Original Link: https://www.anandtech.com/show/2387
Holiday Buyers' Guide: Cases, Power, and Storage
by Jarred, Gary, and Christoph on November 28, 2007 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
In our first Holiday Buyers' Guide, we put together the core of the system; now it's time to take care of the remaining pieces. Need to know where you're going to store all those programs, movies, pictures, music, etc.? Perhaps you're more concerned with the box that all of the parts are going to call home. Maybe you're looking for a quiet, energy efficient power supply to make everything work. We'll put together the remaining pieces in this installment of our Holiday Buyers' Guide.
We still have a few other areas to look at as well, but parts one and two will provide everything you need for the large (or perhaps not so large) black box that sits on the floor. If you're worried about peripherals like speakers, keyboards, mice, or displays, we'll cover those areas and others in part three. Now let's find all of our parts a home, by looking at some computer case options.
Computer Cases
HTPC
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This is definitely not for people looking for your average PC case. Silverstone provides an attractive case design capable of housing full-size ATX motherboards as well as micro ATX boards, all clearly intended for use as part of a home theater system. This is a larger HTPC chassis, but it comes with a multifunction display, remote control, and a flash memory reader. The case features a brushed aluminum finish, and unlike many other HTPC cases you truly get the ability to create a system capable of storing large amounts of data. There are six internal 3.5" drive bays, one external 5.25" bay, and one 120mm rear fan for cooling. (There are two additional 92mm fan mounts on the bottom should you require additional cooling.) $400 might seem like a lot of money for a computer case, but this HTPC would be right at home with a top-end stereo system.
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Zalman HD160XT - $549
Zalman catches most of the features of Silverstone, but they go one step further when it comes to integrated displays. Instead of a small LED, they include a 7" 1024x768 touch sensitive LCD on the front of the chassis. In addition to a remote control, software is included that will run on the front display. Fan Speed Control Software provides for customized edition of cooling performance and noise control. The front panel LCD can also display a graphic equalizer, volume, CPU use, network speed, time, fan speed, or virtually any other information you might desire. You also get five internal 3.5" and one external 5.25" drive bays.
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Silverstone gets a second entry in the HTPC options, offering most of the features of their Crown Series but with a much lower price. You also lose the aluminum casing, replaced by a 0.8mm SECC steel body, although the front panel is still aluminum. The other major difference is in the cooling setup: two 80mm rear fans, with an additional 80mm mounting point on the side and 80mm/92mm mounting locations at the front of the chassis. The GD01MX is shorter than the CW02 as well, if size is a concern.
Enthusiast/Gaming
It's the season of giving right now, and what you'll find is that many retailers are offering some serious mail-in rebates. This appears to be especially true on enthusiast/gaming cases, where some of the rebates almost cut the price in half. If you're interested in snapping up one of these deals, you want to act fast. Even without the rebates, however, the following are some of the debtor computer cases currently available.
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Cooler Master COSMOS - $110 (after $90 rebate)
The Cooler Master Cosmos 1000 as a full-size tower that's vaguely reminiscent of the Mac G5 design - minus the Apple logo, of course. There's also the fact that it's quite a bit larger than the Mac G5, but then sometimes you just need a large case to handle all of the components you plan on installing. Capable of mounting ATX and EATX motherboards, the Cosmos is a good fit for do-it-yourself workstations or enthusiast gaming systems. Plenty of cooling capability allows for the use of top-performing components, all with an attractive exterior.
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The Antec Nine Hundred is a popular chassis for gaming enthusiasts with a rather unique design. Cooling seems to be one of the biggest selling points of this case, as you get the typical 120mm fan mounts (four total, three with included fans) plus a monstrous 200mm fan on the top of the case. Those concerned with noise levels need not worry, as fan speed controls help to keep the case relatively quiet.
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The Thermaltake Armor is another popular case for enthusiasts, currently available with a huge mail-in rebate that cuts the price in half. Even without the rebate, however, the Thermaltake Armor is worth considering. Features include BTX and ATX support -- not that there are many BTX motherboards available -- and on certain models a gigantic 25 cm side fan. Accumulation of dust might be a problem, but at least you know you're going to have plenty of airflow. The large chassis is also a good candidate for water-cooling setups.
Thermaltake MozartTx - $249
For a unique take on what a computer chassis can look like, look no further than Thermaltake's MozartTx. Instead of your typical case design, Thermaltake has created a large tower. No, we're not talking about your standard tower chassis; in this case has a (roughly) square base and is twice as tall as it is wide/deep. Thermaltake also offers several upgrade kits so you can install a 7" LCD, or BTX motherboards. The case also comes loaded with brute force cooling potential: five 120mm fans are included, with room to add five more.
