Suggestion on cheap black/silver case for newbie please

[HamboGirl]

I know that "which case should I get" topic comes out every day, but I can't seem to find one fits what I am looking for.

I got a black LCD and a black/silver keyboard and mouse (Logitech freedom). I am kind of tire of the whole plan beige look on most of the cases and am trying to look for something that looks cooler.

The problem is, I already got a beige CD-RW drive and I am planning to get a slot pioneer DVD drive (so I can't get the case with just a panel on the tray to cover on the white).

I am not looking to spend too much (hopefully around or under $100 with PS and fan and shipping) so the nice aluminum cases are out of my league.

I really like how the IMP 4000look but white drives look pretty bad w/ the silver case. I also heard that you can't just take a side off to open it. I was also looking at Hydraulic SF860B because the cover can hide the ugly drives, but there was another posting that said it had ventilation problems.


Can you experts please offer me some suggestions please? And also where I can get it at a good price.

Juse in case it's important, here is what I plan to have:

EPoX EP-8KHA+ and shipping
Western Digital 100GB 8MB buffer Special Edition 12.5 shipping
ATI All in wonder Radeon 32MB
2 x 256 MB DDR SDRAM
PIONEER 106 16X DVD


Thanks for the help

 

[HamboGirl]

I am looking for a mid-tower btw

 

[LoneWolf1]

If you're willing to spend a little more, you might want to look into an Antec SX1040B. Look around and you should be able to find a lot better deal than what Directron is offering. Another option would be to take a look thru this thread.

 

[HamboGirl]

I see that a lot. looks pretty hot. but it's a little taller (doesn't quite fit under my desk) and little more expensive than what I am looking for. Thanks though.

Painting the drives sounds like an idea. I am no artist or anything though... is that safe?

 

[SWScorch]

look around Directron; they have an entire section devoted to just black cases. The hydraulic cases are fairly decent cases; I have the Fong Kai FK-320 myself and simply adore it.

 

[HamboGirl]

Those black cases look nice.

Is there any non-beige case that doesn't look too bad with beige drives?

I am trying to avoid painting the drives.

 

[FlowerMan]

I say just buy a decent Antec/Enermax SX series case, then sand it to the bare metal with a nice finish. Then get some Black Rust-Oleum paints and clear coats to paint some of it black Painted my bro's SX830 to a Black Metallic finish. Stupid a$$ put his CDR spindle on top and now there's a permanent (until I fix it) ring on top :|

 

[Udimet720]

I bought this case from Total PC Etc. and I have been pretty happy with it. My only real gripe is that it is a bit small if you have a lot of stuff (i.e. 3 cd-drives). But, it sounds like it might work well for your purposes. It has a 320W Channel Well PSU and the MB tray comes out.

But, I did paint my drives black. It made it look a lot nicer.

Also, I does come in a beige that's not too shabby. But, I couldn't find it on their website anymore.

Hope that helps.

 

[ThatDumbGuy]

Just take the faces off your drives and spraypaint them with glossy black. Worked great for me, just make sure you take off LED lights and buttons if you can, and in the case of slot load, that you don't get paint on the bristle/brush thingies.

 

[Steppy]

Go to colorcase.com

They have the imt4000 case(which I own and love) for 20 bucks cheaper than directron, and MANY MANY other cases to choose from.

 

[HamboGirl]

So sounds like there is no way around it unless i paint the drives.

I guess I'll just have to buy a cheap beige one and hide it under my desk. I really don't know how to paint the drives and really don't trust myself to try it either.

 

[HamboGirl]

Steppy,

What color drives do you have? How does it look when you put the drives in? Do you like IMP 4000? What don't you like about it? How easy is it to get inside the case? (do you have to slide open the entire thing or can you just open one side?) How's cooling?

thanks

 

[metalhawk]

I agree with others about the Antec 10XX series. You can get the 300W version in black shipped from emscomputing for 96 bucks or so, which hits your target ok. The Fong Kai F320 that someone mentioned is on sale for $90 shipped, fedex saver right now at newegg, which is a pretty good deal too. I can understand the height problem, I am getting the Antec, but it is not going to fit correctly where I have my current case...). the Fong Kai is just as tall unfortunately.

I had no luck finding something that I liked, that had a door to cover the drives, had enough bays (I want at least 8) AND was 17" tall, so I gave up on the height restriction

Good luck

Rob