Good deals on Ultra cases at Outpost/Fry's

[skillyho]

Good deals on some cheap cases....close to the best you can get for $20 - $30 AR with free shipping. Please note that these cases don't come with any case fans.

Ultra rebates have always been exceptionally fast for me as well (unlike my other Cooler Master "Status-Now" ones which I've had to provide proof for on two different occasions)...

X-Blaster

Gladiator

Edit: Better photos below...

Pics for X-Blaster

Pics for Gladiator

 

[Tomer]

Thanks for posting. The X-Blaster was exactly what I was looking for, a simple, clean case for cheap.

I bought a whole boatload of those FAR Ultra Wizard cases last year. They are all gone now. Ultra rebates were all fast and reliable.

 

[Bozo Galora]

the most amazing thing about these ongoing Fry's/Ultra deals is the free shipping.
The boxes are large and heavy, and come out of their Ohio warehouse
I just dont know how they do it.

 

[gingerstewart55]

Originally posted by: Bozo Galora
the most amazing thing about these ongoing Fry's/Ultra deals is the free shipping.
The boxes are large and heavy, and come out of their Ohio warehouse
I just dont know how they do it.

It's because the cases are lighweight, flimsy and not even up to par with the cheapest CoolerMaster cases. Back panels are so thin the lightest power supply bends it....side panels vibrate with any fan inside....not to mention being made of the thinnest metal that's not transparent. Add to that numerous sharp edges inside the case just waiting to bite and you can have 'em....wouldn't give these things to my worst enemy, much less anyone I liked.

Give me a $50 CM case any day over these.....these are good finds, OP, but Ultra has a very bad habit of sourcing their cases from the absolute cheapest maker and using the thinnest, cheapest materials imaginable to make them.

 

[skillyho]

Originally posted by: gingerstewart55

Originally posted by: Bozo Galora
the most amazing thing about these ongoing Fry's/Ultra deals is the free shipping.
The boxes are large and heavy, and come out of their Ohio warehouse
I just dont know how they do it.

It's because the cases are lighweight, flimsy and not even up to par with the cheapest CoolerMaster cases. Back panels are so thin the lightest power supply bends it....side panels vibrate with any fan inside....not to mention being made of the thinnest metal that's not transparent. Add to that numerous sharp edges inside the case just waiting to bite and you can have 'em....wouldn't give these things to my worst enemy, much less anyone I liked.

Give me a $50 CM case any day over these.....these are good finds, OP, but Ultra has a very bad habit of sourcing their cases from the absolute cheapest maker and using the thinnest, cheapest materials imaginable to make them.

I've had a Defender and a X-Blaster and my experiences were completely different than that. Both were solid and sturdy for me...My Corsair 520 HX hasn't bent anything in my case either. The XBlaster I still have has absolutely no fan vibrating noise either, b/c they mount with plastic clips away from the actual grills.

I've used these and recommended them to friends who use them too. If you're looking for a no frills, well built case on the cheap, these are hard to beat. I say that having 3 other Cooler Master cases to boot (Elite 330, 690 and Centurion 5). The 3 CM cases are better quality, but they were also more expensive. To me these Ultras are competing with Apex/Dynex/Rosewill, and they come out on top every time.

 

[Pollock]

Originally posted by: skillyho

Originally posted by: gingerstewart55

Originally posted by: Bozo Galora
the most amazing thing about these ongoing Fry's/Ultra deals is the free shipping.
The boxes are large and heavy, and come out of their Ohio warehouse
I just dont know how they do it.

It's because the cases are lighweight, flimsy and not even up to par with the cheapest CoolerMaster cases. Back panels are so thin the lightest power supply bends it....side panels vibrate with any fan inside....not to mention being made of the thinnest metal that's not transparent. Add to that numerous sharp edges inside the case just waiting to bite and you can have 'em....wouldn't give these things to my worst enemy, much less anyone I liked.

Give me a $50 CM case any day over these.....these are good finds, OP, but Ultra has a very bad habit of sourcing their cases from the absolute cheapest maker and using the thinnest, cheapest materials imaginable to make them.

I've had a Defender and a X-Blaster and my experiences were completely different than that. Both were solid and sturdy for me...My Corsair 520 HX hasn't bent anything in my case either. The XBlaster I still have has absolutely no fan vibrating noise either, b/c they mount with plastic clips away from the actual grills.

I've used these and recommended them to friends who use them too. If you're looking for a no frills, well built case on the cheap, these are hard to beat. I say that having 3 other Cooler Master cases to boot (Elite 330, 690 and Centurion 5). The 3 CM cases are better quality, but they were also more expensive. To me these Ultras are competing with Apex/Dynex/Rosewill, and they come out on top every time.

:thumbsup:

I mean, it's hard to complain about FAR or close to it. I've also had success with all of my Ultra rebates.

 

[Tomer]

I've had excellent luck with my Ultra Wizard (FAR) cases. One, in fact gets packed back and forth to work each day now for well over a year.

