DescentBB

Ok, I got some ca$h for the holidays, so I'm gonna start building my new PC and need some recommendations.

First off is the new case. It's gotta look pretty cool (think Stress's bloo, only not as bright ), good circulation (side-fan = good stuff) and port access in the front (gotta love easy access to USB & more).
Oh and mid-full tower. full preferably so I have plenty of working room.

I'd like to keep around 100, but that shouldn't be a problem since most cases are about that much, but keep the ideas coming.

Expect mroe posts like this as time goes on too.

Just one small tip: keep in mind that every fan adds noise. Modern chipset and GPU fans can be very noisy - far louder than the last generation of PCs. So, unless you want a jet turbine-like sound coming out of your new rig, make sure you are fully aware of how loud each component is.

The most important thing to remember is that 3 devices that put out 55 decibels is much louder than 1 or 2 at 55 dB. Adding another fan the same loudness as the others is not "free".

Loudest thing in my new box: Seagate hard drive!

PC noise has never bothered me. In fact, it bothers me when my computer isn't on. Eerily quiet in my room.

No one?

Antec Sonata II

I'd recommend my case if I could remember wtf it was :p

think it's a chieftech \"matrix\"
aluminum so it's light, good size so you have enough room to work in it. Mine has a side window w/ side fan port but I dunno if that was custom or not since I bought it from stress.

the 5-1/4 drives are railed and the 3.5\" are box enclosed for easy removal. optional fan cooling for HDD's with said boxing.

*edit*
also has 1x firewire and 2x USB ports on the front panel with closing door. However the cabling is individual pin/wire so it's a PITA to use them unless you're really good at reading pinouts in your mobo manual. (actually I'm just lazy)

What do you guys think of this one?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811133132

Has pretty much what I'm looking for.

I just built a rig in that case for a friend. I found it fairly user-friendly and spacious, but the documentation is somewhat sparse (surprise surprise, eh?), so be careful with your connectors. Drive set-up was a snap once I figured it out, this case has all the latest bells and whistles, and the way the front panel is set up is nice. It's a solid case, but on the minus side, it's also pretty big.

I used the Antec Super LanBoy for my own case, and it was nearly as easy to work with as the Tsunami, despite the fact that it was only 3/4th the size. The two 120mm fans are nice, though does lack some cutting-edge features (the Tsunami has case intrusion detection etc...) and at first glance it was sort of flimsy-seeming, but it handily withstood transport to LAN so that may be misleading. It is a worthy second choice for your consideration. I'd use it again. Pic 1 Pic 2

i like the tsunami, just built of rig for a friend with the tsunami.

i'm with you on noise... creeps me out if i can't hear my computer running.

Just avoid \"thermal mistake\" PSUs, cases are more about how it looks and if it has the bays and cooling options you want. I always say cases are more personal preferences then something you can benchmark, there are a lot of cases out there that will handle airflow inside the case well so it really does come down to what look you prefer.

Krom wrote:Just avoid "thermal mistake" PSUs

x2

Fortron Source gets my vote! Double extra bonus points for the pre-modded "Blue Storm" 400W PSU.

I built one in a sonata for a friend, also helped build another. I love this case. it's super quiet and very high quality. x2 on the Sonata.

Today's hardware uses a lot of power. 400s cuttin it a bit close, especially if I get a new video card. I'd want something around 500, and I know better than to go for a Thermaltake PSU or their cooling units.

I liked their case, but having the extrenal USB/etc on the top is kinda screwy. I tend to have a few things on the top of my puter, namely my router & my joystick so that complicates adding/removing devices/cords.

War, that case is tiny... I'd never be able to work in that, thanks anyway. I currently have a Chenming mini-server chasis. It's bigger than a mid-tower, but a bit smaller than the full towers I believe.
http://www.xoxide.com/chieftec.html
The first 2/3 is what I have, only without the front ports.

I can't really seem to find a good combo of what I wanted. I really like this case. All I really want is a window with an slot for a fan & front usb. The cases listed there have everything but the fan in the window.
Anyone know anything close?

A fortron 400w is like most brands 500w, but yeah I know what you mean, 400 is cutting it close if you plan on overclocking any. I have a fortron 530w unit myself, it's quiet and my system has been very stable using it since I've had it. You could tell it was a decent PSU right out of the box, it's HEAVY.

One thing to watch for the the efficiency of the PSU, the more efficient the better. You might not notice a difference in your PC, but you could notice a difference in the electric bill.