best value case?

[jadidas]

I was wondering what brands of cases are the best for your money. I've heard that antec, and enlight are pretty good. Are there any brands that I should stay away from?

[Cricket]

When shopping for a case, the most important think to check for is the power supply that comes with it. Most name brand cases come with good quality power supplies. Most generic cases come with generic power supplies of questionable quality.

Most any case will house a computer without problems, but you want a good quality power supply suppling clean steady reliable power to your system.

Lately, I've been using AOpen cases...good cases at a reasonable price.

I would stay away from Foxconn cases.

:) Cricket

[jadidas]

How powerful of a power supply will I need, or does it depend on my hardware? Can I purchase a power supply seperately and install it in another case?

[Cricket]

Originally posted by jadidas
How powerful of a power supply will I need, or does it depend on my hardware?Generally, a good quality 300 watt power supply is all a typical home computer need. If you think you'll need more power, get a 350 watt power supply. No one really needs a 400 watt or more power supply for a simple home computer.Originally posted by jadidas
Can I purchase a power supply seperately and install it in another case?Sure...you can even buy some cases without a power supply and order a good quality unit separately.

Good names for power supplies are Antec, Enermax, AOpen, Enlight, Fortron Source, NSpire, HEC, Sparkle Power, PowerMan, Hi-Power, Astec, PC Power & Cooling and Thermaltake. Don't buy a generic, DEER, Austin, L&C or Foxconn power supply.

:) Cricket

[morriswindgate]

I have use a few RaidMax cases lately and they seem to have a pretty good power supply in them.
Lite-On also has a really good case and it is very heavy construction.

[dmignone]

Just my two sense thrown in....as far as power supplies go, I think its naive to say no simple home computer would need a 400 watt power supply. Get the biggest, reasonably priced one you can. I remember not too many years ago when my 300 watt power supply was considered overkill. As cpu's, video cards... get more powerful power consumption will increase.

[jadidas]

so what power supply do you think I would need for a Radeon 9500 PRO, an asus P4C800 DLX, and a P4 2.4GHz CPU?

[Alaron]

I recommend a 350watt psu from one of the brands Cricket mentioned. It is true that new components require more power, but 350 is plenty for that system. 400w is overkill for a system like yours.

[jadidas]

where can I find Lite-On cases?

[Alaron]

Newegg has Lite On cases: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=manufactory&catalog=7&manufactory=1506&DEPA=1&sortby=14&order=1 I would look at Enlight cases over those, because they come with much better power supplies. If you get a Lite-On, get rid of that Sun Cheer/Macron psu and get an Enermax psu. HTH

[trulad]

Best Buy has Enlight power supplys(350 W) for $55 and for $69 you get the same power supply with a case. Looks good and the power supply is great.
Trudy

[TwoRails]

Wow, Best Buy has Enlight in your area? Mine has Antec (which is fine, as it's my favorite anyway).

[morriswindgate]

I just used the Lite-On case with the Sun Cheer Power supply and found it to be very good.
Given my fear of low quality power supplys, I took this one out and opened it up to look at the inside. I found it to have a good weight and everything inside including the Heatsinks were more than adequate. Voltage levels were stable and the ratings on par with OEM Sparkle PSUs.
The Lite-On case is considerably heavier construction than the Enlights, Antecs, or Enermax cases. Then metal is so thick that it weights about a 1/4 more in total weight than those mentioned. Add to this a cross brace that is not needed. Finish is great and even the box it comes in is heavier.
Also the drive bays are screwless with a sliding lock that works quite well and it also has screw holes on the bays.

[Floppyman]

I second Enlight. They are quality cases with good powersupplies at an affordable price. HTH

[jadidas]

thanks everyone. I think that i'll go for an enlight case that i found at newegg.com. It comes with a 360watt power supply, and is only about $70.

[Cricket]

Originally posted by dmignone
Just my two sense thrown in....as far as power supplies go, I think its naive to say no simple home computer would need a 400 watt power supply. Get the biggest, reasonably priced one you can. I remember not too many years ago when my 300 watt power supply was considered overkill. As cpu's, video cards... get more powerful power consumption will increase. That's true...but for today's specs there is really no need to install a 400 watt PSU in a simple home computer (by simple, I mean 1 HDD, 1 CD-ROM or DVD, 1 CD-RW or DVD-RW, floppy, motherboard, CPU, HSF, RAM, decent videocard, soundcard, modem or NIC). Of course, if you're building a really hot high end gaming machine with the best video card available and all the bells and whistles, get a bigger power supply...but I still think you really don't need a 400 watt PSU even for a system like this...as long as it's a good quality power supply, you shouldn't have power related problems.

In a few years time a 400 watt PSU may become the recommended standard, but most of us here will probably build a whole new computer by then anyway...and there's the chance that the standard form factors may change and today's ATX cases may not accept the new motherboards and power supply sizes.

:) Cricket