New Case

Bill4 · 06-10-2008, 03:53 PM

Greetings All,
Was looking at new cases and was wondering if anybody had an opinion
on the Cooler Master Cosmos or the Lian Li Armorsuit cases. Barring that,
what cases are folks using these days? I am looking for a replacement for
a SuperMicro SC750; air cooling.
Thanks
Bill

TQ · 06-10-2008, 04:02 PM

I'm a big fan of my Antec P-180 cases. About the only time I grumble about them is when I have to pick one up and move it. (Talk about your Mass Effect...)
Otherwise they're easy to work in and very, very quiet.

ATINUT · 06-10-2008, 04:54 PM

Take a look at the Antec P182 case, which I myself own. I grumble as TQ said, when I have to move my case, as it's heavy with everything in my system inside of it.

ctal · 06-10-2008, 05:27 PM

Yes the Antec's are very good, if you don't mind the weight. You might also want to consider the Lian Li A70 series, which I and PolonyC2 have been very pleased with on recent builds. It is both larger and lighter than the Antec's, with reasonably good noise levels and exceptional cooling. See the following threads:

My New Build

new system build

If the size and price meet your criteria, the only downside whatsoever to the A70 series is that the power and reset switches seem a bit flimsy, and can stick if not pressed carefully. Otherwise these are, as Poly put it, the holy grail of cases. Performance PC's, btw, offers them at better prices than NewEgg, in both windowed and windowless versions, and in either silver or black (or at least they did as of a couple of months ago; I haven't checked lately).

Regards,
-- Al

TQ · 06-10-2008, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ctal

You might also want to consider the Lian Li A70 series...

That does look nice and roomy. HD access also looks quite convenient.

ctal · 06-10-2008, 05:41 PM

Yes the hd mounting arrangement is very nice. Also, they mount via rubber washers, which do a pretty good job of minimizing the noise levels produced by Raptors and other noisy drives.

I should point out also that the power supply can be mounted either at the bottom or at the top; Poly and I both found that cabling worked out more neatly with it mounted at the top.

Regards,
-- Al

XJ. · 06-10-2008, 07:32 PM

ctal - I don't think you have enough hard drives

ctal · 06-10-2008, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XJ.

ctal - I don't think you have enough hard drives

That's not mine! I don't know where TQ got that pic from, but I'm sure he'll let us know.

My system has 3 hard drives, as described in my profile.

The case also has, believe it or not, an auxiliary hard drive cage with its own fan that can hold three drives in addition to the 7 that you see towards the front of the case in the picture. It is positioned at the top rear, and appears to have two more hdd's in it! It can be swapped with the power supply, and positioned at the bottom. In my case I just removed it altogether, not needing the hdd capacity and figuring that seven 120mm case fans (plus cpu fan, video card fan, and power supply fan) were enough! (Two case fans in front, two just behind the front hdd assembly, one rear, two top with the optional dual blowhole).

Regards,

-- Al

TQ · 06-10-2008, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ctal

That's not mine!

Oh, sure...he says that now...

Does this mean I have to return your "bikini's in the Bahamas" and "nuts in Nassau" vacation pictures?

ctal · 06-10-2008, 08:40 PM

Just the first group; the others I thought you might want to keep because they are about a location near you, and they're of much less interest anyway.

Edible Nuts in Nassau Bay, TX 77058- MojoPages

-- Al

spookyload · 06-10-2008, 09:00 PM

The Antec Sonata mounts the HD's the same way with the rubber washers. They also mount them sideways with a 120mm fan right in front of it. My only gripe with the case is video cards have gotten so big these days that I can barely get the power supply on the card.

TQ · 06-10-2008, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ctal

Edible Nuts in Nassau Bay, TX 77058- MojoPages

That's pretty funny...I'll even be in Houston for the next few days.

ctal · 06-10-2008, 09:30 PM

Good luck, all kidding aside!

-- Al

TQ · 06-10-2008, 09:41 PM

Thanks...it's been a really tough couple of weeks. Some weird combination of illnesses have been hammering me from all sides. I've even completely lost my voice, which is pretty bad considering my line of work.

Underwater Mike · 06-11-2008, 07:53 AM

I just built with the PC-A70W (windowed) too, and it's my best LL case yet. It is HUGE, and offers a ton of cooling and configuration options. Performance-PCs is not only a cheap source, but they'll save you a lot of time by sleeving all the internal wiring for a nominal fee.

