I'm on the case (but which one) ???

[starfry]

Hi, tough choices in making up a new PC!!!

I've got my case choices down to two: Silverstone TJ07 or Lian-Li V2110. I liked the Antec P182 but discounted it due to it having fewer drive bays.

I would like a door to conceal drives, as these will most likely be in varying colours and therefore best hidden. However, I think living with that won't be too hard if I have no door.

Each has pros and cons. Just wondering if anyone has comments or can answer some questions. Both are pricey but the Lian-Li seems extra-pricey.

V2110

I don't like the way the ports are on the top. When this is under my desk the will be inaccessible. I can see this being a pain!

I am not sure if the door folds back 270 degrees so it is flush with the side of the case when open. If not I think the door will be a pain. I imagine the door would just get in the way otherwise.

It just doesn't look as well built as the Silverstone.

TJ07

The side air intakes make placement awkward. Where this case has to go will mean that the right hand side will be against the desk end, a solid wood panel. Does this matter ? I think the right side grille is an exhaust for the drive areas (intake being on the left, which will not be covered).

It's a shame Silverstone don't do a doored TJ07

[NightOwl]

I have an older Lian Li, build quality is great. It has a door, which I do like, but it does have to be swung open every time I power on, re-set the PC, or use the DVD drive - no biggie but it is a wee bit of a nuisance sometimes. Due to position of the PC next to my desk I can't open it more than 180 degrees (though it would go 270 degrees if it could) and yes, it does get in the way as the PC is on my right hand side and the door opens to the left. Some cases allow for doors to be hinged on the other side, I don't know if the 2110 has this feature, though. Have you considered having this case poking out an inch or two at the front, beneath your desk, so you can access the top ports more easily?

As for the Silverstone, I imagine it would be OK to breathe if you could allow for a small gap between the case side and the desk. What colour is the TJ07 you're interested in? If it's black you shouldn't have too much of a problem getting black drives that will blend in. If silver/alu then yes, that could be a problem - my aluminium Lian Li has a really naff beige DVD drive in it (disguised a bit by the door luckily) and at one time I also had a beige floppy drive which I tried to conceal with a stick-on silver fascia strip that came as an accessory with the case - it was rubbish! It looked totally unconvincing and soon peeled off.

From what you've said I think the Silverstone would be the lesser of two evils, but it's your call. I'm just throwing in my tuppence worth of experience re. door usage and such, which I hope is helpful.

[sleepyhead]

Is the door only required to hid mismatch coloured drive bays? If so, then any Lian Li Case is ok for you; there are accessories you can get for it that are aluminium bezels. You just need to recess your affected drive bay back a cm or so, attach the drive bay bezel and there we go

Check them out from the official website.

CD/DVD bezel
Floppy bezel

Oh and as a side note you can also have the ports facing forward too.
I/O Ports

I'm personally not too keen on the V2110, I much prefer the PC-A70 or PC-A77; they both have the same internals its just the front that is different...oh and the PC-A77 has a fan controller/temp display. If 10 3.5" HDD bays are not enough you can convert 2 or 3 of your 5.25 bays to house even more hard drives.

I don't know alot about the Silverstone cases but I always hear fantastic stuff about the TJ07 case. You can't go wrong with either.

[starfry]

Have you considered having this case poking out an inch or two at the front, beneath your desk, so you can access the top ports more easily?

I'd thought about that and where it needs to go it wouldn't work

My better half wants me to get the silver TJ07. I was thinking black for the reasons you state but I must admit I am warming to the silver.


I've just found another case that is dirt cheap and may be worth looking at: Sharkoon Rebel 12. I know it's in a different league to the other two but at a fifth of the price, if it does the job then why not???? Anyone got any experiences of this case? Scan - you sell it - what's it really like ??

If I spend a fifth of the price on the case I'd be less bothered about how the visual appearance would be marred by drives with different coloured face plates.

