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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
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.
While I love NewEgg.com, and while they've never given me any reason to suspect anything, you should be aware that their user feedback policy clearly states that they don't consider the user forums a place for product reviews, and that they reserve the right to remove negative reviews without notice or justification. I'd be sure to check other sites to make sure that the user reviews that made it to NewEgg.com aren't just the good ones.
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.
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.