Best PC Case / Media Center Case?

NCGAL · 06-29-2008, 04:34 PM

Which PC case do you recommend for around $100.00? We are putting it in the living room & would like it to look nice. More importantly though which one has good ventilation - keeping the inner components cool.

Thank you again :)

patriothntr · 06-29-2008, 06:53 PM

This one costs a little more, but I really like the fact that it has 2 120mm fans...most of the HTPC cases tend to have 2-3 little 80 and 60 mm fans...they get noisy and don't move the air...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129131
or: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129034

Look local or for free shipping offers...shipping is getting rough...

~P

10pmStalker · 06-29-2008, 07:03 PM

Cant go wrong with the Antec 900 also. Very good air supply and very quiet, loudest fan in my antec 900 is the video card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...pk=antec%2b900

patriothntr · 06-29-2008, 07:14 PM

I dunno how my gf would feel about having a 900 in the living room...doesn't exactly blend in if ya know what I mean...

magnethead · 06-30-2008, 10:44 PM

I'll ditto on the 900.

You'd be surprised how the blue/black looks. Otherwise the Thermaltake Armor is a close second, and it comes in silver (aluminum)

outermon · 07-02-2008, 06:44 PM

You guys are insane. XD

I'm with patriot. The Antec 900 lights up and isn't that great for a living room.

This case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811147079
is very simple, and sleek. Plain black with a silver stripe on the front. Got lots of good ratings. Has two 120mm fans for efficient cooling and low noise. And it's cheap too, only $50. I'd say its perfect for your living room.

magnethead · 07-04-2008, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by outermon

You guys are insane. XD

I'm with patriot. The Antec 900 lights up and isn't that great for a living room.

This case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811147079
is very simple, and sleek. Plain black with a silver stripe on the front. Got lots of good ratings. Has two 120mm fans for efficient cooling and low noise. And it's cheap too, only $50. I'd say its perfect for your living room.

Not quite. for a HTPC, that's alot of GPU and tv tuner stress. 1. Rosewill isn;'t on my list of fav companies. 2. I'd be wanting no less then 3 120mm fans.

patriothntr · 07-04-2008, 03:33 PM

3 120mm fans is a bit much for a HTPC. The two that Antec has in their case, plus the one from the PSU cool plenty for what a HTPC is going to be doing. Even if you set it up to game on, it should stay cool enough. I've seen a few setups that people have using the sythe ninja mini in the Antec cases without using a cooling fan on the ninja mini...

06-29-2008, 04:34 PM	#1 (permalink)
NCGAL Registered User Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 51 OS: OSX	Best PC Case / Media Center Case? Which PC case do you recommend for around $100.00? We are putting it in the living room & would like it to look nice. More importantly though which one has good ventilation - keeping the inner components cool. Thank you again :)

06-29-2008, 06:53 PM	#2 (permalink)
patriothntr Registered User Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 321 OS: XPsp3, PCLOS, other	Re: Best PC Case / Media Center Case? This one costs a little more, but I really like the fact that it has 2 120mm fans...most of the HTPC cases tend to have 2-3 little 80 and 60 mm fans...they get noisy and don't move the air... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129131 or: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129034 Look local or for free shipping offers...shipping is getting rough... ~P

06-29-2008, 07:03 PM	#3 (permalink)
10pmStalker Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Edmonton Posts: 208 OS: XP Pro 32 bit My System	Re: Best PC Case / Media Center Case? Cant go wrong with the Antec 900 also. Very good air supply and very quiet, loudest fan in my antec 900 is the video card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...pk=antec%2b900

06-29-2008, 07:14 PM	#4 (permalink)
patriothntr Registered User Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 321 OS: XPsp3, PCLOS, other	Re: Best PC Case / Media Center Case? I dunno how my gf would feel about having a 900 in the living room...doesn't exactly blend in if ya know what I mean...

06-30-2008, 10:44 PM	#5 (permalink)
magnethead Tech Hardware Team Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: TX Posts: 1,698 OS: XPH, 2K My System Blog Entries: 2	Re: Best PC Case / Media Center Case? I'll ditto on the 900. You'd be surprised how the blue/black looks. Otherwise the Thermaltake Armor is a close second, and it comes in silver (aluminum) __________________ AIM me: MAGNET794 For proper support: what are you running? video card, cpu, m/board, ram, power supply, brand, wattage, any error message? PCI-E requires 26 amps at 12 volts. That's a 650W PSU. Power Supply Info and Selection . Info on thermal compounds & application . TEST PSU USING MULTI-METER

07-02-2008, 06:44 PM	#6 (permalink)
outermon Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 49 OS: Windows XP SP2	Re: Best PC Case / Media Center Case? You guys are insane. XD I'm with patriot. The Antec 900 lights up and isn't that great for a living room. This case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811147079 is very simple, and sleek. Plain black with a silver stripe on the front. Got lots of good ratings. Has two 120mm fans for efficient cooling and low noise. And it's cheap too, only $50. I'd say its perfect for your living room.

07-04-2008, 03:33 PM	#8 (permalink)
patriothntr Registered User Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 321 OS: XPsp3, PCLOS, other	Re: Best PC Case / Media Center Case? 3 120mm fans is a bit much for a HTPC. The two that Antec has in their case, plus the one from the PSU cool plenty for what a HTPC is going to be doing. Even if you set it up to game on, it should stay cool enough. I've seen a few setups that people have using the sythe ninja mini in the Antec cases without using a cooling fan on the ninja mini...