Case question

[Nusam]

Thermaltake makes a case in their Xaser series (Xaser III to be exact) I noticed that they have the hard drive cages in sideways instead of front to back (like the cdrom) Does anyone know of a case that has this feature? I know the old Xasers were like chenming or antecs soho knockoffs basically but I think thermaltake went somewhere else with the III series for the design. I dont exactly like all the el lighting in the front and pretty "fru fru" pictures that light up in the door on the new cases and am searching for just a plain aluminum windowed full tower case with those hard drive cages in sideways? Any suggestions?

TIA

 

[myocardia]

The only one I've heard of when the hd's mounted sideways, is the Antec Sonata, which is gorgeous, but I don't think it's aluminum.

 

[wicktron]

Certain Lian Li's also have this feature.

 

[VIAN]

Sonata is one nice case. I wish I had it.

 

[RalfHutter]

Antec SLK3700BQE also has the sideways drive cages, as do the Antec P160 and Super Lanboy. This seems to be the default standard ever since it was introduced on the Sonata.

 

[HardWarrior]

My Lian Li has the capability to mount 6 HD's vertically. The cage attaches very securely to the bottom front of the case, just behind two 80mm, filtered intakes.

 

[Gravity]

I'm not sure the Xaser has the rubber grommet mountings for the hard drives, I think they just turned the cage sideways. The sonata and other antec products have their drives mounted onto those grommets to reduce/eliminate noise.

You might want to check into that before you buy the Xaser. I have the Xaser II and I love it but the drives are now the loudest component.

Good luck!!

 

[Nusam]

hey thanks for the info fellows...I am checking on some of those now. I already own a Xaser II which I love as well and its just perfect for my applications. I just saw how they redid it on the xaser IIIs and lanfires and thought that was an excellent idea to have the input ends jumpers ide cables and power etc facing you so you didnt have to break your hands or God forbid ide pins trying to get to the back of the drives when it gets crowded.

Anyways thanks again for the help!

Nusam

 

[0roo0roo]

i'd stay away from xasers, they are way overpriced. kinda defeat some of the good features of the antec/chieftec cases they are based on with that heavy metal solid front faceplate. ussually theres two nice fan intakes there with minimal blockage, but not on a xaser why do you need sideways cages? the normal ones that come right off with a lever on antec/chieftecs are pretty good, and they have fan mounts to cool directly to boot.

 

[HardWarrior]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
i'd stay away from xasers, they are way overpriced. kinda defeat some of the good features of the antec/chieftec cases they are based on with that heavy metal solid front faceplate. ussually theres two nice fan intakes there with minimal blockage, but not on a xaser why do you need sideways cages? the normal ones that come right off with a lever on antec/chieftecs are pretty good, and they have fan mounts to cool directly to boot.

I know this sounds snobbish (I don't mean it that way) but, Xaser cases are just TOO ornate and cartoonish. About Antec cases. I'll never buy another one without knowing that they've fixed some things. Besides not being able to mount intake filters in the one I had, my power switch went bad, and since it's molded into the face plate I couldn't repair or replace it. :disgust:

 

[0roo0roo]

i think you can buy a new face plate...they hate replacement parts at antec. i've seen drive cages, side doors etc. as for intake filters, most case designs don't have possibility of even half decent filters anways, and the ones that have front intake filters odn't have side ones the antecs i've seen do have the front intake filter though. unless your going to go hardcore like this http://www.fox302.com/index.pl?s=vf&user=oroooroo&category=cases&file=GhettoFilteredcase.jpg 1/2" thick washable furnace filter over 4 intakes.

on my antec like case i don't bother, it would ugly it up completely.



most case fan filters only catch the largest dust particles.

 

[HardWarrior]

Geez, Oroo! That's one sure way to keep the dust out! Correct, most filters just keep the large particles out, initially. As the slowly clog they also get increasingly efficient. But that dust removal effienciency is in turn paid for by decreasing intake performance. Either way you get screwed. I'm trying an aluminum mesh filter on my side intake just to see what happens. Yeah, I thought about trying to run down a replacement face plate, but I was so pissed at the design I decided to move on. The Lian Li power button is not only kit replaceable, it doesn't have that mid-way "click" that wore out on my Antec.

 

[EarthwormJim]

I've got the Antec SLK-3700-BQE. It's pretty nice having the sideways hard drive cages. I don't have to remove my video card anymore to take my hard drives out like I did with my previous case (nvidia cards are über long).

 

[fireontheway]

just plain aluminum,windowed case and no, the hdd does'nt
mount sideways