SOHO/Gaming
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Readers of past Buyers' Guides should already be familiar with the Cooler Master Centurion case, as it's one of our favorites in the price/performance category. It's easy to work with, inexpensive, and attractive. Models with and without power supplies are available, so if you're looking to build an entry-level system you can kill two birds with one stone. The included 120mm (rear) and 80mm (front) case fans provide ample cooling for most computer setups, without creating a lot of noise.
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Antec is another familiar name in computer cases, and they have had many successful midrange products over the years. Normally priced at up to $100, nearly currently has a killer deal available for the Antec Solo. What you get is an attractive case that's easy to work with and the typical front USB/audio/FireWire ports. The single 120mm fan that's included is nearly silent, and perfect for office use or more moderate computer configurations.
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The Lian Li PC-7B has shown up frequently in our Buyers' Guides, with good reason. It's well-built, easy to work with, attractive, and is currently available at an all-time low price. It includes two 120mm fans that provide a reasonable amount of airflow suitable for everything up through high-end configurations.
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Cooler Master deserves a second mention with their RC690. The general appearance is similar to the Centurion 5, but a closer look reveals quite a few differences. The RC690 has audio/USB/FireWire on top of the case instead of on the front, and it also includes an eSATA port. Three 120mm fans are included for the side, front, and back -- the front plan also includes blue LEDs. We would normally rate this as being slightly better than the Centurion 5, which makes the currently lower price (after rebate) all the more attractive.
SFF/uATX
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Not everyone needs or wants a large computer case. For those that like micro ATX designs, you can save desk space without having to compromise on performance. The Thermaltake LANBOX offers an inexpensive alternative to proprietary small form factor designs from companies like Shuttle, in an attractive design. Just add an appropriate motherboard and other components.
Shuttle SP35P2-Pro - $400
On the other hand, some people don't want to be bothered with much of the chore of assembly, and they would like an even smaller chassis. Shuttle pretty much created the small form factor market in 2001, and they continue to offer new and updated designs. The latest SP35P2-Pro uses a P35 chipset and has support for quad core processors. It isn't cheap, but it's about half the total volume of your typical mATX design.
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Lian Li PC-A01A - $119
The PC-A01A is designed for use in either a mini tower configuration or as a desktop. Since part of the attraction of mATX is being able to show off your diminutive case, we tend to prefer using this as a desktop system. Lian Li claims that this case will work in a fanless configuration, but we would recommend being very careful about what components you choose to use if you decide to try that approach. There is room for an optional 80mm fan, and you can still get a low noise, attractive case to set on top of your desk.
Silverstone SG03 - $119
The Silverstone SG03 is a mini tower that places a greater emphasis on cooling. A large 120mm fan sits at the front of the case, and a large ventilation grille dominates the left side. Two hinged doors open on the front to provide access to the USB/FireWire/audio ports and indicator lights. Thankfully, you don't need to open the doors to access the optical drive.
Other Options
One size rarely fits all in the world of computer cases, so if you don't like any of the above, or if you just want to see some other possibilities, the following cases are also worth a look. Naturally, there are plenty of other cases that could also work well that we won't mention here because of time and space constraints.
Antec P182 - $115
NZXT HUSH - $60 after rebate
nMedia HTPC 500 - $149
APEVIA X-Cruiser BK/420 - $50 after rebate
Thermaltake VF1000 - $129
Silverstone SG01W - $109
Nexus Caterpillar - $139 (Should be available in the US in December, fantastic case for Silent Systems)
Power Supplies
When it comes time to choose a power supply for a new system, most users don't pay much attention. You simply use whatever comes with your case, for budget systems. That's one way of doing things, and if all you're building is an inexpensive PC that's probably okay. However, if you're going to spend $300 on a graphics card and another $300 on a CPU, you probably want something a bit better than "whatever is cheapest". Power supplies are important, as they help to keep everything running.
Many users have experienced the dreaded dead PC. It worked yesterday, but for some reason it won't turn on today. Did the RAM go bad, or maybe your motherboard got fried? Most likely not; if your PC suddenly won't turn on - particularly if you haven't been swapping around parts - you probably have a failed power supply. If like many people you are using whatever came with your case, it's time for an upgrade.
As long as you're in the market for a new power supply, we recommend getting a higher quality unit. Next time your PSU goes out because you got a $20 "bargain", you could end up with more than a dead PSU. Depending on your needs, you may be able to get away with a lower-end 300W-400W model, but if you want something a bit more powerful you should look for quality as opposed to simply getting a high wattage rating. The quality differences between brands can be huge, but at the same time don't fall for the premium prices of the high-end manufacturers unless you are truly building an elite class system.
