can't decide on a case

[jack bauer]

Have a list of cases I like, but can't decide which one. I want something with at least 2 fans (quiet if possible), side window, and aluminum. Here are some I had in mind:



Antec Performance I P-160W Silver 1.2mm Anodized Aluminum ATX

Thermaltake Tsunami mid tower ATX

Lian Li PC-65 USB B2 Silver Computer Case With Side Panel Window


As you can see from the replies, I have edited this so I wouldn't have to make a new topic. I narrowed it down between these 3. I hear they all have their faults. I like the tsunami bu I hear it does not have a removable mobo section and is cramped for a good psu. the lian li is a bit priced but looks great. wish it had door. and the antec, i hear they have usb and fan problems. need help. will not spend over 130 for a case.

 

[Operandi]

CoolerMaster Praetorian PAC-T01

 

[cleverhandle]

The Lian Li PC6x series is a classic for a reason - they're beautiful cases, well constructed, with good airflow, and easy to work in. That case has been in production almost unchanged for well over 5 years now. I've seen the Centurion and the P160 too, and they're certainly nice cases as well, but it's hard to knock a PC6x IMO.

 

[palindrome]

Thermaltake Tsunami
120mm exhaust fan, lots of room and looks freakin' awesome. I've always had plenty of room for everything and room to hide wires. Trust me, I have LOTS of stuff crammed in here. Audigy 2 plat, 3 hdds, 2 dvdrws, audigy faceplate, cpu fan controller, floppy drive, x800xt aiw with zalman hs/f and more. There is also a 120mm fan clip for an intake fan in front of the hdds. Overall a great case!

 

[essasin]

my vote goes to lian li

 

[jack bauer]

Originally posted by: cleverhandle
The Lian Li PC6x series is a classic for a reason - they're beautiful cases, well constructed, with good airflow, and easy to work in. That case has been in production almost unchanged for well over 5 years now. I've seen the Centurion and the P160 too, and they're certainly nice cases as well, but it's hard to knock a PC6x IMO.

But I heard the 4 80mm fans can by quite loud. Is this preventable?

 

[pkme2]

My 3 latest builds have been Lian-Li's.

The design, construction and practicality of the LLs were impressive and those were my reasons to use them.

I'm very satisfied with my choice. If you get one, you'll know what makes them great. Good hunting!

 

[Zepper]

The Kingwin and Centurion are not ALL aluminum - just the bezels. Directron.com is the place to go for all aluminum case for reasonable $$s: Beantech Igloo for one and some of the SuperFlower/Directron rebadges of same. But from what you listed, I'd go with the Kingwin or the Tt Viking.

.bh.

 

[palindrome]

The TT Tsunami is all aluminum. It also isn't as blocky aesthetically as the LL's tend to be. If for no other reason, get it for the all aluminum and the 120mm fan slots in the front and back. The case includes one in the back, but i recommend getting another for the front.

 

[996GT2]

Originally posted by: palindrome
The TT Tsunami is all aluminum. It also isn't as blocky aesthetically as the LL's tend to be. If for no other reason, get it for the all aluminum and the 120mm fan slots in the front and back. The case includes one in the back, but i recommend getting another for the front.

The fans on my friend's Tsunami Dream are actually quite loud, so you may want to look into that and see if you need to get aftermarket (i.e. Nexus) fans.

BTW the Tsunami Dream includes fans for both the front, back, and side, but IDK about the regular Tsunami.

 

[palindrome]

The Tsunami has a 120mm led blue in the back, a non-led 120mm in the front and an 80 on the side. The case can be easily modded to include another 80 or 90mm on the top where the extra usb and headphone plugs are. Overall the fans arent bad, maybe 22db?

 

[cleverhandle]

Originally posted by: jack bauer
But I heard the 4 80mm fans can by quite loud. Is this preventable?

