Cheap & reliable case recommendations

[AthlonPowers]

Can anyone recommend a cheap but reliable ATX case? I'm building a PC for a buddy with spare parts I have around and the case is the only thing I don't have. Don't want to spend much on it if I don't have to, but $50 or so is about my limit.

It's for an ol' Athlon T-bird, so needs a good enough supply for that (although I have a spare 250W PSU I can use if necessary). The machine won't be overclocked or overloaded with devices, just hard disk, DVD drive, and an old Geforce2 card. It won't be used for gaming, just surfing and emailing. Stability is the name of the game.

Thanks for any suggestions....

 

[Ike0069]

Really depends alot on your case style preference, but how about this:

ASPIRE X-Dreamer w/420W PSU

I personally think Aspire makes very nice cases for the price. The PSU is weak, but since he doesn't actually need anywhere close to 400W, it should work just fine.

 

[theknight571]

FWIW... this APEX case has a lot of reviews at Newegg and is 5 "eggs" with 254 reviews (at the time of this posting).

I can't vouch for it though... just going on the Newegg reviews.

- TK

 

[Gronk]

Compucase Lx619 is $55 from Directron, but solid steel construction with 2, 120mm cooling fans and removable front filter and HD cage. A lot of people at silentpcreview recommend it

 

[Zepper]

The Compucase mentioned above is excellent (identical to some of the Antec 3000 series cases inside) and can be had in beige (from directron) for considerably less than the $55. noted - the 300W HEC PSU is also excellent and plenty for the intended system. Evercase 42x2 series are very good (got very good OOB noise ratings from SPCR) and some of them come with the excellent new Fortron PSUs. But you might want an older design PSU like the HEC depending on the mobo you're using. A mobo that uses the P4 connector to power the CPU will like a newer design PSU (where the focus is on the +12 rail(s)), while those that still rely on the +5V lines to power the CPU will be happier with an older design with a sturdier +5V rail.

.bh.

 

[AthlonPowers]

Thanks again for your suggestions... I'll take a good look at all of 'em.

 

[AthlonPowers]

Any ideas for a cheap case without the stupid vacuum on the side but with a fan mount to blow across the hard drive? I'm figuring that bumps the price into more aggressive territory?

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

Go to http://www.mwave.com/ look at the 75+ cases they have for <<<$50.
Some are $9. They might kill you on shipping but they offer will-call if your in SoCal.


...Galvanized

 

[KoolDrew]

In-Win FTW!

Seriously, look at newegg for In-Win cases. They are good quality, around $50, and include good quality PSU's. The Powerman PSU's are Fortrons.