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Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Las Vegas, NV
Posts: 6,205
|  Re: Choosing a case: ANTEC, Cooler Master, or Ther
no...you aren't ranting Pete..... Quote: Constructing The Perfect Case
Have you ever looked at a great case and scratched your head....wondering why the manufacturer did something a certain way? Ever been baffled by a a seemingly stupid feature stuck right in the middle of an otherwise perfect chassis? Join the club! Over the last couple of years, I've played with dozens of cases from a wide variety of companies, and more often than not there always seems to be one feature poorly thought out or several features simply nor followed through on to make them worthwhile.
So, what makes a great case? what features separate a great chassis from all the rest? Let's check out the features that we as reviews look at when we judge cases, as we go, we'll talk about some features that should be foremost in your mind the next time you go shopping for a case. Around here we always break our case reviews into two sections, interior and exterior so we'll do the same as we talk about different features we like, dislike, and some we'd like to see.
Aesthetics- The first thing that usually draws a person to an particular enclosure is how it looks. Some love a classy or simple look in their cases. Others like a little more bling in their cases, maybe a side panel window or some exotic lighting. Still others will push on, looking for crazy looking cases built to look like bugs or robots. Simple and subtle is most often the way to go, you can always add to a case, but try hiding that Sponge Bob paint job after you outgrow it! When it comes to aesthetics, I'm a big fan of Cooler Master's CM Stacker 830, as well as their Centurion and Praetorian cases. I also like the simple design used by Antec on their TX640B and Sonata cases.
Construction- I've reviewed cases and had people write to me, complaining that one of their kids was "yanking on the front door of their case and pulled it right off", then they complain that that means the case wasn't well built.....uh, ok.....First of all, a case is not a jungle gym. Second, while a case should be well constructed and be able to withstand being moved around, modded, and repeatedly disassembled and assembled..... it isn't going to be bullet or kid proof. I generally recommend mid tower cases to friends, cases with either a steel or heavy aluminum frame. You can easily tell the quality of a case by removing the side panels and seeing how sturdy it is without that added support. Next up is the front door and drive bay covers. One thing I've never understood is a great case made entirely out of steel or thick aluminum...with a cheap plastic door or drive bay covers. If its a matter of cost, I'd eagerly pay and extra $5-10 for a matching aluminum front door or drive bay covers.....or at least some reinforced hinges.
Exterior Features- Cases tend to come in all shapes and sizes. for users wanting to make the most of a cramped working space there is the SFF (Small Form Factor) and mid tower cases. while not great for extravagant systems, these cases are generally just fine for most users. for users who want SLI, or Crossfire, RAID arrays, or extreme water cooling a full tower case is typically the way to go. Most cases come equipped with non-slip adjustable feet, some larger cases come with wheels. something I think all cases need is more room between the bottom of the case and the floor they sit on. Wheels are nice because move the case up off the floor, and they allow you to easily move your case around without damaging it....however sometimes the wheels themselves can be cheap and in the end not worth the hassle. Recently I reviewed the Cooler Master CM Stacker 830, and although I found it to be one of the best cases I've ever seen it does not sit off the floor far enough, and the front door catches on my carpeting every time I open it. not a major problem but pretty annoying considering the price (wheels would have made a huge difference here).
Wouldn't it be awesome to have a case with a built in card reader? Seriously, in this day and age of flash media, a card reader would put a great case over the top and make a decent case much more attractive. My Dell monitor has a built in card reader, and most people have a USB card reader sitting on their desk, or on top of their tower right now. Card reader aside, I think a pair of USB 2.0 ports, a IEEE 1394 port, and headphone jacks are pretty standard fare......however the location isn't. some cases have them on the top, some on the front, and some in some really strange places, like the bottom side (as far as they could possibly place it from from what makes sense). Do us a favor, put them on the top, or on the front at the top and make them as handy as possible...I'm really serious about the card reader thing.
Okay, now how about the interior? In my opinion the interior is far more important when it comes to judging the overall quality of a case (mainly because that where all your components are going to be).