Yes, use the newest revision of the PC6X line - the PC6XPLUS's. They have a 120mm fan in front and more targetted cooling all around that should let you run very quietly. Looks like Newegg's out of stock on the PLUS line at the moment, but you can get them at frozencpu.com and other places.

That being said, I have an old PC60 running undervolted 80mm Panaflo's that I'm quite happy with noise-wise. The noisiest parts are the PSU and the vid card, not the case fans. It's good enough for me (in fact, the case is the only part of my rig that's staying in my next upgrade).

 

[Alaric360]

My suggestion isn't on your list, isn't aluminum, has no side window, but should be considered anyway. Take a look at the Antec P180. Awesome case. It's steel, so it's quite a bit heavier than an aluminum case, but the guts of the thing are so friggin beautiful. The ps mounts on the bottom rear of the case and there's a thermal divider running the entire length of the inside of the case. Your hdds mount in the front bottom, and there's a 120 behind them sucking air straight from the intake, across your drives, and out the power supply. Basically, it has it's own wind tunnel for your hard drives. ...In the main chamber, it also has a vga duct that can mount an optional 80mm intake fan that blows directly on your insert cards. Add the 120 exhaust fan blowing out the back with the chimney fan blowing straight out the top rear of the case and you have one of the best thermally designed air-cooled case known to man. ...The side panel is triple layered steel-plastic-steel that deadens any sound coming out of the box. There's also a small toolbox mounted on the backside of the main-chamber's pull-out drive cage...very convenient.

Downsides: People have reported issues where the side panel arrives warped. ...Antec replaces them free of charge if they come that way. ...The front bezel is plastic. Not much of a downside since having a metal bezel doesn't really do anything to improve the thermal signature of the case, but polished aluminum looks better. ...There's no removable motherboard tray. It'd be cool if there was one. Some people have had issues with their power supply cables being too short because they didn't do their homework to see if their ps was compatible. ....It might not meet your criteria, but if you took a serious look at it, your criteria would probably change to meet it.

 

[jack bauer]

Originally posted by: cleverhandle

Originally posted by: jack bauer
But I heard the 4 80mm fans can by quite loud. Is this preventable?

Yes, use the newest revision of the PC6X line - the PC6XPLUS's. They have a 120mm fan in front and more targetted cooling all around that should let you run very quietly. Looks like Newegg's out of stock on the PLUS line at the moment, but you can get them at frozencpu.com and other places.

That being said, I have an old PC60 running undervolted 80mm Panaflo's that I'm quite happy with noise-wise. The noisiest parts are the PSU and the vid card, not the case fans. It's good enough for me (in fact, the case is the only part of my rig that's staying in my next upgrade).

But only one fan. That may not do the job.

 

[jack bauer]

Originally posted by: Alaric360
My suggestion isn't on your list, isn't aluminum, has no side window, but should be considered anyway. Take a look at the Antec P180. Awesome case. It's steel, so it's quite a bit heavier than an aluminum case, but the guts of the thing are so friggin beautiful. The ps mounts on the bottom rear of the case and there's a thermal divider running the entire length of the inside of the case. Your hdds mount in the front bottom, and there's a 120 behind them sucking air straight from the intake, across your drives, and out the power supply. Basically, it has it's own wind tunnel for your hard drives. ...In the main chamber, it also has a vga duct that can mount an optional 80mm intake fan that blows directly on your insert cards. Add the 120 exhaust fan blowing out the back with the chimney fan blowing straight out the top rear of the case and you have one of the best thermally designed air-cooled case known to man. ...The side panel is triple layered steel-plastic-steel that deadens any sound coming out of the box. There's also a small toolbox mounted on the backside of the main-chamber's pull-out drive cage...very convenient.

Downsides: People have reported issues where the side panel arrives warped. ...Antec replaces them free of charge if they come that way. ...The front bezel is plastic. Not much of a downside since having a metal bezel doesn't really do anything to improve the thermal signature of the case, but polished aluminum looks better. ...There's no removable motherboard tray. It'd be cool if there was one. Some people have had issues with their power supply cables being too short because they didn't do their homework to see if their ps was compatible. ....It might not meet your criteria, but if you took a serious look at it, your criteria would probably change to meet it.

