Need Help On Case

[NewCompGeek]

Ive been looking at some cases for my next upgrade and what im looking for is

a full-tower case with or without ps

no more than 4 5.25 trays

1 or 2 3.5 trays external (internal is fine at least i can screw them off)

and since cooling is a big part i want a case that has 2 spots for 80mm in the back by the mobo

empty space in the lower front so i can mod my own (dont cheap grills)

i have this in mind here is that a good case? $79

and here are some more but keep in fact that price is a factor (30--80)

Antec SX1030 but i dont like the two 4 3.5 trays can those be taken out? what about the steel that hold it hanging out? $89

PSI but all the 5.25 i dont like, still good? $60

Aopen H600A good? only $69

Chenbro PC60211 Only $47!

Chenming 601AE-F-0
looks like the Antec Sx-1030 anything different? $77

cheiftech dx-01w looks alot like the antech sx830 anything different? $65

enlight 7237 heard much about this. enough room? $60

evercase E4252WEF25 only $40 worth it?

Lite-On TX-600 $59 good?

thanks for taking the time to look at all of them and ill really consider your replys

 

[mechBgon]

Here are a couple of questions. When you say you want two 80mm exhaust fans on the rear, you mean two in addition to the one built into the power supply, right?

And is your next upgrade going to be a Pentium 4 or Athlon/AthlonXP? If so, you might want to get a 400W+ power supply so you have plenty of power.

Since you also ask about the steel holding the drive cages on one of the cases, are you looking for something light in weight so it's easy to carry into LAN parties?

The SX840 is the 400W version of the SX830 that you linked to. They're really popular and they do have the dual 80mm exhaust behind the CPU (plus the power-supply fan). Antec has a three-year warranty, uses an Antec-brand power supply and includes two sleeve-bearing 80mm fans, and that's their claim to fame over other brands which use the same case (which is manufactured by Chenming, I believe).

That PSI case looks chintzy to me. Look at the tiny little holes where the auxiliary fans go on the back of the case. Sure, you could drill out the holes, but that indicates to me that the case was not designed very well in the first place. And like you say, it's huge.

The AOpen H600A pictures show that it only has one 80mm aux. exhaust fan in back, although it also says there that they offer 350W and 400W power supplies. If you're into modifications, it looks like there's room to squeeze in a second 80mm fan above the first one if you cut a second hole for it.


Chenbro's site shows the 60211 case with a different bezel and it has only one aux. rear fan position too.
Chenbro's page

The Chenming and Chieftech cases should be the same physical case as the Antec, but the power supply and included fans will be different, so read what they come with. I have an Antec SX1030B (B indicates black) and I can tell you that if you want something lightweight for easy carrying, forget about any of these cases! The internal HDD cages do come out and these Chenming/Antec/Chieftech cases do have two auxiliary 80mm rear exhaust fans. Antec also sells a mini version of the SX830/SX840 which gives up one 80mm rear exhaust position (SX600/630/635, which have no/300W/350W PSU's, respectively).

The low price of the Evercase makes you go "hmm" but the customer comments sound pretty positive. Still only one 80mm aux. exhaust, although the side intake will help keep your CPU cooled down in my experiences. I would get the one with no power supply and buy a name-brand power supply like a 365W Enermax or a 400W Antec or Sparkle.

The Enlight 7237 can be bought with a 340W power supply that is AMD-recommended for all current AthlonXP's including the 2000+ The case is rather lightweight thanks to 0.8mm sheet metal. It only has one 80mm aux. exhaust position. It's also not a good case for extra-big dual-processor motherboards due to a clearance issue between CD-ROM-type drives and the front edge of the motherboard (my sister has this problem with her 7237).

The Inwin S500 is another possibility, a lot like the 7237 but with heavier sheet metal. Only one aux. 80mm rear fan position, and unfortunately Inwin is slow to react to the changing market and has nothing over 300W for the power supply (but at least it's a good 300W, not junk).

To summarize, of all the ones you listed, the Chenming/Antec/Chieftech ones have the two fans you want but they are heavy so they're not going to be easy to carry around.

 

[NewCompGeek]

Mechbgon

W0W! thanks for answering all my question! and being so detailed about them!

<<When you say you want two 80mm exhaust fans on the rear, you mean two in addition to the one built into the power supply, right???

yes casue i want to put however many case fans that i can in the lower bottom (antec sx-830 caught my attention becaue of all the room).

<<And is your next upgrade going to be a Pentium 4 or Athlon/AthlonXP? If so, you might want to get a 400W+ power supply so you have plenty of power.>>

Most likey an AMD xp but i heard that 300w is fine enough for the basics (cpu,mobo,cd-rom,floppy,fans)

<<Since you also ask about the steel holding the drive cages on one of the cases, are you looking for something light in weight so it's easy to carry into LAN parties?>>

i really dont care about the weight casue it will by on my desk the whole time.

 

[mechBgon]

If you happen to like the idea of something a bit smaller, how about this crazy idea: go to Axiontech and get the EPoX EP-8KHM microATX KT266A motherboard which is the little brother to the popular EP-8KHA+ (but probably without the overclocking features) . Stuff it into a Fong Kai 611 microATX case with the 300W Enhance power supply. It has a single 92mm fan position on the rear, that should keep the air moving past the CPU nicely since 1/3 of the rear of the case is fan. And according to that AMD power-supply chart, the 300W Enhance power supply in there is approved all the way to AthlonXP 2000+. You would have one AGP slot and three PCI slots, if that would meet your needs.

 

[pdampier]

Here is a vote for the evercase.... I agree on the power supply - get one without - simply because the one with it is a little loud in my opinion (no louder than others I've got but I was hoping for less!) - But the case is just GREAT!!!