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Stumped on Case choice...requirements listed

S

shredman

Member
I'd like to get a case and I have some specific requirements and desires. There are tons of choices out there and I'd like to draw from the experience here on this board.

My Lanboy has been good ( a little loud) but I need to get a case with a door to keep my new son from pushing the buttons all the time....so the door has to cover all the drives and reset/power buttons etc...the USB connector can be exposed. I also have an Audigy platinum so the door needs to be deep enough to close over the drive bay buttons.

Here is my requirements list:
1) Sturdy door w/Lock to cover all drive bays and switches besides USB, FW, Audio, panel
2) I'd like to keep it less than $130
3) Quiet case (noise dampening walls would be nice) 120mm fans preferred
4) COOL - I've read that the Shark is the coolest ??
5) Mid tower to full tower (ext 2x3.5" 4X5.25")
6) lighter is better....I had an Antec 1080 server case before and it was SOOO Heavy to work with
7) Not too wild looking....it has to go into an armoire in my office in the front room of my house

My research thus far comes up with:
Antec P180 (2nd rev for stronger door) ~$125
- is the new door strong enough?

GB Aurora ~$140
- spacious, good looking, door seems good, any word on temps??? and kinda pricey$$$

Thermaltake Tsunami ~$105
- I've heard the door is flimsy???
- noise and temps??

Thermaltake Shark ~$170
- very cool temps - the review I read said the door blocked the HDD fan intake and HD temps were high...was this fixed?...any comment??

Lian-Li PC 6070Aplus ~$160
- does this front door lock with all buttons inside?
-sound insulated foam sounds quiet??

My budget only allows for p180, Tsunami or Aurora really....
 
yep flimsy door on tsunami, wont be too child proof even if u locked it (it may bend the bezel)

not too noisy, but p180 is well worth the extra cash over the tsunami.. good temps in tsunami

tsuanmi is very light, my enermax psu weighs as much as the case itself...

antec p180 afaik is heavy
 
P180 has the new door out now, no more problems with door warping. Door is as strong as the rest of the case, made of al/plastic/al
 
Thanks for the inputs so far guys. The lian-li's look nice except they don't have a door which is #1 on my list of requirements.
 
Someone is selling a PC=70 here for 120 shipped. 😀 Go check out the FS/FT forums.

Also, instead of using the thumbscrews for the doors, use normal screws--child proof 🙂
 
pkme2, I agree, the Lian Li PCV1100 is a nice case, but it is also ~$225 plus shipping! Good suggestion on the regular screws...I'm really only worried about the front though since it will be inside an armoire.
 
Those are very good cases that G-Y linked, but they have awful shipping costs. Unf. IDK where else to buy 'em. They are a variant of the Athenatech 800 series cases: http://www.athenatech.us - Newegg used to carry 'em under another Athena brand name (AGPB). Very similar to the Enermax CS-10182 which newegg does carry. These aren't super light either, but they are mainly 0.8mm metal so perhaps not quite as heavy.

AOpen Nouveau (Al.) or Impression (steel) Linkage You can probably find them for less as Newegg doesn't do that well on case prices in general. OTOH, they include decent Fortron PSUs, so maybe the price isn't that bad.

The Chenbro SR-10568 at http://www.ewiz.com (get there via a Froogle search for the best price) is another option. Once again not too light, but Chenbro-sturdy with a locking door. Need to rig your own audio ports but that's not too hard with cables from http://www.frontx.com or other methods.

Also check out the MGE Titanium (or Quantum = black version) at Directron etc.

.bh.
 
P180 out of the ones you listed. Is VERY heavy though. New door is waaaay better than the original. Also dampens sound better.
 
I recently bought the GB Aurora(no side window) and I gotta say: it's probably the best case I've ever owned...keeps cool and is plenty spacious...plus the side panel and front panel door have locks.
 
Clever, Narf and welcome to the AT Forums, but I don't think the Mods will let that nick stand. This is a public forum with a relatively conservative image ('cept for the looney-tunes in OT and P&N) - don't know whatchyer was thinkin'...

.bh.
 
Thanks for all the inputs thus far. The server case looked pretty cool...I'm going to research that some more. The AOPEN case linked to has the power button outside the door enclosure so no good...but nice looking case for sure. Moving the power button is definitely an option as suggested but I'd like to avoid it if possible.

Any more comments on the GB Aurora? Noise levels and cooling would be the type of feedback I'm looking for. Also, is the p180 pretty quiet if I used yate loons?
 
Originally posted by: shredman
Thanks for all the inputs thus far. The server case looked pretty cool...I'm going to research that some more. The AOPEN case linked to has the power button outside the door enclosure so no good...but nice looking case for sure. Moving the power button is definitely an option as suggested but I'd like to avoid it if possible.

Any more comments on the GB Aurora? Noise levels and cooling would be the type of feedback I'm looking for. Also, is the p180 pretty quiet if I used yate loons?
Click to expand...

if you used Yate Loons in a P180, then the concern for noise would move to CPU cooler, VGA cooler or PSU. i switched to Panaflows and the loudest thing for me was my 7800GT and my old Antec SP2.0 500w.

my solution was to lower the fan speed of the video card with RivaTuner and switch to a Seasonic S12 PSU.
 
There are other ways around exposed power buttons (other than remote switches) if the case is otherwise suitable. You can leave the buttons disconnected (perhaps you could leave the reset button connected if it couldn't be accidentally (or on purpose) pressed by small fingers, i.e. is recessed, and use the keyboard power-on function (some mobos require a jumper to be set as well as the BIOS setting). Most of them allow you to set a Hotkey combo that would need to be pressed to start the computer and some allow two ways: a hotkey combo, or a password.

And here is another case to consider: S6000. It is the same as the Silverstone Berserker that I reviewed here except for cosmetic details. It will need one of these or similar to provide front ports. A great case for using the shoestring HDD suspension method while leaving lots of other 5" bays for other purposes.

.bh.
 
Zepper, that S6000 case is interesting - Im going to read your review of the berserker. As far as the power switch and stuff, I think I really need the door because of the DVD eject buttons, my audigy 2 front panel etc....
 
Yes, I'm sure you'll still need the locking door, but if the power button and/or reset button are stupidly located outside the door, then using the kbd pwr on trick will widen the field for you, e.g. the aluminum AOpen Noveau would become an option and not just the steel Impression.

Looks like XOxide.com still has some Berserker in stock if you like the style better. Heck, I didn't know XOxide was in Pennsylvania. That's right next door to me - could save me on shipping. I'll have to check their site more often.

.bh.
 
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