Hello all. New to builds. What case do ya'll use? Why? Steel? Aluminum? Other?

[Burt Gummer]

Hello all! 'Nother newbie here. I have been lurking a while, and decided to speak up.

I have a DELL PIII 450. I am looking for something new. I have decided to build my own. I cannot decide upon a case. I will be using it with an ASUS P4B533-E with a PIV 2.0A processor. I would like to do some mild overclocking and modding when my comfort level grows.

I'd like one with a window.

Do ya'll prefer steel, aluminum, or plastic? Why did ya'll make that choice?

[Randy_tx]

Since I don't advocate overclocking [shoot, the 2 gig P4 is plenty fast!], I wouldn't be very concerned about the material used in the case. I guess you could do some research on the heat properties of ea. material and decide based on what you learn. One thing for certain....you need plenty of cooling - these chips run warm enough without being "juiced". Good luck!

[Jiggy]

this heat sink (Thermalright SLK-800) has been reviewed as the best on the market, top of with (Delta 60mm Focussed Flow Fan) my brother got these yesterday and are kepping his AMD XP 2200 at 47 degrees after 12 hours of benchmarking.:D

[Burt Gummer]

Thanks for the early replies. I should apologize for not making myself clearer. I mentioned the overclocking purely matter-of-factly. I am mainly interested in what case people here have and why they chose them.

There are so many choices out there. I am just trying to pick peoples' brains to get a better idea for myself.

Thanks again in advance for the help.

Burt

[ranchdog]

A persons wallet and quality answeres

this question.

For steel.... Antec case.

For aluminum.... Lian-Li case.


RD.

[Jiggy]

i was getting the Juno P6 full tower and putting 5 Ystech fans in, but i got a guitar instead:D

[saphalline]

I don't know about the really expensive cases, especially those with a window, but I know cases like the Lian-Li PC-60 (I think that's it) are at the top of the game for quality and cooling. This also means they can be massive and somewhat loud. I would look into a case like that. Some websites with high-quality case reviews (or related articles):

www.sharkyextreme.com/
www.tomshardware.com/
www.anandtech.com/

Also, I'm sure you can find a vendor or small PC shop that does case mods, including painting, cutting extra fan mount holes, and installing various sized & shaped windows. I know that there are kits you can buy if you want to do it yourself. Hold on, I think there's an ad like that in the back of my Maximum PC mags...

Here we go, www.cyberguys.com/

They have all kinds of nifty things. Now I'm gonna look them up at www.resellerratings.com/ to see if they're a reliable vendor. I'll report back with my findings.

update - Well, just checked them out. Cyberguys has a respectable rating of 8.85 out of 10. I think I'll order some of their nifty stuff! Ooh! They also have cold cathode light kits! Feel like lighting the inside of your case? Red or blue?

[setoguro]

You can go here (http://www.directron.com/blackcases.html) and check out some cases. The selection has grown a lot since I bought my case. A lot of nice stuff too. I have to stay away from there. I have the Charcoal Black Antec SX1030B SOHO File Server Full Tower. I like it. It has good air flow a lot of room.

[malcore]

I have a Lian_Li PC65B with front, rear and top case fans. It's a beautifully crafted case and installation is a breeze.All thumb screws, removable HDD rack, removable mobo mounting board, and 4 front USB connectors. Doesn't get any easier.
It isn't loud at all. I'm running a P4 2.26, on a P4S533 mobo. Even if you overclock a little, there is no need to buy another heatsink. The stock heatsink with the P4's in this range work fine. This is a P4 after all, not an AMD.
I have overclocked my processor mildly to 2397 and under full load for hours it's top temp is a measly 46 degrees. I don't run it at that speed now however, no real need, just tried it for interests sake and experience. At normal speed it never goes above 43.
Where you are the Lian_Li's are fairly pricy. For me I went straight to the manufacturer down in Kaoshiung and picked mine up for less than $100 American.:)

[poordevil]

Yea, I am using a Lian Li case too.They are a good looking, functional case.I can't imagine needing a different case for a long time,if ever.They are designed so you can take them all apart and install all your hardware without any tools! I will never go back to those sheet metal cases and their funky little screws.If you are looking for a nice case,you can't go wrong with a brushed aluminum Lian Li case.

[BigBlue66]

Personally, I would rather spend my money on top dollar components, rather than an overhyped costly case.

I'm a fan of Antec cases. Yep, they're steel and they're built like a tank. The Performance Plus series has two front USB ports and a firewire port. Also has two intake fans and two exhaust fans. If you go with the cheaper Chieftec line, you can even get a side blowhole premounted.

Heck, build your case out of cardboard if you want to. The material of the case does not make one iota of difference as far as cooling (according to aluminum owners who had steel previously), it's the amount, orientation and output of the fans you have in the box.

