Building for people, need case help

Hey guys, I am building computers as a side job now. My question is does anyone have a site that they recommend for cases with power supplies included. I don't want to buy some piece of **** case and ps and make my customers unhappy. I was just wondering if any had a preference of where to get to get a case with ps for under $60. I see places everywhere that have them for like $30 or $40 but I don't know if the ps that come with them are horrible or if the cases are crap. Let me know if you can think of anything!!

Thank you

www.newegg.com is a great place to shop for cases. They give pictures of the case from all angles, including the interior. Their prices are also good.

Best case that comes to mind for me in that price range is the Antec SLK-3700amb. Its on sale right now at newegg for $65 and free shipping (and considering how expensive shipping can be on cases I figure going $5 over your budget is no biggie ).

The case comes with a 350w antec PSU so its a quality brand psu for non overclocking chores. The paint job on it is very good looking (its a conservative pewterish looking color, very sharp). It has rubber grommets for mounting the hardrives (less noise) and has 2 120mm fan mounts (1 fan included). I love running 120mm fans, you get a ton of airflow and you can undervolt them for some nice silent cooling.

The case has plenty of room to work inside (and plenty of spaces to hide cables, which I love) but its not overly huge.

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=11-129-122&DEPA=1

thanks

Hey, yeah I use newegg alot. Good info and I appreciate that. I guess I have another question about the noise. Will 2 120mm fans running at their normal stock speed be quieter compared to 2 80mm. I thought I remember the big the fan the less noise. I also want the machines to run fairly quiet too, so I guess I need to base the case on what size fans it hold also.

Thanks again!

Well it all depends on the fans really. A larger fan can push more cfm per rpm. Generally less rpms is less noise. You can get 120mm fans that don't run at super high rpms and they run pretty quiet and still push a decent amount of air. Really the 1 fan that comes with the system provides sufficient airflow for most systems(and is fairly quiet). 2 fans undervolted to 7 volts would be very nice indeed

By any chance could you tell me how to drop the Volt down so it runs at a lower rpm??

Thanks!

Basically you take the ground wire from the fan and connect it to the 5volt line from the power supply...12+ minus the 5+ gives you 7+ volts...If you are going to be building you should probably get male holders and pins...Pin tools are also a great thing to have...You can make up something like this from Directron

http://www.directron.com/12to7.html

Another Antec case that meets your needs is the SLK3700BQE...Little different than the AMD...Gotta love those cases as they are inexpensive considering the build quality, use of 120m/m fans and they look great...

This is a Powmax case that I have used for inexpensive builds

http://www.directron.com/9804.html

The black ones look great...If you cut out the fan grills they cool great too...A 120m/m in the front and 2 80m/m in the rear...The power supply is the dreaded "Kaa Pow Max"...Have not had one fail yet...Usually replace it with the 300watt Fortron with the single 120m/m fan...The case used to be 23.99...Here is a link to the power supply

http://www.directron.com/fsp30060pn.html

But for inexpensive builds they are great...Now that they went up on price I will only use them without replacing the power supply...

I vote also for newegg, When i am building a system for someone else, (which i find myself doing at least 90% of the time) it's the hardest decision on what case to use. Normally, i will determine what size of psu i need, and go to newegg, and veiw summary of all cases with that size psu. then just from looking at the thumbs i can find something that i think the particular person might like the look of. I find that Ahanix makes a good variety of inexpensive cases that are very good, with adequate cooling. Not that i'd have one for myself you understand, but for someone who is just your average joe sixpack they are perfect.


J.

xtreme404 said:

By any chance could you tell me how to drop the Volt down so it runs at a lower rpm??

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Here is a good guide if you want to do it yourself instead of buying one:

http://www.dslwebserver.com/main/5-7-adapter.html

I too just picked up an Antec SLK3700AMB and have been quite impressed with the build quality and what you get for the price. Even considering selling my Lian-Li due to this case's superior cooling. I'd be interested to hear if anyone knows of some other cheap cases of similar size with 120mm fans. The only think I hate about this case is the fact that the hard drive drive bays are so close to the motherboard.

Might want to check out the Chieftec cases at newegg as well. Good cases for a good price.