Time For A New Case...

[Smurfyy]

Hellooo!! sorry i haven't been on here for a while, i have had LOADS of coursework to do, lol. :D
Just a quickkie, so here goes;
With my ever growing computing needs i have decided, after mounting a third hard drive in my cd drive slot, that i need a new, bigger case. Ihave done a bit of research (as you do) and have found this case >> Gamer / Server PC Case with 250mm Fan : ATX Cases : Maplin
It says i doesn't come with a PSU so i have found this one>> iCute Modular ATX Dual VGA Power Supply : ATX Power Supplies : Maplin
I think 500W should be enough as i have a 450W at the moment.
something else as well, i found some if this "EL wire neon" stuff, im thinking about this stuff for the edges of the new case. >> 7.5FT El wire/glow wire/cool neon +car inverter Blue on eBay (end time 26-Jan-10 15:04:13 GMT)
Would this still work if i chopped off the cigarette plug and replaced it with a molex plug?
And what would be best with the new case, neon green or neon blue?

Thanks in advanced,
Daniel =]

 

[Smurfyy]

Hellooo!! sorry i haven't been on here for a while, i have had LOADS of coursework to do, lol. :D
Just a quickkie, so here goes;
With my ever growing computing needs i have decided, after mounting a third hard drive in my cd drive slot, that i need a new, bigger case. Ihave done a bit of research (as you do) and have found this case >> Gamer / Server PC Case with 250mm Fan : ATX Cases : Maplin
It says i doesn't come with a PSU so i have found this one>> iCute Modular ATX Dual VGA Power Supply : ATX Power Supplies : Maplin
I think 500W should be enough as i have a 450W at the moment.
something else as well, i found some if this "EL wire neon" stuff, im thinking about this stuff for the edges of the new case. >> 7.5FT El wire/glow wire/cool neon +car inverter Blue on eBay (end time 26-Jan-10 15:04:13 GMT)
Would this still work if i chopped off the cigarette plug and replaced it with a molex plug?
And what would be best with the new case, neon green or neon blue?

Thanks in advanced,
Daniel =]

Its not my week today, went out this morning, and my computer was running fine, got home today and my computer was off, i didnt think anything of it and swapped the power cable for another thinking the fuse in the plug had gone, so plugged the other cadle in, switched the power on and boom, the power supply just died, i assume my hard drives, cd rom, and mobo are all okay. i just cant think of whats killed it, it was a 650W, and just to say, the smell is awful!! so from now on, ill have to use my AO751h....

 

[hclarkjr]

what does 40 pounds come out in US dollars? ideally you want fan exhaust out the back of case as well as intake in front. as for power supply i would buy the biggest one you can afford as well as well made. have a look at this site JonnyGURU.com - Enermax Modu87+ 700W Review he is pretty well known here in the states as being knowledgeable about power supplies. you want good one to avoid what just happened to you.

 

[patio]

Look up a Raidmax Smilodon...
I forget who the U.K. vendor is but they are available...
Loaded with features..
Roomy..
And built like a tank.

I'll copy/paste the review i wrote at another Forum...

 

[patio]

Found it...

Manuf. Link


I just completed a new build and ordered this case out of curiosity as it had recieved good reviews mostly at gamer's Forums. Although i'm not a gamer my needs for a roomy well built case that is easy to work in made me give this one a whirl. I was not dissappointed

Quote
Features:

* Glorious mirror shine paint job
* Custom LED effect lighting
* Retractable side panel with handles for easy access and upgrades
* Fully removable motherboard tray, and hard drive cage
* Integrated slide out toolbox for case part storage
* Integrated click lock technology for tool-less drive installation
* Sliding PCI-E/AGP/PCI cooling fan
* Side & Rear Mounted 80mm Fans (w/ Blue LED)
* 2 x 120mm Fans (Front & Rear)
* USB 2.0 & Audio Ports

Specifications:

* Chassis Material: SECC Steel
* Motherboard Form Factor: ATX (12" x 10.5" Max)
* Drive Bays:
o 5.25" External: 4
o 3.5" External: 2
o 3.5" Internal: 4
* Expansion Slots: 7
* Dimensions: 20.5" x 8" x 17.75" (L x W x H)




I'll start with the features i love and end with the few minor quirks i didn't like...

