Features - QOTW: Which PC chassis do you use?

[JGJones]

My last PC have died - it was a Shuttle XPC case (to give you an idea of how old - it's an AMD Athlon XP 2200 with a massive 1GB of RAM ) Since then I've had laptops. My current one is a Macbook Pro.

New job soon mean I'm now getting a desktop PC once again.

I've just ordered an Corsair 250D - a mini-ITX case (it's big for a mini-ITX case I know, but it'll take a Corsair H100i cooler and a large GPU too with good cooling)

I also plan on getting a 2nd PC to act as a SteamBox - this will be based in a Silverstone Sugo SG08-Lite case (although I would prefer a version of this without the slot - it won't be getting an optical drive).

The front of the Silverstone Sugo SG08-Lite would look just fine under the TV in the living room, fitting in with all the other consumer media devices. As it only need to drive HD resolution (the TV) the size of the case won't be a problem with whatever GPU I choose for it. It is a SMALL case to work in though so obviously it'll get used with a SFX power supply unit (there's now a 550W unit I believe from Silverstone) and there's their short cables kit as well.

[riccyber]

NOX Coolbay Basic

[Jedibeeftrix]

Silverstone FT02 (current)
Lian-Li 901 (current)

Silverstone Sugo03 (now with the folks)
Silverstone LC16m (now with the folks)

Silverstone Sugo02 (still knocking around)
Shuttle SFF (now defunct)

[SRPlus]

I’m using Phanteks Enthoo Primo case. Although it had great reviews I found it mush harder to build in than the Xigmatek Elysium it replaced. The Velcro cable ties are useless and too weak. The cabling is already taken up by what Phanteks put in the case, most of which is useless, so end up having to remove it to fit your own cables. The circuit boards that come with it are poor quality, and produce ripple so removed them. I am using a dual PSU set-up, yet there is no venting for the second PSU, yet there was easily enough room for the second PSU to be designed so it mounts horizontally solving the problem. Plenty of airflow at the bottom of the case, but airflow at the top for memory etc is non existent, so had to modify an old Xigmatek HHD cage and put dual 140mm fans in the 5.25 bay area. Other than that it’s a super case once everything’s installed,. Solid and looks amazing.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/k26lzpezbljimia/Prev_01SM.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/3tao6svkm237k15/Prev_03SM.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/chtwrlazdo2wfeo/Prev_04SM.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/tg5dph0wnt13rd4/Prev_05SM.jpg

[KeyboardDemon]

My rig is wearing a Silverstone Raven RV03, which I picked because I really liked the quirky design, what I didn't realise is how difficult the case would be to work in, my next case will most likely be bigger and easier to install into, maybe a Corsair 650D or similar.

[SRPlus]

I’m using Phanteks Enthoo Primo case. Although it had great reviews I found it mush harder to build in than the Xigmatek Elysium it replaced. The Velcro cable ties are useless and too weak. The cabling is already taken up by what Phanteks put in the case, most of which is useless, so end up having to remove it to fit your own cables. The circuit boards that come with it are poor quality, and produce ripple so removed them. I am using a dual PSU set-up, yet there is no venting for the second PSU, yet there was easily enough room for the second PSU to be designed so it mounts horizontally solving the problem. Plenty of airflow at the bottom of the case, but airflow at the top for memory etc is non existent, so had to modify an old Xigmatek HHD cage and put dual 140mm fans in the 5.25 bay area. Other than that it’s a super case once everything’s installed,. Solid and looks amazing.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/k26lzpezbljimia/Prev_01SM.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/3tao6svkm237k15/Prev_03SM.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/chtwrlazdo2wfeo/Prev_04SM.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/tg5dph0wnt13rd4/Prev_05SM.jpg

[GravitySmacked]

I'm still rocking an old school Coolermaster Stacker 832 and I've got no intention of changing it any time soon; great case for it's time.

[Kanoe]

Original CM Stacker. Starting to feel a little long in the tooth now tho but cant seem to part with it.

[GravitySmacked]

Great case, why change it of it still performs.

[Otherhand]

I had a Fractal Design Define R4, which I'd gutted and then replaced with Micro ATX innards.

Tempted by the smaller size and horizontal set-up of the Aerocool Dead Silence Cube, I finally rebuilt my computer today inside one of those, and I'm really glad I did. I'm not disparaging the Fractal R4 here, because that is a great case, but building in the Aerocool was so much easier. I can't imagine willingly building a PC in any chassis ever again that does not open on all sides like this one, which makes the worst part of PC-building -- getting the 12v ATX into the top left corner, past whatever giant CPU cooler I've stupidly bought this time -- an absolute breeze. On top of that, the toolless HD trays, the trayless SSDs... it's an excellent case.



The only drawback is that my huge BeQuiet! CPU cooler prevented me from connecting the data and power cables to the BluRay drive, since the cooler's fan has to face the front of the case and cannot be reattached in any other direction without going flat against a side panel, sitting right up against the case's exhaust fan, or covering the graphics card slot. As a result, I've had to ditch my BluRay writer and will either need an enclosure to make it external, or perhaps I'll just donate it to a friend and buy a dedicated external optical drive. I still need one because I buy and convert a lot of CDs, and I'm a bit of a stickler for video quality so streaming isn't going to replace discs for me yet. So, if Aerocool releases an even smaller M-ATX model that ignores the optical drive, I'll snap it up.

[zdn1042]

NZXT Tempest 210
Design - 3/5
Functionality - 3.5/5
The only thing that I don't like about the case is that it gathers too much dust.

[DavyJ]

Currently using a Lian-li PC-A01, but this case will soon hold a Win2K machine I'm building. Going to move this system to a Supermicro SC731 case, and will build a new primary system next year that will go into my NCASE M1.

[thonidy]

Chinese full-tower LuxTech =D It costs around $30, but has front, rear, top and side vent mounts, removable HDD holder, a lot of room for wire-managenent. Build quality isn't so good, but it does what it was made for. Very happy

[hwarda]

Been waiting for an article / articles elaborating relationships of how a certain type of computer chasis could handle (in heat dissipation efficiency of course) a specific set of hardware, and further find some relevant parameters for us public as a preliminary guidance.

Then later we can talk about chasis scalability against any type of hardware combination.

Just a suggestion.

[hellig]

using a lian li v351 now, will replace it with a lian li v358 sometime next year, easier access and better fan setup in it

[Spreadie]

Aerocool DS Cube