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"Original" VPR Matrix Computer Case

A

Atrac

Golden Member
I should start off by clarifying that this case is *not* the "new" VPR Matrix "Porsche" designed case, but the original case that Best Buy sold a year ago.

When I first saw Best Buy selling their own brand of computer, I really liked the case. Although the price was "good" for the whole system (at the time), I knew that I could build a cheaper system with the exact same specs. I looked everywhere to buy the same case, but little did I know that I couldn't (since it did look like a somewhat generic case).

Well, I guess now that Best Buy had Porsche design a new case (which I think is somewhat ugly..just a big black box), the company (In-Win) that designed the original case was "allowed" to sell it as part of their line.

The only place that sells it is Logical Plus, and it's available here: Original VPR Matrix Case.

It's $65, which I suppose is a rather average price (or maybe a bit overpriced). I ordered it and it shipped directly from In-Win in Southern CA (so be sure to choose "Ground" shipping if you are in CA!).

The picture they show seems to have blue trim, but the one I received is the silverish trim exactly like Best Buy's original case (before they switched this design to all white and a VPR Matrix Logo on the front). It's a nice case (well built and sturdy) with front USB Ports.

In fact I was in a local Best Buy last weekend and they were trying to sell the 1800 model for $999 "Open Box" (It's a P4 1.8 Ghz). Clearly they are out of their mind, but I can be pleased now to know that I built an exact copy of it, but with better specs (Liteon 52x CDRW instead of 24x, P4 1.8a chip) for under $500.

And it only took a year of waiting for the case to be available...not that I even knew that it would be!

Anyway, I just thought I would pass this info on if there's anyone out there that likes the original case as much as I do. 😉

 
If you like INWin case, go to pricewatch and search for CASE-->INWIN and you will see lots of store selling this brand of case
 
Let us know when the 'new' VPR Matrix cases become available. 😀

How good are the new cases? Is BB installing sufficient power supplies, etc.?
 
Originally posted by: iwearnosox
That's a deluge of information on one fugly case.
Click to expand...

:Q

Gotta admit that I laughed so hard at that comment, coffee came out my nose. A little TMI, I know.

Yep, she's butt-fugly all right ! Chieftec's Matrix case is far more attractive, IMO -- but beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder. I won't be beholding this one anytime soon 😉

 
For some reason it reminds me of a toilet. Don't know why. Personally, I wouldn't want it next to my desk. If I got drunk I might...............
 
Originally posted by: Yobbo
It nots THAT bad...I just don't think its worth a years wait
Click to expand...

True! I think it was more the idea that when I saw it and the price, I wanted to build the *exact* same computer for much less.

And in all honesty I was kind of "waiting" for Best Buy to drop the price on the original line to something decent, as opposed to waiting on the case since there was no way I would know that it would be available for sale on its own. I was shocked to see that their clearance prices on them are just as ridiculous as their regular prices. If you check the SKU's on their system (or I should say have an employee check), I think they dropped the clearance price by $50 on each model.

When I was dealing with the sales rep (and manager), they would only take off 10% more, since it was open box. The "it's a year old" speech doesn't seem to work, nor does the "but this one *still* costs more than the newer models with faster processor" argument. Maybe I should have tried the "but this case is FUGLY" approach. Maybe I could have got it for free! 😉

So I guess when I found the exact case I wanted to build the whole system exactly like theirs (I bought the same motherboard, same liteon drives -- but faster, etc.) for half of what they are still selling for.

Basically, it was a "screw you Best Buy" project.

But I still like the case! heh heh
 
Check the dumpster behind your local Best Buy, you might get lucky and find this "damn fugly" case there where it belongs.
rolleye.gif

 
OTOH, the good news is that some of the BBs are selling the replacement HDDs, which come in a somewhat generic brown box but which are Western Digital 100Gig w/ supposedly 4Gb, for $116.99.

IOW, if you need a quick replacement HDD and don't have the luxury to wait for a killer hot deal to come along, that's not a bad price😉
 
(They also sell fan cages and hdd fans for $20 each for the Matrix, same brown boxes. No fans were in stock on the shelf so I don't know how good they are)
 
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