The perfect case

You know I have been building puters for some time and I have alwasy known what I wanted in a case, but it never seemed to be what was produced. No matter how much I modded, there was always that one element missing that I just couldn't reproduce.

My criteria is:

1) That it had to be light, but not to light. I like aluminum, but lets face it, you kick the stuff and it dents. Drop it and while it may hold up . . . dents, and industrial strength aluminum such as that used in LL, and CM cases is expensive (yes there is a reason beside the great design that these cases cost). Interesting aside, buddy of mine in metal knows the guy who designed and built that 18 inch cube case selling at Xiode. I think he stole my idea as I just happen to have an 18 X 18 x 18 stainless steel cube case that was designed by myself and will be a work of art when I am done (this is not the perfect case, but a work of art) . . . some time next year. Any way I digress.

2) It also had to be easy to remove the drives, hard and optical. I own an Antec tower with the clip rails and it rocks, but I had yet to see a case with HD rails . . . yet that is.

3) It had to have at least 6 external 51/2 bays. My current rig sports seven, and it is awesome as it give me more than enough to do media copies etc with little to no hassle . . . yes I am an audiophile too. But alas it is not light, nor does it use clip rails, but the screw in kind.

4) It needed to be TOOLESS. I know that most think that thumbscrews are tooless, but did you ever not have the occasion to have to use a pair of pliers on these things every now and then. Moreover, I wanted it ALL tooless, including motherboard standoffs. Alas I none of my case fit this bill.

5) Had to have the fans in all the right places. One on the cards, two on the back for ventilation, one on the HDs, and one blowhole, and one intake (preferably on the bottom of the case so the coolest air gets sucked up and out the top.

6) Had to be easy to get into, but secure against invaders if need be. Yes I know most of you are saying "What are you paranoid?" Well maybe, but what I do know is that if someone takes your HD, they can do some serious damage with the info on same. I know, don't ask me how but i know. Moreover my rigs normally have any where from 1500 to 3000 in parts inside and I just don't trust people Its a hazard of my profession.

7)It had to have a significant cool factor, and black is the color of the day with me.

8) It had to have a removable mobo tray. Self evident reason is that I am a puter junky and upgrade quite often . . .yes I tried CJA, it didn't take.

9) It had to be affordable. When I say perfect case I am talking something that will suffice as a work puter and a home puter . . . and I buy for both.

10) It had to easy to be convenient and self contained. What I mean by this, and I am sure some of you can relate, is that it had to have good directions for installation, and be able to store the parts inside the case for the day when I need that one part that I can't find becasue I stashed amongst all my other stuff, such as screws and rails.

11) It had to be versatile, in that it could house a myriad of different form factors.

11) Last but not least it had to be somewhat small and portable. Now this must be taken in the context of the previous requirement.

Well that just about does it I think. Have never seen a case that fit all that cirteria until I accidently stumbled upon the Black Knight mini server. The case is almost virtually tooless, and the only screws being two that are designate for the floppy drives. everything else is tooless and I mean tooless. Not just thumbscrew tooless, but totally tooless. The rails are clip on, and slide in and lock like the Antecs. The mobo board also has clip on risers, and the pci slots are also affixed using sliding clips. The mobo tray is completely removable and easily done without a tool. The hard drive bay is cooled by a 80mm fan ( now I will say that it does not have a blowhole, but that is easy to fix). It has two 89mm fans, 6 5.5 bays and 2 3.5 exposed with all but one behind the front bezel door. It has intrusion detection and a lock on the front door, and lock loops on the back. It is the perfect case as far as I am concerned.

Now ask me how much . . . So how much did this perfect case cost you AA? a whole $55 plus shipping for a total of $71.72 If someone can love a case, I love this new case as I can setup a whole system in less than 60 minutes (not counting watercooling). It is simply awesome.

