Case help (ahhh too many to pick from)

pengwin

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ok as of now i wanna get the Antec Performance TX1050B

its 125$$ and comes with a smart power 500w

its a good case but i found a few other that are pretty good too so i need ur help which case would be good for me?

i plan to OC and get SLi

also its its a case w/o a PSU its gotta be under $75 cuz i dont wanna spend over 150 on a case and PSU and a 500w PSU is like..75 bucks
 

RichPLS

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I would not recomment the smart power series, especially if intent is for good overclokcing results... tho it is not nec a bad psu...
The TruePower series are the premium line for Antec.

I have the following...
Lian Li PC-60plus Black Aluminum Case (w/TR-3B Black Thermometer/Fan Controller 3.5” bay)
Opteron 175 (2x 2.42 GHz, 2MB cache, Socket 939, .09 micron, E6 stepping, OSA175DAA6CD)
ThermalTake BigWaterSE 12cm liquid cooling system complete kit
Asus A8R-MVP Motherboard (ATI Radeon Xpress 200 CrossFire, socket 939, SATA2)
HiS X1800XT Graphics Card (625 MHz/700 MHz OC core/1500 Mhz/1600 MHz OC mem, Dual DL-DVI VIVO 512 MB PCIe)
ATI TV Theater 550 PRO Tuner (PCI TV and FM Tuner)
4x 512MB Corsair Micro Xpert DDR RAM (2-3-3-8-2T (spd 2-2-2-5-1T) TwinXP 1024-3200XL)
2x 74gig Western Digital Raptor Hard Drives RAID-0 (WD740GD RAID0 150gig Boot Drive)
2x 250gig Western Digital Caviar SE16 Hard Drives (WD2500KS storage and data)
Plextor 716AL Black 16x DVD/CD Burner (IDE slot loading type)
Antec TP-II 550 Power Supply (550 Watt ATX12V v2.0 PSU)
Dell 2405FPW 24-inch LCD Monitor (UltraSharp Wide Aspect Flat Panel Display)
Logitech G-15 Gaming Keyboard
Logitech Cordless Optical TrackMan
Case Fans (SilenX 120mm intake, Adda 120mm exhaust blower, SilenX 92mm exhaust and SilenX 80mm Fan)

Anyway, the fastest stable overclock I can reach is 2680; I seem to hit a brick wall at around 2700 MHz.
Whether I use 11x250 or 10x270 or even 10.5x260 it fails to boot, but if I back it down 5MHz things work pretty good, and it makes no difference at settings CAS 2.5 or 3, using 3, 3, 8, 3, or with just 2 stick or RAM; either way, around 2680 is my overclock limit. But this system is quick and stable; I keep it normally at 2420 MHz (11x220 at 2, 2, 6, 2) 2.8 volts for now. I am pretty sure the overclock limit is the processor and not the memory, but would have liked to see top out well better than a 20% stable overclock with this system, considering the components.
It does hit pretty high according to FutureMark’s results ~ 4,935 3DMarks06 and 9,881 marks in 3DMark05.

I am looking at upgrading motherboard to the A8R32-MVP with the FSP Epsilon 700watt PSU to see if I can o/c higher, since currently, overclocking at system max, the 5 and 3.3 volt starts dropping a little low due too pushing limits of current 550watt PSU... I hope that it is one reason I can not break 2.7GHz
 

bill_bright

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Will you be lugging this PC around, or just stick it in a hole and let it run?

I like Antec cases, I have several, including the Sonata and 1040s. Look at cooling - does it support large (120mm) fans, at least 2?

I agree with comments about thrown in PSs - many retailers throw in PS to sell a case. I use them for spares and troubleshooting on the bench.

My next case will likely be the Antec P180.
 

pengwin

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yah but i dont plan to OC right away maybe wait a few months when i really need it

i prolly wont lug it around and if i do i dont mind carrying something big i just want good quality for a fair price that means under 80 bucks(w/o a PSU) with good airflow
 

bill_bright

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My point about lugging it around has more to do with quality construction and not weight. The better made cases have better fit and finish and reinforced corners. The cases do no flex and warp - which causes undue stress on the motherboard.
 

pengwin

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yah i dont want something lcheap if i poke it it lops over and breaks i want something that will last for years and something with a timeless design where it will look nice everywhere everytime (ie sleek things like the P180)

i wont get th eP180 cuz ppl (reviewers) say the alkuminum warps over time and i want a long lasting case not one that will melt in 6 months
 

bill_bright

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What reviews said it warps? If it warps, it is because it is not properly reinforced or is handled roughly. A good case will not warp. The P180 is a good case.
 

jokersgrin

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ok as of now i wanna get the Antec Performance TX1050B

its 125$$ and comes with a smart power 500w

its a good case but i found a few other that are pretty good too so i need ur help which case would be good for me?

