Ooooh, Look what I found!!!

[Aunty Em]

So do I buy the Blue or the Biege Spider?

Case Heaven

 

[Q]

BLUE!!

 

[Gonz]

BLUE

 

[PostCode]

The cases are kinda cool. The tubes that run up and down the front of the case on each side fade to different colors. We used those for our Christmas special. Not bad really. I would say blue.

 

[Aunty Em]

I was kinda thinking that the beige would be more sensible because it would blend in better with everything else, but I just love that blue one!

 

[PostCode]

You can always dye everything else. That's what I'm going to be doing to my CDRW and monitor (chore). I got this black case for Christmas...the white CDRW faceplate just looks ugly as hell.

You can get the plastic dye at almost any auto parts store.

 

[Aunty Em]

You can always dye everything else. That's what I'm going to be doing to my CDRW and monitor (chore). I got this black case for Christmas...the white CDRW faceplate just looks ugly all hell.

You can get the plastic dye at almost any auto parts store.

I'll have to check it out.

I wanted a case that had really good cooling possibilities but most of the windowed ones I've seen over here only have an extra fan in the side, no top fan - so this site is the answer to my prayer.

 

[Dave]

blue

 

[Jon]

I wanted a case that had really good cooling possibilities...

I'll say! 4 80mm fans in the front?! Just don't let any small animals near it

 

[Altron]

ahhhh...
More Raidmax A288 clones...
4 front fans?
Watch out, they might suck in the GIANT PIECE OF ARCRYLIC COVERING THEM
I think someone has found a use for the 80mm holesaw...
hint: raise the legs and do bottom intakes so you don't mess up the pretty airflow obstructions.

 

[Q]

2 questions:
why would the giant piece of ARCRYLIC be covering the fans?
...and what legs?

 

[Altron]

The fornt panel is a big chunk of arcrylic with a few small holes. You need 25600 cm² of holes to provide maximum airflow.
You could have intakes come up bottom...

 

[Q]

The fornt panel is a big chunk of arcrylic with a few small holes.

The front panel looks like metal to me. The small holes you see on it are the screw holes for the drive bay covers, they are not intended to provide any airflow.

You need 25600 cm² of holes to provide maximum airflow.

The holes don't provide the airflow, the fans do. However, since the case allows for 8-80mm fans, I don't think she will have any cooling worries whatsoever.
I still don't get the point of legs.


Auntie, depending on how outrageous you wanna get, here are a couple links to some cool looking fans.
http://www.xpcgear.com/80fans.html
http://www.coolingzone.com.au/casefans.htm

 

[Aunty Em]

I've already chosen the case fans for front and back - 2 of each to begin - YS-tech silent 80 mm case fans - pushing 27 cfm @ 20 dBA.

The side and top fans will be the pwiddy coloured ones -
Akasa led fans - I haven't decided which ones yet. 32.4CFM @ 27.85dBA

Great as the other links are, I'm in the UK so while the fans may be a little more expensive here, US sites charge high rates shipping which makes most things prohibitively expensive by comparison.

 

[Q]

Good choice. The black ones will coordinate nicely with the black & blue case (you did decide on that one, didn't you?) and at 20db should be pretty quiet. I have 4 92mm Panaflo's in my one case and 3 sunon 80mm in the other...at 27 and 32db respectively...they're pretty loud.

Please post some pics when you get it all together.

 

[Aunty Em]

Please post some pics when you get it all together.

It'll probably be towards the end of the month before I've got it all together as I want to go to the local computer fair on 19th to check out a couple of things, but I will post some pics when it's all up and running.

I'm just off out to see if I can pick up the processor for half-price with AMD aproved heatsink - £72. My brother-in-law got one yesterday and I'm hoping they are still available if not they are cheaper at the fair. I ordered the mobo and memory this morning - it should be here by Saturday or Monday at the latest. (1 - 3 day delivery by courier)

ABit KD7-E and 256MB Crucial DDR 2100 non-parity @ £126.44 . There were cheaper Mem sticks but I wanted the good stuff so I can add more later without compatibility problems.

I've also seen 60 GB maxtor 7200 HDDs for £65.

Then I just need another sound card (a cheap one will do for now) and a floppy to make two computers.

I'm getting quite excited.

Then I'll be able to duel boot the new one(I have XP-Pro & 2000K but I want to try before I commit to one or the other, and I also want to try Linux), network the two and overclock this one (1GHz to 1.4 I hope, but we shall see).

 

[Q]

I gotta stick those prices in a converter, so I can see how good they really are. D yeah, I'm a dumb yank) but half price in any denomination rocks!
Anyway, the specs sound great. You should be able to pick up some of those finishing details at the show for a good price.

 

[Aunty Em]

I just got back, unfortunately all the processors had gone which I expected at that price but I had to check.

Now for the frightening part:

£126.44 = $203.50

That's:

£70.35 = $113.28 for the mobo
£51.24 = $82.51 for the memory
£4.70 = $7.56 for handling charge(post free)

If I can't get a processor at the fair (unlikely) I will buy one online, but it will be £132 = $212.14.

There is no point in buying one from abroad because I have to pay 17.5% import duty plus a set fee to the carrier as they pay the duty and pass it on to me or it will be delayed going through customs (last time it was £5 but it was a small item) on anything over £36 ($57.92) and then when you add the s&h it doesn't make it much cheaper and if it's faulty you then have the hassle of trying to return it, postal costs, more flaming duty, etc.

So I usually only buy CDs, VCDs, DVDs and videos from abroad or small items through eBay which can be sent as gifts and don't attract duty charges. Or I buy within the EU which also doesn't attract duty.

I found all this out when I bought my video card from Hong Kong. It actually worked out £2 cheaper than if I'd bought it here.

For anyone interested in importing goods into the UK here are the rules:Customs & Excise 143

 

[Q]

All those prices seem good....but that processor which one are you getting?

Word to the wise...xp is a royal pain to network, if it's going to have internet access. If you have a choice, I'd go with 2k.

 

[Aunty Em]

The 2K is what I plan to get. The cheapest XP2600+ I've found is around £224.60 ($361.52) and out of my price range at this time unless the Hammer comes in and the prices drop through the floor, but I don't see that happening in a hurry.

This is probably my last upgrade for some considerable time as I'll probably need to go to a watercooling system with the next one. Hopefully by the time I want to upgrade again there will be cases with build in water cooling systems or refridgeration.