A few cases, Which one?

Zacko · 15 May 2006 at 19:29

Right now I've got a pretty average Aerocool case which IMO is a bit flimsy. I'm therefore looking for a nice case in the £40-£100 range. After looking around I've found the following which I quite like:

The cases shouldnt have to be under too much strain, probably SLi'd 7800GTs at the most with two HDs.

Thermaltake Armour Jr SuperMidi Tower - Black
Antec Super LANBOY
Akasa Eclipse-62 (With the window)
[size=+1]Lian-Li PC-7 PLUS Black Aluminium (Maybe the PC-61?)

I would like some basic opinions on these if possible, I'm sure the Lian-Li will be one of the most popular but if possible maybe some case experts or people who own the particular cases could give a few pros and cons on each one? Im also quite interested to know if windows are available for the Lian Li.

Thanks a bunch and as ever I'm open to other suggestions

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Zefan · 15 May 2006 at 19:33

All pretty good cases, someone's going to comment on Thermaltake build quality, make of that what you will. All I can say is I had a Thermaltake Xaser III and mine seemed rock solid (Despite awful design).

*Waits for Yewen*

Yewen · 15 May 2006 at 19:39

Thermaltake Armour, big case, built to the new standard of Thermaltake so not to shabby at all.

Antec Super Lanboy, unless you pick it up for £40 no point going for it over the PC7+, cools well but is a little small.

Akasa Eclipse 62, the best cooling case around, all round great case with its only drawback being a plastic front. If you can live with the plastic front then in your budget this is the best case.

PC7+, superb value for money, makes the Lanboy not a consideration in your shortlist. Great build quality and cooling. Only thing is up against the Eclipse they are level on the build quality, but the PC7 looks better in my opinion due to the lack of a plastic front.

All cases are good coolers, and all could be quiet.

Really your choice is between the Eclipse and the Armour, the Eclipse and the PC7+/Lanboy are all similar but the Eclipse is the better of the three, with the Lian Li looking the best out of the three due to a aluminium front in my opinion.

Eclipse, great cooling, looks a bit naff, good build quality.
Armour, almost as great cooling, looks a bit naff but you may like it, more than acceptable build quality, but not the same as the Eclipse.

It is a tricky one, all comes down to the looks. What PSU and PC spec will you be putting in the case?

Also side windows are available for the Lian Li from competitors.

(Why were you waiting for me? )

Raikiri · 15 May 2006 at 19:55

Yewen said:
Thermaltake Armour, big case, built to the new standard of Thermaltake so not to shabby at all.

He said JR. it is the new smaller version of the armour

Yewen said:
Antec Super Lanboy, unless you pick it up for £40 no point going for it over the PC7+, cools well but is a little small.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Antec_160.html £35

I have the Lanboy and PC7, they are both great cases and the Lanboy is a bargain at £35, the new Tt does looks quite good and the eclipse has excellent cooling as well good build quality but the front is ugly.
If you want a window, the Lanboy is the best value case there, if you are not bothered then I would say get the PC7.

Zacko · 15 May 2006 at 19:56

Thanks you guys, thats certainly cleared it up for me, Lanboy was more of an afterthought or perhaps a consideration for another "hand me down" system in the future, I've got loads of old parts lying around.

It's definatly between the Lian Li and the Eclipse for me now though, I'll take a look at my budget and make a decision pretty soon, need a monitor and a desk first though

As for the system, nothing flashy just a nice little gaming rig. Possibly SLi'd in the future depending on cards.

And Yewen... who else would I wait for

Yewen · 15 May 2006 at 20:03

*hug*

Haha what you get for trying to eat while replying, sorry I missed the JR bit!

Ignore my Thermaltake comments on it.

Lanboy for £35 then hey, I need a case for a rig.

BARGAIN!

Zacko · 15 May 2006 at 20:13

Think I might of just been convinced to build a little rig in a LanBoy for some LAN gaming

Yewen · 15 May 2006 at 20:16

Yeh, I am having a mental debate over the PC7+ and Lanboy.

The Lanboy at £35 is cracking value, but does it equal or better the PC7+ at £55.

It is tricky, £35 is a bargain, certainly better value than the Jeantech Phong.

Oh my, I do not want another Lanboy, but the price.

Raikiri · 15 May 2006 at 20:17

They come with the carrying handle and 2 decent Antec fans :X

Yewen · 15 May 2006 at 20:18

Woo a carrying handle....

Sorry but thats my reaction, get rid of and make it £3 cheaper!

Raikiri · 15 May 2006 at 20:20

Sell it on the 'bay

Behemoth · 15 May 2006 at 21:35

Yewen said:
Yeh, I am having a mental debate over the PC7+ and Lanboy.

The Lanboy at £35 is cracking value, but does it equal or better the PC7+ at £55.

It is tricky, £35 is a bargain, certainly better value than the Jeantech Phong.

Oh my, I do not want another Lanboy, but the price.

PC7 + mate, you know it makes sense

Yewen · 15 May 2006 at 21:39

Yeh but the Lanboy for £35, although a inferior case in many ways is cheaper.

Just is its short comings in comparrisson worth the £20 savings.

I can't make my mind up!

Zacko · 15 May 2006 at 22:04

Get the Lanboy and spend the savings on 20 OcUK pens

Yewen · 15 May 2006 at 22:11

It has to be asked, why!?

Bar the wonderful OcUK branding I would much prefer some more high end pens!

(For me £5 on a pen is high end, before someone pops up some super pen for £400)

Tosk · 15 May 2006 at 23:34

hmm can the Thermaltake Armour be made quiet?

Yewen · 15 May 2006 at 23:37

Any case can be made quiet if you put the time into picking the coolers, hard drives and maybe hard drive enclosures for it.

Tosk · 15 May 2006 at 23:48

hard drives do you like using Yewen?

i like using Samsung and Western Digital

Yewen · 15 May 2006 at 23:53

Western Digital, I am a severe fanboy, I blindly buy Western Digital drives without reading reviews or asking peoples opinions.

I have dealt with 100's of WD drives from 1997 to the present day, only known about 1 failure first hand. The 80 machines I restored all running with Western Digital Caviar 1gb drives that were on 24/7 for about 10 years, only one failed which I find amazing. I know each generation presents its own problems, but I just trust the brand name.

Currently use a 74gb Raptor and the 250gb Caviar 16mb cache jobbie.

OV3RCLOCK3R · 16 May 2006 at 00:56

wow. Lanboy for £35 brand new :eek:

I'll be ordering one tomorrow