the LL is.

Pick four cases that *you* like, that fit your needs then post links in this thread.

There are ppl here that have worked with many different cases, offer them links.

I tend to be a LL fanboy because I :heart: thick alloy, in all it's forms and applications
but i like mine natural (silver)..


gy




 
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cr0ssfire

Senior member
Sep 10, 2005
379
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Heh, wow. The thought that the CPU duct might interfere with a good HSF didn't even occur to me.

I did look up a couple of reviews on the 7 and every one has rated the case as nothing short of exceptional. Now that I've had a chance to do a little critical thinkingon the case, I can see why the reviews were enthusiastic; there are two 120mm fans to keep the case nice and cool, plus space for an exhaust fan up top and room for a 120mm blower fan to help cool the PCI slots. That's...a lot of cooling. And that's cool. Having a nice, quieter 120mm fan in the back instead of a CPU air duct would probably be better in the long run, so I think I've made my decision. Now I'll just have to see if the Computer Expo next weekend has the case for sale.
 
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scrawnypaleguy

Golden Member
Jun 19, 2005
1,036
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I've worked on the LL60B plus, and I have to say that it was a joy to work in. Everything in that case just screams quality. I have seen those versions with the two 120mm fans and I have to say that I think they're modified (since even Lian-Li's website shows them with a 80mm fan in the back). However, it looks like a good quality modification, so I say go for it. A word of warning though: the case comes with three different kinds of screws, two of which look exactly the same except the threads are different. Make sure you use the right thread on the motherboard standoffs! My friend and I spent 15 minutes trying to figure out why the screws weren't fitting in the standoffs before we discovered this, so just be careful (we destroyed one of the standoffs in the process). Also Galvanized Yankee is right, we couldn't fit the cpu duct in with an XP-90 heatsink, so heads up. It's ok though, you can just convert the rear fan to exhaust. Also, if you look, the piece of metal that extends down from the psu bay all the way around the 5.25 bays makes cable management difficult. I like to route the wired behind the 5.25 bays, but that piece of metal was in the way so there was a large bundle of wires just hanging in all the bays. Normally this wouldn't matter, but if you want a window in your case then you'll want the wire management to be good looking.

Good luck with your build, let us know how it goes with some pics later!
 
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cr0ssfire

Senior member
Sep 10, 2005
379
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Wow, this is definitely the most helpful site I've run into yet! :D

I've just got one more question...if I do end up going with the PC-7 Plus that I linked to above, do you think it would be worth it to purchase the little blower as well for a little extra exhaust, or would it not make that much of a difference?
 
JBDan

JBDan

Platinum Member
Dec 7, 2004
2,333
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I would say it really depends on what you got down there (your gfx card cooler and your pci/agp/pci-ex setup), whether your ocing, and what your system components are. It will add noise, but could help depending on your specs.
 
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scrawnypaleguy

Golden Member
Jun 19, 2005
1,036
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I would rather invest in a top 80mm fan, those are more effective at moving air (I think, correct me if I'm wrong), and two 120's and an 80 will definitely be enough. Do you have specs for the blower? If the dBA and CFM are comparable to a normal fan, then go for it.
 
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GalvanizedYankee

Diamond Member
Oct 27, 2003
6,986
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The top fan port is there, I would use it with a moderate speed fan. I would also consiser using a fan buss to control the fans.

From my limited experiance there might be two flies in the ointment :)

1: The rear 120 *might* get in the way of some card that would go in a PCI slot. This *could*be solved by notching the housing of the 120 for clearance.

2: The case you linked to does not have a slide-out mobo tray. This makes instalation a little bit of a hassel. Being a student you are most likely not going to be up-grading on a regular basis. So this should not be a major concern.

Note: The LL is 2mm thick so be sure to save any extra screws for mounting your drives (optical,hard,floopy) as they are slightly longer than the ones supplied with the drives you buy.


gy
 
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