Definitely worth the cost, IMO.

06-10-2008, 03:53 PM	#1
Bill4 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Stafford, Virginia Posts: 84	New Case Greetings All, Was looking at new cases and was wondering if anybody had an opinion on the Cooler Master Cosmos or the Lian Li Armorsuit cases. Barring that, what cases are folks using these days? I am looking for a replacement for a SuperMicro SC750; air cooling. Thanks Bill
(Offline)

06-10-2008, 04:02 PM	#2
TQ You gonna throw that? Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 8,442	Re: New Case I'm a big fan of my Antec P-180 cases. About the only time I grumble about them is when I have to pick one up and move it. (Talk about your Mass Effect...) Otherwise they're easy to work in and very, very quiet. __________________ Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me - Psalm 51:10 My goal in life is to be as good of a person as my dogs already think I am... Daywalker Studio: Software: Adobe Audition 3.0/Pro Tools LE 7.4/Acid Pro 6.0/Multiple VST, DirectX and RTAS plugins/Kontakt 3 Sampler/Windows XP Professional PC Hardware: D975XBX2-504/E6600/4x2GB Mushkin XP2-6400/eVGA 800GTX/HP f1905 19" flat panel/Echo Audio Gina24 Sound Card/2 Maxtor 6B300SO's/1 Maxtor STM500AS/1 Western Digital WD2500JD/PleXwriter Premium/Plextor 716A/Samsung LightScribe DVD burner/Logitech Revolution MX/Antec P-180b/PPC&C Silencer 610/Zalman CNPS9500 HSF Recording Hardware: Mbox 2 Factory Pro/Mackie SR24.4VLZ Pro Console/M-Audio Axiom 25 MIDI Controller/Audio-Technica 4033a microphone/Symetrix 528E/PreSonus Eureka/Mackie MR8 active monitors Game Machine: Gigabyte GA-X48-DQ6/E8400/4x2GB Mushkin XP2-8500/BFG GTX280/HP f2105 21" flat panel/Creative Labs X-Fi Elite Pro/Maxtor 6H500F0/Maxtor STM3320/Western Digital WD4000KD/Plextor 760A/Toshiba DVD-ROM/Zalman CNPS9700/Antec P-180/PPC&C Silencer 610/Ideazon Merc Stealth keyboard/Vista Business64 SP1
(Offline)

06-10-2008, 04:54 PM	#3
ATINUT Just Plain Crazy! Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 3,278	Re: New Case Take a look at the Antec P182 case, which I myself own. I grumble as TQ said, when I have to move my case, as it's heavy with everything in my system inside of it. __________________ Intel D975XBX2 Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 8GB's of Mushkin HP2 6400 memory(DDR2 800) two Sapphire GDDR4 Radeon 3870 videocards HT Omega Claro(Cmedia 8788HD chip) 120GB&200GB&320GB Western Digital harddrives LG DVDROM & LG DVDBURNER HP Deskjet 920C Logitech X-540 speakers Viewsonic VG2030wm 20inch Widescreen LCD Windows Vista Ultimate 64bit with Service Pack 1 Who'se the fool that approved the design for this place. - The Dwarf, Sacred Underworld.
(Offline)

06-10-2008, 05:27 PM	#4
ctal Eschews Obfuscation Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Connecticut, USA Posts: 1,303	Re: New Case Yes the Antec's are very good, if you don't mind the weight. You might also want to consider the Lian Li A70 series, which I and PolonyC2 have been very pleased with on recent builds. It is both larger and lighter than the Antec's, with reasonably good noise levels and exceptional cooling. See the following threads: My New Build new system build If the size and price meet your criteria, the only downside whatsoever to the A70 series is that the power and reset switches seem a bit flimsy, and can stick if not pressed carefully. Otherwise these are, as Poly put it, the holy grail of cases. Performance PC's, btw, offers them at better prices than NewEgg, in both windowed and windowless versions, and in either silver or black (or at least they did as of a couple of months ago; I haven't checked lately). Regards, -- Al __________________ "I didn't say I didn't say it. I said that I didn't say that I said it. I want to make that very clear." -- George Romney, in 1968, while campaigning for the Republican nomination for President of the United States.
(Offline)

