I want a New Case

~~BuyHoney86~~ · 10-14-2005, 10:35 PM

I am going to build myself a new system in the next few weeks, and want to get a good case to start with.

A friend had a tower case that had a feature I really liked when I was working on it. Instead of having the HD bays mounted "forward", so all the cabling was aimed at the CPU (and in the way), all the HD bays were rotated 90 degrees so you could insert and remove them from the (open) side of the case.

Also, the HD's were mounted on metal brackets that had clips on each side, so there was no messing with screws.

I need a word for this feature, so I can do word-based searches for cases that have it, but don't know what to call it.

Someone told me to look for "screwless" cases, but newegg's list of cases filtered by the word "screwless" doesn't have ANY cases that have this feature that I could find.

Also, I am not looking to spend huge money. I just want a basic tower case with the nice HD bay feature I like. So any help & suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

**Fr4665** · 10-14-2005, 11:41 PM

search for toollees cases or tool less

i found some but they were like 300$

i had a minataur case that had those but i cant find it online any more.

good luck

newegg.com had 2

and also check pricewatch.com

**please** · 10-15-2005, 12:59 AM

@ BuyHoney86
IMHO the absolute best case for the money with superior design available to day....The Antec P150... I want one! They are not completely toolless, but look like they would be a great pleasure to work on. They are not quite available in stores as of today, 20051015, but within a week or two they should be. An added bonus is that it comes with a PSU... the first case that actually has a great PSU included.
There are older Antec cases that have the toolless designs and have the HDD cage rotated 90 degrees for 'ease of swapping'.

~~BuyHoney86~~ · 10-19-2005, 09:50 AM

I read the review of the Antec P150, and while it seems like a very nice case, $ 180.00 is WAY more than I want or think I should have to pay for what I really want.

I don't need all the "Bells & Whistles"; all I really care about is the screwless HD mounting system. Which the P150 had, but it was "front loaded" rather than "side loaded". Which I guess I could accept, but not for #180.00 - forget it.

And also, it occurs to me that part of the "case price" is the cost of the Power Supply, which I already have and can remove and install myself. So it makes no sense to me to pay for a new Power Supply that comes "standard" with a case, since I don't need another.

So I am still asking if someone knows of, or can help me to find myself, a good-quality case with "screwless", or "clip-mounted" HD bays that doesn't come with a Power Supply built in.

Thanks in advance.

crazijoe · 10-19-2005, 10:51 AM

I think you're looking for the Antec P160 case. I have the exact same one with the hard drive configuration you are looking for.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129141

**oldmn** · 10-19-2005, 11:00 AM

The Antec P180 Also has drive cages that are removable and the drives are rubber mounted.Antec P180 The only drawback on this case is it comes without a PSU. The best bet for a PSU is an antec or enermax they both have long enough 4pin connector cable. Which may be required for some boards.

**please** · 10-20-2005, 12:21 PM

@ BunHoney86
the Antec Sonata has side-mounted drive bays and toolless design, but it comes with a PSU. You may be able to find one on ebay w/o a PSU. Some of the older Antecs also had the side-mounted drive bays, but are no longer produced, but could also be available on ebay.

Mullet Man · 10-22-2005, 10:51 PM

The case you are looking for would be the Aspire X-Dreamer ATX case! Just Google the name and you will see the good reviews on it.
I bought this case and swapped my Dell Dimension 2350 parts right in with no problem except I had to cut and splice power switch wiring.

Here is the exact case I got from www.newegg.com and it also comes in other colors. The price was good (around $55.00) for all the neat features!.....

~~BuyHoney86~~ · 10-23-2005, 07:43 PM

Mullet I really liked the price on this one.

I don't know if the one you like is the "X-Dreamer II", or the original (first) model. But I checked out both of them and neither of them had the feature that is most important to me.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Showim...upply+-+Retail

I can't figure out how to the show the image here, but the link above shows that the bays of the X-Dreamer are all oriented "front-to-back" rather than "side-to-side".

But the case looks real nice, and at $50.00 WITH a Power Supply, I can't help but wonder how cheap you might be able to find one WITHOUT the Power Supply.

But really, the sideways-mounted HD bays and the absence of a (useless to me) Power Supply for under $100.00 are still the main qualifications I am looking for. I appreciate the help though. Thanks again.

~~BuyHoney86~~ · 10-23-2005, 09:01 PM

Well I've gotten a little further in the search. Found out you could filter out the search results from NewEgg to include only those cases that do not have Power Supplies.

Which narrows the search down to only about 250 or so.

