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Do I need a new case, or should I stick with my no-name brand one?

fraseyboy

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I am currently building a new Core 2 Duo system (all the parts have arrived except the motherboard) and I can't decide whether I should buy a nice new case or stick with my current one.

This is the current one I have:


It looks ok IMO (red is cool), but it doesnt really have a brand name and feels flimsy. There is a dent in the side as well. The cooling is ok, with space for 2 80mm's on the back, 1 120mm on the front and an 80mm already installed on the side, but it seems like a very noisy case. I don't think its very well noise insulated at all. It is also quite bulky.

I was looking at either this one:
http://d10861143.kiwi84.kiwihosting...d=309&osCsid=388456dbb71517cfb969602da40ecd01

Or this one:
http://www.globalpc.co.nz/proddetail.asp?prod=CS12005

(BTW the prices are in NZD, so if it seems expensive thats why.)

They are both Icute brand and both look pretty good. One has a HUGE 25cm fan on the side, which would be great for cooling.


So should I stick with my old one and buy some more fans, or buy a whole new case? If so, which case?
 
P

Protius

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its a really personal prefrence, as long as the cooling's good i see no real reason for you to upgrade, other than noise or looks, as for the 2 cases i've never really seen or heard of them before
 

cdawall

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no point in wasting money on the new case old one looks fine ;) just get a better cpu cooler q/ the extra money
 

pt

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if that one cools fine, and look good keep it if not go search a new one, Aerocool make good, cheap cases
 

fraseyboy

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no point in wasting money on the new case old one looks fine ;) just get a better cpu cooler q/ the extra money

Well then I'll spend the same money on trying to make it as quiet as possible.

The PC that will be in this case will be a DVD watching/hometheatre PC which doubles as a gaming PC. The old setup I had in it was this:

Athlon XP 2400+ w/ stock cooler
Radeon 9600XT
512MB DDR-400
Crappy PSU that came with the case
1 old and noisy ATA133 Hard Drive
2 80mm fans

It generated so much noise that I had to shut it in a cupboard and re-route the cables under the house, so the cupboard doors would shut (alot of trouble to go to just to shutup a computer I know, but it saves money ;), and even with it shut in a cupboard I could still hear it.

The NEW setup will be this:

Core 2 Duo E6300
MSI NX7600gt Stock OC
1gb DDR2 533
New good-brand PSU
Western Digital SE16 SATAII Hard Drive
1 120mm fan, 1 80mm fan,

Hopefully the new setup will be a bit quieter than the old one. If its not, then I will have to do something else to make it quieter. If this is the case, I wil post a new thread on this forum.
 

pt

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wich memory are you going to get?
 

fraseyboy

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wich memory are you going to get?

I made a bit of a mistake with the memory... Some people on IRC said it didn't matter what brand DDR2 you got, as it was all the same. They also said DDR2 had the same performance as DDR so I should get the cheapest.

So I got some Kingston DDR2-533... It might be ok, as I'm not planning to overclock hardout, but I probably should have got some Corsair stuff...
 

pt

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I made a bit of a mistake with the memory... Some people on IRC said it didn't matter what brand DDR2 you got, as it was all the same. They also said DDR2 had the same performance as DDR so I should get the cheapest.

So I got some Kingston DDR2-533... It might be ok, as I'm not planning to overclock hardout, but I probably should have got some Corsair stuff...

kingston :wtf: , balistix?
the guy who said that is plain stupid btw:shadedshu
 

pt

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Lol yeah... I'm never going in that channel again! (it was #computers on Efnet)

good idea :toast:
get some ddr2 800 or at least 667 of a decent brand
 

fraseyboy

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good idea :toast:
get some ddr2 800 or at least 667 of a decent brand

Bit late as I've allready bought the 533 :cry:

I guess if I ever feel teh need to overclock some more, I'll buy some better RAM. By then the pricesw will be EVEN lower.
 

pt

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Bit late as I've allready bought the 533 :cry:

I guess if I ever feel teh need to overclock some more, I'll buy some better RAM. By then the pricesw will be EVEN lower.

cant you cancel the order, or send it back saying it isnt compatible with your system, wich timmings does it have? 4-4-4-12?
 

fraseyboy

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cant you cancel the order, or send it back saying it isnt compatible with your system, wich timmings does it have? 4-4-4-12?

