What to look for when buying a case?

[Amanda85]

1.What are factors/criterias to consider when buying a case besides price and esthetics?
2. What's the difference between internal and external 3.5" slots? Both specs are actually referring to (literally) internal ones, right?
3. What are the different kinds of current form factors (ATX, microATX, BTX etc.)? Is the plain ATX the most common one?

 

[Talcite]

there's ease to work with, airflow, sound dampening, and just quality of construction (0.5mm steel vs 1mm steel). ATX is the most common format. microATX is pretty popular too.

Yeah, external ones just mean you can access them if you remove the front panel cover.

There's also whether the case comes with a PSU or not. I'd say get one that doesn't come with a PSU, so you can pick your own. It works out to be a bit more expensive though.

 

[Lord Evermore]

I still don't know how to buy a case online. I just ordered a bunch of parts and finally decided to just keep my current Antec case and get a new PSU, because the case is still nice, just broke the front USB ports. I just spend all that time looking at every single case, trying to judge the build quality and esthetics and guess whether I'd actually like working in it and if I'd like it under my desk. Cases are something I need to see in person. I have bought a few online, but it was after seeing one in real life or after very detailed reviews were available. There just aren't that many case reviews considering how many options there are, and they all focus on overly expensive cases, or odd flashy cases.

 

[George Powell]

Many cases now also have front panel audio/usb/firewire ports. The placement of these can be quite important, many cases have them at the bottom of the case, which is annoying if you put the case on the floor for instance, but great if it sits on a desk.

When I first built my own rig I got one of the cheapest cases I could, after cutting myself dozens of times and getting really pissed off with it I moved onto a Lian Li mini tower which was great.

The best case I've ever worked with is the Lian Li PC777 snail case, which I have now. It's very spacious inside and the shape makes routing cables very easy.

 

[EvanAdams]

After buying a gigantic chaintech and being every unhapy with it I would ALWAYS look for a motherboard tray that comes out.

 

[Mellman]

look no more...

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=140138


its all up to you, if you want a cool computer, AND a quiet one, this is the case that'll do that...

if you want flashy things and dont mind screaming fans, any other case will do...but really it only matters what looks good to YOU.

 

[Lord Evermore]

Bleh, I hate doors on cases. And when you take them off, they look awful.

 

[Okasa]

lian-li <-- the ferraris of cases(expensive and come with no psu), light, almuminum and heat conductivity, good airflow and easy to install design.
antecs <--great design, usually steel, come with good psus

there are other good ones, but i dont know then as well so i wont mention them half-a$$ed

 

[Amanda85]

Originally posted by: Lord Evermore
Bleh, I hate doors on cases. And when you take them off, they look awful.

I couldn't agree More. Thanks for the feedback, guys.

 

[Ika]

Originally posted by: Okasa
lian-li <-- the ferraris of cases(expensive and come with no psu), light, almuminum and heat conductivity, good airflow and easy to install design.
antecs <--great design, usually steel, come with good psus

there are other good ones, but i dont know then as well so i wont mention them half-a$$ed

Silverstone ~ Lian-Li
Coolermaster (possibly not so much, now)
Thermaltake (a bit of an iffy, but they've gotten a lot better)

Really, though, all cases are different, and some are [a lot] better than others.

 

[netguru42]

1. airflow, sound dampening, placement and number of drive bays, placement of front panel connectors (USB, audio, firewire), and aesthetics.

2. External 3.5" are for floppy drives/card readers/etc. that are accessible from outside of the case. Internal are for hard drives, mainly.

3. ATX is the standard for towers, while MicroATX is standard for HTPCs (Home Theatre PCs) and SFF (Small Form Factor) PCs. BTX and it's derivatives are mainly Intel-only, designed for better airflow to cool their old ridiculously hot Pentium 4s.

I would personally recommend that you stay away from BTX. It hasn't been embraced by very many manufacturers, and seems to be a gimmick from Intel more than anything.

I would have a look at the Antec Solo case. It is designed for excellent airflow and quiet operation, has plenty of drive bays, and good front panel connections. You will have to purchase a PSU separately, but as someone already mentioned, that's probably for the better.

 

[Amanda85]

Originally posted by: netguru42
I would have a look at the Antec Solo case. It is designed for excellent airflow and quiet operation, has plenty of drive bays, and good front panel connections. You will have to purchase a PSU separately, but as someone already mentioned, that's probably for the better.

