The Antec SLK1650 and SLK1650B look like very good cases:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-129-150&depa=1
and I see they are available for around $60 shipped from techonweb.com
and elsewhere.
_Below_ the hard-drive cage there is a good vent and a holder for an
80mm fan, but I can't find a picture that looks _through_ the drive cage
at the front wall---to see the direct ventilation available to the hard
drives.
Can somebody describe the hard-drive vent, maybe by comparing it to the
rear 120mm vent? What are its approximate dimensions? Are the holes
about the same size as those of the rear vent?
TIA
Also what is your general experience with the case?
I had a similar case by Antec. They have a series of cases that look
the same - same size and style except some have fancier options , the
thing you notice is some have swinging panels that hide the drives and
some dont. Thats the one I didnt like. It was actually slightly
smaller than the avg mid tower I was used to buying - Enlights,
Supermicro etc. It was actually slight weird in that it was in the mid
tower category but an inch or so less taller. yet it was wider so it
left room inbetween the side panels and drives.I was already thinking
the mid towers were fine but a full tower was really roomy , that
slight difference in height made it feel cramp for me and the width
increase though theoretically you could say it increased air flow -
still made it feel surprisingly cramped inside. I hated it in fact
that I got rid of it for half the price I paid for it a few months
later and bought the full tower Antec. Ive been totally happy with it
ever since. I just dont notice any feeling of being cramped inside and
heat building up.
Thats not to say the case stinks. It really depends on your needs and
Ive always tended to use boards with an extra IDE controller and max
out my IDE devices so I had 4 or more flat grey ribbon cables tangled
up in a nightmare with power cables. I would guess for people not
using that many devices its not as much of a problem.. You could
argue that nowadays with SATA and you could get round ribbon cables
too - even someone who was using the max amount of devices would be
better off than I was.
Also I didnt notice whether there were any ventilation holes in front
of the 3.5 cage but the full tower antec I have has two removable
3.5 cages that are designed to hold a plastic square bracket in which
you can put an 80mm fan in front of the cage blowing air over the HDs
or whatever you put in it. The full tower also has TWO holes in back
below the PS fan outlet as well as the usual one in front at the
bottom. Also often comes with a side panel with a fan hole.
You can find lots of variations on the Antec style full tower case -
the chieftecs look just like them and even COMPUSA sells a tower like
it but obviously I dont know if they all have the same features
inside.
That said - Im thinking of actually buying a case like the one you
mention cause they sell various cheapo versions at Compusa now - like
a barebones black one without the swinging panel like yours for $25
w/o PS. You get a Sparkle PS for $20 300 watts and it a cheap decent
case as long as you dont put a lot of stuff in it. It also feels
better than the case I bought that I disliked. The Antec I bought at
the time which came with a 350 watt antec PS and swinging panel was
tin foil thin. They seem to be making the other types with slightly
thicker steel - its not like the old cases but not ridiculously
fragile as the case I had that dented like crazy if you dropped things
on it. I bought two cases one for a neighbor at the time and one was
dented all up on the top when i opened the box !!! I had to take that
one back and get a new one.
from it to cut any