i plan to OC and get SLi

also its its a case w/o a PSU its gotta be under $75 cuz i dont wanna spend over 150 on a case and PSU and a 500w PSU is like..75 bucks


Thats going to be hard finding good hardware for just $150 bones. My best advice from this point would be save a little more ( $250 ) that way you will have better options for better hardware! But what ever you do don't skimp on the PSU! ( when I plan a build, I over do the PSU and Case for future upgradeing! Things I look at are room inside the case, airflow and fans, quality, and lastly, looks! ) I know that I'm not much help to you bro but its your taste and your $$$.
 

bill_bright

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I agree with this. Why spend many hundreds or several thousands of dollars on a motherboard, CPU, RAM, and video, then throw cheap power at it and expect it to run rock solid stable? This is like buying no-name gas from an unmarked fuel truck in a back alley and putting it in your brand new BMW!

I also agree with the comments about the case - looks comes last - especially if on a budget. If interested in looks, buy a better monitor and video card - that is, unless you plan on looking at the PC all day instead of the display. After all, for the vast majority of users, the PC is shoved in a cubby hole, or on the floor out of the way.

And remember, fancy lights inside the case do absolutely nothing for performance, they actually produce some heat, they draw power from the power supply, and, since they are usually pretty low tech, have been known to introduce electronic noise into circuits - in particular, the audio circuits - not a good thing.
 

pengwin

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no i hate lights

im on a budget and the im not gonna go SLi yet so a 500w Smart Power PSU would do me fine (i think)

man now i got 2 choices

Sonata II or Performance TX 1050B

i like the room in the TX but i also like quiet things, both have good air flow, which would be better for:

Large heatsinks
SLi
and im only gonna run 2 HDD's max
 

tetgill

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sry to say but u runnin SLI lol with a 500 watt well just make sure it is SLI CERT. never know when u might want to add sumthan extra and u wont have a open connector for it from ur PSU lol I sure in hell can't run both of my cards on 500 watts lol I have a SilverStone / SST-ST65ZF / 650-Watt and it does it ok ill wait till sumthan better comes out in a nice price range
 

pengwin

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i agree its risky but if tis 2 6800GS's it'll run on a 500w antec PSU

anyways if i ever go SLi ill probably get a new PSU i just need one now sold with the case for a fair price
 

bill_bright

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Depending on your CPU and RAM, the 500W Antec with one high-end video card is fine. Note that I would much rather have a 500W Antec (or another major reputable brand) PS than a 600 watt no-name.

Also, you ask about cases and heatsinks - the motherboard (and surround capacitors) is more of a determining factor for which heatsink will fit in the case - at least on mid-tower cases.
 

bill_bright

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The key thing is if your gonna run SLI.. make sure ur psu is SLI CERT.
I agree - sort of.

Note that nVidia would want you to make sure that every component you buy has the SLi Ready certification label - but it does not and don't be fooled into thinking it does. The actual SLi Ready label only means the makers submitted their hardware to nVidia for testing - PAID A TESTING FEE - and now gets to wear the label. Microsoft does the same thing for Certified drivers but many makers refuse to pay MS when they know their product will work.

If the power supply you want meets these nVidia "recommendations" and has the required connection to power your board, then you are okay.
 

tetgill

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true!!! also i just suggested SLI Cert. cause not many other PSU have the Dedicated PCI connectors gives u more options on whats else u wanna power up with the reg 4 pin connectors!!
 

bill_bright

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It seems like a nice case but there's a common complaint in some of the reviews about the mounting bar being in the way - I think that would bother me too.

http://www.overclockercafe.com/Reviews/cases/Sunbeam_SilentStorm/

Plus, once you've had a PC with a good filter, you would not want one without. The Sunbeam does not have one.
 

pengwin

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true so which should i go with?

Antec TX1080B
or Sonata II

i would be willing to pay few dollars more for the P150 but newegg reviewers are saying the Neo HE 430w is pretty crappy
 

bill_bright

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I think the 1080 is not available in the US - the 1088 is available here though.

As far as which is better - the Sonata is built with low noise as a priority, it has 1 less 5.25 drive bay, is 10lbs lighter and 4 inches shorter. Other than that, I expect the build quality to be the same. Since I know I will never need 4 5.25 bays, and I value low-noise, I would go with the Sonata.

I would also not base my case decision on what power supply comes with it. I have several supplies that came in cases that were immediately pulled and replaced with the PS of my choice - that's just one of those things, like buying new tires and rims - even though the originals that came with the car are still good.
 

pengwin

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newegg sells the 1080B

well i want it to be spacious enough for a few HDD and 2 gfx cards and still have good cooling

i dunno the sonata is nice but so is the 1080B
 

bill_bright

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Something else to consider with tall cases and that is cables - your power supply may have problems reaching devices and some data cables may have to be extended too. Often, the runs to the front panel I/O in tall cases are very long.