[starfry]

Thanks Sleepyhead. I'll take a look at the A77 and those bezels too. The door serves two purposes though; clean looks as you say but also it is toddler-proof

[NightOwl]

The Sharkroon looks great in that small picture and seems to have all the features you need but!.... it gets quite a bit of criticism in this review: Link

It looks like cooling might be a bit iffy on that one?

[starfry]

Thanks Nightowl for finding that review. I found a couple of similar ones too but there aren't many. That review discussed the more expensive "value" case which included what I guess would be cheap and useless fans and not enough of them. Kind of what the review said.

I was thinking that if I got the cheaper "economy" one without fans that I could fill it with decent ones (like Akasa Ambers). The case can take a 140mm fan on the back (exhaust) and another 140mm on the front (intake). It takes 4 fans on the left hand side of the case (intake): two 80mm fans by the hard drive bays and two 120m fans over the motherboard.

Akasa Ambers come in 80 and 120 size and there is an Akasa 140mm fan also (not Amber though).

The thing with a case costing nearer £50 rather than one costing £200 is that I would be much happier taking a hacksaw or drill to it

[NightOwl]

There's a lot to be said for a cheap case, and I think the Sharkroon actually looks pretty good on the outside. It would seem to solve a lot of your siting-under-the-desk problems too.

Hopefully someone from Scan will be along in a while to confirm whether upgrading/increasing the fans will provide the good airflow and cooling that you need. If not then I suggest you PM one of them with your question as they're usually quite busy and this discussion may be inadvertently overlooked.

[sleepyhead]

The way I view it, a PC case is an investment, much like a PC monitor. Cheaper cases TEND (not always) to be awkward to install/uninstall components and may have poor cooling or intrusive fan noise.

Get something that you like the look of, the feel of and use of as well as fits the requirements you need (lots of drive bays and a door). I am pretty sure there was a Lian Li case that had a switchable door...

[starfry]

Ok, so if it looks good to Scan then I'll probably take this sharkroon case and put decent fans in it.

Once this is under my desk it will stay there unless I ever sell my house which, quite frankly, is not looking likely. I don't intend pulling the machine about once built except perhaps to add the odd drive expansion card. I can't see me pulling out the board - I'd just buy a new case.

So scan - any comments on going this route?

[sleepyhead]

The Lian Li's come with cleanable filters for the intake fans and I'm sure the Silverstones have similar. Just make sure the Sharkoons have them too; they are a fantastic at keeping the majoirty of dust out of a PC case.

[leepen@scan]

Under a desk eh? I'd always recommend a case to go a little higher as this ensures that less dust settles in the system. Ensure that you choose a case that is provided with fan filters - again, dust and heat are your enemy.

My personal preference lies with the Akasa Eclipse 62. It's a monster of a case but the removable motherboard tray makes it a joy to work on. We'll entertain any case ideas but I could never recommend a case with a door. The majority of said doors are provided on plastic hinges and if you're anything like myself, the odd knock or drunken stumble near the computer could prove devestating! Again, this is all personal preference but out of the two you have narrowed it down to - my choice would be the Lian Li every time.

[starfry]

It'll be under the desk but it's in a well ventilated and very low traffic area and I've never yet knocked into my PC after a few Guinnesses

The Lian-Li's have been my favourites from the start but I'm interested in your views, Lee, on the doors. I would have expected the door on the V2110 to be solid ally (it certainly looks it) - is that not so ?

While on the subject of Lian Li case doors, do you know if the door on the V2110 folds right round so it's flat against the side of the case ?

And does Scan sell the drive bezels (Lian Li part C01 I think) ? They didn't show under case accessories. Do the work with all Lian-Li cases ?

If I go Lian Li, it'll be one of V2110, V2010 or PC-A77.

[sleepyhead]

The Lian Li doors are made of aluminium I do not know if the doors can swing that far on the V2110.

Courtesy of Clunk's review site...

V2110 review

The door is reversable