I'm sure among all of you out there quite a number of you have customized computers to some degree. well, my birthday is coming up and since I already have most of the stuff I want right now, I figure I'll ask my wife for a new case for my computer since the one I have now is a bit crap in terms of wire management. I've just finished searching through sites like TigerDirect, Xoxide, NewEgg and amazon.com. I've looked up specific brands such as CoolerMaster, RaidMax, NZXT, and Apevia. the case that's in the lead right now is the Cooler Master Cosmos S (http://www.coolermaster.com/products/product.php?language=en&act=detail&tbcate=17&id=3947). what I'm looking for are suggestions of other cases or brand names that you are familiar with. anything from specifics to general brand names or whatever else. my only preference is that it be full tower, but I'm not requiring that either. any help is appreciated :)

I'm still looking at cases, I'm currently eying the http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=96580 [NSK6580 Antec] for 135$.

I'm RMA'ing my motherboard due to a faulty NIC and USB port and will get my Video Card replaced due to some text disappering in standard windows dialogs and stuff and Potentialy memory >.> I need to test that again though at some point.

First question: what are you looking for in a computer case? As in, do you want it to be able to prevent overcooling or overheating or be very much durable? Or do you just want one that's big enough, in which case you'll have more luck looking at them yourself than to ask us.

Only a 430 Watt power supply?
Not really that future-proof anymore in the age of multi-core CPUs and SLI-mode GPUs.

I bought a 470 Watt one in 2005.

Only a 430 Watt power supply?
Not really that future-proof anymore in the age of multi-core CPUs and SLI-mode GPUs.

I bought a 470 Watt one in 2005.

My advice would be to never (ever), base your buys on what you expect from the future and stick to getting the best value for your money in the present. But that's just the way I'd do it :)

to be able to prevent overcooling or overheating

Just out of interest, why would you prevent overcooling?

My advice would be to never (ever), base your buys on what you expect from the future and stick to getting the best value for your money in the present. But that's just the way I'd do it :)

Not future-proofing your PC purchases, thats sensible... I mean, the future of PCs is generally a whole few months away :rolleyes:

Just out of interest, why would you prevent overcooling?
Umm...

Okay, how 'bout we pretend I didn't say that. :p

My advice would be to never (ever), base your buys on what you expect from the future and stick to getting the best value for your money in the present. But that's just the way I'd do it :)

Future proofing is always worth taking into consideration, since over a few years it can potentially save you a lot of money. One slightly over-specced component now can often be cheaper than a suitable one now, and another suitable one in a couple of years.

Though in the case of cases (:p) I thought decent cases didn't usually come with a PSU installed anyway, so you'll have to get them separately.

Edit: Bleh, Plasma, now I have to add a quotation so it makes sense :p

Future proofing is always worth taking into consideration, since over a few years it can potentially save you a lot of money.

Nah, it's the complete opposite. At least, the way I meant it.
Basically, you should never get something that you believe will useful in the future when new components/games appear. You should always get the best value for your money. Because chances are, you'll be able to buy a 2008-useful component now, trash it in 2010 and buy a 2010-useful component and spend less money than if you buy the 2010-useful component on 2008 and stick with it.
In this case, buying a case that supports and enhances cooling for SLI setup would be stupid. Who the hell needs STI anyway?

Nah, it's the complete opposite. At least, the way I meant it.
Basically, you should never get something that you believe will useful in the future when new components/games appear. You should always get the best value for your money. Because chances are, you'll be able to buy a 2008-useful component now, trash it in 2010 and buy a 2010-useful component and spend less money than if you buy the 2010-useful component on 2008 and stick with it.
In this case, buying a case that supports and enhances cooling for SLI setup would be stupid. Who the hell needs STI anyway?

If the 'future proof' stuff is a lot more expensive, then I'd agree with you, but when it's only a (relatively) small difference I'd say go for the future-proof. I managed to keep my old PC going for 5 years with a bit of planning, and it would still be my main PC if it weren't for the fact you can't move it about (I recently bought a laptop).

On SLI, though, it has potential usefulness for very large resolutions, and it may turn out to be cheaper (and worthwhile) to buy a second copy of your existing card in a couple of years, rather than buy a brand new one. Depends what you think you'll need.

