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Reviews for PC ATX Cases?
Jason asks: "Well, I am stumped. While there are hundreds of sites for PC case modding -- water cooling, titanium-alloy, pyramids, etc -- there appears to be no sites I can find dedicated to simply reviewing ATX cases. Case manufacturing seems to have come a long way, with many successful vendors (and imitators). Tom's Hardware, Anandtech, et al, might cover an especially significant case here or there -- but where is a general source of information for Luan-Li, Antec, Superflower, Enermax, CaseTek, Inwin, Cooler Master. Geez! They all have their varying price points and obvious style lineations... where can a geek go to get some comprehensive info?" If no specific site has such information, feel free to use this space to make your own reviews of ATX cases. What sites are the best for finding information and/or reviews on the latest PC cases?
http://dansdata.com/altindex.html
this site seems to have user reviews, althoug all the images seem to be broken for me
pc some more
I know that people here seem to hate Tom's Hardware, but this is a
pretty good article:
http://www4.tomshardware.com/howto/20030428/index
-ft
I disagree with you here - a case is very important. With cpus running hotter and hotter everyday, cooling becomes my main concern when building a system these days. I prefer a case that has good airflow - the number of fans isn't important to me, but the design of the case is. For example, I like to be able to see the inside of a case before I buy it, and that includes online. So, if I can't find a good review with good pics, I won't buy. I need to know that the air will flow from the front of the case to a fans in the back. I HATE cases that have fans on the sides or top - it's idiotic to have fans that fight each other, which reduces over all airflow.
Check out Arstechnica.com.
They have a nice page devoted to cases and cooling.
Co-founder and designer at Music Nearby: http://musicnearby.com
While they may not be the most in-depth reviews, NewEgg.com has Amazon.com style forums for each of the cases they sell. I took to the forums and found a case that seemed to be well liked -- it's now sitting in my office and I love it!
seriouslyexcited.net
Well, you were looking for a website that has case reviews - here's two.
I've been using the Supermicro 750A for a long time. It is an awesome case, both in design and size. Bringing it to a lan party is an exercise close in scope to Stonehenge...
What I like about it:
1) Size. It fits 4 hot scsi drives, a floppy, 2 optical drives, and a flash-card reader without a problem.
2) Cooling - plenty of places for cooling fans. And you really don't need to use all of them. I have 4 10kRPM HDs, and I only have 4 case fans used.
3) Solid construction. Buy two and a door, use it as a desk. Stand on the desk. Put 3 21" monitors. No problem. Also, no sharp edges anywhere. I don't think I've cut myself on the metal in the case in 4 years.
4) No stupid windows! Stop the insanity!
What I don't like:
A) I needed a new power supply: the 300W supply that came has been replaced with an Antec Truepower 480W.
B) My version doesn't have a slide-out tray
C) No drive-rail clips.
D) No front mount usb/sound/firewire. I got around that with an internal flash card reader/usb panel
E) expensive and/or discontinued.
My friend recently bought an Antec full tower with a locking front (pesky kids!). That is a nice case -almost as big, drives mount on rails, front usb and firewire, Antec truepower 430W ps, pewter grey color, and 2 extra leds for an internal lan or whatever. It cost $129 at Frys. Just don't drop it on your foot.
No, I don't trust in god. He'll have to pay up front, like everybody else.
I know cases are dirt cheap nowadays, and Coolermasters are a bit expensive, but you get what you pay for: great looks, great performance, and great construction. No matter what, I reccomend going with an aluminum case. The difference in weight is well worth it if you ever move it around. Another thing you get with better cases is a slide-out motherboard tray, which makes installations and upgrades a breeze.
Go browse for cases at http://www.jinco.com
They've got all kinds of stuff there.
Don't have reviews, but they tend to have enough specs and sometimes all the pictures you could possibly want.
95% of ATX cases have replaceable backplates, so when I deal with a deviant motherboard like an Abit NF7-S (not that I'd deal with an Abit-anything, but it's the first thing that came to mind with a weird I/O bracket), I know that 1.) There will be a proper bracket for it in the box with the motherboard and that 2.) replacing that bracket is only marginally more complicated than removing the metal shields behind the unused 5.25" bays on most computer cases.
-- I wanna decide who lives and who dies - Crow T. Robot, MST3K
Although I agree that sometimes there isn't a lot of reviews about non-specialized cases out there, it's also worth noting that the case you use is very much specific to your needs. I mean unlike motherboards, RAM, drives, etc, sometimes you have certain size restrictions, power requirements, or certain features (such as front USB ports) that are common among motherboards, but not all cases. Sure, other components do have different features when compared to one another, but you tend to see more drastic differences in cases.
I've always hit up the manufacturers websites to get all the information I need in choosing a case for a particular rig. Online retailers are usually handy for getting some snapshots of cases you are interested in. If you're not seeking maximum airflow or some watercooling setup, then it really comes down to a few things:
1. Will it hold all the drives you need?
2. Can it supply enough power for your system?
3. Is it going to fit under your desk?
4. Do you mind slicing your hand open to save $30?
The last one is obviously a reference to no-name cases - they'll work just as good as an Antec or Enlight case with a good power supply, but you may also shed some blood in the process. Having a good quality power supply is what usually makes or breaks a general use case, as long as it meets your other requirements.
That being said, I'm particularly fond of Antec's Performance and Solution series cases. They're just as good as an el-cheapo case at holding everything in, but you get nice features like removable drive cages and rails for all of your external devices. Plus a good quality power supply that will actually last a few years. I'm rocking an Antec SX1040B right now, which is absolutely humongous, but holds my slew of hard disks and 5.25" devices.
Get over it. Go find some cheapass case. Almost all of them have nice rolled edges these days. SAve the money for more RAM, a good power supply, better motherboard, etc. It's a case.
Depends on what you consider a cheap case. I'm assuming you're talking $30-50, in which case I would disagree. I usually spend around $80-120 for a case. The last three cases I've bought were all Antec (SX830, SX635, SX1040). All three cases use basically the same design with a few differences here and there. The side doors swing open easilly. The mounting mechanism for the 5.25" drives allows for sliding them out easilly with a screwdriver. The 3.5" drive bay can be removed with a screwdriver. The power supplies are good quality. Plenty of space in the bigger cases, and fans can be swapped in and out without tools. Very easy to work on, though no mobo tray. Since all 3 cases are similar, swapping parts in and out between the three is easy.
Do you really need that many fans?
Cooling is important, yes. One advantage of having a lot of fans, is you can use many quiet fans, and have a lot of airflow with less noise.
Does it matter how easy it is to swap a motherboard?
None of my cases have a motherboard tray. I've swapped motherboards a few times, and it is a pain, and I always wished that I had a motherboard tray.
Again, if you spend some money on motherboard, far less often than with your gee-whiz case.
Most of my cases cost about the same as the motherboard I put in them. I think this a very important place to spend money, especially if you swap parts around a lot and do a lot of upgrades. You don't have to spend $300 on one, but don't totally cheap out either. Same goes for fans and heatsink; you're going to have to listen to the noise they produce, so buy accordingly. Most of these components can be reused and don't become obsolete as easilly as the actual PC components.