Cheap mATX case?

Kinda doubt it but is there anywhere i can get a cheaper BASIC sturdy mATX case? I don't wanna spend 50 - 60 dollars on a case, I can find 35- 40 dollar cases but by time shipping's done with me i'll spend 60 dollars +.

Still saving up for that quad core build, $113.00 with a possible $100.00 more in a few days; so far, but seems that I'm also gonna need a case, PSU, HDD and CD drive, Ive found an HDD and CD drive for $40.00 total.

 

Check this out, I bought one and it's pretty decent.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190372741538&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

 

not bad, thanks.

 

I got mine for under $30 shipped. It's not bad looking, pretty sturdy and I'm building it for a back-up. Not that I need another computer. :-D

 

Try here at 3bTech.net http://3btech.net/cases2-basic.html .

Free ground shipping. I've bought a lot of stuff from them so they are a good outfit.

You still have that P4M900-M4 setup for sale? Might be interested, have some one who wants a basic PC and I have all the other stuff (HD, DVD drive, Vid card, monitor)

Private message me or send an email.

Sam

 

I hate to be negative again Bio but you may want to think how far you are going to go with this build.
I know you're looking to build somewhat of a gaming machine, what you must think about is...

A: Is a microATX case going to be big enough to hold things like graphics cards you may purchase at a later date, they can be pretty big, mine is 11 inches long and would never fit in a MATX case.

B: When building a games machine you need to think of temps and airflow, buying a small cheap case is not going to give you much airflow.

Nowadays CPU's and G-cards run quite hot.
I bought the Antec 900 case ...

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

I know it's pricey but it is a big case, has 2x120mm fans on the front, 1x120mm fan on the back and a 210mm fan on top with a side window capable of holding another fan (not included)
Be aware this case also mounts the PSU at the bottom (PSU not included)

This case keeps my hardware running cool enough to not worry about it.

Just something else you must think about.
I know you're short on funds but like I said before, just buying what you can afford right now could end up costing you more down the road.

Example: You buy a $25 case, het your quad core and mobo etc and run it fine with onboard graphics. In a year or 6 months or whatever you may want to upgrade your graphics and go and get yourself a 5000 series ATI card, it ain't gonna fit in that case and even if it does it's likely to start heating up, resulting in excess heat inside your case eventually resulting in damaged hardware.

Don't get me wrong, not telling you what to buy, just informing you of the facts.

 

Good points mentioned. Mine is basically a back-up unit to the "mother ship."

I'll post pics of mine after it's built, so you can get a better idea of what will actually fit into that size case.

 

Yeah I need to build a backup, just having enough problems with my main machine atm lol

Reading over my post it does sound like I'm trying to put off Bio from doing what he wants, I'm not, I have a good idea of what he wants from a different thread and am just trying to help him avoid the mistakes I made.

 

I did a quick slap together, to kind of help you get a better idea of what that case looks like built. Notice that there are no ribbons and nothing is really hooked up.
The mobo, power supply, 1 Dvd drive and 1 hard drive are in place.
There is a spot for a front fan and the cover is vented at the bottom.
There are 4 expansion slots that could house cards of no more than 5" tall. From front to back of case, there is about 13" of usable space.
It's a little snug in there, but I've seen a whole lot worse. I hope my little mock-up demo helps.

 

Nice little case but as I mentioned about airflow with a gaming machine, look at how close the CPU is to the PSU, drop a couple of drives in there, wire it all up and throw in a newish graphics card and you got yourself a little oven lol
Perfect for backup as you say. But for a main pc dealing with gaming hardware?

I'll take a pic of mine when I find my camera (damn kid has it somewhere no doubt lol)
Just so you can see the size difference and it will explain what I'm talking about

 

Like I said, it's a back-up. I'll know more when I get it all together and run some temperature checks.

Based on my somewhat limited experience, I wouldn't recommend a micro for gaming.

Here is my main rig. Don't really do any gaming, but if I needed to, I'm sure it would more than do.

It's cooler than I ever was in high school and just may be larger than my 1st apartment.:booger

 

Nice, I quite like that.

Here's a few views of mine, excuse the messy wiring, I havn't got round to strapping it up yet.

This is the inside (obviously), note the space around the CPU and PSU etc, plenty of airflow room.

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm230/Nedlamar/putershot.jpg

This is the Frontish view. Just adding these so Bio can see what the 900 looks like

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm230/Nedlamar/pcside.jpg

Same view with side cover on, note the space for another fan which I will put in one of these days lol

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm230/Nedlamar/pcside2.jpg

And the top down view showing sockets and 210mm fan.