[malcore]

I just noticed that one of the initial questions here was WHY did we make our case choice.
BigBlue , I don't know about others but I didn't buy an aluminum case for better cooling properties, and I agree that it probably doesn't make much difference. I bought this case because it was the nicest looking case I could find here and I got it for a steal. At almost $200 in America, I got it for app. $70 here.
Not everyone wants to pull out a hacksaw and design their own case. If you had one of these cases I don't think you would deny that they are well crafted.
I've always liked the Antecs myself too, just can't get them here. But now that I have a Lian_Li, I would have to say that if I built another machine and could get either, I would go with the Lian-Li.
Also, anyone who buys a case for $100-$200 and fills it with inferior hardware is a fool! -like buying a Kit Car with a fiberglass Ferrari Frame and a Volkswagen engine.

[BigBlue66]

Malcore: I would certainly jump on the Lian-Li bandwagon if I could find one for the price you did. I have checked the cases out at my local computer store. I don't think they're worth the exorbinant price. In fact, I noticed a definite rattle to them. So, I posted a thread on one of my other forums concerning whether or not aluminum cases rattle. I got feedback of around 70% no rattle and 30% rattle. The cases that did rattle required mounting fans with rubber gaskets, and an occasional tap on the side to quiet them down. Not my idea of quality construction.

Actually, I have been looking at the aluminum Chieftec series. They are fashioned after the popular Antec cases, but don't have front mounted USB or Firewire ports. That's no big deal though, since you can buy those and mount them in a drive bay. Have also been looking at the Skyhawk brand of aluminum cases. They sort of appeal to me, but I don't care for the fan setup they have nor do I like the brace on the side.

I'll be the first to admit that steel cases are heavy. I just upgraded the wife's system using the Perf Plus series of case. Couple that with a heavy True Power PSU and all the drives and components, and that puppy is heavy. Not something I would want to lug around to LAN parties.

I'm sure that we all have our own reasons for purchasing the cases that we did. And you're right, we were supposed to state our opinions, which both you and I did. Nuff said, I guess. :)

[poordevil]

Hummm..my Lian Li doesn't rattle.Everything about it is solid and tight.I don't know what would even have the potential to rattle,other than the fans.But they don't rattle,buzz or click.They make a little blowing sound as they work.I keep the case on the table right next to my speaker.Even that close to me, the case doesn't seem noisy.

[gajajakr]

Hi gummer,
IMHO, keep away from a Genica w/250Watt. It is verrry flimsy case and the PS is light and cheaply made also. The rails are cheap, mot much room in the case(I installed a smaller desktop board and still have room conflicts) and on and on and on. :(
Stick with brand name and quality as suggested above.

[Ice Czar]

Other

Copper (http://www.dwpg.com/)
Variety (http://www.caseumbau.de/index.php?page=gall/Liste&entries=10) German
Acrylic (http://www.bit-tech.net/article/72/16)

Personally Im working on 2 custom Stainless Steel cases for my Rackmount and converting a salvaged Compaq Proliant SCSI RAID rackmount into an IDE RAID ;)

I like stainless steel for its finish, lack of rust, and bending qualities, but Im also employing lots of aluminium as its far easier to machine.

[GreenMonkey]

I just purchased a new case (due to g/f's case power supply going) and transferred my existing hardware to it. The case is here:http://www.dealsonic.com/skyhalalatxm.html

It received good reviews as a cheaper alternative to the Lian-Li cases, which I liked a lot, but were too pricey. It has front mount USBs on the bottom, and front-sound ports (although I haven't figured out how to where to connect the mic to yet?) It also has a "CPU ventiduct" fan which sucks air out from above the CPU out the back of the case...not sure how much good it actually does..
It and a 400 watt A+ GPB power supply ran me almost $100....but I am definitely happy, I bought it for the aluminum look that is becoming more common (Wega TV's, etc)...oh yeah, and it doesn't rattle either.

[rond36]

I use an Antec 1040B with a 400W PSU, like BigBlue66 said built like a tank and quiet too I have 8 fans spinning (5 80mmX38mm 5400 RPM Vantec Tornados).

If you don't want to cut up the side panel installing a window on an Antec 1030 1040 or similar case go here (http://www.zxmods.com/) you can buy an extra panel so you don't need to cut yours. They also sell windows (some with fan holes) made for these cases (zantec series) and will even install a Zantec window in an extra panel and ship it to you, all you do is switch panels and you have a window, get tired of it switch back.

If you need a side panel for a Lian Li PC-60 with a window go here (http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/scan/se=Case%20Parts/se=Lian%20Li%20Parts/mp=menu_search.html)

If you want to get in to modding check out
http://www.virtual-hideout.net/
It has some great how to articles and don't forget to look at the cool case gallery.