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Thread: RE: Case confusion, what a surprise!

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    RE: Case confusion, what a surprise!

    Hi,

    I'm looking to build a new computer this coming week and i'm still stuck at a stand still with the case. I've decided between two the antec nine hundred and the coolermaster cm-690. The Antec seems to come with more fans as standard and without the need for adding optional fans will do a great job at cooling. The coolermaster for me looks more in line with what i want aesthetically but would require me to purchase at least one 140mm fan for the bottom to bring down temps to the antec level. Anyone got any advice for me?

    The other thing i could do is splash double the cash and go for the lian-li pc p60 armorsuit which not only looks the part but is solidly contstructed. The main thing is i am a student and trying to keep costs down a minimum so i dont want to get carried away. Any advice would be appreciated.

    Thanks

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    Re: Case confusion, what a surprise!

    Both of those cases will provide more than adequate cooling without any additional fans.

    Case choice is quite personal though. For me it'd be the lian-li if money wasn't an issue, the antec if it was, but equally you'll find loads of people who'll swear by the coolermaster. To be honest, you wont go wrong with any of those so just go for your personal fave.

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    Re: Case confusion, what a surprise!

    i have the coolermaster case and at the moment with the help of a tuniq i am getting temps of 35 degrees on my q6600 in a room of 22 degrees. The does not have as many fans as the antec but i have 5 120 fans in it and as long as you get decent fans as the stock ones dont really do much you'll have a cool and quiet system
    Great case to build in btw

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    Re: Case confusion, what a surprise!

    Antec900 is horrid for cable management

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    Re: Case confusion, what a surprise!

    Thanks guys, you have really helped. I think i'm gonna go for the coolermaster as a lot of reviews and opinions have pointed to the cable management factor which can only be good for airflow. I like the antec but then i don't there is something about it that i am not sure about. I think saving around £70 odd from buying the coolermaster over the lian-li will go towards some extra fans and a hard drive.

    once again thanks for your replies

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    Senior Member Pob255's Avatar
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    Re: Case confusion, what a surprise!

    Quick note: in the cm690 the bottom fan is only 120mm, and is fairly pointless, I'd advise you get 2 additional 120mm fans for the top, this would be best to improve the cooling past the stock fans.
    You don't need to spend a fortune on them, something like this would be fine
    http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=615592

    Also note the cm690 cannot used IDE hard drives, well you can but you need 5.25" adaptors and put them into the 5.25" bays which is probably more hassle than it's worth.

    The cm690 has the best tool free stuff I've seen in a case, where as the antec 900 has no tool free stuff (depends if you like tooless cases)

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    Re: Case confusion, what a surprise!

    Lian Li ftw every time. It's worth pushing the boat out and getting a really well made case. We have a PC70 and it's on it's 4th set of internals. I upgrade the PC but not the case.
    Anything else just feels shoddy in comparison.
    "Free speech includes not only the inoffensive but the irritating, the contentious, the eccentric, the heretical, the unwelcome and the provocative provided it does not tend to provoke violence. Freedom only to speak inoffensively is not worth having."

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    Re: Case confusion, what a surprise!

    In regards to Pob255's response, thank you very much.

    In response to the tool free issue, i'm not bothered either way. I like the idea of tool free but being a bloke i also like to fix things with my hands. As this is my first build i will have nothing to compare to so ieither way i wouldn't be bothered. The main thing is that i'm looking at getting an Abit IP35 Pro mobo, 4gb RAM and a Q6600 along with a good graphics card for my 3D Animation work (Which is the area that is really throwing me and any help/reccommendations would be ver welcome) and i'm looking at overclocking mildly to get more performance for lest cost. Therefore it's about keeping temperatures low and spending the least amount of money.

    In response to Betty Swallocks (Love the name btw lol) Would you say i should go for the Lian-li armorsuit over the cheaper antec and coolermaster. I love the look and i do like the fact there is hardly and plastic and it has hand crafted parts also. Seems like they put a lot of effort into it but just htought it would be better to buy a cheap case that way i can change it whenever.

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    Re: Case confusion, what a surprise!

    While it is worth getting a quality case as it may survive many rebuilds etc it is probably not worth spending more than £100, the extra money just doesn't get you that much extra and if on a budget can be spent much better on other more important components.

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    Re: Case confusion, what a surprise!

