What is the difference between cases?

[alent1234]

I'm looking to buy a stripped down case and install my own PS and fans. Is there any difference in the cheapo cases on ebay and an Antec or another brand name case?

 

[grrl]

It all depends upon who makes the case. I wouldn't expect to find many bargains on eBay though.

 

[Zepper]

Quality, materials, appearance, features. That's about it...
. Take a look at the Antec SLK3700AMB/ Compucase 6A19 (twins under the skin) and you will see my idea of a great basic design. Note the hard drive noise damper bushings. Note the 12cm front and rear fan mounts. Drop by http://www.coolcases.com for more info. The Evercase 42x2 series is another good example - high on SilentPCReview.com's list of "quiet to begin with" cases. Note Maximum PC's recent review of the Marauder PC (August issue) - that's a GC 4292 (Evercase says the GC stands for Gamer's Case, but I say it's for Garish Colors ) on the cover. But the Marauder company apparently doesn't know their stuff. They didn't use the (optional, but only a $1.75 from Evercase) HD vibe dampers (but it was quiet anyway!). Nor did they tweak the system for stability prior to shipping it out (probably would have just needed a RAM voltage adjustment)... Stay away from Marauder!
. For an example of a near-perfect, high-end feature set, see the Kingwin 424 series. And it's made of aluminum so it will be easy to graunch the fan mounts out to 12cm...

.bh.

Where's the :sun: ?

 

[Treyshadow]

yes, there is a difference.

Antec cases tend to be extremely sturdy. Built out of thicker material, and pretty good tolerances. The cheaper the case, the more they neglect the little points. Things to look for are

Removable motherboard trays
Removeable Hard drive enclosures
Slide in drives rather than screwed into the case
The way the power supply mounts (some power supplies have fans in the bottom and the case has you mount them reverse so the fan is on top and whining)
USB/Sound/Firewire ports on the front of the case
Dust protecting fan grill covers built into the case
Aluminum chassis (very light)

Cases with these options or even some of them make the case more expensive, but easier to work with. If you intend on just closing up the case and putting the computer in the corner, then no issues with any case, but if you don't or you attend LANs, spend the extra money on a quality case