PC Case Opinion

[Mortis]

Greetings. CompGeeks has this case http://www.compgeeks.com/details.asp?invtid=500SEL for $28 plus $8 shipping. It comes with a 350w PSU. This is noted at the bottum:

NOTE: Our tests with AMD based boards are inconclusive. The case manufacturer
- states that this case/power supply will work fine for AMD Duron, Athlon and
- Athlon XP systems. We have run it in house with these boards with no
- apparent problem - however the power supply does not meet AMD's recommended
- air-flow design

I plan to put a ECS K7S5A w/ XP 1600 in it. What are your thoughts as for the above Note? I will have a case fan in back and front. I know that the K7S5A can be fussy with power supply's- so it will either work or not... I plan to find that out. However, what exactly does "air-flow design" mean?

Thanks,
Mortis

[madfish]

you could put a different psu in her. and sell the orginal one on the boards. this way you'll know that the psu will handle what you need it to

[Stan]

I agree with madfish... replace the PSU...
It looks like the case does not respect AMd approved air-flow design. I can see that there is space for 2 exhaust fans (under the PSU). Maybe there's no space for a fan in front of the case for the in-take... I can't see on the picture.

[Mortis]

Thanks Guys. It looks like it is this case http://www.maxtop.com/selection.asp?Category=Chassis&color=gold (low bottum right) from MaxTop. I agree about the PSU, but am going to try and get away with it. It does have a fan mount in the lower front. This is going to be usded in a build for my Father- I am flying to PA in September for my brother's wedding and taking PC's as gifts (one for Pop and one for Bro). There going to be nice little systems but I am trying to save as many pennies as possible. I plan to setup both up with UD and run them for 2 weeks to "burn" them in... I hope to get away with the enclosed PSU's.

But- What Exactly does AMD approved air-flow mean? Is it the rate of air that the PSU Fan extracts through it? Is it all about ventilation? If this is the case, then if I experience problems, I may try to attach a 80mm Fan to the front of the PSU to force air through- aiding the back fan. What I was more concerned about is Voltage regularity. I have read persons have issues with the K7S5A and cheap PowerSupplys as far as Voltage sensitivities.

AnyWays- I was just wondering about that Phrase- "Air-Flow" and what it could mean.

Thanks.

[fosin]

I bought one from them that was similiar (one less drive bay I think). Have you bought it yet? I won't comment on it in case you have :)

[Mortis]

Um... cough cough... Yea, I already ordered it. Hopefully, it will work out. Just so I know- what is your experience with the case you purchased? I know you get what you payed for and I am not expecting the Rock of Gibraltar... just something that looks fairly good and will be of medium quality. I have worked with some really "flimsy" cases and some rock solid ones- I am just hoping this one falls somewhere in the middle :bunny: .

Mortis

[fosin]

I ended up sending mine back because they shipped it in the orignal box without any packing material. It was trashed.

Originally posted by Mortis
...I know you get what you payed for...

Uh yea, or maybe a little less after shipping was added IMO :). The case part was pretty cheesy but the features were plenty for what the price was (plenty of bays and fan holes :)). The power supply was the problem. You could say I did a little "test" on it since I was sending the case back anyway. The p/s from another case would should down when pressing the power with a "bad" mobo, which is apparently what it's supposed to do. Sparks flew out of this one when when I hit the power button. Man it stunk :o.

So if your changing the p/s I wouldn't worry about it. Plus I heard of other people getting these and it had a totally different p/s in it than mine did. Maybe mine was the super el-cheapo instead of just the el-cheapo.

I guess I'm done with cheap cases since bad luck with several. Plus a cool looking case and good p/s ended up costing me less than $50.

[Axel]

I like that the drive stack is all on one side of the case, but think that the front should also have a fan to blow on the drives. Probably a good idea to fill the top 5.25 bay with a fan blowing out to act as a chimney and remove any hot air off the drives and the processor.

350 watts isn't enough if you plan to put anything into this case - but I do like that the PS has the switched output so, with an adapter, you can plug a power strip into the PS and then plug the monitor and speakers into the power strip - one switch to control the system.

If you have a high end AMD in this case definitely fill both back fan grills - you'll need the ventilation. Advise your relatives not to put these cases on the floor or in a confined area. If on the floor they will quickly fill with dust. In a confined space they will burn up with not enough air movement.

Too bad about fosin's shipping experience, hope you don't have the same experience.

Suggest you use "rounded" ribbon cables for better air flow within the case.

[madfish]

I've bought four of geeks {$18.00 befor shipping) genica case's new and two from fshanda for DC boxes. they work OK just for that, I did add front 5.1/2 blowers to the top bays and a extended type slot fan in the bottem rear slots.
Mine and the kids case are all Antecs now, except for my P-II 450 which is a tigerdiredect brand case, which is pretty good case from them imo when I got it in `98.

[jad1097]

Judging by the price here. (http://www.picassocomputers.com/sleeksil10ba.html) You did good.

They even have the same note that geeks does?



The PSU may be good enough. ~edit~ I doubt it after seeing the specs.