case purchasing question.. should i do it??

aowen512 · Post by **aowen512** » Fri Nov 04, 2005 9:32 pm

the case is ai-01 series from casebuy, its the bottom one on the page.. the 'full mesh' case called deluxe

http://www.casebuy.com.tw/pccase/ai/ai01.htm

here are some reviews.. some good some bad.. seems like most are before the final release and each time it looks a lil different so im not sure what to expect

http://www.driverheaven.net/reviews/cas ... lusion.htm

http://www.pcmoddingmy.com/content.php?review.267.0

http://www.guru3d.com/article/cases/253/

i can get the case for 62 bucks shipped.. its 45 bucks plus shipping, which i dont think is too bad, money is a big thing with me!!

i basically need/want 120mm fans galore... which is has one exhaust and one intake.. plus i can put in a fan anywhere i please with the full mesh so that takes care of that. it also has usb and headphone jacks in the front(front/right side to be exact) and that was another thing i was looking for... other than that i really dont care what else, and btw.. with the mesh im sure it will be kind of loud.. but i use really quiet components such as yate loons antec psu etc to keep noise down and noise is not a big issue with me either way.. so dont take that into too much consideration!

perhaps found pictures of final product here

http://www.pc-look.com/boutik/Plus_700823-002.php

TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS!!!!!

thx

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Sat Nov 05, 2005 12:23 am

If it's for true silencing, it shouldn't be hard to find something much better, within your budget. All that meshed panels wont make it easy to get a good air path. Also, if it comes with HD mounts which is hardmounted from buttom to 5½" bays, you'll be having a hard time silencing your HDD's.

Low budget: Antec 3000. More money, Antec P180 or P150.

But if you're in love with the look 'n' fell, and dont care that much about silencing, well, that's another story...

Krazy Kommando · Post by **Krazy Kommando** » Sat Nov 05, 2005 1:17 am

full mesh cases are not great for air flow as you can not control if u have +ive or -ive case presure, and you dont get the "wind tunnel effect" that conventional cases have. not to mention the noise which escapes from the mesh...

but if u like it, then get it

aowen512 · Post by **aowen512** » Sat Nov 05, 2005 11:48 am

ok thx, i really wanst aware of how i wouldnt be getting good airflow with this type of case, and that is one thing that im concerned about

sounds like i might be continuing my search for a new case

thx fellas

aowen512 · Post by **aowen512** » Sat Nov 05, 2005 4:16 pm

i have a question though about the mesh... though i wont have pressure... will it not still dissapate air, hot air?

i plan on using 120mm yate loon for intake, outtake, side intake/outtake(whichever is best with cpu cooler) and perhaps one more somewhere on the case for a total of 3/4 120mm fans

if i wont mesh should i just go for the coolermaster centurion that has 2 120mm fans and some mesh.. is that a better option?

thx!

i just kind of feel the 3000bqe or 3000b is just ugly.. dont really care for.. though i might get it and mod it so

just keep the replies coming!

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 2:05 am

Hi aowen512

Yeah, it's not easy to choose a case...

Cooling wise, I dont know much about the Centurion. But it should have a good look/build quality/price combo - cant remember if it's tested by SPCR...

Personally, my favorite case is the Cooler Master Stacker, which also is messed... An option is to block the messed parts with black card board or acousti pack... But out of the proven silent cases, I would probably go with the 3000. But yeah, it's somewhat boring. So still thinking of the stacker

You talk some about cooling. Maybe it's an idea to start another place: How hot is the system you plan to run in the case? How much cooling do you actually need? With the system in your sig, the 6600GT seems to be the hottest part. What about an Arctic Cooler NV Silencer?

aowen512 · Post by **aowen512** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 2:25 am

well stacker is too much for me... 3000 too boring.. im just not sure where to turn yet

yea my cpu never gets over 45 and usually idles at like 38

the gpu gets up to 55ish range load and like 48 idle... NO AS5.. some cheap ish it came with... never got around to changing that i think that might make it drop but it runs really stable and has a great overclock so i dont mind and the rest of the system is pretty good... temp wise

i plan on upgrading quite a bit so just about everything in sig is thrown out for the new case..
although i will prob move sig items into case until christmas.. when new items come in!!!!

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 12:53 pm

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article200-page1.html

cargocult · Post by **cargocult** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 9:16 pm

If you really like the look and feel of the wire mesh, why not just put in a piece of plexi glas behing the mesh? Airflow problems will be no more and, AFAIK, lexan is a pretty good noise insulator.

aowen512 · Post by **aowen512** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 10:09 pm

thats a good idea.. never thought of that

its not really the mesh so much as the look... looking for both pleasing looking case and def functionality as well

been looking into that chenbro 611 quite a bit as well right now, but still on the case hunt!

nici · Post by **nici** » Thu Nov 10, 2005 10:28 am

I am currently building my system in a Yesico OpenAir case, wich has mesh on both sides and the top. I´ve bought some polycarbonate("Lexan" is a trademark of some company, same stuff) to seal the sides. This brand of polycarbonate is called "makrolon", the manufacturer is Bayer.

Thin PC is also great for ducts

aowen512 · Post by **aowen512** » Thu Nov 10, 2005 11:40 am

how much is the plexi stuff ur getting and do you have a link

when ive taken looks at plexi crap at like menards.. its always expensive and thick, can never find anything i think that would work well

also.. what about grey/black foam instead of plexi/glass would that do the trick as well.. seems like that would help quite a bit... over at modthebox.com they seem the think the mesh is pretty nice

what makes this case so much worse than the design of say the stacker besides the obvious reasons.. im talking in terms of the mesh???

keep the replies coming and thx for the info so far fellas!!!!!!

case purchasing question.. should i do it??

Should I buy the case??

case purchasing question.. should i do it??

Depends...