In Search of a Lost Breed of Case

I'm going to be in the market for a new case in the next few months to go along with the Hammer I hope to buy in the next few months. I've been poking around the web for weeks, but I haven't been able to find a case that I like.

The catch is that nobody seems to make the kind of case I want anymore. The biggest problem is that I don't want something fancy. No windows, no aluminum. I have both in the Lian-Li that I use right now, and both have gotten very noticably scratched. I want a plain steel tower that will survive years of abuse and come back for more. (It's like the guy who goes to the Dodge dealership and buys the Ram instead of the Viper so he dosen't have to worry about keeping it in immaculate condition.)

Another thing is that I want a BIG case. I hope to have a watercooling system one day, and I'll need quite a bit of room. Add in multiple (3+) hard drives, and possibly dual CPUs and/or SLI if I can scrape together the money, and we have a tight fit in the biggest of cases.

I found some server-type "cube" cases, but those all share another problem: The drive-bay door. I hate these things. Plus, I'm worried that a door might interfere with a fan controller mounted in a 5.25 bay (I want to use high speed fans and put them on a controller so I can turn up the airflow on hot days.)

To put it in a nice little list, here's what I want in a case:

-> Large size. Has to be space for pumps, radiators, expantion cards, fans, and all sorts of other stuff inside.

-> Non-aluminum (aka steel) construction. It's still a bit hard to find silver-colored CD-ROM drives and the like. I uesd to have a beige fulltower made out of 1.0mm Japanese stell, and that thing would have survived a nuclear war; my current aluminum case scratches way too easily.

-> No windows, for the same reasons as above. Plus it allows more freedom in where to put the case on the floor; the window is really kind of pointless if it's facing the wall.

-> Lots of drive bays. I want at least 5 3.5" internal HDD spaces to allow for some future expantion, and the more the merrier. Same with 5.25" external bays, 4 is really a minimum, and 5 or 6 would be even better. Dual 3.5" external bays are a bonus, but not mandatory.

-> No doors. (I got my nick for a reason, y'know! OK, maybe it was the fact that I broke down a door at school a long time ago, but still.)

-> Good airflow, but that's a given.

-> No other fancy stuff is needed. I have no use for front USB or firewire ports, front audio, card readers, or anything like that. Dosen't hurt if they're there I guess, but I don't need them.

-> A reasonable price. I'm more than willing to spend decent money for a decent case, but nothing like that $1300 Supermicro quad Xeon job.

Any recommendations? Thanks in advance!!

If you're up to it, and have the time, I'd say get one custom made of wood (or do it yourself.) Of course it's not exactly steel, but if done well, I think it would look great.

I recommend a Chieftec Full Tower Dragon / Chenming DA-901 (They are both the same case). Built like a tank. 6 3.5 internal Drive bays in 2 removeable cages that each hold 3 3.5 HDDs
6 external 5.25 Bays
2 external 3.5 Bays

Some have a door but they can be easily removed, very simple case. Good cooling. Comes stock with 5 80mm fan mounts. All Steel Construction. Reasonably priced. PSU bracket can be modified with a little work to run Dual PSUs or to make room for a radiator up top. I have the print to make a new bracket if you want it.

Here is a nice Beige model with no door that just may fit the bill.

Chenming Beige Full Tower case, Model "901A-0-0"

I'd buy a Cooler Master Stacker.

mantralord said:

I'd buy a Cooler Master Stacker.

Click to expand...

Also an excellent choice

Electron Chaser said:

I recommend a Chieftec Full Tower Dragon / Chenming DA-901 (They are both the same case). Built like a tank. 6 3.5 internal Drive bays in 2 removeable cages that each hold 3 3.5 HDDs
6 external 5.25 Bays
2 external 3.5 Bays

Some have a door but they can be easily removed, very simple case. Good cooling. Comes stock with 5 80mm fan mounts. All Steel Construction. Reasonably priced. PSU bracket can be modified with a little work to run Dual PSUs or to make room for a radiator up top. I have the print to make a new bracket if you want it.

Here is a nice Beige model with no door that just may fit the bill.

Chenming Beige Full Tower case, Model "901A-0-0"

Click to expand...

that thing is close to 100 dollar , i don't kow what bill it fits, deffinitely not my bill , all the jokes aside, that's one nice case, i like to have one of those and run a dual PSU, if you have that case, dual PSU is a must, 1 to run the CPU and mobo, the other for HDD and stuff.

Electron Chaser said:

I recommend a Chieftec Full Tower Dragon / Chenming DA-901 (They are both the same case). Built like a tank. 6 3.5 internal Drive bays in 2 removeable cages that each hold 3 3.5 HDDs
6 external 5.25 Bays
2 external 3.5 Bays

Some have a door but they can be easily removed, very simple case. Good cooling. Comes stock with 5 80mm fan mounts. All Steel Construction. Reasonably priced. PSU bracket can be modified with a little work to run Dual PSUs or to make room for a radiator up top. I have the print to make a new bracket if you want it.

Here is a nice Beige model with no door that just may fit the bill.

Chenming Beige Full Tower case, Model "901A-0-0"

Click to expand...

Second the FT Dragons.

mantralord said:

I'd buy a Cooler Master Stacker.

Click to expand...

Yuppers.
Only the external panels (roof and sides) are aluminum, all the rest of the chassis is made of steel and built like the proverbial tank.
IMO, the easiest case to configure a waterloop into (unlike the V series Lian-li's there is but one compartment instead of three) and the cooling options are plentiful (my only complaint is the weeny 80mm blowhole/roof fan, but that would be easily changed if one was so inclined).

My second recommendation would be the Silverstone TJ06.
Although I plan on keeping mine aircooled, I think it would be relatively easy to install a waterloop (cramming my Ehiem 1250 into it might be problematical, but there are other pump options).
IMO, the finest looking case currently made (for whatever reason, the front bezel reminds me of a Rolls-Royce radiator) and the build quality is excellent ( the fit/install of the sidepanels is the best I've ever seen).

Both cases are rather pricey, but you get what you pay for.

Cool Cases Got my current case here (Chenbro Genie). Excellent site and carries cases you don't see around much anymore. If you want a good old case that will take a lot of abuse then you should take a look at this site.