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Phoenix
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I finally moved my computer's innards into my new computer case that I've had for about six months now. I was going to wait and put the upgraded system in it, but I don't see myself building a new and improved system for perhaps another year at this rate. I got all the wiring out of the way so I have about as good as you can get for airflow. I'm a serious advocate for "wire hiding" inside cases, not just for looks but also for airflow and component accessibility. Having a jumble of power wires and ribbon cables blocking everything is rather pathetic. Round cables are the way to go, and getting those power wires out of the way is a must.
Here's a link to the new case I'm using:
http://www.colorcases.com/Cases/phoenix.htm
I know, I'm narcissistic. What can I say? I still have some tweaking I could do in the fan department, but I did manage to get a nifty red LED fan for the side intake. The blue lights on the front pannel match the blue lights on my speed control, so that worked out nicely. Red is my favorite color, but the blue actually looks nicer than I thought it would. The red side pannel/blue front combo is a rather interesting balance. There's just a hint of green near the back below my video card where the mainboard's standby power indicator is to round it all out.
Here's my old case.
http://www.mikhailtech.com/articles/cases/noblesse/
I do like it, but it weighs twice as much as my new case. I'll be throwing the backup system (idlebot for all the IRC regulars) into this one once I'm able to upgrade, which is perfect since I don't have to move the thing around as much as I do my main system when it comes time for the semi-anual "blow the dust out of the case" event. This way I have the lighter case in the hard-to-reach spot, and the heavier case in the "plant it ant leave it" spot.
So what do I think of the case? Very nice, even without the name I like it. That was just a bonus. It goes together easy, has as much room inside as the Noblesse and weighs half as much. You can stuff this thing full of hard drives. It also comes with black fake out plates for both the floppy and one 5-1/4" bay. That's nice if you have a beige CD-ROM and/or a beige floppy. My old CD-RW is beige, so that was certainly a plus. I had zero difficulty mounting the mainboard, routing wires, attaching drives, etc. Everything went quite smoothly for a change, which yields one happy bird.
The only nitpicks I have are the expansion slots are cut a little strange. It's not a problem unless you have expansion cards that have a lot of stuff on the back plate. Graphics cards come to mind. You might have to take a retaining nut off the card to get it through the slot, then reattach it, but it's nothing too difficult to get around. It also only has one 80mm fan port on the rear, with a 50mm(?) port below that. I would have preferred dual 80mm's like on the Noblesse.
Behind the front pannel there's room for two 80mm side-by-sides, and it has a MUCH nicer intake guard than the Noblesse. The case has wonderful internal air circulation. My temperatures are just a tad higher than I was getting with the Noblesse, but I had front air intakes on that one, and I had ducted my Vantec CPU cooler straight out the side. I think I just need a slightly faster side intake fan, a good 50mm to go on the back, and a booster to go in the one empty front bay and I'll be set.
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  I fly into the night, on wings of fire burning bright...
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games keeper
Elite
Posts: 1375
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nice sidepanel and stuff ,but the case looks weak  but if you like it , then tune it to your needs . but stay away from neons , I have seen pics of people where the inverter catched fire and burned out halfway there pc . |
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Tabun
Pixel Procrastinator
Team Member
Elite (3k+)
  
Posts: 3330
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Me, I don't give a shit about the insides of the case. True, airflow is important, but I only really care about the noise level and to some extent the looks of the case itself. For both purposes, the Coolermaster Wavemaster case pretty much kicks ass. No window, all aluminium, no edges to cut yourself on, smart fan placement & mobo tray and a very nice overall look to it. Plus, it's sturdy as hell. Best one I ever had, too bad it's not called the 'Tabun' ;] The rather prominent downside is that it's about 4 to 5 times as expensive as that Phoenix case. http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1552 |
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« Last Edit: 2004-11-28, 19:02 by Tabun »
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| Tabun |
?Morituri Nolumus Mori? |
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shambler
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Heres my main case. http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?...nufacturer_id=0For me raliability and such count way above looks. I chose this as it was easy to get into, and had lots of bays and space for fans. Unlike Tab my comps make a LOT of noise, but I don't care. My study is a bit like being in a helicopter. I also use round cables for airflow. My son BAT actually overheated his processor (must have been his porn) and his Ali heat sink became the colour of the bottom of a saucepan! so after that I've been big on cooling. |
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shambler
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I kind of treat my study as a computer case.
I have lighting spaced around the room, and a fan (9inch) in the corner. Its like SITTING in a modded case.
I started by painting the entire room dark blue, and getting carpets and curtains to match.
I have a modded study.
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games keeper
Elite
Posts: 1375
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hmm , tuning studios ...
that will be the next rage , I can seepeople already trying to place plexiglass and neons al over there studio .
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Bat
Lost Soul
Posts: 14
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actually i did most of the painting and im sure shamb would love to tell you what a fantastic job i did  Im trying to save for a new pc, i want a completely new pc with all new bits (except i'll stick my old hdd in it as well as a new one) because i want a really nice looking machine that will really kick ass 100 from mum, 100 from shamb + at least 200 saved up is what i want for it at least now i need to get a safe place to save up that i cant get into!! Curse my shopping addictions |
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