Show me what you think is the Best Case as far as looks, cooling & Price

[Stephan28]

The title says it all! I'm looking for a good looking case with great cooling (120mm fans), maybe a window, covered drive bays, a removable motherboard tray and a decent price. Show me whatcha got!!! PSU is optional.

Note.....The case doesn't have to have all of that....but the more the better...I'm kinda eyeing the Antec SLK3700AMB but I don't believe it has a removeable tray and I know it doesn't have the window. It does support 120 mm fans!!!

Looking forward to seeing the results!
:beer:

 

[JulesMaximus]

I'm kind of partial to the Lian-Li cases. I have a PC-60 and a PC-52B. I'm currently installing a window kit in the PC-60 but don't have all the parts yet.

The PC-60 is full of thumb screws which is nice. The drive cages are held in by thumb screws along with all the card slots, power supply and the slide out mobo tray. The case comes with two front fans and one rear. The front fans are adjustable to three speed settings by a switch behind the front bezel and there is a flip down panel in the front bezel which houses 4 usb ports. Also, there are no sharp edges inside the case to slice your fingers on.

Oh and it's aluminum, which I think looks much better than the standard biege box.

 

[seismik]

I run a Lian-Li too... but I'm more and more into CoolerMaster cases. Lian-Li's look nice and everything, but they're a little boring. This is the case I'm using to build the next rig:

CoolerMaster Wave Master

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: seismik
I run a Lian-Li too... but I'm more and more into CoolerMaster cases. Lian-Li's look nice and everything, but they're a little boring. This is the case I'm using to build the next rig:

CoolerMaster Wave Master

BEST CASE EVAAAR

 

[Icewind]

That thing is ugly as sin....

 

[seismik]

That thing is ugly as sin....

You prefer what exactly over that? I should have qualified that these are not cheap cases at all, quite the opposite -- but it's a component you can count on to outlive just about everything else inside it.

This is my runner-up Coolermaster ATC-110-SX1

shady, what Coolermaster case are you in?

 

[Corporate Thug]

i'm using the ATC201K-VX1

 

[INemtsev]

Milky has a pretty nice case...never seen it before ...hmmm I think I might get that...hmmm

 

[0roo0roo]

chieftecs. their cooling is always very good. coolermasters/lian li's need blowholes cut it seems. they are slightly prettier and most costly. course its moot if u get water coolin.

 

[Stephan28]

I'm looking at the Antec SLK3700AMB....Has anyone had any experience with these. I just wish the m/b tray slid out and it had a window....

 

[jgluba]

I absolutely fell in love with the Thermaltake Xaser III Cases. They look really cool. They work really hard, with features like 7 Case Fans (with ez clean filter screens ) and swing out panels. Really EZ to get anywhere on these beauties. Also they are ROOMY. Not to mention their nifty variable speed fan control panel that fits in a 5 1/4" bay.

So I've vowed to pick one up at the next chance I get... (they are a bit pricey, though ) At around $135 shipped at few discount shops online...

 

[Budman]

Originally posted by: Stephan28
I'm looking at the Antec SLK3700AMB....Has anyone had any experience with these. I just wish the m/b tray slid out and it had a window....

Very nice case & I love it,I suggest you go out & buy one.

 

[Stephan28]

Originally posted by: Budman

Originally posted by: Stephan28
I'm looking at the Antec SLK3700AMB....Has anyone had any experience with these. I just wish the m/b tray slid out and it had a window....

Very nice case & I love it,I suggest you go out & buy one.

How is the cooling? How do you have yours set up as far as cooling goes? Have you taken temps with the side panel on and off? If you hadn't noticed my primary concern is cooling and noise suppression.

What do you like about the case in particular?

Thanks!

 

[whovous]

For noise suppression, the Antec Sonata with a speed controlled second 120mm fan might be the way to go. Understated good looks, and if it runs noisy, it is something other than the case or its fans. I wound up replacing my HSF with the Zalman 7000 and going with Zalman passive cooling on my video card.

If you are into heavy overclocking this might not work for you, but if major OC is your game, noise suppression may not be a good idea.

 

[Tab]

My next case is the wavemaster

That thing looks insanely awesome, even better with my Antec 350-Watt and a Blue LED Fan in the back

 

[Stephan28]

Originally posted by: Tabb
My next case is the wavemaster

That thing looks insanely awesome, even better with my Antec 350-Watt and a Blue LED Fan in the back

Where can I see it?

