Computer cases for Athlons (opinions/recommendations)

[spoogenet]

Friend of mine is building an Athlon system, very slowly. Wants to upgrade his case to later get an Athlon. Won't be overclocking (or so he claims) and will probably be running around 700 MHz or so.

Question of the day is: could anybody please give me any recommendations or opinions on cases to buy or not to buy.

I personally like Inwin cases and that's what I use for my celery rig. He wants a mid-tower with a 300W PS.

Thanks a lot for any help.
b

[This message has been edited by spoogenet (edited 29 August 2000).]

[Greebe]

I have two A500's and a Q500-300a for system cases. Very nice for the money

[Joel]

I really like my Antec Mid Tower KS282+PP303X, 300watt power supply.

Joel

[lindberg]

A midtower case with the powersupply above the motherboard and a 300 powersupply is a good choise. If you're going for some serious overclocking, buy a huge case. That way you don't have do like me and buy a new case. It's recommended by AMD to have the ps above the motherboard and to have a ps that have a fan inside the case to suck (normally they blows) air out of the case.

[paulcs]

I haven't tried the Antec case Joel recommended, but I intend to pick one up soon. It looks like a great case. Here's a link:

http://www.antec-inc.com/product/cases/solution.html

It appears to be very feature rich: snap-off front bezel, removable side and top panels, a front panel fan and one at the top back, below the power supply. Most importantly, it has an Antec power supply. They're pratically a steal by themeselves at less than $50.00. I could pick this case up locally, with power supply, for $62.00. Do the math, and it looks like a great bargain.

I also like the Addtronics 6898A, a full tower case, although it's not as big as some. This is probably the most feature rich case I've seen, but it's bigger and it'll cost you more than the Antec: removable side and top panels, snap-off bezel, a motherboard tray that is pulled out from the right side, a great rail/track drive system, and fan spaces galore. Addtronics has improved upon the fine cooling options mentioned on their site.

http://www.addtronics.com/6896a.htm

I don't like the snap-in motherboard posts, however. (I decided recently that I prefer the old fashioned brass posts.) Addtronics used to use a remarked Antec power supply, but I'm not sure if that's still true.

This next case goes by a lot of names, including Global Win's, but I think it's made by a Chinese company with OEM deals with everybody under the sun:

http://www.a-pro.com/ATX802.htm

It's fairly feature rich for a mid-tower, and it really stood out from the pack a while back: fan spaces at the front and the back, removable motherboard tray and slide-out left side panel.

You can get this case with a Fortron Source power supply. It has great specs and it's *very* quite. If you keep a computer in your bedroom and run Seti clients all night, a Fortron Source power supply is essential.

If you decide on the Antec case, you should make sure it comes with an Antec power supply.

Paul
paulcs@flashcom.net

[HedsSpaz]

An important question here is what size case your friend wants.

Myself, I have an <a href="http://english.aopen.com/products/housing/hx08.htm">Aopen HX08</a> full tower that I love.

<a href="http://www.spower.com">Superpower</a> has a nice large line of cases, I especially like the <a href="http://www.spower.com/zephyr">Zephyr</a> line, particularly the KS-201 for a good mid-tower(which I have used for a friends computer), and the KS-101 will probably be my next full tower case.

I have also heard lots of very good things about the <a href="http://www.supermicro.com/PRODUCT/Chassis/sc750.htm">Supermicro SC-750A</a>.

You can check out good reviews for some of these cases over at <a href="http://www.arstechnica.com/reviews/cases.htm">Arstechnica</a>.

...Oops, just noticed that you did specify Mid-Tower, oh well, theres some good resources in those links anyway.

Good Luck!
Ian

[spoogenet]

Yeah, he wants a mid-tower. Personally, I like full towers, but that's just me.

Thanks for all the links and keep the info flowing.

Oh, he also wants cheap. Seems to think that $65 or so is about his cap, although I know he can go for more.

b

[HedsSpaz]

I agree, I far prefer Full Towers. I can see how Mid Towers are useful in the right circumstances. For example, I'm probably going to get one soon so I can rebuild my K6-2 system.

So, 65$ eh? It just so happens, the Superpower Zephyr KS-201 can be had for 65$ from this place <a href=http://www.mwave.com">Multiwave</a>. I've bought stuff from these guys a number of times, and they have a pretty good rating over at <a href="http://www.resellerratings.com">Reseller Ratings</a>.

Anyway, be sure to look at those reviews on Arstechnica. They are well written and those guys really know what makes a good case.

Ian