Searching for a Case

bigbird656

Member
Jun 26, 2004
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Hi, I'm looking for a case for my new 3000+ rig, and i have decided to throw in a few extra hard earned bills for a great case, so my price range as of now is $75-$100 (NO PSU NEEDED)... however, it must meet this criteria:

1. Aluminum or Nice Steel
2. Side window
3. No PSU
4. Good Airflow, for casual overclocking
5. Light (as in weight, as i will be packing it around at times)
6. Removable Motherboard tray
7. Cool extras!
8. Noise is NOT an issue, she can be as loud as she pleases!

So far i really like the Kingwin "KT-424-S-WM" but i am open to any suggestions. Thanks for yor time!
 

jdiddy

Diamond Member
Feb 6, 2004
3,905
44
91
Coolermaster Wavemaster. It has all of the things your looking for.
 

fireontheway

Golden Member
Jul 8, 2003
1,480
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Originally posted by: jdiddy
Coolermaster Wavemaster. It has all of the things your looking for.


seriously, give us a link for a$75- $100 dollar wavemaster and ill buy one in a heartbeat. :D
 

bigbird656

Member
Jun 26, 2004
29
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seriously, give us a link for a$75- $100 dollar wavemaster and ill buy one in a heartbeat.
Same here, id love to buy a coolermaster for that price, but it seems to be in the $140-$150 price range, and missing a side window.. oh well.
 

QueBert

Lifer
Jan 6, 2002
22,982
1,179
126
So far i really like the Kingwin "KT-424-S-WM" but i am open to any suggestions. Thanks for yor time!

I bought the black model last week, I REALLY wanted the Wavemaster, but I have no CC & couldn't find a store around with that.

Overall I really dig the case, the price isn't too high, I paid $120 at a retail store. Comes with 3 fans (gonna repleace them all tho) The MB tray rocks, first case I've gotten that has one. Love the window, it's nice and big, and you can move it to the inside of the panel to give your case a whole different look.

I also LOVE the fact it has a removable plug on the case cables (HD LED/speaker/reset/etc) so when you wanna take the MB tray out, you can leave all the pins plugged into the MB. Saves a bit of time and frustration.

The case is kinda plain looking, but it has a certain style to it. I would recommend this case.

It's prety quiet with my Seagate, and 2 coolermaster fans in. Would probably be whisper quiet with Panaflows and a Zalman :)
 

jdiddy

Diamond Member
Feb 6, 2004
3,905
44
91
Originally posted by: bigbird656
seriously, give us a link for a$75- $100 dollar wavemaster and ill buy one in a heartbeat.
Same here, id love to buy a coolermaster for that price, but it seems to be in the $140-$150 price range, and missing a side window.. oh well.

Sorry my bad guys I did'nt see the price requirement. I have a Wavemaster its wonderful and I'm always so quick to recommend it. Good luck on the search :D
 

nageov3t

Lifer
Feb 18, 2004
42,808
83
91
Wavemasters are fugly. Check out the Centurion, though, or the Stacker (for novelty purposes)
 

bigbird656

Member
Jun 26, 2004
29
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The Antec P-160WF looks kinda ugly in the pictures i have seen of it online... does it look better "in person"? Also, i am unsure of the durablity of the panels infront of drive bays 1&2, as they seem a little flimsy... are they aluminum? Any other case suggestions are welcome as well.:D
 

Mik3y

Banned
Mar 2, 2004
7,089
0
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it looks just the same in person like it is on newegg. the p160 is ok. i think the whole front kinda looks cheesy and cheep. feels cheap too.
 

Yelapaboy

Junior Member
Jul 11, 2000
19
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0
Originally posted by: bigbird656
The Antec P-160WF looks kinda ugly in the pictures i have seen of it online... does it look better "in person"? Also, i am unsure of the durablity of the panels infront of drive bays 1&2, as they seem a little flimsy... are they aluminum? Any other case suggestions are welcome as well.:D


I have a P160 and love it, I wanted something aluminum with good space for my 4 hard drives, the sideways mounting is a big plus IMO and I have a 120MM blowing in over the HD cage. Very quiet with 2 1200MM fans (front is optional) and great case airflow. Its looks? Heh I think it is ugly, and it doesn't get any better in person. If it weren't for the awful front panel, the rest of the case has a very nice brushed finish in stark contrast to the chromed plastic of the front. I don't care about the looks as it is in my home office next to my desk and not highly visible, I do find the cheesy rotating front panel with USB 2.0 and Firewire a great convenience for my IRiver HD 120 MP3 player and my digital camera. If you can live with the looks I think it is easily the best case going for around a 100 bucks, super easy toool less setup too.

If looks are a big consideration, well everyone is different but to me Coolermasters are generally the best looking and have great quaility of construction. I love the looks of my old Coolermaster ATC 200 MX.


http://www.2cpu.com/articles/25_1.html
 

bigbird656

Member
Jun 26, 2004
29
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Considering my Desk is setup so my Rig is right next to my moniter, id rather have it look nice :thumbsup:. The Kingwin Stated above looks almost the same as the Coolermaster ATC 200MX, which i think looks sweet too! The P160 bugs a bit as the front cover is all plastic, i'd hate to pay over $100 for a case with a plastic face plate and "awful front panel". So unless another awsome case pops out from nowhere (like the expensive but cool Thermaltake Tsunami) i will stick with the Kingwin "KT-424-S-WM" .

Thanks for all the help guys, people at the anandtech forums kick butt!
 

Yelapaboy

Junior Member
Jul 11, 2000
19
0
0
Yeah, the Kingwin looks like a winner, very nice. If I kept my case on the desktop I wouldn't have considered the P-160. Despite its looks I still love the thing, the interior is just so intelligently laid out.
 

CrimsonSky

Junior Member
May 24, 2003
17
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Yer not gonna find a case with an all alum bezel (of any real quality, i.e. 2.5-3mm thick alum) for your price range, unless its used on ebay or sumthing. for high end enclosures, I like the Silverstones. the Kingwin bezels are fairly thin and flimsy IMHO