# new case... limitations?



## okay player (Sep 4, 2004)

Hey guys,

I've always wanted a nice all-black case. My current case does the job, but I leave both side panels off in order to help keep the temps down, so it's a bit of an eyesore. I've taken a look at several different models and I really like the Enermax Chakra. It looks nice, subtle, and has that massive 250mm fan to help keep things running cool. I know it doesn't have a removable motherboard tray, but I think I can live with that. Is there any reason you guys can see to not get this case? I remember reading some rumor about the next generation of video cards being abnormally long and therefore possibly requiring a new size case to house them. Is there any truth to this? I plan to do a massive upgrade sometime in the new year and would hate to have to ditch a brand new case for compatibility issues.

If you guys have other recommendations for cases I'd love to hear'em... just keep in mind I'd like to keep it all black, mid tower, around 100$ canadian, and I already have a PSU. A removable motherboard tray would be a bonus but I really didn't see that option on cases in my price range. I'm also looking at the Thermaltake Tsunami... it's certainly very stylish but a little pricier and doesn't have the massive side fan.

Thanks!


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

Hi,

Might want to also look at the Antec Sonata II. It sells for about $100 bucks (US) and includes an Antec 450 power supply. I have one and like the case, but I have since put a Seasonic 600 power supply in it for more power. The Antec 450 is a very good supply though IMHO, if you don't need any more power than that.


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## Fr4665 (Nov 18, 2004)

as it just happens i finished a customers computer with one of those cases yesterday, the enermax chakra. I was really impressed at the nice detail and also the front covers for the case.
pros:
built in 80mm fan in the front for circulation
super easy harddrive installation on the side with fast install slides
super easy cd-rw install also with fast slide thingies
massive fan on the side has a switch to turn it on or off or what ever you like
the power button are all hidden under a plastic flap wich is very solid
looks good

cons:
carrying this thing is a pita because there arent really any good grabbing points
to install the cd-rw or dvd-rw in the top drive you need to make sure u unbunble the power switch cabeling to get it flat otherwise itl get stuck

recommendations:
get a cpu cooler similar to an Arctic Freezer cooling 7 so that the hot air gets blown to the backside of the case, this eliminates the need of a 120mm back fan because the hsf has enough power to push the air through the back.


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## okay player (Sep 4, 2004)

Thanks for the replies, guys. The Sonata II looks like a very good case as well, but it's a little more expensive than the Chakra, and at this point I'm trying to save as much cash as possible.

Fr4665, thanks for that mini-review. If those are the only cons than I think I'll go ahead with the Chakra. My current case doesn't have any real grabbing spots on it but I'm still able to comfortably carry it down to the first floor for when I want to do some big screen gaming. D)

I've never transferred hardware to another case before so this will be a learning experience but I'm assuming it won't be too difficult. The only thing I'm uncertain about is the power/reset switches as I've never had to deal with them before. Everything else should be pretty straight forward, right?


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## 8210GUY (Aug 29, 2006)

Shame about the money, or I would of suggested a Thermaltake either the Armor or the Shark, got an Armor personally, excellent cooling and plenty of space for upgrades and is so upgradeable even has a BTX conversion kit available, only thing I don't like is the stupid (IMHO) little front wings they have on it to act as a kind of front door I guess, but leaving the centre open, I really don't like that as if you shut the drives (CD\DVD etc) without checking they can catch the bay as it closes stopping it from closing, but apart from that it's great.

As to the case wires, it will either be a breeze or a nightmare, I strongly suggest you put pen to paper and note the way they are fitted NOW before you swap cases, also note what colour wire goes to what pin within the layout, I have had to reduce 3 pin plugs to fit a 2 pin setup before now which had me totally thrown for ages because of that, then get the motherboard manual and study the pin configuration looking at your drawing, it will help show what wires are the + and - so if the case wires don't use the same terminology you should be able to work out what goes where, I also suggest you look at the case wires BEFORE disconnecting the old case that way you can mentally spot any confusion and find answers before you start, most of the time they are fairly obvious, BUT I have come across a couple that appear in total reverse to what I've dealt with previously, and some wire names in the case that may as well been written in Greek lol, but with my advice here you should be prepared for that, but I must stress that is worst case scenario, but better be prepared than stuck. :wink:


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## okay player (Sep 4, 2004)

I checked those cases out. Personally I don't really like the "doors" on the armour either. It definitely looks like a quality case with solid cooling but I just can't get past its appearance. The other thing that puts me off is the LED lights on the front fans(?). I don't really see a need for all that computer bling. The Chakra and Sonata both really appeal to me because they're fairly low-key, and simple. 

