case recommendations? and what I bought on Black Friday

[Madison Kelly]

D. Hugh Redelmeier wrote:
> I need to get a cheap and good enough and quietish ATX case for the bits
> that I will describe.  Do you have any recommendations?
> 
> Filtech has $32.xx ATX case with power supply.  Seemed quite light.
> They have all kinds of name-brand cases and power supplies for more
> money.  I don't know exactly what the danager-to-your-system (from
> cheap power supplies) and noise tradeoffs are.

Hey Hugh,

   I've gotten numerous Antec Sonata's over the years... Have one now, 
so does my boyfriend and numerous people I've built or helped build PCs 
for over the years. I've yet to hear of any complaints!

   The PSUs are their Earthwatts 80Plus last I checked. They are rock 
solid PSUs (and make up the bulk of the admittedly higher cost). I've 
heard them tested a few times now in hot-boxes (stuck in a box at 50c 
and run up to 100% advertised load) and they've never failed. They have 
very clean rails and last a long time. The only other two brands I trust 
for PSUs are PC Power and Cooling (no cases) and Silverstone (amazing 
cases, but even pricier).

   They are super quiet cases, too. They run large fans at low RPMs to 
get the needed CFM airflow without the noise. Possibly more important 
though, their cases aren't those "loud", obnoxious creatures you see so 
often. They've got a very understated style which I like. However, 
that's ultimately personal preference.

   Inside they're generally 0.8mm SECC steele (again, last I checked) 
which is very decent. They have removable HDD trays with rubber mounts 
to cut down on vibration, too. All the edges are rolled ... I've yet to 
cut myself on an Antec case and I bleed easy. :P

   Anyway, they are a bit pricey, but they will last you a few 
generations easy. Here's a few at CC:

Antec Sonata Designer 500 (my fav.)
- 
http://canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=015081&cid=CAS.664

Antec Sonata Elite (front door, which you may prefer)
- 
http://canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=021150&cid=CAS.664

Madi
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