Question for all you computer people?

[Kyle2k]

Hey, I'm thinking about building a new computer and right now I'm hung up on what case to get. I don't want water cooling, but I would like to get a case that keeps the internal temps way down but doesn't look like its from another planet.

Depending if I get hung up on more components I'll probably keep this thread running.

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: A couple questions as well...


Are there any benefits to go to a smaller or larger case for cooling? What about materials? Some are aluminum, steel, etc?

[Epitaph]

That depends. Are you building a gaming rig? How many video cards are you going to put it in? What size are they?

The Antec cases are some of the best designed cases out there, and they're pretty cheap (not cheaply made).

If you want a basic look, and assuming everything fits, go with the Antec Three Hundred.

My bro-in-law bought a Cooler Master & it works flawlessly. No excess noise from fans. I would recommend them as well.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...NG&PageSize=20

FYI - it's never a bad idea to buy an extra fan or two if you're worried about overheating. I don't how many spots there are for fans on the 300, but it includes a 120mm & 140mm(one on top, the other on the back, you can add a 3rd on the side). Even if you do overclock, it should be more than enough to cool.

[Kyle2k]

It's going to be a budget gaming rig for now. Going to just pull my 3870 that I have now, but get a decent processor and overclock it. Maybe a solid state hard drive? Don't know if that is worth it or not.

[CamaroSpike23]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...fans,1203.html

next question.

[Kyle2k]

Originally Posted by CamaroSpike23

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...fans,1203.html

next question.

lol...ugh Greg

[CamaroSpike23]

Originally Posted by Kyle2k

lol...ugh Greg

you asked...lol

[Xanthos]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-065-_-Product

140mm fan on top, 120mm fan on the back, 120mm fan on the side, two 120mm fans on the front, and the power supply fan.

This is the case I use for my gaming computer.
- X

P.S. - To answer your question, smaller cases are better than larger cases for cooling. Less airflow is required, and air can't absorb heat readily enough to make a larger case viable (unless its filled with oil). I've never personally found case material to make a difference.

[CamaroSpike23]

Originally Posted by Kyle2k

lol...ugh Greg

and dont you have better places to spend that money.... *cough*ITB's*cough*

[Xanthos]

Originally Posted by CamaroSpike23

and dont you have better places to spend that money.... *cough*ITB's*cough*

I'd love ITBs on my LT1. Just saying.
- X

[CamaroSpike23]

Originally Posted by Xanthos

P.S. - To answer your question, smaller cases are better than larger cases for cooling. Less airflow is required, and air can't absorb heat readily enough to make a larger case viable (unless its filled with oil). I've never personally found case material to make a difference.

usually true, as long as the airflow is free flowing. if its crowded and the air has to turn and jut back to get out, it doesnt carry the heat out as efficiently.

kinda like a CAI.... remove the restrictions and it will perform better.

[Xanthos]

Originally Posted by CamaroSpike23

usually true, as long as the airflow is free flowing. if its crowded and the air has to turn and jut back to get out, it doesnt carry the heat out as efficiently.

kinda like a CAI.... remove the restrictions and it will perform better.

Agreed, but I find that the airflow can be setup to flow nicely by adjusting fan speeds. A low speed here, a high speed there... All add up to a nice, smooth air path through the case.
- X

[Kyle2k]

Any opinions on the solid state hard drive?

[Xanthos]

Originally Posted by Kyle2k

Any opinions on the solid state hard drive?

I have both a solid state (in my laptop) and standard 7200 rpm drives in my striped raid. The diffence in speed is there, but in my opinion its not worth the extra cost.
- X

[CamaroSpike23]

Originally Posted by Xanthos

Agreed, but I find that the airflow can be setup to flow nicely by adjusting fan speeds. A low speed here, a high speed there... All add up to a nice, smooth air path through the case.
- X

kinda like speed zones on a video game... lol regular speed here, a little boost there...lol

I used to have a setup that had a single, six blade, 30" fan on the side that spun at a moderate speed and an open air filter element on the other side to keep it clean. then I overclocked it and fried the motherboard and sold the case.

Originally Posted by Kyle2k

Any opinions on the solid state hard drive?

see below...

Originally Posted by Xanthos

I have both a solid state (in my laptop) and standard 7200 rpm drives in my striped raid. The diffence in speed is there, but in my opinion its not worth the extra cost.
- X

currently not worth the cost. but look back a few years at the cost of larger HDD's. give it a little time and the prices will come down.


with a SSD, you dont have mechanical arms and spinning platters that are most easily damaged in HDDs.
That being said, SSD's are more apt for usage in notebooks/laptops and such that are constantly being moved around, bumped, sometimes dropped, etc.
HDDs work just fine in a desktop computer where the case is not being shuffled around on a regular basis.
SSD's also consume less power than HDDs based off of the nature of how they operate. they dont have any moving parts to draw energy to move. adding into that, SSDs dont build up the heat that HDDs do as well.
SSDs are also faster than HDDs. but, as Xan said, they are pricier compared to HDDs, and another thing that just popped in my mind is that when you delete something from an SSD, it is gone. it wont do like a traditional HDD and "soft delete" it and just rename the file and store it elsewhere.

what you can do is find a compromise. run a 60Gb SSD for your primary drive and run a larger HDD as your secondary storage. This way you can get the effects of the SSD's speed and still afford the larger storage space at an affordable cost with the HDD.