What would be really useful is if there were some kind of phrase or text that would identify HD bays that are mounted sideways, but using text-phrases like "side-mounted", etc... does not seem to do this.

It seems very odd that a feature like this wouldn't have some way of being contrasted from hardware that does not have it.

Also it seems that "Gaming Cases" are more-likely to have this feature; but I am having some trouble finding one that also does not come with a Power Supply. If someone could help either with the search, or has a suggestion for a particular model, I would be most appreciative.

crazijoe · 10-24-2005, 05:45 AM

This is what you are looking for?

ebackhus · 10-24-2005, 01:10 PM

Damn I wish my case looked that organized.

~~BuyHoney86~~ · 10-25-2005, 06:11 PM

Yes that looks exactly like what I want. I don't HAVE to have the see-through side panel, or the lights, or the SATA drives, or the....

But the way the HD bays are oriented are EXACTLY what I am looking for.

Which make/model is this case ? Is it yours ? How much was/is it ?

Also, do you know the text-phrase that describes the way the HD bays are oriented ?

Thanks in advance.

Paskas · 10-25-2005, 07:56 PM

Godd for AeroCool Masstige/Babydream :D

BTX ready ;)

http://www.aerocool.us/p-case/masstige/masstige.htm

**oldmn** · 10-25-2005, 08:14 PM

Nice Case when I was looking, I concidered it but my system sits on the floor and with the ports on the bottom.

So went with the Antec P180.

crazijoe · 10-26-2005, 05:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BuyHoney86

Yes that looks exactly like what I want. I don't HAVE to have the see-through side panel, or the lights, or the SATA drives, or the....

But the way the HD bays are oriented are EXACTLY what I am looking for.

Which make/model is this case ? Is it yours ? How much was/is it ?

Also, do you know the text-phrase that describes the way the HD bays are oriented ?

Thanks in advance.

Mine is the Antec P160W.
http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=81602
They do make it without the window.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129141

Antec does make other cases that uses the same drive arrangement.
Please pointed one out. The antec Sonata.
http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=15138
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129127

I think Antec is the only company that has the drive arrangements you are looking for. Just do a search for antec cases. The P160, SLK3700-BQE, Super Lanboy, Sonata and Sonata II all have these features.

**linderman** · 10-26-2005, 10:28 AM

Damn Joe!!!

thats gotta be the cleanest case interior I have ever seen >>>>> does it run ??????

I am ashamed of mine now !!!! ike ike ike ike ike (running away now)

joe

crazijoe · 10-26-2005, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by linderman

Damn Joe!!!

thats gotta be the cleanest case interior I have ever seen >>>>> does it run ??????

I am ashamed of mine now !!!! ike ike ike ike ike (running away now)

joe

Actually that picture is about a year old. It shows my old setup with the IC7-MAX3 MB, P4 3.2GHz, MSI GF4 Ti4600, 2GB OCZ memory and of course, the four WD Raptors.
I'll have to post an updated pic.

crazijoe · 10-26-2005, 05:07 PM

Here's my P160W case with my present system.

ebackhus · 10-26-2005, 05:57 PM

;.;

You are too cruel! I'll blam you all with shots of my rig.

10-14-2005, 10:35 PM	#1 (permalink)
~~BuyHoney86~~ Register user Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Kalifornia Posts: 34 OS: WinXP?	I want a New Case I am going to build myself a new system in the next few weeks, and want to get a good case to start with. A friend had a tower case that had a feature I really liked when I was working on it. Instead of having the HD bays mounted "forward", so all the cabling was aimed at the CPU (and in the way), all the HD bays were rotated 90 degrees so you could insert and remove them from the (open) side of the case. Also, the HD's were mounted on metal brackets that had clips on each side, so there was no messing with screws. I need a word for this feature, so I can do word-based searches for cases that have it, but don't know what to call it. Someone told me to look for "screwless" cases, but newegg's list of cases filtered by the word "screwless" doesn't have ANY cases that have this feature that I could find. Also, I am not looking to spend huge money. I just want a basic tower case with the nice HD bay feature I like. So any help & suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

10-14-2005, 11:41 PM	#2 (permalink)
Fr4665 aka mr.fraggs Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: USA or Germany Posts: 2,965 OS: Win XP,Vista,Android My System	search for toollees cases or tool less i found some but they were like 300$ i had a minataur case that had those but i cant find it online any more. good luck newegg.com had 2 and also check pricewatch.com __________________ I don't subscribe to threads please PM me if i miss a reply. ------- Everest SensorView Pro DriverCleaner how to fix your game

