New Case

[Bolkonsky]

So most of my life I've lived off of recycled parts and never had to buy a case until not too long ago. (~>1 year ago.) I made the mistake of buying a Raidmax Tornado (or something similar, I can't remember the name) and it turned out to be junk. It had three case fans that were incredibly loud, and it's made from flimsy metal. When I got my GTS 450 not too long ago, I had to use wire cutters to cut the back out of the case because the VGA cable didn't fit under the lip over the card slots. That ended up in a disaster in which I was left with a scar on my hand and no back to my case. Currently, all my PCI cards are held in with plastic ties.

So I need a new case. I'm not looking to spend more than ~$50, and the more important issue is whether or not my VGA cable will fit, not if it looks cool or anything like that. Does anyone have any recommendations?

[Erax]

Antec 300

[Pantsalot]

Are you able to provide any of your own case fans or will we add that to the shopping list within the budget?
& so do you want to make sure they're quiet fans or do you mind if I drop in a 5400RPM 50dB fan ^^

Looking around Antec 300 (costing just less than $50) would be good, but you'd have to buy 3 120mm fans
which could increase it by nearly $30, also the Z9-Plus Zalman seems like it could beat it at a cheaper price
considering it can have up to 7 fans (4 of which included compared to the Antec's 2).

I think you may want to take a look at the Xclio-Meridian Godspeed Two, VERY cheap, includes
2 80mm fans & a 180mm & just needs 2 120mm fans along with that. I bought it & the installation
was easy enough (except I tried using 38mm thick 120mm fans & one of them wouldn't fit so had
to get one of my crappy ones), the graphics card I used was quite large so size shouldn't be a problem
either. I never did try it out fully though because I accidentally killed the motherboard before as I was
moving it across (the case was to replace my old crappy one).

[Bolkonsky]

Well, I have 3 from my current case, I'll check the size but they'll probably fit. However, if something good can be found with quiet fans, obviously, that would be better. It's in my desk which is enclosed, though, so during use, only the front of the case will have access to airflow (horrible I know, but it's the best I can do), so I should probably get some more powerful fans. Functionality over features, I suppose. I wouldn't mind dropping $20 on them in the near future.

The Zalman looks nice, I may try that one.

EDIT: Looking at the back panel though, I don't I'll be able to plug into my GPU with it, though.

[Pantsalot]

I wouldn't mind ceding to the Asgard case as for one I love Norse Mythology :D
& for another it has a good review from Crazyeyesreaper, unlike the Zalman case which
has no reviews from any dependable person here. Plus I like that 140mm fan placement
at the rear.

EDIT: Looking at the back panel though, I don't I'll be able to plug into my GPU with it, though.

As Crazy said just remove 2 of the expansion slot plated & it should fit if you inserted the card correctly,
manufacturers shouldn't differ in expansion slot size of their cases. (:/

[Crazyeyesreaper]

Xigmatek Asgard II, just make sure to remove the expansion slot plates BEFORE YOU INSTALL ANYTHING,

that said the Asgard II, $30 in the USA just cheap elsewhere just grab some cheap Yate Loon fans there about $4 usd so cheaper elsewhere in the EU etc overall for its price it cant be beat oh and its black inside and out. The case is cheap but overall all its a damn good deal for what you pay below is a PC i built for a customer about 6 months ago, with the Asgard II, other then the tought Expansion slot covers the case was easy to work with. Not bad really for a $500 PC

Xigmatek Asgard II case
AMD Athlon II x4 Quadcore 3.0ghz CPU
Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1333mhz Ram
Asus M4A87TD USB 3 Motherboard
Gigabyte ATi 5670 1gb GPU
Western Digital 500gb HDD
Asus Dual layer DVD burner
Corsiar 430w CX PSU
Windows 7 64bit

[simplemind07]

Crazy recommend this case to me last month and I'm loving it. Cheap, good space, mostly screw-less, and you can put up to 4 fans (back fan already included, 2 on one side , 1 in front). And remember to remove the expansion slot before you install anything like crazy said, that was the only thing that really grinds my gears haha, I thought I was going to brake it when I tried to take it out lol

[Bolkonsky]

I think I'll order this one then. Thanks for the recommendations, guys. Has anyone used backplate coolers with it? I'm running this one and I did have some issues getting it to fit in my current case. (But it could just be that my current case sucks.)

