Which case do you like better? Which is the better deal?

[Salvador]

I'm either looking at this case for $42 shipped at Newegg by Athenatech.

Or..

This case for $44 shipped at Newegg by Foxconn.

I want (need) a basic, but nice looking beige case for some beige drives. Nothing fancy, but quality and not too expensive including shipping.

I see that the Foxconn has a 300w PSU, but I know that all power supplies aren't created equal. Besides, the power supply isn't that critical because it's going to power a XP1800+ system with minimal drives and accessories.

What do you guys think? Anyone have any direct experience with any case? Are there any cases of this type and price range that you'd recommend instead?

TIA,

Sal

 

[Zepper]

Athenatech makes good cases but I'd stay away from the 445 series because they are using L&C PSUs in that series. They were including Sparkle/Fortron's economy line of PSUs in their other mid-tower series.
.bh.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Out of hte two i would pick teh Athenatech.

 

[Salvador]

Athenatech makes good cases but I'd stay away from the 445 series because they are using L&C PSUs in that series. They were including Sparkle/Fortron's economy line of PSUs in their other mid-tower series.

You probably have to spend more for the cases with the Sparkle/Fortron PSU, correct? I guess you get what you pay for.

Which PSU would probably be better though? The 300w in the Foxconn case or the budget PSU in the 445 series case? The 300w PSU in the Foxconn says that it's AMD approved. Even if the Athenatech case is a little nicer, if the Foxconn has a better power supply, I'm going with the Foxconn case.

If I spend any more money on a case, I'm going to buy an Antec case. This was actually going a little over what I wanted to spend. I was looking at picking up a cheap case at ebuyer.com for about $20-$25 shipped with a power supply, but decided to spend a bit more to get something better.

Is there any other case/psu that you could recommend in this price range? Something similar and tasteful (some may call it boring). I'm not looking for something with LED's all over it and plexi side windows.

Thanks again.

Sal

 

[tracerbullet]

I don't know about current setups or anything changing, but I know that in the past - over the last year about - I've built two systems with the black colored version of that foxconn case. One for a coworker, and one for my parents. Both of them have worked fine, the power supply has held fine for at least the last year, and neither was what I'd call noisy. Overall I was reasonably impressed that a decent case didn't cost too much. Never used the Athenatech though, it's probably fine as well.

 

[Zepper]

Also check out the Evercase 4252 series and the Athenatech 747 series. Generally I feel pretty confident about a PSU that has a TUV seal on it but try to avoid L&C PSUs - look for LC in the PSU model no.
. What I did is use newegg's case configurator, chose mid-tower size, no window, $30 - 55 price range. It seems like Foxconn are mainly the ones with free FedEx shipping. But look for ones with TUV seal on PSU and more than 10A on the +12V rail - the +5V rail isn't as important as it used to be so anything 24A or up should do fine. One of the Maxtops early in the list looked pretty good.
. Also check out the user reviews for the cases that interest you, but take with a pinch of salt as there is always a chunk of Ego Equity in people's own choices.
. One or more of the Foxconns are on special for a few more hours.
.bh.

 

[nick1985]

spend $50 and get an aspire X-dreamer

 

[Zepper]

He wants a boring beige box...

.bh.

 

[Salvador]

Switch gears here.. The person requested a black box now. I'm looking at these Raidmax boxes at Newegg. What's your opinions on this one?

Thanks again.

Sal

 

[Rickten]

Originally posted by: Zepper
He wants a boring beige box...

.bh.

good for him. Whats the point of spending tons and tons of money on a case that doesn't do anything that a boring beige can't. There is no point. I don't look at my case, it sits in the corner hidden away on the floor. Case modding with windows and fancy colors and blow holes is rather ridiculous in my opinion.

 

[Zepper]

From reading the user reviews, the Raidmax has thin metal easily damaged in shipping along with flimsy packaging that results in shipping damage much too often. Look at the Powmax, Maxtop or Aspire X-Dreamer II.
.bh.

 

[Salvador]

I did read about potential shipping damage with the Raidmax. I was hoping that it was a more isolated incident though. It is a sharp looking case. Not so much from the distant shot, but when you look at the close up, it looks to be of nice quality.

I will check out those other cases. I like classier looking cases than these riced out cases that look like a Civic with neon lights and a double decker rear wing. I wouldn't have purchased beige if it weren't for the drives that I have to use. Plus, this case isn't even for me. It's for a 60 year old guy that can give a crap about what the case looks like. I just wanted to pick something out that made the computer look like it was something special. IMO, cheap looking cases make everything else look cheap even if you have the best components in the case.

Besides.. Beige cases may be boring, but all beige cases are not the same. I wanted a beige (boring color or not) case that didn't look cheap. Now, I want a black case that doesn't look cheap.

Thanks again.

Sal

 

[Salvador]

Zepper. I just looked at all the cases that you suggested and man, those cases look cheap. I don't know how someone can't see the difference in quality. What you consider not boring, I find trashy looking. Kind of like comparing a stock BMW 3 series to a riced out Civic.

Anyway..

Sal

 

[Zepper]

Well I was trying to find the cheaper cases. If you can go a bit more, look at Enermax, Ahanix Platinum XP w/ or w/o window, or the Athenatech 503 series. Also some not bad looking cases under Codegen and the Super Flower Atlas on directron.com.
.bh.

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: DerwenArtos12
Out of hte two i would pick teh Athenatech.

ditto