Trying to choose a case

[harobikes333]

Well this computer is going to stay at home when I go to college and my parents won't update it so I'm needing the computer to last say 5+ years at least lol mabe. Since it won't be OCed, etc.

The P180 seems to be a pretty nice case and since what it looks like isn't that important.... I'm wondering as I looked at that review, where do you have access to your optical drives???:\

The fact that it need long cables for everything kinda makes me feel uneasy..:\ I plan on getting a 500W seasonic

Replies? Please?

 

[ranmao]

It all depends on your motherboard. If your main power connector is on the upper left side then you have a problem, if it's somewhere on the right and preferably lower then it won't be. Again with the cases if your going to go into the price range of the P180 there are other ones that are good too. I would recommend going to a computer store like Fry's or Micro Center and taking a look at them in person, then if you see something that you like do a search on reviews or post it here again. Also if you haven't done so already go on Newegg and price out different systems using the wish list function and don't forget to include shipping cost in your finale tally.

 

[RampantAndroid]

Cables aren't an issue....the inside of the case will be only a little taller than a mid tower...one website classified it a super mid tower, since it in no way can be classified as a full tower. For IDE/SATA cables, they don't have to be longer than normal. PSU cables weren't a prob for me either, and I ran cables to the top optical bay.

Access to optical drives is behind the large door. To pull the drive out, simple remove the cable from the back end (access from inside case for this) and slide the drive out the front on its rails. Same for the floppy drive. 2 of the 6 HD drives mount on rails as well.

 

[harobikes333]

so how do you put cds into the case...? as in the pics is shows the filters blocking it by the looks of it:\???

 

[SonnyDaze]

Originally posted by: RampantAndroid
Cables aren't an issue....the inside of the case will be only a little taller than a mid tower...one website classified it a super mid tower, since it in no way can be classified as a full tower. For IDE/SATA cables, they don't have to be longer than normal. PSU cables weren't a prob for me either, and I ran cables to the top optical bay.

Access to optical drives is behind the large door. To pull the drive out, simple remove the cable from the back end (access from inside case for this) and slide the drive out the front on its rails. Same for the floppy drive. 2 of the 6 HD drives mount on rails as well.

As a P180 owner I can tell you cables can be an issue....just the PSU cables though. It is recommended that your ATX and P4 power cables be in the neighborhood of 20" long in order to reach the "most common" places for connection on current mobos. I have an OCZ Powerstream PSU and my P4 cable was a stretch to get it there. And if you have a big video card like a 7800GT...you now have to navigate your PSU power cables around that since they are coming up from below the video card. I can't use my lowest PCI slot because of this. It's a common flaw on the P180. No biggie though. You mentioned a Seasonic PSU. From what I've read most of the Seasonics don't have cables long enough to reach. Look here for some good reading: Antec P180/PSU compatability

It is a good case. You just have to put a little research and thought into it before you jump in and start building. Good Luck. :beer:

 

[harobikes333]

seeing that ya I donno about the cables fitting and the fact that this is my first build I'm going to have ta go with either the centurion 5 or the cav 3

 

[RampantAndroid]

There are 2 front filters. They are in the middle, and bottom of the case. If you look closely, the CD drives are mounted at the top.

You CAN get ATX cable extensions that will give you an aextra few inches. Up to you, since that's an added cost.

 

[harobikes333]

I'm just hoping for a good cool case that you can build in easily and upgrade some stuff if needed.

 

[Zensal]

I just got a P180 about a week ago and am loving it. Lots of room to work in and the best airflow I have ever seen. The "wind tunnel" effect on the bottom is genius and seriously cuts down on ambient temps inside the case.

Now after saying that, it is a bit pricy, and since you're not OC'ing I would not recommend it. Save the money and spend it somewhere else.

 

[Wentelteefje]

Having too much money? Take a ThermalTake Shark... Looks gorgeous and cools very good... Has a removable mobo tray, standard holes to pull your wc cables through, 2x120mm fans (very silent ones), lots of space... Reviewers all around the web are just loving it...

Otherwise I'd pick the Antec SLK-3000B for the Centurion 5, but they are both very good for their price...

 

[harobikes333]

thnx for the reply. I'm just trying to pick a good first time builder case.

 

[SonnyDaze]

Originally posted by: harobikes333
seeing that ya I donno about the cables fitting and the fact that this is my first build I'm going to have ta go with either the centurion 5 or the cav 3

:thumbsup:

My first computer was a Commodore 64...and I've been building and tinkering since then and the P180 was still a challenge to get a good clean layout.

 

[SuperSilicon]

Cav 3 man, DOITTOIT

 

[harobikes333]

DOITTOIT <--???

 

[potato28]

Do it?

