Case Help?

[Trendkill]

Hi Guys!

I'm building my first PC and i don't know what case to get. I will be using my computer primarily for gaming. I'll be putting a p4 2.8, abit 875 MOBO, 1 gig Corsair XMS 3200Pro, probably a radeon 9700 pro vid card, and i'd like to have a couple fans in there to keep things nice and cool. I will not be overclocking. Not sure whether i'm gonna go with 2 120 gig hd's or just one. Please give me your suggestions on a reliable case that will allow me to upgrade my parts in future when the time comes. Also, is it better to get a case that comes with a Power suppy, or should i get a case and then buy a power supply seperate? Any help you guys could give me would be greatly appreciated!

P.S.- I will probably be ordering my case from newegg if that helps. Anything i didn't cover, just ask me!

 

[DerwenArtos12]

What is your budget?

 

[Trendkill]

Well i'd probably like to keep it around $100 or so, but feel free to give me any suggestions you have. I don't know much about computers, but as i said i'll be using it for gaming. I don't know anything about USB ports or even what they do I'll be using headphones as well as 5.1 surround speakers when i play if that helps at all.

 

[Zepper]

The Antec SLk3700AMB (edit) is hard to beat. Get the Compucase equivalent (6Axx) series for the same insides w/o a door on the front.
.bh.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

I think the guy above me means the 3700 AMB. And if he doesn't then I definatly do an overall nicer case and roughly the same PSU.

 

[Trendkill]

Well i want a case with atleast a 420psu, so is there any suggestions with that psu?

 

[tracerbullet]

I'm totally digging the Antec Sonata I just bought. It's a 380W PSU, but to be honest, everything I read so far says it's as good as most other company's 400W and even higher.

In short, I receommend anything Antec. There's a lot of good brands out there, but it's my recommendation.

And - why do you need 420W? It's really a crapload of power. I had a RAID setup (formerly) on my current board - there were 3 CD drives, 4 hard drives, an Athlon XP2600, a GF4ti4200, and various PCI cards. I tried once to run as much as I possibly could - downloading, burning, transferring, playing a game, you name it - all at once. Didn't cause an issue. It was silly, but it took it like a champ. Had an Antec True Power 380 in it at the time.

 

[lizardboy]

Love, love my Antec SX-835ii...damn, just looked and newegg doesn't carry it anymore

Another vote for Antec here. Like the person mentioned above, the 3700 AMB is a nice case that fits your budget.

 

[SuctionCat]

Originally posted by: tracerbullet
I'm totally digging the Antec Sonata I just bought. It's a 380W PSU, but to be honest, everything I read so far says it's as good as most other company's 400W and even higher.

In short, I receommend anything Antec. There's a lot of good brands out there, but it's my recommendation.

I've been very happy with my Sonata so far. Looks awesome, easy to use, great PSU. The 1080 AMG also was pretty good, from memory. Somewhat monolithic as far as size and weight go; portability was part of my concern with it.

But most things they make are worth recommending.

 

[Trendkill]

The reason that i want a 420 psu is because i've been told by many people that it's a good idea to get atleast 420psu if your making a rig primarily for gaming. I dunno, i'd rather be safe then sorry unless that is a completely wrong statement. Anyways, everyone thinks Antec makes the best cases?

 

[Zepper]

You can get the Compucase 6Axx from Directron w/o PSU ($39.) and add whatever PSU you want. Another nice feature is the 12cm fan mounts front and rear.
. Or check out this one from Aspire:
(TurboCase/Chenming)http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-144-035&catalog=7&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=1&section=3
It comes with a ChannelWell (Antec OEM) 420W PSU.
.bh.

 

[klocwerk]

I love my antec sonata.
4 drives humming, plenty of cpu power, lots of extra fans, never had a glitch.
the power supply is SOLID.

 

[SuctionCat]

Originally posted by: Trendkill
The reason that i want a 420 psu is because i've been told by many people that it's a good idea to get atleast 420psu if your making a rig primarily for gaming. I dunno, i'd rather be safe then sorry unless that is a completely wrong statement

It's not completely wrong; a good solid 420+W PSU will be fine for your needs. But unless you're running a large number of power-hungry devices, a good solid 380W PSU would do just as good a job. Stability is important, as is actually meeting the specifications.

Work out your power budget for the devices you're going to put in the box first; chances are you won't need a small substation sitting there.

 

[Trendkill]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I think i'm going to go with the Antec Sonata. Two questions though. It only comes with 1 120cm fan right? And if it does, should i buy another 120cm fan for the intake? If so, do any of you have a suggestion on a good fan. Thanks for all your help.

 

[fireontheway]

check out the SLK3700AMB first and compare it with the Sonata..

 

[Trendkill]

i like the 3700, but is 350psu enough for a gaming rig?

 

[seininja]

well. you could always get the Antec Fulltower ones. ( the one EVERYONE copies ) Depends on your taste really. Saw a interesting/crazy/over the board case at ibuypower.com, maybe you could get that. But i don't think they're in til a bit later.

 

[fireontheway]

350w psu of Antec quality is enough imho

 

[Zepper]

I agree that the 3700 or the Compucase 6A series (identical except for the front bezels) are better than the Sonata for cooling.
. I think that sideways drive cage impedes air flow. Though that piano-black finish is very nice.
.bh.

 

[tracerbullet]

As for the 120mm fan question, i've had 3 different brands in my sonata - the original antec fan, an enermax, and a vantec stealth. In order of favorite (note this is not scientific, just how it seems to me), I liked the vantec stealth best, then the enermax, then the included antec fan.

The stealth seemed quietest for the airflow it pushed (mind you that all three really were very quiet, it just seemed the the stealth was even more so). The enermax and included antec fans were about the same, but the enermax seemed to have more range available between high and low speeds when using my fan speed controller (accoding to the RPM readout on it). I left that one in, so if I ever did decide to go high speed then i had the ability.

Anyhow, the inlcuded fan really is fine. If you want a second, I'd get the vantec stealth.

 

[Cerb]

The Sonata comes with a TruePower380 does it not? If so, you're going to need 5 or 6 SCSI drives to even make it sweat (and then only on boot).
IMO, there is no better case than the SLK3700-AMB, ALK3700-BQE, and Sonata (same case, diff trimmings) unless you have some very odd requirements.

 

[klocwerk]

yeah, it's a truepower380.

As for the fan question: the included antec fan does well for me. I have a fan controller in there, so I can tune it to exactly where I want it for noise and cooling.
just put in an order for 2 120mm ultra-high flow panaflos. Going on the fan controller on one switch so I can just juke them both.

Can't wait.

 

[drjefft]

The nice thing about the Sonata case **IS** the way the hard drives mount...sideways. The configuration allows the drive cables to be ran though the case in a fashion that virtually eliminates the usual air flow restriction caused otherwise. Useing round cables in the 18" size allows for an extremely neat and tidy routing and leaves room to slide the drive out if needed. This type of setup would thus have you insert the drive with the power and MB connectors in back, away from the opening side case door. In this fashion air flow is not restricted as some have suggested. I built one July 2003 w/AMD Barton 2500 CPU and was etremely pleased with the results. I did though upgrade the case fan to a Papst 120mm quiet case fan for an extra $18 + S&H.
The system is in warm Sacramento and lives a very stable and cool