[Top-Tier-Tech]

I think I'll order this one then. Thanks for the recommendations, guys. Has anyone used backplate coolers with it? I'm running this one and I did have some issues getting it to fit in my current case. (But it could just be that my current case sucks.)

No CPU backplate should ever interfere with a case... heck AMD motherboard come with a a backplate by default. It will be fine

[Bolkonsky]

No, it shouldn't, but for whatever random reason, my case has this strip of metal running the back that practically touches the mobo (not good) so the backplate was a little tight. Anyways, I've ordered the Asgard II, it should be here in a week. Thanks for the recommendations guys!

[Crazyeyesreaper]

good luck with the case man

also check to see if theres small notches on the outside back of the case near the expansion slots if memory serves me right you can use a flat head screwdriver to pop the covers a bit easier and then just do the typical move and bend along the seam to pull it out. I cant be sure as it might have been a different case.. but anyway yea if memory serves me right it was 50x easier to remove the slot covers that way.

if you were in the USA id mail you out some Mesh expansion slot covers as i have a bag full of them from coolermaster HAF series cases ive used the past few years.

[Pantsalot]

Backplates & cases can only possibly be a problem really when you are replacing the existing already
installed cooler with a new one, though standards are generally the same & this is a rather up-to-date
case so all should be well

@Cryazyeyesreaper: His location is apparently New England

[Crazyeyesreaper]

well new england like, the United Kingdom or New England like the states Maine, New Hamsphire, Vermont etc lol if its the latter in the USA he can pop out all the expansion slot covers and ill just send him what i can find that way he never has to deal with them after that

[Pantsalot]

Old England was a bummer so we kicked him out & brought new England in sure

[Crazyeyesreaper]

well he can send me a PM then if he wants and ill help him out i suppose.

[Erax]

PSU mounted at the top? I'm not personally very impressed...

[Crazyeyesreaper]

and yet its $29 case in euros that would be around what $20 euro ? can you find something better for that price probably not, its a cheap case its black inside an out and has room for 4 120mm fans, and enough space to fit fairly large graphics cards.

to be honest im not impressed by any PC cases except those in the $200 + range, which is not the OPs budget, also nothing wrong with Top mounted PSU there a bigger pain to deal with with large PSU that are non modular but with a lower wattage or modular PSU theres really no difference and it dosent matter all that much.

[Pantsalot]

Indeed, considering how long it was believed that top was better shows how little the difference in temps
must have been between top & bottom placement, my case actually has the possibility for both
I don't find the wiring a problem either, would probably mean less clutter between the GPU & Hard drive
bays which can end up being a heat buildup problem which looking at my computer would likely have
happened if it weren't for my hard drive bay twin linked 3000RPM fans that blow into there. So it is
quite important that all the fan bays are used no matter how unimportant the bay may seem.

$20 euro

Lol.

[Bolkonsky]

Yeah, I'm in the States. Sounds good. Also, I've only ever had a top mounted PSU, and it's modular, I'm sure I'll be fine.

I can always flip the case over.

[Pantsalot]

On the note of cases & PSU placement, with a bottom mounted PSU is it supposed to be positioned with
the fan pointing upwards or downwards does anyone know? I have it pointing upwards so that my corsair
label at the side is the right way up but I noticed that my case has a dust-filtered bottom bay for my PSU
to have it's fan downwards, I don't see why..

& for the benefit of OP I will note that mesh filters can be very useful indeed, I have them for my case &
they were good at letting a good bit of air out through the back until I could get my external air duct
(which probably would not be as effective without them).

Also did you measure the 3 fans you have? Just measure them across simple enough & if they're all 120mm
then you won't need to buy any of your own.