New to the forums, looking for a case

[Bluhjun]

Hi all, I'm looking for a new mid tower case, just about anything would be an improvement on what I have now.
I've been looking at this case and was wondering if anyone has had any experience with it. Any suggestions are most welcome.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-144-031&depa=0

BTW the reason I'm going so cheap on the case is that I'm also upgrading my CPU and getting some extra RAM and I'm on a fairly tight budget.

Current system specs:

ASUS P4G8X Deluxe
P4 1.5GHz Willamette
512MB DDR 333 PC 2700
Sound Blaster live value
ATI Radeon 9500 Pro

What I'm thinking of getting:

P4 3.06 533 FSB $229 @ newegg
512MB PC 2700 $77 @ newegg
Mid Tower Case

 

[THEREALJMAN]

That's an excelent case and a great color too. I almost bought that model (except with the side window) but opted for a koolance case instead. Really for the price you cannot go wrong at all.

 

[Todd33]

Look at the Antex 3700AWB, it's known for be quiet and well made. It runs 67 at newegg.

 

[psiu]

Same as previous poster....the Antec also comes with Antec power supply.

Having had a bad PSU that fried a motherboard, I'm leery of generic power supplies....

That or maybe this combination?

case
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-150-017&catalog=7&depa=1

power supply
power supply review at anandtech
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-906&catalog=58&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=1
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1841&p=5

Good luck

 

[IlllI]

if i were you, i would not try to cut corners by getting something cheap. you want something of decent quality. antec is usually well regarded.

 

[Bluhjun]

Thank you all for your suggestions, Antec wins by majority it seems

I should have mentioned that I wasn't planning on using the PSU that comes with the case as I already have a 400W CompUSA PSU. No idea how good it is, but I haven't had any trouble with it *thus far*.

Ok so I'm going with Antec, now for a dumb question: When I move my components(current + new CPU and extra RAM) over to the new case and if I keep the Antec PSU in it, will I have to reinstall Windows and reformat my HD?

 

[Todd33]

No. Just plug and play

 

[Bluhjun]

Great! Thanks again I appreciate it

 

[InlineFive]

Another thing to watch out for that I think is commonly overlooked is the exhaust fan grills. On your original case they were very restricting which doesn't do much for airflow. It is improved on the Antec however.

-Por

 

[0roo0roo]

don't try to shave a few bucks on a case.. cases tend to be used long enough that its not a good place to save money.
antec chieftec chenming...can't go wrong with them, they are engineered much better then cheap generics. and yes, fan grills on cheap cases...horrible. drive rails, tooless entry etc and doors etc.. are very nice good case with multiple fans with low air flow restriction gives you the option of using low rpm fans or using a fan speed controller.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-129-145&catalog=7&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=0
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-129-124&catalog=7&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=0
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-129-127&catalog=7&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=0
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=manufactory&catalog=7&manufactory=1502&DEPA=0&sortby=14&order=1

 

[Bluhjun]

Another thing to watch out for that I think is commonly overlooked is the exhaust fan grills. On your original case they were very restricting which doesn't do much for airflow. It is improved on the Antec however.

Heh my case has NO exhaust fan grills all it has is a metal box in the front of the case for an 80mm fan which it didn't come with. To top that, the fan when placed in the box is restricted in airflow because the metal cutout is smaller than the fan diameter. I got a fan that slips into an expansion slot in the rear so that helps a bit.

My PSU has an internal extractor fan but the PSU is mounted vertically so the fan is a little close to the HS fan. How close I don't know I'll pull the PSU to see if the fan is interfering with the HS fan. Pull/Push can't be a good situation unless the PSU fan is off to the side

don't try to shave a few bucks on a case.. cases tend to be used long enough that its not a good place to save money.

Good point, I may have to wait until I save a few more $$ though. The Antec Sonata looks like something to shoot for