The other thing about the armour is the whole liquid cooling thing. I don't really know much about liquid cooling.. it seems overly-complicated when I can solve my temp needs with simple case fans.

The Thermaltake Shark looks very stylish, but it's a full-tower and 2x my budget. Probably would be the last case I'd ever need, but I think at this point I'd rather put that 100$ to something more performance-related when I do my full upgrade.

Thanks for the suggestions though, and I really do appreciate your advice about the install and will definitely take some pics of how everything looks before I take it all apart.


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## 8210GUY (Aug 29, 2006)

NP, the Armor only comes with the 1 fan fitted in a removable drive bay in the front, obviously you could swap the fan for a plain one easily and cheaply enough and add more if needed, the other thing with that case is each bay panel on the front is packed with a wire'y\spongy\mesh'y type of material that can be washed and it acts as an air filter to minimise dust bunnies getting into the case, but it does come without water cooling as well as pre installed, just select which you want, the only difference I'm aware of is apart from no water cooling fitted there is the readiness to add it as an extra at a later date should you want with little effort as holes are pre drilled ready for it, all apart of it's updatability that I like.


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## Fr4665 (Nov 18, 2004)

the chakra also has this mesh 8210 is talking about its a thin layer of sponge in all the mesh covers so the dust gets filtered and u can wash them out.


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## okay player (Sep 4, 2004)

Well, I originally held off on my purchase of the Chakra because I was having a hard time finding an e-tailer that ships to Canada. I finally did find a site (xoxide.com), but in the process, also found several other cases which I found to be much, well, *more awesome*. Here are some pics of the cases that really caught my eye:










MassCool Nextherm CS-ICS8200







Antec Nine Hundred







Lian-Li PC-6070B







Silverstone Temjin T-J03



While all of these cases look absolutely stunning, after sifting through reviews, I've learned that the first 3 are actually quite loud, and the T-J03 is a full-tower, flagship case which retails for about $300. A little out of my price range. 

However I kept searching and found what appears to be a case with beautiful styling as well as a good compromise between cooling and low-noise. The Antec P-180B:








It's a little pricier than I'd like it to be, but I'll be starting a new job soon so maybe I'll splurge for it. I have a question though... the PSU is housed at the bottom of this case. My current PSU has a large 120mm fan on the bottom of the unit. Will using this style of PSU in this case result in poor airflow for the power supply? There seems to be a bit of room between the PSU bracket and the bottom of the chassis but is it enough?

Sorry guys, I went a little crazy with the pictures but to be honest I'm having a lot of fun trying to find the perfect case and just wanted to share part of that journey with you.


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

Hi,

You have chosen an awesome case and IMHO, is is one of the best. You should have no trouble fitting a decent power suppy in that case. 

However, as always we hope the power supply you have has enough guts to power what you want. Many of them don't although they advertise that they do. So, if you have more power supply details of what you own, we might be able to better advise you if this is an appropriate power supply for your unit.

Addendum: Thanks for the journey through some great looking and well performing cases. It was appreciated.


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## okay player (Sep 4, 2004)

Actually, this PSU is only a few months old as my stock one recently bit the dust. It's a Silverstone Strider.. 560W, Dual +12V rails, 80% efficiency, active PFC. I did my research (with the help of TSF) so I'm pretty confident it's a good unit. I'm anxious to do a serious upgrade in the new year (core 2 duo(?), mobo, ram, directx10 video card) and am assuming it will be up to the task. However I'm too impatient to wait that long without upgrading anything, and I've always wanted a case that didn't come stock with my system, so that's why I'm thinking about the Antec.


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

Hi,

IMHO, that is a very good power supply and it should work fine for you. I don't know down the road what you are using/or/planning on using for graphics cards, so it is difficult to say what you will need in power. However, for now, that baby should do the job just fine for you. You made a nice choice of a power supply for your present needs.


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## okay player (Sep 4, 2004)

Thanks for the kind-words, Tumble... but like I said TSF is where I came to do all my research. The highly informative sticky on PSU information is a fantastic resource and really made the selection process that much easier for me.

I don't really know what I'll be using in terms of graphic cards, either! I'm assuming sometime around Vista's launch they will release the new DX10 cards as well, and that's when I'll start reading the reviews and such. I definitely won't be going top-of-the-line... probably a mid-level Nvidia DX10 card.... and if I wind up needing more ooomph I can throw another in SLI as the PSU supports it. Good idea?


