Mid tower case recommendations?

[dgk]

Ok, I really would prefer to avoid a full tower (TB1200 A7V). I need a decent PSU and four 5 1/4" drives (two swappable disks, one CD, one burner). I have an Enlight that takes two 80mm fans but need another case for a TB900. So, that will get the Enlight and the 1200 gets the new case (and Swiftech 462A). Now what other suggestions do folks have. The problem with a full tower is that, unless it is a small full tower, it won't fit under my desk and that would be bad. And I read in some other thread that 90mm fans are much better than 80 but 120 is not a great boost over 90. So 90 it is. Money isn't a major consideration but it depends on whether the power supply is included and so on.

Gentlemen (and MsNath), I eagerly await your suggestions.

 

[Len]

Antec SX-1030 or 1040. But only takes 80mm fans.

 

[Tachyon]

Have you looked at the Addtronics 6890A and 6896A case?

 

[klosters64a]

Four exposed 5.25" bays are hard to find in a Mid. AFAIK, the Enlight 7237 is the smallest case that features four 5.25's.

A T-Bird system demands 100 cfm of case throughput. At minimum, IMHO. 100 cfm may not be sufficient! Two 80mm fans can't do it. Neither can two 92mm fans.

You could spend a LOT of time searching for a case that meets your requirements. If I remember right, very few of the "jumbo" mids sport four exposed 5.25" bays.

Perhaps it would be more efficacious to resign yourself to cutting a 7237. It's not rocket science, nonetheless you do want to be careful dealing with sheet metal. The stuff bends out of true and dimples easily, while resenting and resisting efforts to drill it and cut it.

You have to plan holes for fans carefully. Unless you've a friend that does TIG welding. In other words, steel that's gone doesn't grow back.

Cutting a hole for a 120 mm intake fan where the mount for the 80mm is is often done. I didn't, because the 7237 is NOT a strong case, and you remove what appears to be a crucial structural member if you do cut the hole for a 120mm intake fan in that spot.

The left hand side cover begs for a fan or fans. Placement of same is(always) restricted by HDD hangars and PCI cards on the mainboard. (Unless you wish to mount the fan on the outside of the case. I've done it-- it looks weird.)

The rear stock 80mm mount point is widened to accommodate a 92 mm fan, fairly easily.

Btw, there's a huge difference in the cfm abilities of 92mm and 120mm fans. Bigger is always better. More air, less RPM's= More quiet.

 

[Hoot]

I love my Enlight EN-7237. Great bang-for-buck. Order it without a PSU and get a good one separately.

Hoot

 

[Carousel]

I just purchased a Generation-X (never heard of em before) mid tower. It has 4 5.25" external and 2 3.5"external and one 3.5 internal. I am running 2 80mm generic fans as intake and exhaust and a generic CPU cooler on a T-Bird 1.33, 3D Prophet 4500, 30Gig 7200 rpm HD, 300W PS. and I am running a bit hot, Board sensor says mid 40's, sytem has been up for a week now I intend to invest in a good quality heatsink and that should be an adequate solution as long as I don't overclock (my water cooling system is still in design stages ) Oh, it only cost $50 with one addidtional case fan. It doesn't have any fancy gadgets like sliding motherboard tray or HD trays but it works great on a budget.

Carousel

 

[Carousel]

I just purchased a Generation-X (never heard of em before) mid tower. It has 4 5.25" external and 2 3.5"external and one 3.5 internal. I am running 2 80mm generic fans as intake and exhaust and a generic CPU cooler on a T-Bird 1.33, 3D Prophet 4500, 30Gig 7200 rpm HD, 300W PS. and I am running a bit hot, Board sensor says mid 40's, sytem has been up for a week now I intend to invest in a good quality heatsink and that should be an adequate solution as long as I don't overclock (my water cooling system is still in design stages ) Oh, it only cost $50 with one addidtional case fan. It doesn't have any fancy gadgets like sliding motherboard tray or HD trays but it works great on a budget.

Carousel