If you were going to spend £200+ on a case...

[tensim]

Hi Guys,

As my innumerable posts on this forum have indicated, I'm looking to build up my first PC in the next week or two (just waiting on the details of the HD 4870 before I buy everything... and the A01 revision of the Dell 2408...)

Anyhoo, I'm now toying with the idea of spending quite a bit on my chassis, primarily because I can see myself owning it for a few years, upgrading the internals as and when I need to; so the investment in a very good case now can be justified long-term.

I want something that looks great (personal taste I know, but to give you an idea of what I like, I love the look of the Apple Mac Pro, it's a pity you can't just buy this case on its own)... I want it to be quiet and cool, easy to work with (for a complete novice) and something I can grow into (who knows, I may really get into this and move onto water cooling and the like )

So, what's the perfect case for around £200-£250? What would you buy (or have bought?). Is there any real need to even spend this much? I'm assuming the extra £££'s get you extra features that are worth having, not just a brand name or style?

Cheers chaps, appreciate your thoughts as usual

[Splash]

If you like the MAc Pro chassis I'd suggest you take a look at something like the Lian Li PC-V1000 - I have one of them and a V800. A V1000 will set you back around £130, so well within your limits. I love them - the only other case I'd really consider is the Lian Li A10A.

Kustom PCs is generally a good place to browse, and their service is top notch.

[staffsMike]

Well I'd never spend that sort of money on a case as you can get decent one's that possibly cool even better and remain even more quiet at less than £100.

That said if you must the silverstone TJ-09 and TJ-07 are very nice cases which would suit almost any kind of system other than a compact one.

[pollaxe]

I have a TJ-09 (got it December 2006ish) and I still really like it.

[smargh]

I got the Lian-Li PC-A71, but the V2110 is newer and much nicer.

I put my A71 on a thick wooden rolling castor thingy which also has my UPS on - I don't think the top of my A71 is strong enough to support any UPS.

The V2110 is £207.96 from overclockers / £232.65 from Yoyotech.

[vinnyT]

I got a moutainmods case recently, and very pleased I am with it.

However, you don't have to spend so much money to get a nice case, as others have pointed out, LianLi and Silverstone make superb chasis.

[rufeo]

i've got the antec P190. its a huge csae and really really really heavy! its way over 20kg with all my stuff installed. its quite a quiet case as its based on the P182 but with everything bigger. its got a 2oomm fan on the side which is nice as it blows over the cpu and gfx card. also has two psus supplied, totalling 1200w. as i said its huge and can take e-atx mobos, so long gfx cards aren't a problem. plus its got really good cable routing system like the p182, so you can get a nice tidy inside with good airflow.

granted the price is bumped up by the two psus and while they're not going to be as good as the best psus out on the market, they're not shoddy either. so lots or room and power for a growing system....

[FifthFreedom]

My new Antec 1200 arrived last week and it is AWESOME!

Best case I've ever built in and it looks sexy as hell.

Plus its only £100...

£200 is too much IMO, as a £200 case is not £100 better than a £100 case.

[tensim]

Looking around, I'm tempted by the Cosmos S... seems to be a very good case to grow into (though total overkill for my present intended system :-)

Looking at it, I wonder if I shouldn't just go down the water cooling path from the outset... buying a ready built kit and install it into the Cosmos S doesn't seem that hard?

I'll be overclocking a Q6600, fairly mildy to start with (but the thirst for more power will surely kick in eventually! :-) so watercooling should be a good option right?

[PeterStoba]

I'd get a full tower, lian li or coolermaster and water cool it too

Might wanna stretch your budget for a quality kit though

[moogle]

tj-07, a monster of a case.

[tensim]

I'd get a full tower, lian li or coolermaster and water cool it too

Might wanna stretch your budget for a quality kit though

I wonder if this is a good watercooling start up kit?

http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=794235

Does the CPU and then I can add in a GPU or chipset cooler later on...

[moogle]

custom kit is better

[tensim]

Any suggestions on a kit? what should I be looking for, who are the respected names in the business? thanks :-)

[Infinite]

This is a brilliant parts guide:

http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/p2976310.html

also take a look at his site, they build some pretty awesome computers, this will hopefully give u an idea of what you can do with a good Lian Li or Silverstone case:

http://www.vadim.co.uk/Custom+Gaming...775G3/pictures

http://www.vadim.co.uk/Custom+Gaming...ernal_pictures

=D

[PeterStoba]

Danger Den, Thermochill, Feser One, D-Tek and Swiftech are good brands.

http://www.thecoolingshop.com/produc...oducts_id/2188

Perfect for you