Entry-Level
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Seasonic OEM 300W - $40
Seasonic doesn't only produce retail products; a main part of their business occurs as an OEM/ODM manufacturer. We have seen many products from different companies all made by Seasonic, and all of them are made with high quality standards and deliver high reliability and performance. We have tested several of the OEM power supplies recently, and while they have fewer cable harnesses and connectors, their performance is in some cases even better than the retail products. We have chosen the SS-301HT from Seasonic as the best choice if you are building a budget system and want to make sure the PSU is up to snuff. This 300W model will deliver enough power for anything up to a decent midrange rig. The only negative point is the lack of connectors, particularly the lack of a PEG connector. You can use splitters and/or adapters, but for everything up to a moderate midrange system this is a great power supply priced under $50.
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Antec Earthwatts 430W - $35 (after $30 rebate)
This is really a midrange power supply, but with the current $30 mail-in rebate it potentially carries an entry-level price. The Earthwatts line from Antec is a no-frills design, but if you care more about quality than appearance they are certainly worth a close look. High efficiency and reasonable noise levels for the price of a nice dinner isn't too shabby!
Midrange
Corsair CMPSU-450VX - $65 after rebate
For most of the users, there is no need to buy a high-performance power supply, since you can run the most recent graphics cards with a midrange power supply. Unfortunately, the manufacturers aren't really promoting lower wattages anymore since the margins are better on higher-end models. In addition, recent "requirements" of 300W for graphics cards have created confusion for users. We have tested power consumption on a variety of systems, and the only way to break into the 400W and higher range is generally via multiple graphics cards, numerous hard drives, and/or extreme overclocking. Many users will have no difficulties with a good quality 400-500W unit. The Corsair 450VX is available at with a mail-in-rebate for around $70, making it a good bargain.
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OCZ StealthXStream OCZ600SXS - $75 after rebate
The OCZ StealthXStream 600W almost qualifies as a high-end model, since it provides almost everything a high-end system would require. The price, particularly with the rebate, is what keeps it in the midrange category. You get two 6-pin PEG connectors suitable for even a relatively potent 8800 GT SLI or 3870 CF setup. It also offers a high efficiency rating and remains quiet during use.
Another Option
Antec TruePower Trio 430W - $65 after rebate
Seasonic S12 II 430W - $89
High-End
With the high-end segment, we get into the "more interesting" regions - at least if you plan to build a top-performance setup. Many companies provide good quality products, lots of features, and high efficiency. Unfortunately, these higher wattage designs usually carry a price tag well over $125. Again, good quality power supplies that can actually provide 700W or more of continuous output should only be used by people that have some hefty hardware needs. As an example, a water-cooled, overclocked quad-core running HD 2900 XT CrossFire (currently the most power hungry GPUs around) topped out with a power draw at the outlet of 750W. We're talking about the HP Blackbird 002 we reviewed a couple months ago (now available for customization if you're interested). Assuming even a high 85% efficiency rating, that still represents a peak load of less than 650W on the PSU. If that sounds like the type of system you plan on running (or maybe something with a couple dozen hard drives each using 10-15W of power), then by all means grab a top quality high-end power supply. Just don't do it because marketing told you it was necessary for your single high-end GPU with a dual-core processor. We do have quite a few models that we would recommend in this price range, however.
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PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad - $160
We start with one of the most respected brands on the market. We tested the Silencer 750 QUAD from PC Power & Cooling not too long ago and were pleased with the results. Its performance and high quality make for a very good purchase that no user would regret. The 5-years warranty is simply the cherry on top of a sweet overall package. The different versions of this unit are all internally the same, and only the color (red, black, or copper) changes. If you want something that will last through several system upgrades, the Silencer 750 is more than enough for today's applications and systems. The smaller versions of the Silencer series are also good and we recommend them as well. The Silencer 470 for example falls at the higher end of the midrange level.
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Antec TPQ-850 850W - $249
As a second brand, we want to recommend Antec with their TruePower Quattro series. The 850W version will meet the needs of virtually any user; the 1000W version doesn't change much and only comes with a higher rated output. The overall performance is very good and the efficiency is also very high. There are plenty of connectors on a variety of cable harnesses, and you get detachable cables to help keep your case organized. The price may be high, but you get a lot for the money - just make sure you actually need it.