I wish I could, but I got it very cheap ($90USD for 2x512MB) off an online auction site. The timings are 4-4-4-10 and there is a review here http://www.custompc.co.uk/custompc/reviews/63766/kingston-kvr533d2n4k21g.html

EDIT: A more recent review here http://www.custompc.co.uk/custompc/labs/69831/kingston-valueram-kvr533d2n4k21g.html says they have 4-4-4-12 timings...
 

pt

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I wish I could, but I got it very cheap ($90USD for 2x512MB) off an online auction site. The timings are 4-4-4-10 and there is a review here http://www.custompc.co.uk/custompc/reviews/63766/kingston-kvr533d2n4k21g.html

EDIT: A more recent review here http://www.custompc.co.uk/custompc/labs/69831/kingston-valueram-kvr533d2n4k21g.html says they have 4-4-4-12 timings...

if you are not planning on overclocking you should try to boot them at 3-3-3-9 at 533mhz, it will give a boost in performance, also ask ketxxx to help you out on timmings if you need :)
 

fraseyboy

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if you are not planning on overclocking you should try to boot them at 3-3-3-9 at 533mhz, it will give a boost in performance, also ask ketxxx to help you out on timmings if you need :)

I was going to overclock a bit... As much as I could with teh stock cooling.

I've never overclocked in my life, so I'll read the overclocking basics guide here. I don't really understand tinmings either... :ohwell:
 

pt

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I was going to overclock a bit... As much as I could with teh stock cooling.

I've never overclocked in my life, so I'll read the overclocking basics guide here. I don't really understand tinmings either... :ohwell:

timmings is simple, the lower the better, but the more mhz on the memory the better too, you have to find the harmony between the 2 about the cpu is simple, those c2d are highly overclockable, wich board are you going to get?
 

fraseyboy

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timmings is simple, the lower the better, but the more mhz on the memory the better too, you have to find the harmony between the 2 about the cpu is simple, those c2d are highly overclockable, wich board are you going to get?

I can't afford a P5B, so I thought I'd get Gigabyte GA-965P-S3.
 

pt

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I can't afford a P5B, so I thought I'd get Gigabyte GA-965P-S3.

it's a great board too, you probabily going to hit 2500mhz on stock or maybe more pheraps 3000mhz, but that ram wil botleneck you, i have some ddr2 533 at 4-4-4-12 timmings that at stock speeds did a crappy job, only when i overclocked them all the way to 770mhz they showed how well they perform ;)
 

fraseyboy

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it's a great board too, you probabily going to hit 2500mhz on stock or maybe more pheraps 3000mhz, but that ram wil botleneck you, i have some ddr2 533 at 4-4-4-12 timmings that at stock speeds did a crappy job, only when i overclocked them all the way to 770mhz they showed how well they perform ;)

3000mhz :O Wow thats good.
 

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imo the case u have now is better than those.
 

fraseyboy

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imo the case u have now is better than those.

BUT ITS SO NOISY!!!

When I had it up it had 2 80mm case fans + 1 in the PSU. My other PC (raidmax case) has 2 80mm case fans, 1 120mm case fan and 2 in the PSU and its quieter than it! The raidmax one also seems alot more sturdy, and the metal doesnt bend when you hit the side...
 

cdawall

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why are you hitting the side? and thats why its called a cheap case
 

fraseyboy

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why are you hitting the side? and thats why its called a cheap case

lol I dont normally hit the side... It just feels flimsy when I move it.

It wasnt very cheap when I got it, but that was just stupid buying on my part. I wonder if it stuck polystyrene all over it, it would quiten it down...
 

pt

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lol I dont normally hit the side... It just feels flimsy when I move it.

It wasnt very cheap when I got it, but that was just stupid buying on my part. I wonder if it stuck polystyrene all over it, it would quiten it down...

cork would be cheaper :)
 

Ketxxx

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BUT ITS SO NOISY!!!

When I had it up it had 2 80mm case fans + 1 in the PSU. My other PC (raidmax case) has 2 80mm case fans, 1 120mm case fan and 2 in the PSU and its quieter than it! The raidmax one also seems alot more sturdy, and the metal doesnt bend when you hit the side...

sound dampening kits, rubber plugs u can also get to attach to the fan mounting holes, and obviously not forgetting the obvious, some fans are just cheap crappy things using loud motors. then if you can stomach the extra clutter in the case thers also fan controllers.
 
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