10-15-2005, 12:59 AM	#3 (permalink)
please Tech Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 1,185 OS: WinXP SP2	@ BuyHoney86 IMHO the absolute best case for the money with superior design available to day....The Antec P150... I want one! They are not completely toolless, but look like they would be a great pleasure to work on. They are not quite available in stores as of today, 20051015, but within a week or two they should be. An added bonus is that it comes with a PSU... the first case that actually has a great PSU included. There are older Antec cases that have the toolless designs and have the HDD cage rotated 90 degrees for 'ease of swapping'. __________________ P4P800E-D:~:P4 3.0C@3.75GHz:~:Zal7000AlCu:~:OCZ4001024ELDCPER2-K@250MHz 2.5-3-3-7 WinXP SP2>2X160GB Samsung SATA ICH5R RAID1:~:2x80GB Samsung SATA Promise RAID0 ATI A-I-W X800XT~SB Audigy2 ZS~2X BenQ1620~Antec SLK3700AMB~Antec SmartPower2.0 500W

10-19-2005, 09:50 AM	#4 (permalink)
~~BuyHoney86~~ Register user Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Kalifornia Posts: 34 OS: WinXP?	Still Need Help I read the review of the Antec P150, and while it seems like a very nice case, $ 180.00 is WAY more than I want or think I should have to pay for what I really want. I don't need all the "Bells & Whistles"; all I really care about is the screwless HD mounting system. Which the P150 had, but it was "front loaded" rather than "side loaded". Which I guess I could accept, but not for #180.00 - forget it. And also, it occurs to me that part of the "case price" is the cost of the Power Supply, which I already have and can remove and install myself. So it makes no sense to me to pay for a new Power Supply that comes "standard" with a case, since I don't need another. So I am still asking if someone knows of, or can help me to find myself, a good-quality case with "screwless", or "clip-mounted" HD bays that doesn't come with a Power Supply built in. Thanks in advance.

10-19-2005, 10:51 AM	#5 (permalink)
crazijoe Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Omaha, The Center of the Universe Posts: 7,632 OS: WinXP, Win2K3 My System	I think you're looking for the Antec P160 case. I have the exact same one with the hard drive configuration you are looking for. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129141 __________________ Microsoft MCSA + Messaging, MVP, A+, Network+ http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3...other/Help.jpg Do you want a real Republican? HDD diagnostic tools / HDD data recovery software

10-19-2005, 11:00 AM	#6 (permalink)
oldmn TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Gig Harbor Wa Posts: 2,150 OS: XP Pro SP3 X 3 My System	The Antec P180 Also has drive cages that are removable and the drives are rubber mounted.Antec P180 The only drawback on this case is it comes without a PSU. The best bet for a PSU is an antec or enermax they both have long enough 4pin connector cable. Which may be required for some boards.

10-20-2005, 12:21 PM	#7 (permalink)
please Tech Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 1,185 OS: WinXP SP2	@ BunHoney86 the Antec Sonata has side-mounted drive bays and toolless design, but it comes with a PSU. You may be able to find one on ebay w/o a PSU. Some of the older Antecs also had the side-mounted drive bays, but are no longer produced, but could also be available on ebay. __________________ P4P800E-D:~:P4 3.0C@3.75GHz:~:Zal7000AlCu:~:OCZ4001024ELDCPER2-K@250MHz 2.5-3-3-7 WinXP SP2>2X160GB Samsung SATA ICH5R RAID1:~:2x80GB Samsung SATA Promise RAID0 ATI A-I-W X800XT~SB Audigy2 ZS~2X BenQ1620~Antec SLK3700AMB~Antec SmartPower2.0 500W

10-22-2005, 10:51 PM	#8 (permalink)
Mullet Man Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Ohio -=USA=- Posts: 174 OS: XP Professional	The case you are looking for would be the Aspire X-Dreamer ATX case! Just Google the name and you will see the good reviews on it. I bought this case and swapped my Dell Dimension 2350 parts right in with no problem except I had to cut and splice power switch wiring. Here is the exact case I got from www.newegg.com and it also comes in other colors. The price was good (around $55.00) for all the neat features!.....

