Need help with new case

[kevinpray]

Hi all,

I've read a lot of good reviews about the Sonata, but I got a chance to actually look at it in Compusa -- a little TOO big for where I'd like to put it.

I've also looked at the Silverstone SST-LC03-VFD - which is absolutely beautiful, but too expensive ($200+ with shipping)

I'm looking for something that is 14" or smaller in height.

Can anyone recommend a black case that would have 2 external 3.5" slots, 1 or 2 5.25" slots and 2 3.5" internal slots for 2 HDDs (SATA)

My proposed config is a 3.5" floppy, 3.5" 7-in-1 card reader, 1 DVD burner and two SATA drives - 1 for programs and the other for captured video. Cards would be a Radeon 9600, MA311 wireless and Hauppague DVR-250. Software would be XP Home Edition and Meedio Essentials.

Mobo can be ATX (preferred) or m-ATX -- can anyone recommend a solid m-ATX that has IDE and SATA for socket 478?

Thanks in advance.

 

[sivart]

Some others left me some very good suggestions for desktop cases (more than likely only 6-8" height) in this thread.

 

[Zepper]

Silverstone Mini-Berserker

.bh.

:moon:

 

[Zepper]

Silverstone Mini-Berserker!

.bh.

:moon:

 

[Zap]

OMG, that's a really budget and small case, Zepper.

Kevinpray, for your motherboard you can choose from a bunch of mATX 865G chipset boards that meet your requirements. For the case, my personal preference would be anything that can take a normal ATX power supply and can mount optical drives horizontally. Here are two examples that I actually have in my house right now:

Athenatech Micro Tower Case with 300W Power Supply (Black/Silver), Model "A301BS.Q300"
$36+13SH
This case is pretty short (front-rear). Kinda very square looking, but not bad. It comes with pre-stealthed 5¼" drive bay face plates - a nice touch. There are a few versions of this case floating around. Some have four USB ports in front and some have two USB ports and headphone/mic jacks. There are two internal designs differing in drive bays. Of course two external 5¼" bays and two external 3½" bays. One design has a single internal 3½" bay while another design has two. Of course you can put a HDD in an unused 5¼" bay. The included "Power-Q" power supply isn't too bad for a cheapie, plus it is "normal" ATX size. The case uses an 80mm fan in the back and has really great ventilation in the front face. There are two versions of the side panel, with and without the CPU fan duct. The metal construction is pretty average for a budget case, thin and with wrapped edges. A larger case would feel flimsy with such thin metal, but the smaller case feels quite sturdy.

IN WIN 3G Screwless BLACK MicroATX Mini Tower With 250W Power Supply, Model "V523G.I250BFU2D"
$38+14SH
I have a really old version of this case. Same basic chassis, the newer one is just updated with front USB ports, side CPU fan duct, screwless design and a higher wattage PowerMan power supply (decent). This case is available in a few different colors and different front face designs, but the basic chassis is the same. Let me tell you, this case is built like a tank. It is constructed of "SECC Japanese Steel metal" and feels very heavy and stiff. Did I mention heavy? This case is made to last. It has two external 5¼" bays, two external 3½" bays (one with floppy face) and one internal 3½" bay. The case ventilation through the front face is exceptional. The case is as small as it can get for such a form factor while still allowing for the power supply to be above the motherboard instead of covering the side. In fact, these cases used to come with "shorty" versions of ATX power supplies because of so little room between the power supply and the back of the optical drives. Also, the case is really narrow, barely wider than the 5¼" drives. The case that I have here was a build for my GF (she now has one in the Athenatech case). It has a DVD drive, CDRW, floppy, Maxtor and Seagate HDDs, mATX 845D chipset board (yup, rare mATX with no integrated video), Antec TruePower 330W, undervolted Zalman 7000-AlCu, undervolted ThermalTake Blue Orb on the video card, undervolted Panaflo 12M fan. The thing weighs about 50 pounds and the loudest part of the system is... the first generation fluid bearing Maxtor drive. Amazing system.

 

[TwoBills]

Check out Chenbro's 80568 matx case. Only one bay of each but you could use combos. There's some nice floppy/card rdr. combos out there for about $50.

I bought one from NE, for a new build, and it was perfect. Has a 200w Fortron psu. Then I saw the new model, again from NE, w/a 270w psu. Had to have it. $63 shipped w/several options. But then they just kinda disappeared. But I'm sure they're out there. Worth the search imho.