Weekend Open Forum: How much did your case cost?

I have a Thermaltake Element T, which costs around 70$. Mind you, I did not actually pay for it: I won it in a contest.
 
Well, let's see;

1. Cooler Master Storm "Scout"....$59.95 Black Friday past @ Microcenter
I'd like to paint the Antec EA-430 in this black to match the Scout's. But, you'd have to mask the PSU's air intakes from the inside, thereby voiding the warranty. I suppose it could wait 3 years.

2. Antec 900, Christmas before last... $79.95 (Made Best Buy honor Microcenter's sale price, in spite of the fact that MC was out of it. Hey, don't look at me, it was the Microcenter's salesman's idea, I'm the victim here).

I know that Cooler Master cases are en vogue right now, but this case's air flow is way better than the CM Storm Scout. The original 900, (IMHO) is the best looking by far of the 3 types offered. (The 900 Silver Edition is frightful looking).

I'd like to paint the whole interior of this black, period.

3. Cooler Master "Centurion 541" (w 370 watt PSU)...$59.95 ( -$10. MIR) This is a Matx case, a little cutie that looks like its ATX brothers, and weighs a ton.

4. An "Apex" TX-381...http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811154094 $24.95 Free shipping. This is a pretty decent Matx case for the price.
 
Route44 said:
Z, how big is that Xaser III? My Xaser II is large with heavy guage steel.
Click to expand...

A little bigger than the Xaser II. Quite a bit deeper and maybe a touch taller, but around the same width. I built my father's PC and put into a Xaser II -the aluminium one though! A great chassis for it's day with its built in fan controller.
I modded the Xaser II's front facia - built in a removeable front fan filter and low restriction stainless steel grille into the door since the Xaser II doesn't normally have filters and my folks have a housefull of pets.
The Xaser III I have would outweigh the Xaser II (steel) by about 12lb in stock form (17kg/38Ib to 12kg/26lb) bare of components.
 
I've got an all-steel Thermaltake Xaser III in black with a little red trim on the front cover. I got it back in 2005 when I built my first Athlon 64 gaming rig. It measures 20.5 inches high, 8 inches wide and 21.5 inches in length. It's definitely one heavy super tower, a real backbreaker especially since my original config included 3 HDDs and 2 graphics cards. I think I paid around $170-180 at that time.
 
Well, any car can get you from point A to point B, but unless you are short on budget you just don't buy ANY car. Average users may go for average PCs, but us, enthusiasts tend to research before we buy (hence our own case reviews) and if the budget allows it we go the extra mile for the nicer/cooler case, the faster processor and the fancy looking RAM :)
 
Julio said:
Well, any car can get you from point A to point B, but unless you are short on budget you just don't buy ANY car.
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I thought when times got really tough, you either took a bus or hoofed it. I guess "short on budget" is another relative term.
 
My first recent case was a Foxconn RS233 that I mounted to the back of my monitor. It was around $45. My current case is a Lian Li PC-Q08, which I got for $135. Both numbers after shipping.
 
Man a lot of people buy the HAF towers! I'm glad I went with something unique!

Xigmatek Midgard - W

$100

Case has one issue: Mobo backplate cutout is just a hair too small, easily fixable if necessary. Otherwise it's rock solid. I've had it for nearly a year now and I still have to use a screwdriver to pry the sidepanels off. Yep, built like a tank :)
 
Guest said:
Man a lot of people buy the HAF towers! I'm glad I went with something unique!

Xigmatek Midgard - W

$100

Case has one issue: Mobo backplate cutout is just a hair too small, easily fixable if necessary. Otherwise it's rock solid. I've had it for nearly a year now and I still have to use a screwdriver to pry the sidepanels off. Yep, built like a tank :)
Click to expand...
Meh, I break a nail every once in a while pulling the side panels off my 5 year old Emachines. Then I go for a screw driver.
 
Currently using a CoolerMaster Storm Scout and I'm pretty happy. I personally don't mind paying a premium for a case since it is one of the few future proof items you can have.

captaincranky said:
Made Best Buy honor Microcenter's sale price, in spite of the fact that MC was out of it. Hey, don't look at me, it was the Microcenter's salesman's idea, I'm the victim here.
Click to expand...

Nothing wrong with that, I do it often during busy holiday times :) . Just wish I lived remotely close to a Microcenter :( .
 
I think a good case is one of the better investments IMO. CPU's and mobos (especially intel) can get outdated within a couple years. But a solid case should last for years and years and handle plenty of new setups.
 
I paid over 400$ for a Thermaltake case several years ago. It was far from perfect and I replaced it with a much cheaper one in few months. Right now I'm using a 150$ Enermax case which shakes and vibrates all the time - been driving me crazy so much that I'd moved it under the table.
 
Sagitta by Raidmax on sale at FRY's less than $50. Tool-less with Blue lights and clear side panel. Add a few fans and new 650 PS all-in-all under $100 so I can put the monies into RAM/CPU, as a case is a case is a case once installed who cares. As they its your/their money and there is only so much pie in the pie, if you have lots of pie then why not go for it. For those of us not so lucky, buyer be aware, a little research and one can save a ton of money with very little trade-off.
 
The time saving argument on more expensive tool-less cases is a bit daft, because how many extra hours did you have to work (after tax) to buy the expensive case in the first place. Plus my £14 case has tool-less harddrive bays.
 
Wow... I'm surprised at the poll options and also the results!

My case cost me US$1800. Though that was with a phase change included. it was US$1000 without the phase.
 
Antec 900 FTW

I have the Antec 900 case I got for $50. It is the best case IMO because it is very modular and has the best cooling I've ever seen and looks sweet. I have yet to see a better case with simple but super efficient design. I will stick with this case for a long time until something can top it...which I doubt.
 
Humm i just did a listing on Newegg with the cases with most reviews..>Antex 900 is #1 (for good reason) followed by COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 (got that case too...good cheap design)
 
£40...Had it for 7 years, i clean and polish it every 3 months, all the mounts and threads are knackard...But still lovin' it!

Edit: It also came with a free 450 Watt PSU which i used for about 2 years before i bought a new 500 Watt one. After a year with my new one, It literally blew up and caught fire on me.. To which i replaced it with my original free 450 Watt, and i've been using it ever since :)
 
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