The X-Blasters I ordered will be here tomorrow. Either they are heavily built or Outpost packed the boxes with horse manure ( obscure reference to a classic movie called Losin' It - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085868/ ) since the shipping weight is showing 21#.

 

[Bozo Galora]

Well, about a month ago I bought one of those "much better" $50 CM cases.
I needed a case real quick so I went to Fry's, saw the "Elite" 330 and bought one.
Talk about crap, and thin sheet metal.
I almost destroyed the rear of the case trying to remove the slot cover for the PCIe vidcard.
The metal twisted every way under virtually no force, so I had to use 2 needle nose pliers to get it out safely.
The tool less swingdoor "locker" for the PCI slot stuff was a joke. Super thin metal with a retainer bump on it to keep it in place was absurd.
The thumblock tabs to hold in HDD and opticals still allowed them to rattle in place.
Worst of all, the tension in the cases' LED/switch header tabs were too weak, and they would pull off at the slightest movement in the wire. I was so aggravated, I took out the mobo just to see if the mobo pins themselves were too small - but they miced O.K. @.025-.026. I wound up having to put a dab of super glue between each to make like a solid one piece plug.
Lastly, the top left and right split spongy pastic faceplate retainers are almost impossible to get to, and once you squeeze them in enough, they stay closed - you have to pull them apart again for retention.

And to quote from newegg comments:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811119118

"Cons: Steel is THIN. PSU is not quiet. Tool-less design was a bit of a let down. I ended up having to remove the right side of the case (so much for tool-less) to get one of my drives properly seated. Power button feels cheap. PCI covers are knock-outs -- I had to be very careful when removing a couple due to their proximity to system board capacitors.

Other Thoughts: If the case as a whole didn't feel so cheap, I'd consider it for an entry level server case due to the internal layout, drive space, and airflow. The thin steel and cheap feel of this case is just not a message I'd want to send to a client."
------------------------
I'd take a $20 Ultra over a $50 CM anyday.

 

[skillyho]

Originally posted by: Bozo Galora
Well, about a month ago I bought one of those "much better" $50 CM cases.
I needed a case real quick so I went to Fry's, saw the "Elite" 330 and bought one.
Talk about crap, and thin sheet metal.
I almost destroyed the rear of the case trying to remove the slot cover for the PCIe vidcard.
The metal twisted every way under virtually no force, so I had to use 2 needle nose pliers to get it out safely.
The tool less swingdoor "locker" for the PCI slot stuff was a joke. Super thin metal with a retainer bump on it to keep it in place was absurd.
The thumblock tabs to hold in HDD and opticals still allowed them to rattle in place.
Worst of all, the tension in the cases' front panel header tabs were too weak, and they would pull off at the slightest movement in the wire. I was so aggravated, I took out the mobo just to see if the mobo pins themselves were too small - but they miced O.K. @.025-.026. I wound up having to put a dab of super glue between each to make like a solid one piece plug.

And to quote from newegg comments:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811119118

"Cons: Steel is THIN. PSU is not quiet. Tool-less design was a bit of a let down. I ended up having to remove the right side of the case (so much for tool-less) to get one of my drives properly seated. Power button feels cheap. PCI covers are knock-outs -- I had to be very careful when removing a couple due to their proximity to system board capacitors.

Other Thoughts: If the case as a whole didn't feel so cheap, I'd consider it for an entry level server case due to the internal layout, drive space, and airflow. The thin steel and cheap feel of this case is just not a message I'd want to send to a client."
------------------------
I'd take a $20 Ultra over a $50 CM anyday.

Exxxxxxactly.

 

[ELopes580]

I finally ordered the Blaster case. Looks decent but I wish I could get a FAR Wizard like last year. Oh well, $20 is a nice price

 

[Zazuk]

Thanks skillyho, just what I wanted, as long as I get the MIR.

 

[skillyho]

Originally posted by: Zazuk
Thanks skillyho, just what I wanted, as long as I get the MIR.

Provided you've followed the instructions, you are good to go. The turn around for my Ultra rebates has usually been around 4-5 weeks.

 

[Tomer]

During the days of the Ultra FAR cases and PS I did, literally, 20+ Ultra rebates with 100% success and if I remember, they were pretty prompt also.

Just be sure to read and follow the directions and make copies of everything.

I have a pretty extensive rebate tracking procedure in which I use Excel and make PDF's of everything from the order to the completed rebate form.

(Just for the heck of it and I just went and checked. Since August of 06 I've done around 220 rebates. All but one have came back, and the one that I have marked as not I think really did but I simply forgot to mark it off.)

 

[Jay]

In for 1, thanks.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I don't think that the CM Elite 330 cases are THAT bad. I have two of them and they are fine. The rear panel near the PCI slots is a little thin, but it's no thinner than any of a dozen other brands of cases. The only thing I can think of that is stronger, is my old-school Chieftec Dragon case with 1.0mm steel. Most cases these days are 0.6mm. Also, I have no problem with the tool-less design of the 330, my drives don't vibrate. I think it looks very nice asthetically, and it cools just fine too.