 

[BaboonGuy]

this is THE best case. once i get a ton of money i'm buying one, oh and it is THE best cooling you can get for the price.
http://www.xoxide.com/koolpc.html

watercooled goodness. ultimate cooling, ultimate quiet, ultimate sex appeal.

 

[BaboonGuy]

Originally posted by: BaboonGuy
this is THE best case. once i get a ton of money i'm buying one, oh and it is THE best cooling you can get for the price.
http://www.xoxide.com/koolpc.html

watercooled goodness. ultimate cooling, ultimate quiet, ultimate sex appeal.

nm just did a little bit of research on water cooling. apparently this isn't too good, but it looks damn cool.

 

[HiTek21]

I love my Supermicro SC760A . It has plenty of room for upgrades and plenty of cooling options including rear 120mm exhaust fan. Not exactly the best looking case ever built but I love it none the less. I have several case fans and its pretty quiet and stays cool even during this nasty heatwave in CA.

 

[joecool]

Originally posted by: jgluba
I absolutely fell in love with the Thermaltake Xaser III Cases. They look really cool. They work really hard, with features like 7 Case Fans (with ez clean filter screens ) and swing out panels. Really EZ to get anywhere on these beauties. Also they are ROOMY. Not to mention their nifty variable speed fan control panel that fits in a 5 1/4" bay.

So I've vowed to pick one up at the next chance I get... (they are a bit pricey, though ) At around $135 shipped at few discount shops online...

got to second jgluba on this one. i used to have the antec 1040 case, basically the one that everybody copies now (!). I had done a few mod's to it but frankly, it was kind of boring. then i bought an xaserIII - all i can say is WOW! this is one amazing case. they literally thought of just about everything when they put this sucker together. i love the rotated hd's, tool-less hd/cd rails, top-mounted usb/firewire/sound ports, and the hardcano unit (fan controller & temp monitor). the REAL lock with three settings - open full door, open top, lock all - is great, includes a ton of fans PLUS fan filters. on top of it all, despite being pretty pimped out, it actually looks pretty great!

 

[Slapstick]

I have to agree with whovous, the Antec Sonata's are quiet cases. Helped a freind built a PC over the weekend using this case and was so impressed by how quiet it was I went out last night got myself one. Case seems to cool well enough, xp 2100 under load was a few degrees cooler than in the other case, (138 F vs 142 F)
Now I just need a few more of them to finish quieting down my home office.

 

[SuperPickle]

I built a system for my brother with the SLK3700 and absolutely fell in love with it. I bought myself one shortly thereafter. No, it doesn't have a removable tray but with all the removeable drive bays, I found that to be a non-issue. I've had three cases to speak of: the old Alienware hydrolic case, a full tower with two 120 side intakes and two 120 top blowholes and then the SLK3700. As far as case cooling, the SLK beats the crap out of the hydrolic case but the 4-120's are hard to beat (and hard to hear over the noise, even with quiet fans). I fully backup the SLK3800AMB for usability, cooling vs. noise, and cost.

 

[daforce007]

Thermaltake would be nice, if they werent so gaudy. the antec 1040/1080 and all of its clones are nice. I have the Cooler Master ATC-710 which i got for $60 and free shipping from newegg, which is a steal. It was refurbished tho (check their site religiously, they have em in stock once and a while, but not for long) and it was missing a lower HD bracket assembly, drive rails, and some 3mm diameter screws for the mobo and other things but they were easily replaced. you can get the spare parts from www.antec-inc.com . OR since the case is so dang large, its probably better to get a HD cooler and mount the HD in the 5 1/4 slot to make life easier when cabling. plus it came with a window + AMD applique, though i did go the intel route. Its a steel case, with a cooler master designed front bezel, and there is removable mobo tray, but since its so big, i had no troubles workin on it.

 

[KrustyVT]

Originally posted by: Stephan28
The title says it all! I'm looking for a good looking case with great cooling (120mm fans), maybe a window, covered drive bays, a removable motherboard tray and a decent price. Show me whatcha got!!! PSU is optional.

Note.....The case doesn't have to have all of that....but the more the better...I'm kinda eyeing the Antec SLK3700AMB but I don't believe it has a removeable tray and I know it doesn't have the window. It does support 120 mm fans!!!

Looking forward to seeing the results!
:beer:

Thermaltake Xaser III V2000A

-=K=-