 

[Davan]

Please dont buy a P180 - Its a sloppily made chassis and is no cooler or quieter than most others. 120MM fans - Yes, thats a good decision. But the bottom fan is totally useless and might as well not be there and you really need to buy a fourth 120 for the front (So theres another ~$20 if youre going to stick with the Antec SmartCool fans.)

Buy a Lian-Li PC6070B if you really want quiet - http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant...roduct_Code=100750&Category_Code=C1-LL
Soooo nice and so easy to work with. Silent padding in the chassis, so much better made than the plastic P180 which in my opinion gets so many props only because people get stuck with it and insist they love it.

The Lian-Li V1000B is also really nice - http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant...roduct_Code=100163&Category_Code=C1-LL
its reverse mounted which helps the airflow a good bit, kinda like BTX.

CoolerMaster Praetorian is also really nice and not hard at all to build -http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant...oduct_Code=100154&Category_Code=C1-ALL

Also the NZXT is really nice - http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant...oduct_Code=101056&Category_Code=C1-ALL
And not a hard build either although at first glance it looks like it might be. Really sharp looking case - if you want it to stand out this is the one you should get

Some other nice cases include the Thermaltake Tsunami, Soprano (dont get the one with the plastic front door) and Kandalf, SilverStone SST-TJ06-BW, and Antec Sonta and Overture. Stick with one of the above cases, trust me.

 

[harobikes333]

thanks for the nice post I'm just trying to decide still:\

 

[djnsmith7]

Hey Haro...

I bought 2 of these for myself & one for my brother...We've both had great experiences with this case.

It has plenty of room for what's on your list & it's a great bargain. It comes with a 420W PS & is easy to work with.

If this case doesn't interest you, check out NewEgg's site...They have hundreds of cases to choose from.

Good luck.


Raidmax 868 Case


If you find that you have way too much time on your hands, I also have this case...It will consume a lot of your time, but I'm convinced the final product will be well worth it.


In case you have too much time on your hands.

 

[harobikes333]

I would only buy the case for the case. I'd still get a seasonic 500W since I don't want to risk killing my system over a PSU

 

[Shadowknight]

Originally posted by: Davan
Please dont buy a P180 - Its a sloppily made chassis and is no cooler or quieter than most others. 120MM fans - Yes, thats a good decision. But the bottom fan is totally useless and might as well not be there and you really need to buy a fourth 120 for the front (So theres another ~$20 if youre going to stick with the Antec SmartCool fans.)

Buy a Lian-Li PC6070B if you really want quiet - http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant...roduct_Code=100750&Category_Code=C1-LL
Soooo nice and so easy to work with. Silent padding in the chassis, so much better made than the plastic P180 which in my opinion gets so many props only because people get stuck with it and insist they love it..

From all accounts, the included dampening material that somes with the Lian Li's are useless.

re: P180. Plastic will make less noise than metal from vibrations in the case. The amount of the mass in the case helps with this. Pure aluminum is going to resonate more easily due to the lower amount of mass/weight vs. Pure steel or the al/steel/al setup of the P180.

The middle fan in the bottom of the PSU chamber is used to blow air directly onto the PSU. This is absolutely necessary for passive PSUs, and the amount of air from a 120mm fan blowing on a PSU with an 80mm fan will provide more cooling as more air is reaching it due to the proximity from the larger fan. This in turn should keep the PSU ramping up from the otherwise higher temps without this fan. The fan in the middle also pulls air across the harddrives, keeping them cool as well.

The P180 is NOT shoddily made. The door design is bad, though they've apparently released a newer version in Japan that fixes this problem (instead of just being aluminum/steel, it's now al/steel/al like the rest of the case, apparently providing better support).

The P180 is an overrated case; even Mike Chin, who helped design the case has stated it as not being perfect, listing both execution and design flaws in the final product. Additionally, most cases don't come with a front fan anyway. The PSU chamber is separated from the rest of the case to keep both the PSU and the CPU cooler, and the top fan can pull more air over the CPU to keep that even cooler.

The P180 is not a perfect case, I've never understood the hype for it, truthfully, but saying it's shoddily made and complaining about the lack of a front fan is unwarranted.

 

[harobikes333]

true I think I'm keeping away from the P180 for this build though since I don't want to have cable lenth issues and I just need an easy build seeing this is my first rig

 

[jc9970]

First time builder? *Centurion 5*

happy building.....

 

[harobikes333]

Thanks ^ ^ The P180 seems like I might run into some trouble with cable lengths... do you think the centurion will be quiet enough?

 

[ranmao]

I was suprised how quiet it was for its type of design. Of course that will depend on your setup. I personaly used everything stock(heatsinks,fans). Power supply can be the biggest source of noise but my fortron wasn't, and from what I heard the seasonic that you're planning on using is pretty quiet too.

 

[harobikes333]

I've just heard that the seasonic doesn't have long enough cables