Seeking mature, subdued case with strong vertical lines

[davidmigl]

I'm looking for a subdued, mature case with strong vertical lines. Something reminiscent of an HP z800 workstation, Dell T610 server or IBM mainframe (no, I'm not crazy, and yes, I really dig those looks, strange as it may seem ). I'll be moving it around considerably (I'm a college student and have an ultraportable laptop) so I would prefer a matte/scratch resistant finish instead of a high-gloss one. And of course, it should be as quiet as possible.

It will house modest hardware, an Athlon 5050e 45W, WD Caviar 1tb hdd, biostar MB, seasonic PS, basic sony CD/DVD drive, and 4gb of ram. Don't have a video card since onboard is fine and I have an xBox for gaming. I might upgrade to a Core i7 next year when the prices come down but that's still a long ways off.

So far the only case I've found is the Lian-li A20 but that's $300 and aluminum, I'm hoping I can do better. Maybe the antec P182/3, but it looks like a grey fridge to me and I'm not really inspired by the looks.

Price should be <$400. It's really not an issue, but keep it reasonable. I want something quality that will last me 2-3 builds.

Thanks in advance for your recommendations.

[Wayne Redpath]

"I'll be moving it around considerably"

The Cooler Master Storm Scout has handles.

[qviri]

I'm more of a IBM workstation design kind of person, but I can definitely sympathize. Have you considered/would you be able to use ebay? If so, a secondhand case from one of the servers might be a possibility. Finding one you want for the shipped price you can take might take a bit of patience.

I've considered it myself, but in the end most cases were in the U.S. and cross-border shipping would have killed me.

[KadazanPL]

Hmm... you might wanna check out Chieftec cases:

http://www.chieftec.com/products.html

They seem to fit your description.

[davidmigl]

The Cooler Master Storm Scout has handles.

Yeah, I've looked at that, but I'm not too keen on the side window and big fan in the side - I think it might let out too much noise.

Have you considered/would you be able to use ebay? If so, a secondhand case from one of the servers might be a possibility.

That would be the most direct method of getting what I want, I suppose. The only problem is that I know some companies use a proprietary motherboard layout/power supply connector/etc. that might restrict functionality to the original hardware from that manufacturer so I'll need to do some research before buying. Did you find any cases that you know for sure are 100% standards compatible?

Hmm... you might wanna check out Chieftec cases:


They seem to fit your description.

I like the design of those cases very much! Especially their uni line and even the system series. The BH-02B-B-SL interests me the most but I can't find any place that sells it. Can't find it on Newegg, Amazon, Tiger Direct, and eBay. I'm in the U.S. Any idea where I could buy it?


Thanks all for the recommendations!

[xan_user]

I though this was a singles advert. FWIW a case with handles is a must for long walks on the beach.



(sorry could not help it)

[qviri]

The only problem is that I know some companies use a proprietary motherboard layout/power supply connector/etc. that might restrict functionality to the original hardware from that manufacturer so I'll need to do some research before buying. Did you find any cases that you know for sure are 100% standards compatible?

Sorry, I haven't looked. The only input I can offer (somewhat obvious) is that if you have an eye on a specific system, search for reviews of it and hope for mentions of internal components or pictures of insides. Also, I am under the impression that custom components are less common these days - especially in systems that aren't super small. Then again, searching just now for pictures of a Thinkstation S10 showed a non-ATX PSU, so do be careful.