 

[jack bauer]

Originally posted by: jack bauer

Originally posted by: Alaric360
My suggestion isn't on your list, isn't aluminum, has no side window, but should be considered anyway. Take a look at the Antec P180. Awesome case. It's steel, so it's quite a bit heavier than an aluminum case, but the guts of the thing are so friggin beautiful. The ps mounts on the bottom rear of the case and there's a thermal divider running the entire length of the inside of the case. Your hdds mount in the front bottom, and there's a 120 behind them sucking air straight from the intake, across your drives, and out the power supply. Basically, it has it's own wind tunnel for your hard drives. ...In the main chamber, it also has a vga duct that can mount an optional 80mm intake fan that blows directly on your insert cards. Add the 120 exhaust fan blowing out the back with the chimney fan blowing straight out the top rear of the case and you have one of the best thermally designed air-cooled case known to man. ...The side panel is triple layered steel-plastic-steel that deadens any sound coming out of the box. There's also a small toolbox mounted on the backside of the main-chamber's pull-out drive cage...very convenient.

Downsides: People have reported issues where the side panel arrives warped. ...Antec replaces them free of charge if they come that way. ...The front bezel is plastic. Not much of a downside since having a metal bezel doesn't really do anything to improve the thermal signature of the case, but polished aluminum looks better. ...There's no removable motherboard tray. It'd be cool if there was one. Some people have had issues with their power supply cables being too short because they didn't do their homework to see if their ps was compatible. ....It might not meet your criteria, but if you took a serious look at it, your criteria would probably change to meet it.

What about the 160W? I like the look of it, but only one fan?

 

[sumyungai]

I'd recommend the TT Tsunami or Saprona. They both use front and rear 120mm fans and a side fan helps out greatly with CPU temps. And the tooless case makes everything a breeze. But you may want to buy after market fans for quietness as others have mentioned.

 

[Alaric360]

What about the 160W? I like the look of it, but only one fan?

...That fan is 120mm. As long as you don't put an intake fan on it(or a fairly small one) you should get plenty of airflow from the back 120. ...The psu's exhaust fan should provide a little bit of help as well, but you should never count on the psu to serve as your system's exhaust. I don't have any experience with this case though, so I can't really make a suggestion for or against it. ...It looks like it will be adequate though. I still suggest the P180.

...by the way, are you planning on buying this from photos only or have you gone to your local computer store and had your hands on all of the cases you are looking into? Never buy a case without actually being able to see it, open it up, and fool around with it. It'll be the best way to figure out how easily it is to get inside it, whether the edges inside are rolled off or not, and just give you a general feel for how your system will be that pictures cannot convey.

[Edit:] ...the thing that stands out for me with regards to the P160W is the removable mobo tray. ...If you've never built with a case with one in it, you'll really appreciate it. Didn't look at any of the other cases that you suggested, but if the P160W is the only one you're considering that has a removable tray, I would suggest it.

 

[jack bauer]

Originally posted by: jack bauer
Have a list of cases I like, but can't decide which one. I want something with at least 2 fans (quiet if possible), side window, and aluminum. Here are some I had in mind:



Antec Performance I P-160W Silver 1.2mm Anodized Aluminum ATX

Thermaltake Tsunami mid tower ATX

Lian Li PC-65 USB B2 Silver Computer Case With Side Panel Window


As you can see from the replies, I have edited this so I wouldn't have to make a new topic. I narrowed it down between these 3. I hear they all have their faults. I like the tsunami bu I hear it does not have a removable mobo section and is cramped for a good psu. the lian li is a bit priced but looks great. wish it had door. and the antec, i hear they have usb and fan problems. need help. will not spend over 130 for a case.

