No case worth it :(

[rrjwilson]

The people on this board are enthusiasts yet I see project after project (including mine) that has the same 5-6 cases. We all know we will add lots of bits so buy the big cases (makes variety small) that arent ugly (makes variety smaller still). It seems that we all end up with effectively the same outcome just with minor details changed and it makes me a bit sad. Take the TJ07 thousands have been sold and all our effort and hard earned cash have given us all pretty much the same modified ones too.

The reason behind this thread is to get a discussion on what other think of this lack of variety. Are we all sheep following the trend setters? Are we forced to do everything the same because parts come that way? Are we stuck in a thought process drilled into us by education maybe? Are we imitating as flattery and ease?

I am merely wondering this as I bought the TJ07 for my next "move" and she has been lovely for the past year or so but everyone has the same case with pretty much the same setup just in different colours. This preceedes my question of "Is any case, worth the money you pay for it when really you have to spend even more money to get it to be as you want?"

My TJ07 is big but nothing fits well enough for me to do anything even slightly close to what I want. Should I fold to my needs and start a scratch build, where I can put everything in the right place?

 

[tinytomlogan]

There are many cases available dude, but having something fit your needs exactly is very hard for a manufacturer to do, and also somewhat unrealistic without it costing a small fortune.

Adapting a product to meet your needs exactly is hardly a new idea, and isnt just confined to the PC industry.

Being an enthusiast you are not happy with making do like the other 90% of the sales would be. I personally work out exactly what I want and then find the right case for the job with or without mods. I will say openly Ive never been a fan of the TJ07 and think its been used far too many times now.

 

[mayhem]

Ive never owend one of them cases and ive never used large cases to build pc except once.

In fact tbh 50 % of my gear is custom made from the ground up when i mod. I prefer midi towers or humugus builds lol.

I agree with tom has to say as well.

 

[rrjwilson]

So you both believe that paying large sums of money for a case to be near your requirements and then paying even more (possibly exorbitant amounts) to get the product you actually want it OK.

Just seems that given the metal used and the time cases should not be anywhere near as expensive.

 

[tinytomlogan]

So you both believe that paying large sums of money for a case to be near your requirements and then paying even more (possibly exorbitant amounts) to get the product you actually want it OK.

Just seems that given the metal used and the time cases should not be anywhere near as expensive.

Thats actualy a very narrow minded way of thinking about it. Materials are nothing, you need to consider, design and development, shipping, advertising many many factors.

When you think you can get a CM 840 for £170 you try doing all that work for that money, you cant.

My take on your situation is you know exactly what YOU want and expect a case manu to build to your needs. It doesnt work like that to keep costs down they need to please many people with the same case.

 

[Diablo]

You get more with a case than virtually any other PC part. Its the bit most likely to go the distance, you will keep a case longer than a processor normally, and the case has definitely got more materials etc. in it. (I'm aware that 99% of the processor's price is taken up with R&D).

There is still no case that fits exactly what I need which is a shame, and there is no way of modding a case to do so. The current case I have (cosmos S) nearly does everything I need, but still isn't perfect. I need a case with 6 hot swap drives, several 2.5" drive spaces, space for a quad, and two double radiators, have only 120mm fans, weigh very little, yet be very strong and have awesome cable management. Oh and it needs to be easy to carry.

Ultimately, some cases are not worth the cash, but its all very subjective. Cases are also where we can be most creative so on that basis the mods we do to them are all us wanting something distinctive.

I think most cases represent fair value, although there are so few well designed and built cases out there that we will tend to go for the same ones.

 

[rrjwilson]

So I was right you believe cases are worth the money you pay.

R&D and machinery are the price plumpers and given that this whole forum is based around us not being satisfied with the cases. I'd have thought the votes would have been higher than 50:50

My situation is I have a case that fill a niche happily but works adequately not optimally but to rectify the situation I would require a complete scratch build. But hey after more than 20 years of doing this stuff at least its no longer beige boxes

 

[Diablo]

My situation is I have a case that fill a niche happily but works adequately not optimally but to rectify the situation I would require a complete scratch build. But hey after more than 20 years of doing this stuff at least its no longer beige boxes

My feelings almost exactly (except for the 20 years bit). I would love to be able to buy a case ready made that is designed for my needs, but there isn't one, and one guy with one specific requirements isn't enough to design a case.

I'm not really satisfied with watercooling in cases at the moment, and would love to be able to build a custom case just for three radiators, a resevoir and some pumps. As it is, I have two cases, with one feeding the other coolant, and a 480mm rad in between the two cases.

I've found that to be my best solution, but I know I could design something better.

Some designs are very nice, until you try to build a computer in them, others will perform well but look awful. A lot of cases have been designed with the accountant looking over the shoulder in terms of finish and materials.

I suppose part of the fun of building a case is that you have a custom, one off design, and I wouldn't change that for a lot. To buy a case specifically made for your purpose is the same problem box shifters like apple and dell have in terms of overall systems, in that it takes work to take a standard beige box type system and add in the customer's desired amount of RAM or HD.

The price we pay for cases is ultimately not much compared to the hardware within them. If you have a cheap PC, the chances are you will go for an antec 300 or similar. I think my case (with all the fans and mods on it) comes to about £300 (powder coating, hotswap drives, new fans etc.), whereas the hardware inside is probably nearly 20 times that.

 

[mayhem]

I believe the price on "SOME" cases are weigh to high and no matter how much they push the system it wont sell lol. But at the end of the day like many things if you would like some thing different then make your own ! simple as that. There are plenty of off the shelf tools , plenty of expertise around and NO reason why you cannot make you own.

If you dont like the way some thing is mod it, if cannot find what you need build it, if you cannot be arsed get some one else to build it and then pay them. there is no excuse.

If you dont like how much a case costs then don't buy it,

I personally went with out a case for over 2 years and i was not arsed. The case i have now does the job.

I have several case designs i would like to build some day but ill do that when i think the time is right. And if some one wanted me to build them a case they best be prepared to have very deep pockets because i aint cheap.

 

[rrjwilson]

Perhaps case manufacturers should look closer at modifying trends for their cases or basic thermal physics :S

I just wonder how many think we pay too much for our cases. Obviously the beige things tend to be about right because lets face it they are hardly wonderful but they do their job.

Its people like Tiny Tom that make this situation bearable and thanks to them our wildest dream can become reality (well laws of physics allowing at least). Perhaps people like Tom should "consult" to manufacturers about what people have been after recently? After all he is at the pinnacle of customisation.

 

[tinytomlogan]

If manus made perfect cases then theres not a doubt in my mind we would still find something to change, thats why were are enthusiasts we like to play and fiddle!

Ive not done a rig in a while but I have had something in planning for a few months now, just waiting on a few things before I spill the beans.....

 

[Steve-O-]

I haven't read the whole discussion here but here are my 2cents:

There are several cases "worth the money". Take for example the Coolermaster CM690 I & II. Even though they are mid-level price range ($100) I would gladly pay double that. The Layout, airflow and etc make this case worth every penny. I have seen tests where my cooler gets 14c over ambient on idle where as mine has gotten as low as 3c above just because I have a case with better airflow.