10-23-2005, 07:43 PM	#9 (permalink)
~~BuyHoney86~~ Register user Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Kalifornia Posts: 34 OS: WinXP?	Closer... Mullet I really liked the price on this one. I don't know if the one you like is the "X-Dreamer II", or the original (first) model. But I checked out both of them and neither of them had the feature that is most important to me. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Showim...upply+-+Retail I can't figure out how to the show the image here, but the link above shows that the bays of the X-Dreamer are all oriented "front-to-back" rather than "side-to-side". But the case looks real nice, and at $50.00 WITH a Power Supply, I can't help but wonder how cheap you might be able to find one WITHOUT the Power Supply. But really, the sideways-mounted HD bays and the absence of a (useless to me) Power Supply for under $100.00 are still the main qualifications I am looking for. I appreciate the help though. Thanks again.

10-23-2005, 09:01 PM	#10 (permalink)
~~BuyHoney86~~ Register user Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Kalifornia Posts: 34 OS: WinXP?	Some Progress... Well I've gotten a little further in the search. Found out you could filter out the search results from NewEgg to include only those cases that do not have Power Supplies. Which narrows the search down to only about 250 or so. What would be really useful is if there were some kind of phrase or text that would identify HD bays that are mounted sideways, but using text-phrases like "side-mounted", etc... does not seem to do this. It seems very odd that a feature like this wouldn't have some way of being contrasted from hardware that does not have it. Also it seems that "Gaming Cases" are more-likely to have this feature; but I am having some trouble finding one that also does not come with a Power Supply. If someone could help either with the search, or has a suggestion for a particular model, I would be most appreciative.

10-24-2005, 05:45 AM	#11 (permalink)
crazijoe Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Omaha, The Center of the Universe Posts: 7,632 OS: WinXP, Win2K3 My System	This is what you are looking for? __________________ Microsoft MCSA + Messaging, MVP, A+, Network+ http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3...other/Help.jpg Do you want a real Republican? HDD diagnostic tools / HDD data recovery software

10-24-2005, 01:10 PM	#12 (permalink)
ebackhus Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 14,249 OS: WinXP Pro SP3/Windows 7 RTM My System Blog Entries: 28	Damn I wish my case looked that organized. __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

10-25-2005, 06:11 PM	#13 (permalink)
~~BuyHoney86~~ Register user Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Kalifornia Posts: 34 OS: WinXP?	Crazy Joe... Yes that looks exactly like what I want. I don't HAVE to have the see-through side panel, or the lights, or the SATA drives, or the.... But the way the HD bays are oriented are EXACTLY what I am looking for. Which make/model is this case ? Is it yours ? How much was/is it ? Also, do you know the text-phrase that describes the way the HD bays are oriented ? Thanks in advance.

10-25-2005, 07:56 PM	#14 (permalink)
Paskas Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 40 OS: Windows Xp Sp2	Godd for AeroCool Masstige/Babydream :D BTX ready ;) http://www.aerocool.us/p-case/masstige/masstige.htm __________________ *P4C800-E-Deluxe* Running 1018.004 Bios version. *Kingston* 2x512 DDR Value Ram *LC POWER 550W* SuperSilent V.2 *Club3D 6600GT* cooled *Zalman VF700CU* Running 66.93 Official Drivers. *AeroCool Baydream* Case *Vantec Nexus 205* Fan Controller

10-25-2005, 08:14 PM	#15 (permalink)
oldmn TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Gig Harbor Wa Posts: 2,150 OS: XP Pro SP3 X 3 My System	Nice Case when I was looking, I concidered it but my system sits on the floor and with the ports on the bottom. So went with the Antec P180. __________________ AVG \| MEMTEST86 \| Zone Alarm \| XXCLONE \| Adaware \| Beyond Compare \| Everest If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Sorry no PM's for problems.[/center]

10-26-2005, 10:28 AM	#17 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 20,433 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Damn Joe!!! thats gotta be the cleanest case interior I have ever seen >>>>> does it run ?????? I am ashamed of mine now !!!! ike ike ike ike ike (running away now) joe __________________ I still know nothing and I respect that fact, striving to improve and, along the way, help anyone that comes from the place that I used to be! Power Supply Selection LEARN TO BACK-UP YOUR DATA FREE & EASY YouTube - Runtime Software DriveImage XML tutorial

10-26-2005, 05:07 PM	#19 (permalink)
crazijoe Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Omaha, The Center of the Universe Posts: 7,632 OS: WinXP, Win2K3 My System	Here's my P160W case with my present system. __________________ Microsoft MCSA + Messaging, MVP, A+, Network+ http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3...other/Help.jpg Do you want a real Republican? HDD diagnostic tools / HDD data recovery software

10-26-2005, 05:57 PM	#20 (permalink)
ebackhus Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 14,249 OS: WinXP Pro SP3/Windows 7 RTM My System Blog Entries: 28	;.; You are too cruel! I'll blam you all with shots of my rig. __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.