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## forcifer (Nov 20, 2005)

Xstreme Hardware - PC Hardware News and Reviews - Antec Nine Hundred Gaming Case Review


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## PanamaGal (Jun 3, 2006)

Have you checked out Coolermaster? Nice cases at reasonable prices.


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## 8210GUY (Aug 29, 2006)

I was seriously considering the 180 before I went for the Armor, it really appealed to me having compartments and suspension to reduce noise etc, but only 2 things put me off, no window as I wanted to have lights, and warnings about the PSU that you use, many warn of other PSU's having leads to short to reach their connection points, many suggest using Antec PSU's with these cases to get round this but I knew what I wanted already, the alternative is getting extension cables but again it didn't appeal to me, but I was so close to going for it, just be aware you may need to get extensions for your cables to reach their goal, apart from that I'm sure you will love it.


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## okay player (Sep 4, 2004)

I've checked out CoolerMaster. They do make some nice products but to be honest none of them really stand out to me. I sorta like the mystique, except for the big orange plastic piece built into the door.

The Nine Hundred seems good but I read another review that claimed it was not quiet by any stretch of the imagination. I do like that it can support some hefty PSU's as that seems to be the direction things are going in.

With that said, I'm beginning to think the Antec P-180B might not be so great after all... in the SPCR review (I think), it seems to be a pretty tight fit with a standard Power Supply... So this means it might not even be compatible with some of the bigger, higher-end PSU's that I'm guessing will become more standardized over the years. Any thoughts on this?

The cables on my Silverstone Strider are actually quite long and I don't think there'd be any problems making the necessary connections, and I actually prefer the window-less side panel, so the only thing I'm really worried about is future PSU upgradability.


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## 8210GUY (Aug 29, 2006)

The PSU chamber will seriously restrict whist units you can use in it, especially if it has a fan on the top\bottom as the compartment is quite snug depending on what you have, IMHO if you want a case with maximum updatability you want a case that has loads of space and the ability to use a BTX set up in the future if needed.


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## twajetmech (Jul 1, 2004)

I have the Lian Li 6070 that you looked at...best case I've ever owned, roomy, with lots of HD spaces and fits just about anything you can think of, very quiet, but it is pricey, and I did replace the stock fans with higher cfm panaflo H1A's....the Antec Sonata II is also an excellent case with very good airflow and cooling and also very quiet with a decent psu to boot ! It is a favorite of the friends for whom I've built systems for with it. Personally, you can't really go wrong with any Lian Li case or several of the Antec models


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## minster9 (Jun 8, 2006)

hi all, in response to okay players question: find a cheap,ugly,simple case that's easy to work in & modify the crap out out of it. Cut holes for fans using a tiny drill bit & a dremel cutoff wheel to connect the holes. Then use a halfround file to neaten things up. Play bodyman & give it a nice paint job. Put a $20 fan controller/temp. monitor in it. Of course,it helps to be a mechanic w/some bodywork xperience. My case whispers "stealth",all flat black w/3 case fans turned down to about 1/2 speed. Nothing ever goes over 34C.


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## okay player (Sep 4, 2004)

Now that is an option I never even considered! It sounds like fun and is probably the only way to get things exactly they way you want, but I don't think I'm up to the challenge. I've never done any case mods before and don't have the necessary tools. I think one day I'd like to get into case modding but I'm not sure that day is here just yet.

The P180B seems to have the styling and cooling that I am after. It doesn't have the upgradability of a BTX conversion kit or the space to house a larger power supply, but I think once I do my upgrade in the new year it will suit my needs and hold up fine for a couple of years...

What's so great about BTX anyway? Will they really become the standard in a few years?


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## minster9 (Jun 8, 2006)

Yeah,case mods take a lot of time & planning,but the end result is worth the trouble. I enjoy doing it,but it also a very inexpensive way to get the case you want. I'm kinda partial to Lian-Li cases were I to buy a case,but I think all the big names are overpriced. I'm cheap;I can take an old case nobody wants[usually because of the pukey color] & make it appealing to the eye. My big money goes inside of it;a couple cans of primer,paint,sandpaper,the right tools & a place to do it ,heck you could make a case look like a 100 bucks. I can't say I'm impressed by the BTX cases;perhaps it's a personal taste thing. I don't want a distracting case next to my 19" lcd monitor.the blue display of the temp. monitor in the top bay is somewhat annoying,but IMO a necessity. Keep asking questions before you decide what you want;electronic stuff gets so obsolete so fast. Lots of luck!


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