case recommendations on a budget

[agresbach]

does anyone have any recommendations where to look for a good mid tower case other than newegg or tigerdirect? i am looking to swap out a case but i am on a budget (probably only have $20-40 for the case which i know isnt much). I was just looking for a possible recommendation for the best case for that budget that will give me good space and good fan/ventilation options. I know tigerdirect usually has big sales on cases but doesnt seem to be much right now. thought maybe there's another cool site i could check.
thanks!

[minsonngo]

Try www.directron.com, I usually get my cases from here.

Here is the direct link to cases between 20 to 40 bucks: http://www.directron.com/case20to40.html

[DarkPacMan77]

i'd really save up about $10-15 more and look at Antec cases. I found some amazing ones today for that price. There are always downsides to any case but I loved what I was seeing.

I'll try directon.com, i've never been

newegg.com (if you haven't been) has great prices/service

[agresbach]

thanks for the help! i like that site
what about Coolmax for a brand? are they decent?
i may try to look a little higher but i am in the proccess of merging 2 machines in my house and made a deal with my wife to keep it under a budget and used the majority of it on the internal components. i initially found this case http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...?Sku=TC3J-4014 which looked (from other sites) to be about a $120 case and tigerdirect had a clearout sale and i got it for $20. long story short its a pretty deep case and had an annoying beep whenever the fans would activate and only advice i got was to remove the piazo speaker on the led board. after i did that it blew the board so now the board is dead so the depth of the case doesnt seem worth it anymore.
what do you think? would i be better sticking with what i got or going with a little smaller one like this? http://www.directron.com/cs480black.html

[minsonngo]

The Coolmax case you have linked is decent. Although I would definately replace the PSU with a quality one.

Keep in mind though, you get what you pay for. I would spend a little more and get a quality case if I were you.

On that page, the cases I have personally worked with and I find acceptable are (keep in mind that I DID replace the PSU with quality ones):

http://www.directron.com/cf7639bk.html
http://www.directron.com/cf1089bk.html
http://www.directron.com/hermesblack.html
http://www.directron.com/atx268sw.html

[DarkPacMan77]

yea i'd do a little under-the-table budget adjusting and grab a case $60-80 if possible for a good, quality build. And a rule of thumb is generally to replace the PSU with any case that you get.

[agresbach]

i'll take a look at the cases when i get home a little later. thanks for taking the time to help.
this is the power supply i have actually so hopefully not an issue.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...p?Sku=ULT31564
whatda think? is that one decent?
if i have that psu would the coolmax case be decent? i'll still consider upgrading if possible

[DarkPacMan77]

yea that power supply looks pretty good. I don't really know what type of system you are building and what-not, but for gaming, Shoot 500W-600W and make sure to get a reliable brand if you ever decide to replace it. I am getting a 550W for my gaming pc that will use a(n) x1900xtx or x1900xt. That is also enough to do crossfire if I want to down the road.

hope I helped

[minsonngo]

Ultra is a pretty good PSU manufacturer.

It looks like the PSU has only a 20-Pin main power connector though. If you plan on making use of a motherboard with PCI-Express slots, make sure you get a ATX 2.0 PSU with a 24-Pin main power connector.

[glc]

Stay AWAY from Ultra power supplies! We got 2 of them to review and they were BOTH defective.

[minsonngo]

Ultra is good according to this list:

http://www.forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=131195



But personally I don't have experience with the brand.

[Alaron]

The list has been revised. Ultra's are off the good list.

[agresbach]

well i've had my Ultra for a couple weeks and so far its been great. really quiet and seems to do what i need it to.
i'm planning on doing some gaming (nothing hardcore....mostly sports types) so i'm hoping the one I got is enough. its 500w so that should cover it.
the main thing is the case for me now. check out the tigerdirect link i posted above. thats the case i have now (now with a dead lcd display). Does that look like a decent case worth keeping? or would it be a better investment to go with one like the Coolmax? saw its on sale at new egg right now

[joshrogoff]

I love my coolmax case, very cool looking and low key, not too flashy.

[DarkPacMan77]

coolmax cases are always a safe bet. If you like the look, go for it. Most people hate how they look, but that is also the most complained aspect of them. they are good cases.

[agresbach]

i'm really not THAT concerned about the looks as the case will be in a cabinet so not a big deal. i DO like the window but not a nessesity. cooling options i'm more concerned about.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Alaron The list has been revised. Ultra's are off the good list.

About time too.

Cricket

[agresbach]

whats wrong with the Ultra PSU's? hopefully the're not THAT bad cause i already bought and installed mine!
as far as cases again though....i see new egg has the Coolmax one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...MP=OTC-yah00TT on sale right now. for the limited budget i have it LOOKS to be decent. any negatives anyone can see? it looks like theres 3 fan options (front, back and side all can take 80,90 or 120 it says on other sites i've seen). that shoudl be decent id say hey?

[agresbach]

Originally Posted by minsonngo Ultra is a pretty good PSU manufacturer. It looks like the PSU has only a 20-Pin main power connector though. If you plan on making use of a motherboard with PCI-Express slots, make sure you get a ATX 2.0 PSU with a 24-Pin main power connector.

i upgraded to a flex connect connectors (flat instead of the round so wouldnt take up as much room) and its a 20pin but has a 24pin adapter on it (took me a little bit to realize i had to pop the adapter off for it to work with my current system.

[freakitchen]

whats wrong with the Ultra PSU's? hopefully the're not THAT bad cause i already bought and installed mine!

See this recent thread on ultra's quality

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=162581

FK

[agresbach]

hmmm thanks for heads up.
unfortunately i already have mine installed and just about out of budget.
when i was looking into buying it i found several very good reviews on it so thats why i went with it. could it be that not ALL were bad and it was just an issue of hit and miss?
so far mines been going well

[minsonngo]

Thats how it usually is with low quality parts. Some of them work and some of them don't. And... if they do work intially, it may not be that way down the line.

Thats is why it is generally better to invest a little extra for a quality part that will last you.

[agresbach]

thats what i thought i was doing! lol it looked like it retailed for over $100 and after 3 or 4 good reviews that i found i thought i was safe. i even checked the manuf. website to check if its still in their product line (rather than a discontinued product they choose to pretend that doesnt exist anymore). well i hope mine holds up. i dont really do anything too high end with the machine other than basic home office stuff and occasional gaming (Madden, Tiger woods, etc.)

[agresbach]

thanks again for everyones help by the way!