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm230/Nedlamar/pctop.jpg

By the way, you can't see that dust, it's a figment of your imagination :-D

Edit: Because of the camera flash you can't see the LED's very well, but they are nice and bright but not overpowering.

 

I just cleaned mine. The insides are not that tidy when it comes to wiring though.

It looks better closed than opened. Kind of like that closet that most of have. rolleyes

 

I wont be able to get a Gfx card right away, I just wanna get the basic build, So i think a basic case for now anyway would do just to get me started, later on i do intend on getting a video card and a case more suited for what i want, that is a nice case though, one of the few i have looked at that I'm keeping in mind of possibly getting in the future when I'm ready to take my build further. I'll probably need a new PSU, Case among other things when the time comes..

 

It is a nice little case. If you need something cheap to get you up and running, it's a start.

Once you see how your hardware works together and you grow out of it, you can always use it as a back-up system.

That seller went from running about 10 to 20 auctions a week, to just a few, so you might want to jump on it if interested.

I almost forgot to mention that he raised his starting bids, so he may be running out.

 

For a start I think it will do, As i wont be doing any gaming till much later on but when i do decide to get a video card and other things i have to agree with Nedlamar that i'll need a bigger and better case.

 

Yeah Bio, cases are kind of like homes. A small starter home is fine when you 1st get hitched, but as the family grows, you may need more room.

Unlike homes, the kids may eventually move out. With a computer, you tend to add more stuff until it bursts.

 

Bio- Go to User CP and under Settings & Options click on Edit Options and you can turn on private messaging.

Sam

 

Completely agree, a small case will do for now
Once again as in the other thread I just wanted to make sure you understand what is needed for what you want.
Besides, $20-30 isn't going to be hard to get again lol

And as I mentioned earlier, if you do decide to go with the Antec 900 or any similar cases, make sure the PSU has long cables. I had to "modify" my PSU cables when I first got the case until I could afford the new PSU.

Glad to see you're starting to get your stuff rolling

 

Good thing you said something about the psu cables, i would of never thought to make sure they were long enough. Yeah I'll have $213.00 on the 22nd, still have other computer things I'm trying to sell, from the looks of it i may end up needing a total of $270.00 to 350.00 to get everything i need. I'm probably gonna start out with that case, put a 20 dollar sata DVD-CD rom drive in it and a 20 dollar 40gb sata HDD so, with the case and the two drives that'll be $67.45, then what ever i need for the board CPU and ram; Not sure if it was you but in the other thread someone stated that i could get a quad core board, ram and cpu for about $200.00, In that case I'm looking at 267.00 plus what ever id need for a basic starter PSU just to get me going.

 

Yeah around $200 depending, like I said then, Newegg have sales all the time, sign up for their email flyer.
Good to see you're getting there, I know all too well how frustrating it can be when you simply don't have the money.

 

i would recommend the athlon Quad 620, it is under $100 and is a great cpu!

Burrell

 

I'm sure it is :-D I'm just tryin to keep the budget for the cpu board and ram at $200.00. There's only so much i have to sell and If I'm really lucky i may be able to come up with a whole 3 hundred dollars, I have to get that cheap case, the cheap cd and hd i found, The board cpu and ram and a psu, with maybe 270 to 3 hundred dollars. Note, I'm not buying a hundred dollar psu right away, I'm going cheap for now just to get started.

 

Really though Bio of all the things you don't want to cheap out on it's the PSU, while it may seem a simple device , remember it supplies power to your entire setup.
Which also means if it goes wrong then it "could" take your setup with it.
Seriously it may seem like a cheap deal but could end up costing you a new system, for the sake of $30-40

something like this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171038

Wold be good for you for a while, it's one step down from the one I got so I know it's a good PSU and since I have quite a bit more to power I know it will suffice for you.

Seriously, it's well worth spending $60-70 on a recommended PSU than $30-40 for a no name one.

Even with that PSU I still quick priced you an AMD X4, 2gb 1066 Kingston Ram and an Asus Board for under $300, just lol, drop to an X2 and well under $300

 

One of Newegg's combo specials has a Athlon II X2 Regor 2.8Ghz (65 watt dual-core) and a Asus M4A785-M mobo for $117. Figure approx $40-$50 for 2Gb or $90- $100 for 4Gb of ram.

Memory prices are unreal compared to what I paid for 8Gb a year ago, just about double.

Sam

 

Yeah thats true, I noticed a major drop in prices all round until about 6 months ago and all the new gear started comming out and old stuff was discontinued and newer old stuff dropped in price but all the RAM just went nuts.
Having said that I remember having to pay a pound UK per GB for HDD's lol

 

I agree. Look for a sale, rather than just going for the least expensive.

About 2 months ago, I picked up a Coolmax V-500, 500 watt for $19.95 and it even had a $10 rebate on top of that.