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HIPER HPU-4M880 - $190
HIPER HPU-5K680 - $160
Our final recommendation is the Type-R series from Hiper. We have to admit that the performance of their latest products surprised us. In our last PSU Roundup, we had four power supplies from Hiper and they all performed very well. This series is available in a range of wattages, and Hiper offers a very good price/performance value not only in Europe but also in the US.
Hard Drives
We are starting to see wide spread adaptation of SSD and Hybrid drives in the high-end portable markets, and these technologies should hit the mid-tier systems by 2009. On the desktop, we see a renewal of the capacity race with all of the major players now offering 1TB drives and looking to break those levels in the first quarter of next year. In the meantime, Western Digital has decided to go "Green" with their Caviar GP drive series and we tend to favor this trend. While the performance of these drives are not up to the latest speed demons from Seagate, Samsung, Hitachi, or even WD's own Raptor/RE2/SE16 drives, it is enough to be competitive for most users while offering superb acoustics, thermal management, and power savings.
We have listed our favorite drives, but really, just about any of the latest generation of drives will suit the majority of users, so choose on brand preference, warranty, or support services. You might notice the WD Raptor is missing; we still love and recommend the drive, but our quest for the ultimate performance in SATA drives means a trip to Korea is in order. MTRON has surpassed their original 3000 series and is now shipping the 7000 series that offers blistering performance at an equally blistering price.
In fact, the 32GB drive costs more than most families will spend on Christmas, but being the performance junkies we are, it has to go on the list this year. Not to be outdone, Samsung has a new 64GB SSD drive that we will compare to the MTRON 64GB drive shortly. While the MTRON offers better performance, the Samsung drive should cost about 40% less. We also understand that Super Talent is launching a new series of high performance SSD drives shortly and hopefully we can provide some initial results with one in the near future. It should be an interesting battle for this upper-end segment, and more importantly, an interesting 2008 for drives as everyone jumps into the SSD pool.
General Use
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For those needing a nice size drive for a SOHO setup, or if you just want to upgrade Aunt Harriet's system to hold more Christmas pictures, then this is the drive to buy. While we typically like the 500GB drives to hold all of our "stuff", this drive will suit most desktop users and offers very good performance for the price.
Overall Value
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One of our favorite drives over the last year has been the Samsung SpinPoint T166 500GB drive that offers an almost perfect blend of performance, price, acoustics, and thermals in a package that still amazes us. It might not win many synthetic benchmarks, but this drive is always close to the leaders in actual application results and is the first drive we grab in the labs when looking to put together a quiet system… or for that matter, just about any desktop system.
High Capacity
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We were going to recommend a 1TB drive (Hitachi) at the high-end of our selection, but the recent price drop on this drive makes it a bargain in the big drive market. The price is right, and the performance of this drive is impressive to say the least. While the new Samsung SpinPoint F DT HD753LJ is a hair quicker overall, it's not readily available yet and will probably cost around $209 at launch. If you want to increase capacity now, we cannot think of a better drive in this size range.
Solid State
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If you are looking for the ultimate in SSD performance then the MTRON 7000 series is the only way to go. Featuring 120 MB/s read and 90 MB/s write speeds, this drive will make a Raptor weep. Of course, the price tag makes us weep. However, our initial tests show a drive that will have the benchmark junkies salivating, and notebook users can have the Rolls Royce of drives protecting their data. MTRON promises a 10 year data retention rate and a write endurance of 140 years at 50GB of write activity per day. Expect to see a review up shortly where we put two of these drives in RAID 0 and set out to destroy the PCMark05 and PCMark Vantage benchmarks. We know it means little in the real world, but hey, we like having a little fun now and then. $2400 can build you an excellent high-end gaming system… or you can get the fastest RAID 0 storage this side of 2010.
Other Possibilities
Western Digital Caviar GP SATA 3.0Gb/s 500-GB~1TB Hard Drive - $139~$249
Western Digital recently released their Green series of drives and we came away impressed, even though its overall performance will not set any speed records. This is fine with us, and the drive is a natural in a HTPC setup as the low power consumption leads to less heat and the variable speed design leaves us with one very quiet drive.
Seagate DB35.4 SATA 3.0Gb/s 160GB~1TB Hard Drive - $99~$349
If you are an HTPC fanatic, then the new DB35.4 series of drives will be right up your alley. Based on the new 7200.11 design, these drives feature multiple stream recording capability with up to 10 streams at once. Seagate has also improved the power consumption, acoustics, and reliability of these drives while offering a 5-year warranty. Our 1TB sample will hold approximately 1,000 hours of SD content and close to 175 hours of HD recordings.