Linky

Ok, but your not going to make fun of me again are youj/k

Here is the pdf, already put a link to it on another thread, and the case is about ten times better in person. The insides are coated with an acrylic or some other shiny substance, and no sharp edges. With a little mod the top will come right off, and the thing is solid black on the outside.

http://www.keypower.com/images/Unique Feature of KP_0307_0317.pdf

I already ordered a couple more, one for work and one for myself, as the one I bought is slated for a new rig I am building for a friend of mine. So far PSU (the TP550), case and hardrives (2xWD 80gb) have cost a total of approximately $280. Why can't i ever do this well when I am shopping for myself . . .


One more cool feature about this puter is that you can mount a third drive on the opposite side of the fan rail that has the adjustable card holders. This is also the only thing I do not like about the case, as I like open space between my window and the board. But the card holders are just awesome, and with the wb on my vid card it tends to bend the long NVDIAS after a while.

Not a bad case... I will admit to the temptation to get one and use the Antec for one of my other systems

That does look like a nice case Might have to try it out the next rig I build for someone.

Not a bad case... I will admit to the temptation to get one and use the Antec for one of my other systems

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You know when I first found it I said decent case good price, and looks cool. But when I actually took it out of the box I couldn't believe the quality. The rails actaully clip onto the drives . . . no screws, they use the bottom and side mount holes to clip onto the drive itself and they are rock solid once on. I know its not the best case out there in terms of the bling effect, but if you knew how easy it was to take the panels off by simply sliding those clear latches you can see on the back, and then the ease in which the mobo board swings out and comes off you would not look at sliding mobo trays the same way ever again. I just can't believe these people are selling these things for so cheap. Any way thought those on the look out for a very good case for the buck may want to consider it.

I could go on about the mobo risers being stainless, and many other little things that make this case a good buy, but all I could think was this thing cost me only 71 bucks, and I paid 160 for my yy cube that in my opinion is not half as good as this case, and I love my YY cube too

ive got one just like it... its an enermax... its the black chrome case... im about to post some pics of it here in a second

Also came across this while surfing last night, its the same case, a little more expensive, but you can get it painted in several different colors for an additional $10, but it is equipped with a 250 AT supply, what is up with that? Colors look good though.

http://www.amtrade.com/computer/color_mini_server_workstation.htm


Enermax? Didn't think it was name brand, must of missed it. Its surprising what you will come across when your looking for a cheap black case.


I will say that I have discovered a few flaws in my perfect case. The clip on rails don't work to well with bay monitoring devices, unless you drill little holes in the bottom Plus I don't think this thing has enough room for a decent water cooling setup, and would probably have to be set up external.

Still a bargain for the price though, and excellant work puter as I do not foresee having in probs changing things out.

Ok looks like your right, enermax, even though the one I have does not have the titanium coating or the window and has a different front bezel, it is obviously the same case.

http://www.enermax.com.tw/product-04.htm

You have to click on the CS-B31 link to see it. Now I know why the case is of such quality. I thought it was some cheap no name when I first purchased it, and that is why I was so surprised when I actually pulled it out of the box it turned out to be a case well worth the price.

http://pic8.picturetrail.com/VOL234/1534996/2933458/35838562.jpg is my set up

and

http://pic8.picturetrail.com/VOL234/1534996/2933458/35838529.jpg is my case... the pic doesnt actually show how freakin shiny it is... its mirrored

Very nice, I see you got rid of the door, was thinking about doing that myself. How are the case temps?

one thing about this, and with most mid towers is that with MB's that have a strange vertical cpu hs/f clip arrangement... i find myself having the remove the PSU everytime i want to reseat the heatsink.....

all i need is 1 inch.....

hehehe nicee shiny case..

one thing about this, and with most mid towers is that with MB's that have a strange vertical cpu hs/f clip arrangement... i find myself having the remove the PSU everytime i want to reseat the heatsink.....

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Don't think this applys to this particular case because the MOBO is completely removable and it seems to allow you to simply unlatch the mobo, swing out and detach. It has Little mor eroom than your average midtower too.