PC case recommendation

Jon McGuffin · November 21st, 2008, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy Tejral

I got me a Antec P182. Lots of space and is extremely quiet (very important for me). I bought it from Amazon--free shipping.

All I have to say is that I've been buidling computers for almost 20 years... I own a Antec P182 and it is BY FAR the best case I've ever seen..... This case should *seriously* be on your radar... I would pass over all others... honestly..

Jon

Andriy Pryymachenko · November 22nd, 2008, 02:39 PM

What would you guys choose:
CM HAF932 or CM CosmosS?

Jeff Anselmo · November 22nd, 2008, 10:27 PM

Hi Jon,

Thanks for your advice! I was hoping you'd chime in and lend me your much needed 2 cents :)

I'm going to wait until after the new year to make the upgrade. For one, I'm hoping to get some money during the holidays; and second, I'm hoping I'd get a good deal on the Intel i7 CPUs. (Hope to get 'em down low enough to buy a matching mobo :)

Also, would you mind terribly if I email you with my PC laundry list, so you could comment on them?

Thanks again Jon!

Jeff Harper · November 22nd, 2008, 11:37 PM

i7 processors are now $599 at Newegg, and Gigabyte has an appropriate MOBO for under $300. It's the memory that will kill ya., DDR3 is all you can run with those MOBOs.

Chris Soucy · November 23rd, 2008, 12:27 AM

Well, according to this web site:

Cooler Master - Ultimate provider of Computer Chassis | Cooler | Power Supply

the CM Stacker that I have is still available (tho' whether I really believe that is another matter).

Depending on what sort of beast you are thinking of creating, still feel it's the bees knees if you want to "go large".

For the first time in over 2 years I have had to work on my beast - just adding the originally supplied (additional) rear panel USB and Firewire ports, it's a gem to work on and in.

Cannot believe just how much crap had built up on the internals in the intervening time tho' - the CPU cooler was a solid block of crud, took ages with a fine brush and vacuum cleaner to free it up again.

Not a case issue, I hasten to add, just what happens when you have a machine with this much fan power running nearly 24/7 for well over 2 years and not a jot of maintenace.

I am firmly of the belief that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

Good luck in you quest.

CS

James Harring · November 23rd, 2008, 07:02 AM

Just throwing this out, as it might not have been considered yet -- a rackmount case.
iStarUSA D-407PL is an example.

Also consider "iStarUSA BPN-350SAS-Black 3x5.25" to 5x3.5" SATA/SAS Trayless Hot-Swap Backplane RAID Cage " This allows five drives in the space designed for three. Also supports SAS drives. Despite the not so glowing reviews on newegg dot com, I've been running it and not seen the heat issues they are complaining about. However, it's a bit nosier than I would like. Supermicro makes a similar version if you're put off by user comments about IStar.

Damon Gaskin · November 23rd, 2008, 05:55 PM

You may also want to consider the Antec 1200. Huge tower case that is very affordable. I currently in my 900 have 8 drives(6 harddrives and two burners), RTX2 HD and full length gpu. The 1200 is much larger and has even more space. Because it is longer, if you decide you wanted to do say Crossfire, SLI or editing cards, etc, you would not have to edit the case at all. The downside to these cases like most other quality cases is that they weigh like 50 lbs when fully assembled. But for the price and what you get, it really can't be beat. The only thing close IMHO is one of the nicer Lan Lai towers with wheels.

You also have full fan control on the actual case, and the cooling to say "cold" is an underestimation! Nothing has ever gotten hot in my case and I only run the fans on medium. The 1200 is the evolution of the 900 with a few extra twists!

Good luck in your decision....

Jon McGuffin · November 23rd, 2008, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Anselmo

Hi Jon,

Thanks for your advice! I was hoping you'd chime in and lend me your much needed 2 cents :)

I'm going to wait until after the new year to make the upgrade. For one, I'm hoping to get some money during the holidays; and second, I'm hoping I'd get a good deal on the Intel i7 CPUs. (Hope to get 'em down low enough to buy a matching mobo :)

Also, would you mind terribly if I email you with my PC laundry list, so you could comment on them?

Thanks again Jon!