    If you like the lian-li then I'd have a look at the Antec 300, it's a smaller version of the 900 but the cooling is still good and looks far more simple/clean
    Also look at the coolermaster 590, it's a simpler look compaired to the 690, better placemnet of the usb+audio+esata+firewire, the top and side fan places can take 140mm fans more air/less noise. down sides, I prefur the 690 hard drive trays

    infact just see my posts in this thread http://forums.hexus.net/chassis-syst...se-advice.html
    we're basically talking about the same sort of setup, but a slightly higher budget and a different oppinion as to what case looks good.

    As to graphics card, there are some things it effects but not so much when 3d modeling
    Heck I've happly got by with 3ds max on a 6800LE 128mb agp, then my 7900gs and now my 9800gtx which I've also thrown maya at. however all the stuff I do is low polygon, no NURBS or metaballs and individual models not landscapes or complex animated scenes
    remember a 3d card only helps with the viewport not final renders, final renders are all donw to cpu and memory

    PS go no higher than ddr2 pc6400 (800mhz) as that will give you plenty of overclocking head room without pushing the memory too hard
    Note, a common mistake here cpu fsb numbers are 4x the actual fsb and the memory is 2x the actual fsb, the q6600 is listed as 1066mhz fsb the actuall fsb the motherboard would be running at is 266mhz, as pc6400 is listed as 800mhz it actally runs at 400mhz, so in theory you could push the q6600 to 400mhz before having to overclock the memory.
    Read up on Clunk's core2duo overclocking guide, it's a sticky on the hardware section.
    it was originally written for core2duo's on the older 965 motherboards but it still all holds true.
    You will wnat to get a replacement cooler, esp if you want to overclock the q6600.

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    Re: Case confusion, what a surprise!

    I built my g/f a new PC using a lain-li V1100 Plus (I got from the for sale on this very site!)

    It is by far the best case I have ever worked with..
    □ΞVΞ□

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    Re: Case confusion, what a surprise!

    Pob255 you really are a diamond, that has really helped me out. Many thanks for the advice on everything i was looking for.

    Thanks to Jay too, i have only heard great things about lian-li.

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    Re: Case confusion, what a surprise!

    Np samir

    And for all you Lain-Li lovers out there, there is a make that's more highly rated for quality construction, WiNDy
    http://windy-online.com/case/black_k...xr2/index.html
    Damb but these are good looking, however they are only sold in Japan to the home market, so to get hold of one you'd need to know someone who lives in Japan and is willing to buy it for you and then ship it out to you.

    I can but dream.

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    Re: Case confusion, what a surprise!

    Quote Originally Posted by Webby View Post
    While it is worth getting a quality case as it may survive many rebuilds etc it is probably not worth spending more than £100, the extra money just doesn't get you that much extra and if on a budget can be spent much better on other more important components.
    You're partly right. It doesn't get you anything in terms of features but it does in terms of build quality.

    The thing that really shows the build quality of Lian Li is the side panels. A silly thing to be impressed by I suppose, but you know how side panels are always a really tight fit and you often have to fiddle about to get them on or off? The Lian Li panels just slide on and off really easily and because they are made to much more accurate tolerances than most lesser cases this doesn't result in a rattly case.

    It's like the difference between a Hyundai Sonata and a BMW 3 series. Which would you have? Why?
    I think I can guess the answer to both questions.
    The Hyundai does the same job as the Beemer and it has pretty much the same features but I'm betting that, given that you could afford either, you would go for the German over the Korean.
    It costs more but the quality and longevity is much higher.
    "Free speech includes not only the inoffensive but the irritating, the contentious, the eccentric, the heretical, the unwelcome and the provocative provided it does not tend to provoke violence. Freedom only to speak inoffensively is not worth having."

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    Re: Case confusion, what a surprise!

    Im not saying that Lain Li cases do not have their advantages and the is no questioning the quality and if you can afford t then go for it, but in most situations spending double the money on the case when the cheaper alternatives have very good build quality as well doesn't make sense I would rather spend the extra money on better components.

    Now I own a three Silverstone cases and have to say that the build quality is excellent no rattling side panels or difficulty getting them on or off here either and the most expensive one didn't cost me £100, now you can get Silverstone cases that cost £250 and if money was no object then maybe I would but only if the money couldnt buy me anything more performance oriented.

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    Re: Case confusion, what a surprise!

    Hey Pob just checked out the Windy cases and i love the look of the black night. Looks like real good build quality and well thought out design. Just a shame they aren't sold outside Japan. I have a Japanese friend but he isn't going over for some time and i don't think i could wait that long to get him to find someone out there to find and buy/ship it over. Great thought though, maybe one day when i get over there myself. Until then i think i'm going to go for the Lian-Li Armorsuit.

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