Room: Plenty big enough for my needs. 2 burners and 3 SATA drives along with an IDE i couldn't part with plus a floppy drive ( i'm a purist OK ? ) all fit nicely and i can add more down the road.

Construction: Very well built steel case. Solid rounded edges and nice hinges on both sides. One of the knocks on this case is that it was heavy...i see this as a plus for me. He must have been a LAN Party gamer.

Features: Both case sides open all the way down and or can be removed...this to me was the slickest feature as the build could not have gone smoother. It's a dream to have the MBoard tray lying flat for the assembly. The only drawback was the 4 pin ATX power plug from the OCZ 750W PSU would not allow it opening all the way after everything was connected...this was remedied bu making an extension using a spare i had lying about.
I also added an EVGA 8800 GTX video card to this and for those that have one i don't need to tell you how BIG they are...this fit suprisingly well and created no issues at all with opening and closing the MBoard side of the case.

Toolless Design: Also a nice feature that i was skeptical of at first...drive installs take seconds and the plastic cam design on the drive holders themselves are sturdy and well thought out.

Cooling: Best i've seen in a stock case in a long time. 120MM stock front case fan blows directly over the HDD bay...nice thinking.
on the open side there is a removable rail that contains an 80MM fan that can slide into position so it winds up over the vid card. With the 8800 GTX i'm sure this will come in handy.
A 2nd 80MM is well placed directly opposite the CPU/Heatsink location...also well thought out. This vents to the outside of the case.
80MM rear case exhaust fan.

Cons: IDE clik rails are tricky to figure out the first time but a breeze after that.
Removeable swing-out HDD box is tricky the first few times as well but fine afterwards.
Rear case exhaust fan should have been a 120mm but i'm adding that later so no big deal.
Plastic case feet. For a case this well thought out i'd have preferred to see rubber but again i'm replacing those myself.
With the size of the 8800GTX i lose one PCI slot but this is more of a MBoard issue than a case issue.

Overall: I'd recommend this case to anyone doing a new build or a first time build as well. You need room for it as it's bigger than most. But with solid construction and well thought out features i give it a 9 out of 10.

patio.

 

[patio]

Page #2 :

Oooops sorry.
I thought the review was running long and wouldn't fit the page so i left out some details...

I grabbed it from newegg and after Rebate my final cost was $61.00 U.S.

Here's what all went into the beast :

ASUS P5K MBoard.
Intel Q6600
4G OCZ PC2 8500 Platinum
EVGA 8800GTX Vid Card
OCZ Elite 800W PSU
Lite-On dual layer DVD burner X 2
500G Seagate SATA
200G Seagate SATA
100G WD Caviar SATA
80G WD Caviar IDE

I expect this rig to handle everything i throw at it and then some for a few years to come...
Initially booted to the WD IDE that has a multi-boot DOS; Win98; Win2K setup and did the repair install to get Win2K to pick up the new hardware.....worked flawlessly.
But i will be installing Vista Ultimate 64 Bit on the 500G seagate after i partition it to 4 X 125G.

This is and has been a really fun build. I do it so many times for customers it's time i spoiled myself a little. So far no major hitches and i'm interested to see Vista Ultimate for the first time.

September 2008.

 

[Smurfyy]

Thanks for the replies! well, i got myself a 750 watt PSU it was on offer and it was £26.99, cant remember the name of it right now, but ill post when it come to me, it seems to be working okay.
That case looks great, where did you get it from?, im hoping i might be able to get it from ebay as there's some bits i want from there so it will be added to my list, and are you still using it? it looks perfect for what i need!

I think the PSU i had was a dodgy one, it came with the case :/

Thanks again for the replies,
Daniel :D

EDIT 1; is the i/o panel on the back removable?
EDIT 2;i like the green one :P