I added an edit to this post, see top.

 

[BassBomb]

tsunami has a 92 mm on teh side at least mine does

its a nice case, a bitch to clean inside and out though... mad dust problems on the side....

its a nice case inside very nice


EDIT forgot to mention fan noise, its definatley not silent... but its decent and dont expect to get what each fan is rated at... its more likely 30~35 db rather than the 22 or something claimed

 

[IdaGno]

Originally posted by: cleverhandle
The Lian Li PC6x series is a classic for a reason - they're beautiful cases, well constructed, with good airflow, and easy to work in. That case has been in production almost unchanged for well over 5 years now. I've seen the Centurion and the P160 too, and they're certainly nice cases as well, but it's hard to knock a PC6x IMO.

What he said + screw the window.

My next air-cooled case.

http://www.overclockercafe.com/Reviews/cases/Lian_Li_PC60-II_Plus/index.htm

 

[jack bauer]

Originally posted by: IdaGno

Originally posted by: cleverhandle
The Lian Li PC6x series is a classic for a reason - they're beautiful cases, well constructed, with good airflow, and easy to work in. That case has been in production almost unchanged for well over 5 years now. I've seen the Centurion and the P160 too, and they're certainly nice cases as well, but it's hard to knock a PC6x IMO.

What he said + screw the window.

My next air-cooled case.

http://www.overclockercafe.com/Reviews/cases/Lian_Li_PC60-II_Plus/index.htm

but what about front audio ports? why aren't they included in this model?

 

[eits]

i vote lian li. i had a thermaltake tsunami dream and i just switched to the lian li v1000.... totally sexy. lian li = AWESOME quality.

 

[palindrome]

Originally posted by: BassBomb
tsunami has a 92 mm on teh side at least mine does

its a nice case, a bitch to clean inside and out though... mad dust problems on the side....

its a nice case inside very nice


EDIT forgot to mention fan noise, its definatley not silent... but its decent and dont expect to get what each fan is rated at... its more likely 30~35 db rather than the 22 or something claimed

I think you are overestimating a little. I really don't think these fans could possibly break the 30db barrier....

But any how... I think the Tsunami is well made, very sturdy. I've hauled it many many times. I don't know what you mean about the PSU space though... are you talking about where the cords hang behind the 3 1/2" drive slots? I haven't had any trouble getting my PSU in there or with the cords or any of that... It would honestly take a really sweet case that offered something this doesn't to get me away from it. Believe me, if you get this case you will not regret it.

Originally posted by: eits
i vote lian li. i had a thermaltake tsunami dream and i just switched to the lian li v1000.... totally sexy. lian li = AWESOME quality.

The Lian Li costs more and has 80mm fans... Plus its a silver box with no LEDs, no sexiness at all...

 

[jack bauer]

Originally posted by: palindrome

Originally posted by: BassBomb
tsunami has a 92 mm on teh side at least mine does

its a nice case, a bitch to clean inside and out though... mad dust problems on the side....

its a nice case inside very nice


EDIT forgot to mention fan noise, its definatley not silent... but its decent and dont expect to get what each fan is rated at... its more likely 30~35 db rather than the 22 or something claimed

I think you are overestimating a little. I really don't think these fans could possibly break the 30db barrier....

But any how... I think the Tsunami is well made, very sturdy. I've hauled it many many times. I don't know what you mean about the PSU space though... are you talking about where the cords hang behind the 3 1/2" drive slots? I haven't had any trouble getting my PSU in there or with the cords or any of that... It would honestly take a really sweet case that offered something this doesn't to get me away from it. Believe me, if you get this case you will not regret it.

Originally posted by: eits
i vote lian li. i had a thermaltake tsunami dream and i just switched to the lian li v1000.... totally sexy. lian li = AWESOME quality.

The Lian Li costs more and has 80mm fans... Plus its a silver box with no LEDs, no sexiness at all...

does it have a removeable mobo plate like the lian li?