Samsung MH80 SATA 1.5Gb/s 80GB~160GB Hybrid 2.5" Drive - $80~$169
Samsung continues to be a leader in the Hybrid drive market that features a combination of the standard 5400RPM mechanical hard drive design boosted by the addition of 256MB of NAND flash memory. This large NAND cache along with specific OS improvements in Vista allows users of these drives to experience performance that is close to 7200RPM drives, almost instant-on capability, and power savings that show an average 10% improvement in battery life over conventional drives. Seagate and others are introducing similar drives, but for now Samsung is our choice.
Optical Drives
Unless you are on a network, just about the only way to install all of your programs is via CD/DVD. While just about any CD/DVD drive will work for this purpose, we have gathered a few of favorites that excel in writing, reading, and playback functions and do not break the bank.
What will break the bank (though not as badly as the MTRON SSD) are the HD-DVD or Blu-ray drives that are available on the PC. The HD format wars continue unabated and the result is a mixture of drives available on the PC. Here, Blu-ray definitely has the advantage, as several drives are available that write to the Blu-ray format and a couple even offers Blu-ray Write/Playback along with HD-DVD playback capabilities.
We still have no idea when the HD-DVD writers will show up on the desktop - or if they ever will. Toshiba announced the SD-H903A (2.4X HD-DVD+/-R Dual Layer Write) HD-DVD drive at CES 2007 and then proceeded to keep the drives under wraps for the next nine months. We have heard of a few out in the wild, but volume shipments are just not occurring right now. This same pattern holds true for the HD-DVD playback drives with our only test sample being the SD-H802A that features 2.4X HD DVD-ROM, 5X DVD-R/RW, 5X DVD+R/RW, 5X DVD-ROM, and 15X (Ouch!) CD-ROM/CD-R/CD-RW capabilities.
The least expensive way to get HD-DVD playback on the PC is to utilize the XBOX 360 HD-DVD drive, unless the recently announced ASUS HR-0205T undercuts its price and is available in volume. The Blu-ray camp is in better shape on the PC side with several drives available from Pioneer, Plextor, Sony, and LG. Although expensive, at least the options are available with writing capacities reaching 50GB currently.
We have finally seen the big push for most CD/DVD drives to move from the PATA interface to a SATA interface. It seems as though manufacturers have solved most of the compatibility problems that arose with the early SATA optical drives, and we should see the death of PATA later next year in this sector.
CD/DVD Writer
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Samsung SH-203 CD/DVD Writer - $34
The SH-203 is capable of 20x DVD±R, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW and 12x DVD-RAM writing speeds. The drive also features 16x DVD+R DL and 12x DVD-R DL writing speeds and a maximum DVD read speed of 16x. Other features include 48x CD reading and writing speeds, 32x rewriting speeds, Super Link 2MB buffer, SATA interface, and a Nero 7 software bundle.
Blu-ray Playback
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Pioneer BDC-202 Blu-ray Disc/DVD/CD Combo Drive - $280
The BDC-202 offers 5x read speeds on BD-ROM, BD-R, and BD-RE Blu-ray single layer discs and 2x speeds on dual layer discs. The drive also features 12x DVD±R, 6x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW and 5x DVD-RAM writing speeds. The drive is capable of 4x DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL writing speeds and a maximum DVD read speed of 12x. Other features include 32x CD-R reading, 24x writing/rewriting speeds, and a SATA interface.
Blu-ray Writer/ HD-DVD Playback
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LG GGW-H10NI Super Multi Blue Drive - $899
It is hard for us to recommend an optical drive in this price range, but this drive sets the standard for Blu-ray writing speeds and also offers very good HD-DVD playback capabilities. On the other hand, you could purchase the previous LG GBW-H10N or a mid-range Sony/Lite-On Blu-ray drive, an XBOX 360 HD-DVD player, and pocket a couple of hundred dollars to buy some movies and popcorn. The GGW-H10NI writes to BD-R media at 4x, BD-RE/BD-R DL media at 2x, and offers 4x read speeds on BD-ROM, BD-R, and BD-RE Blu-ray single layer discs and 3.2x speeds on dual layer discs. The drive also offers 8x DVD±R, 6x DVD-RW, and 4x DVD±R DL writing speeds. Also included are DVD read speeds of 12x and HD-DVD reads speeds of 3x.
Other Options
Outside of Blu-ray/HD-DVD support, most optical drives these days are very similar. We are at the point where branding often doesn't make a big difference for the majority of users. If you need other options, consider the following.
Plextor PX-608CU Super Multi Portable DVD Drive - $149
LG GSA-E10L External LightScribe DVD Rewriter - $65
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