That was exactely the one that caught my eye yesterday at Fry's. I already own the PSU. One more reason to go for it

 

[corkyg]

Everyone has their own specs and demands for a case. I always recommend first hand touch and feel in a store before buying. My personal specs would include:

1. Full tower; 2. Aluminum; 3. 5 external 5.25 drive bays; 4. 2 external 3.5 drive bays; 5. Internal drive cages for 4 HDDs; 6. Front panel USB and Firewire ports; 7. Good cooling fans and airflow.

Esthetics and eyewash are very secondary as it will reside on the floor under my desk.

 

[bruceb]

Go have a look at Compusa if there is one in your area ... they have
a wide selection of cases from most makers on dsiplay ... this way
you can get a feel for build quality, look & interior roominess / accessibilty

 

[lamere]

Originally posted by: Okasa
lian-li <-- the ferraris of cases(expensive and come with no psu), light, almuminum and heat conductivity, good airflow and easy to install design.
antecs <--great design, usually steel, come with good psus

there are other good ones, but i dont know then as well so i wont mention them half-a$$ed

All the reviews I have read in lian-li cases said the airflow was a problem, due to thier odd nature of design.
All of them.

 

[Noubourne]

Antec's new P150 has some features of the P180. Not as good for airflow, but close in accoustics, and better than most cases. No door.

I personally think the cooling is more important than whether or not there's a door, but to each his own.

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: lamere

Originally posted by: Okasa
lian-li <-- the ferraris of cases(expensive and come with no psu), light, almuminum and heat conductivity, good airflow and easy to install design.
antecs <--great design, usually steel, come with good psus

there are other good ones, but i dont know then as well so i wont mention them half-a$$ed

All the reviews I have read in lian-li cases said the airflow was a problem, due to thier odd nature of design.
All of them.

Links?

This Review makes no mention of that.

 

[lamere]

I was specificlly looking for a cooler and a quiter case. The Lian-li's looks sweet but looks can be decieving.
Some of thier cases ARE very nice with good cooling and quietness in mind so I'm not going to say they suck, but they are quite expensive. Some of the cases I was specificly looking at are here, and these are the bad reviews I was pointing to.
Keep in mind I did come across some good reviews of lian li cases, but unfortunatly they weren't the ones I was looking at.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article632-page7.html

http://www.onepc.net/index.php?view=docs&doc_id=157&page=4

http://www.virtual-hideout.net/reviews/lianli_pc800/index.shtml

http://www.nvnews.net/reviews/lianli_v1000plus/page_3.shtml

http://reviews.pimprig.com/cases/lian-li_pc-767_btx_case.php?page=4

 

[Powermoloch]

you can't go wrong with a centurion 5 :thumbsup:

 

[Baked]

120mm fans, front and back.

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: lamere
I was specificlly looking for a cooler and a quiter case. The Lian-li's looks sweet but looks can be decieving.
Some of thier cases ARE very nice with good cooling and quietness in mind so I'm not going to say they suck, but they are quite expensive. Some of the cases I was specificly looking at are here, and these are the bad reviews I was pointing to.
Keep in mind I did come across some good reviews of lian li cases, but unfortunatly they weren't the ones I was looking at.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article632-page7.html

http://www.onepc.net/index.php?view=docs&doc_id=157&page=4

http://www.virtual-hideout.net/reviews/lianli_pc800/index.shtml

http://www.nvnews.net/reviews/lianli_v1000plus/page_3.shtml

http://reviews.pimprig.com/cases/lian-li_pc-767_btx_case.php?page=4

Great, thanks, interesting reads. Though I'm not sure the NVNews link supports what you are saying, the others do. I did not even consider those other cases which is probably why I did not encounter those particular reviews.

 

[lamere]

That was one that said it wasn't ideal for quiet situations, I think that was just me being picky though

 

[Amanda85]

Are sensitive ears able to hear a difference between a Cooler Master Centurion 5 and an Antec Solo?
(w/o 120mm fans, both with Thermaltake 500W PSU)

 

[lamere]

Depends how sensitive your ears are

It really comes down to air flow vs.decibals and RPM. You want to move as much air as possible while being quiet also. Some fans claim to be REALLY quiet, but they're not moving any air. There's always a trade off somewhere.

 

[Amanda85]

I don't use any case fans. These are the only fans I use:
Intel C2D Retail Fan (will be replaced by a silent fan)
IceQ 3
Thermaltake PSU fan

I'm pondering whether the superior noise reduction of the Solo is worth the $50 surcharge. I'm really picky when it comes to noise