Case Questions
 

Okay, I'm planning on building a new computer soon here. I've decided I'm tired of my expensive stuff going obselete just as fast as the cheap stuff, so I'm not going for a fast computer, I'm going for one that looks fast :) . I'll be using watercooling to overclock as much as possible to make up for buying slow components (even though all the money I save will be spent on the watercooling- the watercooling gear will last me much longer though) I'm going to have an Eheim 1250 pump, as large a radiator as I can fit, and a WB on the CPU, NB, and vid. card.

The case I've been planning on fitting this in is the KT-436, or the Directron 201, they seem to be identical except for price, (review here) I haven't read any bad reviews of it, and I particularly like the anodized black interior. The windows are just a cost saving advantage :). But.. I'm thinking I'd have a hard time fitting everything in there, and the more I think about it the more I'd like to get everything in.

So, basically, I'm trying to find a full tower case with a black exterior and interior, unless you guys think I can fit everything in, or painting the interior isn't too hard. I'd like to hear about painting the inside regardless; I've got some ideas with that for my current comp.

I picked up this one from Directron. Of course I tried to save money by getting the white one, which I now have to paint, black :rolleyes:

There's also a Matrix version.

I'll be doing the window myself.

painting the chassis can be as difficult as you want it to be. if you absolutely have to have it *perfect*, then its going to be a pain in the ass (theres a lot of sides and details to a chassis!). on the other hand, if you dont mind letting some stuff slide, especially where you wouldnt normally be able to see it, then it wont be as hard.

painting a chassis consists of 2 basic steps: priming and painting. make sure the chassis is clean, and then give it a few coats (not too thick) of primer. you shouldnt be able to see the metal chassis. sand in between coats if necessary (400 or 600 grit is fine). you dont have to sand, but that depends on how anal you are :p

once the primer is dry, you can begin laying down your color (black in your case, pardon the pun). flat black might be a little more forgiving than gloss black but its your call. make sure to get quality paint, such as dupli-color or krylon (or whatever other preferance you have). again, sand in between coats if necessary. be sure to give plenty of time drying; give more time if its especially humid outside (follow the directions on the can. generally its ok to sand in about a day, and ready to recoat in a few hours). take your time and it should come out at least half-decent lol. its better to apply paint in several thin coats then 1 thick coat (too thick and it could run or 'orange peel' on you). dont forget to paint the back of your PSU as well, since it would look kinda silly to have a black chassis and a gray PSU (unless your PSU is already black). paint it the same as you'ld paint the chassis.

GL, HF :D

if you wanted to use the KT-436 and wanted a really good radiator you'd probably have to remove the hard drive bays or mount one on top. if you have the money then you should buy a bigger case like a full tower Lian Li if you have the money. but another good big case thats around 80 bucks is the LiteOn FS-020. you can buy it at newegg. its a pretty old case but if you wanted to paint it i bet you could make it look sweet. the good thing about it is that if you remove the hard drive bay below the 5 1/4 theres an extra hard drive bay up top so you should have all the space you need for drives. and the back has 2 120mm fan spots so you could also use that to store the radiator.

http://www.virtual-hideout.net/revie...20/index.shtml

a gallery
http://jpiperformance.com/gallery.htm

heres a site to find a heatcore that will fit your case
http://12.18.239.202/heatercores/default.asp

some heater cores
http://www.leakycar.com/heater_cores/index.html

Well, I'm thinking either I'll get a full tower and paint it, or I'll make a box for the radiator/pump. I'm leaning towards the full tower.

My space requirements aside from the water cooling stuff is pretty limited, just 3 5 1/4 bays (1 optical drive, 2 hard drives suspension mounted), an AGP card, and maybe a PCI TV tuner card, but I'm not sure about that. (I'm going to college next year so I'll be a little limited on space, so a TV tuner could be a good idea. Of course, I'm not concerned about the size of a large full tower- what else is worth spending space on? I can always sleep in the fetal position, or standing, if neccesary :) )

Oh and I'm not concerned about the price as long as its worth it. The KT-436 is $160 without a PSU, and I'll go higher for the right case.

And cyco- I don't intend to overlook anything with the black. If you know where I could get black molex connectors that would be nice :) if not I'll just LED mod them so they aren't too boring.

I hate small cases. You can never have to much room. A Lain-Li is expensive, but a PC70 would hold all the things you wish it to now, and allow expansion later if desired.

I just ordered the PC76 for my upcoming build along with some fancy fans. I'm going to do top & side windows myself, but the PC 75 would save you the side window job if you prefer. And both the 70 & 75 can be had in black.

Like you I want this one to look real top shelf. Costs more, but the case doesn't get outdated in a year or less.

I ordered mine from www.so-trickcomputers.com they had the best price I could find on PC76. They also have the PC70 & 75 pretty reasonable.

I may well go for the PC-71. Its expensive, and only part of the inside is anodized black. But at least it will be a little easier. Furthermore, at that site its only $36 more than the kingwin.

I think I'll also get a cheap generic steel case for my current air cooled current, I'll try out mods on it first :)

This is gonna sound odd for a mod section, but... can anyone recommend a cheap generic stereotypical mid tower beige box that has decent airflow unmodded?

i believe the enlight 7237 might be decent. it comes with an 80mm intake fan and has a spot on the back for another one. pretty cheap at $45 or so. 4 5" bays too...