Absolutely, I do think it makes some sense to hold off for i7... For an application like video rendering the horsepower offered by that processor/platform should be worth the added expense...

Jon

Joel Davis · November 24th, 2008, 09:56 PM

Another vote for the Antec, i just built up a new PC using one of these cases, very stylish looking and super quiet once I swapped my standard cpu & vga coolers for aftermarket ones. Its hard to believe I have 7 fans running in this case!

November 22nd, 2008, 10:27 PM	#18
Jeff Anselmo Major Player Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: New Mexico Posts: 566	Hi Jon, Thanks for your advice! I was hoping you'd chime in and lend me your much needed 2 cents :) I'm going to wait until after the new year to make the upgrade. For one, I'm hoping to get some money during the holidays; and second, I'm hoping I'd get a good deal on the Intel i7 CPUs. (Hope to get 'em down low enough to buy a matching mobo :) Also, would you mind terribly if I email you with my PC laundry list, so you could comment on them? Thanks again Jon! __________________ --JA

November 23rd, 2008, 12:27 AM	#20
Chris Soucy Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fairfield, Dunedin, New Zealand Posts: 3,682 Images: 18	Hi Andriy....... Well, according to this web site: Cooler Master - Ultimate provider of Computer Chassis \| Cooler \| Power Supply the CM Stacker that I have is still available (tho' whether I really believe that is another matter). Depending on what sort of beast you are thinking of creating, still feel it's the bees knees if you want to "go large". For the first time in over 2 years I have had to work on my beast - just adding the originally supplied (additional) rear panel USB and Firewire ports, it's a gem to work on and in. Cannot believe just how much crap had built up on the internals in the intervening time tho' - the CPU cooler was a solid block of crud, took ages with a fine brush and vacuum cleaner to free it up again. Not a case issue, I hasten to add, just what happens when you have a machine with this much fan power running nearly 24/7 for well over 2 years and not a jot of maintenace. I am firmly of the belief that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Good luck in you quest. CS

November 23rd, 2008, 07:02 AM	#21
James Harring Major Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 210	Alternative case - rack mountable Just throwing this out, as it might not have been considered yet -- a rackmount case. iStarUSA D-407PL is an example. Also consider "iStarUSA BPN-350SAS-Black 3x5.25" to 5x3.5" SATA/SAS Trayless Hot-Swap Backplane RAID Cage " This allows five drives in the space designed for three. Also supports SAS drives. Despite the not so glowing reviews on newegg dot com, I've been running it and not seen the heat issues they are complaining about. However, it's a bit nosier than I would like. Supermicro makes a similar version if you're put off by user comments about IStar.

November 24th, 2008, 09:56 PM	#24
Joel Davis New Boot Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 19	Antec P182 Another vote for the Antec, i just built up a new PC using one of these cases, very stylish looking and super quiet once I swapped my standard cpu & vga coolers for aftermarket ones. Its hard to believe I have 7 fans running in this case!

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November 22nd, 2008, 02:39 PM	#17
Andriy Pryymachenko New Boot Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Kœnugarðar Posts: 6	What would you guys choose: CM HAF932 or CM CosmosS?

November 22nd, 2008, 11:37 PM	#19
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	i7 processors are now $599 at Newegg, and Gigabyte has an appropriate MOBO for under $300. It's the memory that will kill ya., DDR3 is all you can run with those MOBOs.

November 23rd, 2008, 05:55 PM	#22
Damon Gaskin Major Player Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Auburn Hills, USA Posts: 217	You may also want to consider the Antec 1200. Huge tower case that is very affordable. I currently in my 900 have 8 drives(6 harddrives and two burners), RTX2 HD and full length gpu. The 1200 is much larger and has even more space. Because it is longer, if you decide you wanted to do say Crossfire, SLI or editing cards, etc, you would not have to edit the case at all. The downside to these cases like most other quality cases is that they weigh like 50 lbs when fully assembled. But for the price and what you get, it really can't be beat. The only thing close IMHO is one of the nicer Lan Lai towers with wheels. You also have full fan control on the actual case, and the cooling to say "cold" is an underestimation! Nothing has ever gotten hot in my case and I only run the fans on medium. The 1200 is the evolution of the 900 with a few extra twists! Good luck in your decision....