06-10-2008, 05:41 PM	#6
ctal Eschews Obfuscation Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Connecticut, USA Posts: 1,303	Re: New Case Yes the hd mounting arrangement is very nice. Also, they mount via rubber washers, which do a pretty good job of minimizing the noise levels produced by Raptors and other noisy drives. I should point out also that the power supply can be mounted either at the bottom or at the top; Poly and I both found that cabling worked out more neatly with it mounted at the top. Regards, -- Al __________________ "I didn't say I didn't say it. I said that I didn't say that I said it. I want to make that very clear." -- George Romney, in 1968, while campaigning for the Republican nomination for President of the United States.
(Offline)

06-10-2008, 07:32 PM	#7
XJ. ... Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: NH, USA Posts: 6,063	Re: New Case ctal - I don't think you have enough hard drives
(Offline)

06-10-2008, 08:40 PM	#10
ctal Eschews Obfuscation Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Connecticut, USA Posts: 1,303	Re: New Case Just the first group; the others I thought you might want to keep because they are about a location near you, and they're of much less interest anyway. Edible Nuts in Nassau Bay, TX 77058- MojoPages -- Al __________________ "I didn't say I didn't say it. I said that I didn't say that I said it. I want to make that very clear." -- George Romney, in 1968, while campaigning for the Republican nomination for President of the United States.
(Offline)

06-10-2008, 09:00 PM	#11
spookyload IN-n-Out Expert Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Probably stuck in Iraq! Posts: 2,919	Re: New Case The Antec Sonata mounts the HD's the same way with the rubber washers. They also mount them sideways with a 120mm fan right in front of it. My only gripe with the case is video cards have gotten so big these days that I can barely get the power supply on the card.
(Offline)

06-10-2008, 09:30 PM	#13
ctal Eschews Obfuscation Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Connecticut, USA Posts: 1,303	Re: New Case Good luck, all kidding aside! -- Al __________________ "I didn't say I didn't say it. I said that I didn't say that I said it. I want to make that very clear." -- George Romney, in 1968, while campaigning for the Republican nomination for President of the United States.
(Offline)

06-10-2008, 09:41 PM	#14
TQ You gonna throw that? Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 8,442	Re: New Case Thanks...it's been a really tough couple of weeks. Some weird combination of illnesses have been hammering me from all sides. I've even completely lost my voice, which is pretty bad considering my line of work. __________________ Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me - Psalm 51:10 My goal in life is to be as good of a person as my dogs already think I am... Daywalker Studio: Software: Adobe Audition 3.0/Pro Tools LE 7.4/Acid Pro 6.0/Multiple VST, DirectX and RTAS plugins/Kontakt 3 Sampler/Windows XP Professional PC Hardware: D975XBX2-504/E6600/4x2GB Mushkin XP2-6400/eVGA 800GTX/HP f1905 19" flat panel/Echo Audio Gina24 Sound Card/2 Maxtor 6B300SO's/1 Maxtor STM500AS/1 Western Digital WD2500JD/PleXwriter Premium/Plextor 716A/Samsung LightScribe DVD burner/Logitech Revolution MX/Antec P-180b/PPC&C Silencer 610/Zalman CNPS9500 HSF Recording Hardware: Mbox 2 Factory Pro/Mackie SR24.4VLZ Pro Console/M-Audio Axiom 25 MIDI Controller/Audio-Technica 4033a microphone/Symetrix 528E/PreSonus Eureka/Mackie MR8 active monitors Game Machine: Gigabyte GA-X48-DQ6/E8400/4x2GB Mushkin XP2-8500/BFG GTX280/HP f2105 21" flat panel/Creative Labs X-Fi Elite Pro/Maxtor 6H500F0/Maxtor STM3320/Western Digital WD4000KD/Plextor 760A/Toshiba DVD-ROM/Zalman CNPS9700/Antec P-180/PPC&C Silencer 610/Ideazon Merc Stealth keyboard/Vista Business64 SP1
(Offline)

06-11-2008, 07:53 AM	#15
Underwater Mike Thoroughly water-cooled Join Date: May 2003 Location: Somewhere, beyond the sea Posts: 2,595	Re: New Case I just built with the PC-A70W (windowed) too, and it's my best LL case yet. It is HUGE, and offers a ton of cooling and configuration options. Performance-PCs is not only a cheap source, but they'll save you a lot of time by sleeving all the internal wiring for a nominal fee. Definitely worth the cost, IMO. __________________ My boxes
(Offline)

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