Gaming Help with computer cases

[CanadaX21]

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[trumpet-205]

Me and a buddy are looking into building a performance desktop for ~ $1500, and haven't gotten very far yet lol

So far we've decided on
Motherboard: ASUS Rampage III Gene
Processor Intel Core i7-950

That's eating up about $500 so far and we're looking into cases. Would we be limited to what type of case we can get because it's a micro-atx motherboard?
Also, does anyone have any suggestions on a case, I'm hoping to find one for ~$100 - 150

I'll probably be using this thread to ask more questions as we go along, so thanks in advance for any help

You sure you want Micro-ATX? It'll be cramped and air flow will be restricted. i7 needs good air flow for heat dissipation.

 

[DeMoN]

You should wait for the Sandy Bridge CPUs to be re-released. It would suck to have to buy a 950 now.

 

[CanadaX21]

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[Originality]

The "most powerful desktop" PC in the world (at least it was a couple months ago) uses a Core i7-980X on a Rampage III Gene in an Antec 300 case. That said, it used externally powered liquid cooling.

The small jump in price to the 2600K is an understatement to the large jump in performance, but don't get the Asus Sabertooth P67 just yet (if you do decide to get it) - the entire "recall" fiasco is about the Intel series 6 chipset used in P/H67 motherboards (not the actual CPU itself). Even then, not every motherboard was affected (I think it was a 30% chance or something like that - Gigabyte has released tools to check if a motherboard is at risk or not).

Incase you didn't read it from the other thread, the issue is about the SATA2 controller degrading, which'll pretty much lose functionality after around 3 years. The SATA3 controller works fine though, so if you're happy with just 2 drives (unless you use a PCI card for more) then there's no reason to hold back.

EDIT: Might aswell add this: I use an Antec 1200 case. It's huge on the outside, huge on the inside, and has tremendous airflow throughout the system (the reason why I bought it).

 

[Lee79]

I have a Coolermaster Storm Scout and also CM II 690 My favorite is the CM II 690 as it has loads more room and better airflow I recommend that its not to much money either.

http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=6638

Yeah I would wait on the P/H67 motherboards intill the Sata problem is sorted.

http://www.anandtech.com/Show/Index/4142?c...t-begins-recall

 

[Am0s]

thermaltake coolermaster or Lian Li aluminium cases are the best IMO

 

[matt1freek]

I'm quite fond of the raidmax smilodon line of cases.. it has a fold out mobo rack.. handy for someone like me whos always tinkering

 

[lenselijer]

You can try the Silverstone FT03, i got it last week, pretty happy with it.

 

[Originality]

Lian Li are known for making quality cases with removable motherboard/hard drive trays, although there are a couple of their cases with a glaring design flaw - no air circulation for the graphics card(s).

Of the big brands, Cooler Master have the most bad cases, although they do also have some amazing cases. My brother has a CM Cosmos 1000, which makes the powerful machine inside very quiet (useful for being in Uni). The only downside - very heavy.