If the 'future proof' stuff is a lot more expensive, then I'd agree with you, but when it's only a (relatively) small difference I'd say go for the future-proof. I managed to keep my old PC going for 5 years with a bit of planning, and it would still be my main PC if it weren't for the fact you can't move it about (I recently bought a laptop).

On SLI, though, it has potential usefulness for very large resolutions, and it may turn out to be cheaper (and worthwhile) to buy a second copy of your existing card in a couple of years, rather than buy a brand new one. Depends what you think you'll need.

Well, if you can manage to predict the future market then kudos to you. However, I believe it to be generally safer to stick to what works as opposed to what will work, specially in the computer market were everything changes so fast.

Just out of interest, why would you prevent overcooling?

Actually, I know of someone whose PS3 broke due to cooling too fast and condensation forming.

It'd have to be a pretty damp room to get condensation :p Plus generally the fans turn off at the same time as the computer, so really quick cooling is rarely going to happen in a PC.

Well, if you can manage to predict the future market then kudos to you. However, I believe it to be generally safer to stick to what works as opposed to what will work, specially in the computer market were everything changes so fast.
Fairly fast, but not that fast. Most new things are announced well before they come to market, and a long time before they become cheap. The gradual changes are fairly predicable. A few years ago it was faster processors, now it's more cores, though this may or may not change. The end of AGP was foreseeable, though it took longer than expected. The end of PCI-E will be foreseeable when it eventually comes. DDR3 will eventually dominate, Cell was a flop, etc etc.

Though, computers are one of my main interests and my hobby, so I do pay somewhat more attention to a lot of this stuff than most would ever want to.

As to cases though, I'm clueless. I used an old aluminium thing I got cheap somewhere, and bodged a home-made ventilation system. I just got sucked into the thread cos it people were talking about computers.

Actually, I know of someone whose PS3 broke due to cooling too fast and condensation forming.

Did they put ICE over it? It's a bit too... extreme. You can break ROCKS that way...

Only a 430 Watt power supply?
Not really that future-proof anymore in the age of multi-core CPUs and SLI-mode GPUs.

I bought a 470 Watt one in 2005.

He never said he was going to use the included power supply.

I fully agree with you, yakuza.
But with casings and power supplies there isn't by far such an immense price decline like with CPUs, RAM and GPUs.

I'd always get a power supply that has a higher wattage than necessary, as it's more than likely that you will install new hardware later, e.g. additional HDDs or maybe swap the graphics card.
It would be quite annoying if your system starts to crash just because you're running low on wattage whenever you start up a modern computer game.

Another thing that came to my mind:
You can always foresee to some extent what new technology will soon be released to mass market, for example the switch from AGP to PCI-e.
A friend of mine bought an new AGP graphics card so he wouldn't need to switch his motherboard, while I bought a completely new system an already bought a PCI-e board and graphics card.
He ended up ditching the new card a few months later and switch to PCI-e.

And yet another example:
It would be very unwise to invest in HD-DVD hardware today just because you can get the "best value for your money". :)
Actually, I know of someone whose PS3 broke due to cooling too fast and condensation forming.
Beer in the ventilation slots. That was easy.

No, they just have a bit of the house that is extremely cold and moist 24/7, so anything hot in there cools down and gets condensation rather quickly.

And yet another example:

It would be very unwise to invest in HD-DVD hardware today just because you can get the "best value for your money".
Well, I go past a gamestation that sells Xbox360 HDDVD drives (remember these are PC compatible also IIRC) for £20 now.

personally, I'm not buying my case for future proofing or anything else. I'm just buying a practical case that is useful and looks attractive. I'm not too concerned about how fancy the case is, really, so long as it's sensible and useful as well as attractive.

if it's not as rugged but better at cooling that's cool with me. if it's not as good at cooling but is made to endure more wear and tear then that's also fine by me. so long as it's not as heavy as my friend's 70lbs worth of computer I'm pretty much ok with it.

steer clear of steel cases if you dont want a heavy one :) and Bonz, lack of Amperage on each rail is more the reason why instability occurs in power intense situations.

steer clear of steel cases if you dont want a heavy one :) and Bonz, lack of Amperage on each rail is more the reason why instability occurs in power intense situations.

The current will be directly proportional to the power since the voltage is meant to be consistant. :p