"Tool-less" or traditional design?- First of all, let me say I hate "tool-less" cases. Oh there are some I really do like, but not for this aspect. While this feature might work for some, I avoid it like the plague. PCI slots.....I love the simple thumbscrews or regular screws used by companies like Cooler Master and Antec. These screws, while taking an extra minute or two to work with, will last forever. Almost every "tool-less" case I've worked with, things like the PCI slot locks break or that they simply don't secure the cards properly. On the same note, I like old fashioned thumbscrews or regular screws when it comes to securing drives in the 5.25 or 3.5 drive bays....as silly as it sounds, those "tool-less" cases for the most part simply don't hold up over time.
Cooling- Air flow can have a huge impact on the quality of a case. A case might be built like an M1-A1 Tank, but if your components are not well cooled, the case is basically a waste. I typically recommend at least a 120mm intake and a 120mm exhaust fan for cases. There are exceptions to this rule however, the ANTEC Sonata II is well laid out and makes great use of its single 120mm exhaust fan (it also allows for an additional 120mm fan to be attached to the drive bay cage). I also try to steer people clear of things like ducts...while great in theory, the truth is they end up being more of a hindrance than a help, usually not matching up with aftermarket cooling solutions, and sometimes even blocking the rear exhaust port. this problem is easily rectified by simply removing the duct from the case. As good as great air flow is, I also recommend getting a case that includes filters over any openings. You'd be amazed at the amount of dust that finds its way into your computer case in a short period of time.
While I think everyone will agree that your HDD bays need adequate air flow, what I think gets overlooked quite often is spacing between the drives. A number of cases I've looked at lately have suffered from this issue....they put a 120mm fan right in front of the drive bay cage, only to have no spacing between the drives for air to pass over them.
Room- Plan ahead, so you aren't upgrading your case every time you upgrade your other components. Like I said above, I think mid towers generally have enough room for 99% of all builds, unless you are looking at adding a high end water cooling kit or an SLI or Crossfire setup, in that case you might want to consider a full tower case. removable motherboard trays are a great feature I recommend to everyone as they make working on your computer's interior trouble free. Speaking of motherboard trays, wouldn't be nice to have a non-conductive motherboard tray and standoffs? I had an idiot neighbor once who ruined, not one, but two motherboards because he didn't realize that those metal standoffs could short out his system....even after I told him (I know, some people you can't tell anything). I think even spraying the motherboard with non-conductive paint or a material like Line-X would make a huge difference and would be a huge selling point.
Next up is Internal 3.5 drive bays. I love how Antec turned the internal 3.5 drive bays sideways in their Sonata and Sonata II cases, and I think more companies should align their drives this way. It makes cable management much easier and helps prevent snapped SATA cables should things get cramped. when it comes to space for HDD, I tend to think 4 drive bays is enough for internal storage solutions. I know there are those people out there who love RAID arrays and who have 4 or 5 drive setups, but in all honesty,4 drives is as many as most anyone needs.
On the subject of cable management....would it be so hard for motherboard and case manufacturers to get on the same page and make a standardized front panel plug for all the connections? I mean, seriously, it can't be that hard for everyone to make the connectors for the Power, Reset, HDD LED, Power LED, and Speaker universal! A good case makes cable management much easier by allowing for stowage of additional cables.....this is more than just looks however as a well wired system is more often a well cooled system. Most of us have taken to zip-tying extra cables together, stashing them behind the motherboard tray, or in empty drive bays, but what I would like to see is a wiring harness run along the back side of the case where all the wires can be neatly tied in, and each wired simply brought out of the harness at a given point to go where it needs. Wire management is a hugely overlooked aspect of chassis's. The Antec P180 is a great example of a stellar case (in theory) hamstrung by horrible cable management (okay, for the experienced system builder it was adequate, but for novices it was a bear to work with).
|  INTEL QX9650 // Gigabyte EP45 Extreme // 8GB PC2-8500 // BFG GTX260 MaxCore // DD Torture Rack // Seagate 750GB HDD // OCZ Vendetta // PC Power & Cooling 620W PSU
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February 21st, 2007
thank you so much
screwball and Quakindude make a better couple!!!
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