Aluminium Cases.

[jhowley58]

Hi,

I've bought some Steel cases from Ebuyer just recently which are dirt cheap. Trouble is that they look it as well.

Aluminium cases from LIan-Li and Coolermaster look so nice but they are 10X the price. I really want to buy one of these so can somebody please convince me that it would be a wise and good thing to do? ) And what about matching the normal cream colour of CD/DVD peri's?

John

 

[franklin97355]

You don't NEED an aluminium case. But they are nice (I don't have one either.)

 

[Crowley16]

I have a Antec p160...

for a lot of the newer cases, esp the high end ones, they'll provide cd/dvd drive covers that match the case, so you don't have to worry about that issue.
Or you could just buy your own one and fit it on...

Crowley - as in like a Crow

 

[paparazi]

jhowley58
I've had my Lian Li PC6089 for about 18months now, it has seen 3 motherboards, 6 differant hard drives, 5 differant graphics cards and numerous addon cards.
The quality is outstanding with turned edges, removable hard drive caddy and sliding motherboard backplate.
It came with 4 80mm case fans as standard (the two at the front have a 3 position switch.
I just love it.
It maybe not the most over the top case to look at (mind you those blue neon strips, see through side and blue perspex door are nice) but it's just quality and design.

http://www.hardtecs4u.com/reviews/2002/lianli_pc-6089/

Martin

Start by questioning and soon you will be answering.
So please take but remember to return and give when you can.

 

[pmonett]

I have an alu case, and it is nice to have a few kilos shaved off the weight. Some of the newer cases actually use the casing to help cool the insides (and that is a permanent fixture in the possibly-upcoming BTX format), and it seems to be effective.
I also have a black Thermaltake case, looks fine and mounting/unmounting components is a breeze, but for my liquid cooling system there are some placement issues with the passive radiator.

In truth, the only issues I have with "regular" steel cases is more the weight and the poor ergonomy that often accompanies them. I have a steel case which I touch as least as possible. Changing the hard disk involves removing the graphics card, which allows for the removal of the RAM chips, which block the HDD. This is only one example.
Buying an alu case often gets you out of these quandries, but a good steel case is no worse than any alu case if its innards are well thought out.

For me, steel or alu is much more a question of interior design and ease of use than anything else. Of course, less weight is always good to take, but alu cases come with a hefty premium in price.

Pascal.