General Case and PSU advice

[paxus]

Ok, I pretty much know at this point what components I need to build my machine aside from the case and PSU.

I am planning on:

* Abit NF-7-S motherboard
* Athlon XP 2100 (no overclocking...yet).

As I have never truly installed a motherboard in a case (read: bought barebones system), I am unsure of what cases this motherboard will fit into.

I did see Compucase - CI-6919BK which seems to be a pretty decent case. It looks nice, and has what Tom's HW considers it's Cooling Potential Rating = 8.

Well, the NF-7 S has the 1394 firewire built in. The review of this case states "At the bottom of the CI-6619 you will find front mounted ports for audio/USB/1394 Firewire that are covered by a flip down cover." So am I supposed to get a case that has the 1394 firewire port? I'm not sure if this is necessary or not.

So in the realm of heat/power, I have no idea what I need for a PSU in terms of wattage or volts or whatever PSUs are measured in.

One last thing, is there really anything else to consider besides case style, it's ability to cool, and noise?

[Shinma]

For How Much Power Do You Need? article,

You can take a look at the following link,
Click HERE.

[AMDnut]

Nice link Shinma!

I would go for an Antec TruePower 430w for your power needs. I'm running one with an overclocked 2100+@2700+ and an nForce2 motherboard. This coupled with 2 HDD, 2 optical drives, and other things like case lights and fans, should tell you that the Antec will handle your needs now and give you a little headroom for future needs.

As for the case, I think for that kind of money you can do a little better:

CHIEFTEC (Black) Aluminum Server Workstation Tower w/ Plastic Front Cover, Side acrylic window, Model AMX-01BDU SPX-02BF - OEM **Weights Only 18LBs!**
Specifications:
Material:Aluminum
Form Factor:ATX
Drive Bays: External 4 x 5.25", 2 x 3.5", Internal: 4 x 3.5".
USB/IO: 2 x USB 2.0, 1 x IEEE 1394 (Firewire)
Expansion Slots:7
Case Fans: 1 rear Mounted Fan and 1 side panel Fan (see pics) Model#: AMX-01BDU SPX-02BF

Its only $80 from NewEgg

This is just my personal preference though...

[coyote81]

Yes very nice link shinma I'm gonna have to bookmark it for future referance.

And yes I have the same case only yellow and it doesn't have the new firewire ports and stuff. But I love it I wish I'd went with black thought because of my kids and touching the yellow and now I have a little pen on the top. Anyone know how to get it off without screwing up the paint?

[Shinma]

Nice front cover on the chassis.

[paxus]

Originally posted by AMDnut
Nice link Shinma!

I would go for an Antec TruePower 430w for your power needs. I'm running one with an overclocked 2100+@2700+ and an nForce2 motherboard. This coupled with 2 HDD, 2 optical drives, and other things like case lights and fans, should tell you that the Antec will handle your needs now and give you a little headroom for future needs.

As for the case, I think for that kind of money you can do a little better:

Oh very nice! The newegg link for said case.

So it looks to me like the case offers one intake fan, two rear exhaust fans, and one side fan bracket. It seems to ship with 1 rear Mounted Fan and 1 side panel Fan. I assume those are 80mm. So does that mean I need to buy 2 more 80mm fans? I'm looking for maximum cool.

It seems to me it doesn't come with a power supply. That would be good because it looks like I'm going to need at least a 400w PSU.


Thanks a lot duders. I appreciate your help.

[Shinma]

Originally posted by paxus
... So it looks to me like the case offers one intake fan, two rear exhaust fans, and one side fan bracket. It seems to ship with 1 rear Mounted Fan and 1 side panel Fan. I assume those are 80mm. So does that mean I need to buy 2 more 80mm fans? I'm looking for maximum cool...

To fill up all of the chassis fans locations,
You would need three 80 mm chassis fans.

1 side and 1 rear chassis fan provided by default but additionals not occupied:

1 front intake.
1 HDD fan.
1 rear exhaust.

[sam_fisher]

those matrix cases look awesome. especially to the two-tone ones with the silver grill!

antec psu's are the best in my opinion. they're all i use.
i've got a 480w tp, and have all that crap in my sig hooked up to it. they rock!

[sam_fisher]

talk about bang for your buck. i'm going to order one of these in a few days to slap my barton and a7n8x deluxe into. its a knock of a xaser II, but it still looks cool...even has the top-mounted usb,firewire, and audio..
check out the link...this is a great deal man!

link

[paxus]

sam_fisher, that sure does seem like a lot for your money. $55 right? I really like that Antec case though, and I think I have made up my mind on that one.

Oh, and Shinma, as usual I appreciate you helping the newb out. I could have sworn I knew how many fans to get. So I need to buy 3 fans eh? I would like to buy some of those blue LED fans. I think that would be SWEET. I suppose noise isn't much of an issue. Anyone recommend brands of fans? They all seem to be about $15 each from the prices I have seen.

I will look for a hard drive cooler as well.

Man I cannot wait!

[sam_fisher]

cool man.
i like really like antec cases too...
have you checked out the Antec Lanboy? go to the antec website and check em out. they have em at circuit city for 100 bucks man...good deal for a really nice case with alot of different features...
i had one a while back and got rid of it, because i was being pestered for it...

[Shinma]

Originally posted by paxus
... So I need to buy 3 fans eh? ...

Anyone recommend brands of fans? ...

I will look for a hard drive cooler as well...

Correct.

Antec, Panflo, Vantec... chassis fans are pretty good.


Not necessary. Lower HDD cage has placement for a 80 mm fan.

[agw_01]

The picture of the last case you posted, sam_fisher, kind of looks like a proper industrial server case.

Very