Searching for a new case...

[lwlee]

I haven't bought a case in 3 years. Yesterday I looked at what Newegg had to offer. Over 600 ATX mid tower cases!

Some of things I was hoping to find,
- removable motherboard tray (preferably the sliding type)
- midtower form factor
- audio ports up front
- completely tool-less assembly for drives and motberboard

What are the recommendations? I looked at the Kingwin 424 case and it looks like what I wanted but it doesn't have audio ports up front.

 

[Operandi]

I like Coolermaster, Lian Li, Silverstone personally. Antec and Inwin are good as well.

 

[Gravity]

The removable motherboard will make the field very small. Prolly Lian Li and one or two others offer that nice feature.

 

[Zepper]

Silverstone Berserker Available with or w/o side window. Totally toolless down to the mobo mounts. There are several reviews around the web that say it looks better in person. Not pointed out in most reviews, but two addidional 3.5" hard drives can be mounted on the side bar. Originally designed as an entry-level server (note: two 4 or 5 drive hot-swap cages can go in there easily). I have the Bow Technology version that newegg sold for a while.
. If you don't like the looks of the front, there are numerous cases out there based on the same chassis design (e.g. there's a PMCIS badged model under server cases on Outpost.com, the Enermax Shiny Titanium, Bow Technology, etc.).
. The front I/O panel is optional - available on newegg for about $13. (works with any case with a free 3.5" bay) - mounts in the 3.5" bay that's directly behind the smoked flip panel in one of the openings in the door.
. And the Silverstone PSUs are excellent (made by Enhance) if the case you settle on lacks one.

.bh.

There's the :sun: !

 

[orangat]

I was looking for a case a month or 2 ago and had the same problem.

In the end, I thought I could live with the lack of a m/b tray and settled on
a compucase LX6A19 for better cooling on the drive cage.

 

[xbassman]

Originally posted by: orangat
I was looking for a case a month or 2 ago and had the same problem.

In the end, I thought I could live with the lack of a m/b tray and settled on
a compucase LX6A19 for better cooling on the drive cage.

I like the mods that Coolcases.com will do with that case.
Gets a little costly when you let them do the mods for ya, but that's a lot of work saved for superior cooling.
They have the front panel connects also ($10 extra)

 

[pelikan]

That case comes to about $50. shipped at Directron. Its one of my favorites.

 

[imported_qingcai]

Originally posted by: Operandi
I like Coolermaster, Lian Li, Silverstone personally. Antec and Inwin are good as well.

Thermaltake, Aspire are all good, too!

 

[bluehorizon]

Do you really need a removable MB tray? I wouldn't make that a deciding factor. Once the MB is installed, it's not like you'll be removing it often. Tooless is also probably not a good idea. Nothing beats screws. I've found tooless cases to be less sturdy.

I'd recommend a Lian Li. The V1000 series is great. I have a V1000B; best case I've ever owned. If you change cases every three years, splurge on a really good one. You won't be disappointed.