I had no need for it at the time and it's still in the box. I figured that I will be building something soon enough and that was too good to pass up.

 

Yep, I picked up a HannsG 24" 1080p HD monitor for $199 no tax, free shipping last month

Like I said Bio, sign up for Neweggs email flyer. Some awesome deals.

 

Take your time and shop around and you might snag some decent stuff on sale.

My last build, I set a budget for what I wanted and even changed my mind a few times in between.

It was agonizing having to wait until I was financially ready to go shopping, but I kept telling myself that I didn't want to compromise, just to get it done sooner.

Not to say that you shouldn't snag a cheap case, or used Dvd drive to get you started, just do yourself a favor and don't skimp on the stuff that you plan on hanging on to.

 

3 hundred just for the board, ram and cpu? that sucks, i probably wont be able to come up with that and 60 - 70 more for the PSU and then yet another 60 - 70 dollars more for the case, HDD and CD drive i found, that's a lot of money. If I'm lucky I might be able to do 3 hundred period.. that's for everything..

Edit: what ever happened to being able to get a quad core board, cpu and ram for 2 hundred dollars?

 

You can check into something like this: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5688220&CatId=2417
and this: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5483312&CatId=2368

 

nice..but that's still not the quad core cpu board and ram i was told about that id be able to get for two hundred dollars. Kinda figured such a deal was too good to be true and didn't exist..

Edit: and i really don't wanna get stuck with a low brand again like bio star, i was thinking something like asus.

 

Here's 2 more options. A few more $$, but better boards.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5688201&CatId=2417
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5688209&CatId=2417

The gigabyte will fit the smaller case. While the Asus needs more room.

 

eh.. that's all well and good but i still have to keep in the budget of two hundred dollars for board, cpu and ram; otherwise i'm not gonna be able to come up with enough money.. and I'm not so sure I'm willing to go with a gigabyte board.

 

I have two asus boards. Asus imo is very good and stable

My suggestion

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131603
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103656

Those both are around $216

 

good deals, but again, i need to stay in the two hundred dollar budget for the board cpu AND ram like someone mentioned before that id be able to do. Otherwise this build is gonna end up costing me 4 - 5 hundred dollars or more, I don't have that much money.

 

You cant get a quad core cpu ram and mobo for 200

prob can get a dual core cpu for that price.

 

Your in luck I found them all for under 200

Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131613
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145239
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103704

 

Is that the 24.6" ? I got the HannsG HH251HPB 24.6" for $179 & free shipping 2 weeks ago. Love it.

Sam

 

You may have to raise the $200 just a smidge, if you looking for a quad core, mATX motherboard and ram. Here's a few more:
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0316811
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0325941
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0285254

$225 including shipping

 

Didn't you say you needed a PSU?

I was reading some of the older posts on this thread. I would highly suggest staying away from low price power supplies.

My suggestion http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341016

 

No CPU Cooler since it's an OEM CPU

 

I missed that. My bad!! rolleyes

 

It's all good :-D

 

I think you were replying to me there lol, anyway no you read that wrong, that was $300 for a quad, mobo, ram AND PSU
Thats also a 2.8 quad and 1066 DDR3 1066 RAM, both quite high end, like I said drop to a dual and lower ram and you could probably drop that to nearly $230.
You said you may get $300 so I priced you in at $300
I know your budget, I wouldn't price over it now would I lol

 

$200 would go alot further with a dual core, depending on your needs.

 

Ok here...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103681 X2 chip $65 (Good chip, only very slightly lower than the one I have)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128397 Giga Mobo with HD4200 onboard graphics, good board as far as I can tell, I'm not very familiar with Giga's but not heard anything bad. $90

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134751 2GB Kingston 1066 RAM $55

Plus the PSU I suggested $75

Total = $285

Thats a pretty good rig, with the higher ram and only slightly lower CPU it's probably faster than mine minus my graphics card.

Add in an X4 instead of Dual and Add $35

OR Go low...

Same PSU $75
Combo, CPU, mobo, G-Card 4350 1gb
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.324123
$125
RAM = http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134192 2gb Kingston 667, $41

Total = $241

The combo isn't bad, Elitegroup although low end aren't bad boards, I've put a few in for people and they have been fine, they are money savers, you get what you pay for.........except with PSU's lol, just don't cheap out on the PSU. You'll regret it.

You need to get as much money as you canmuster and I'm sure between us we can set you up with a half decent machine within your price range, remember none of this stuff is on much of a sale either.

BTW the reason I suggested that PSU is because I KNOW 99.9999% it will do what you want and is a good stable PSU, I have 2 of the same model but 600w instead of 550w which I suggested.

 

Here is my most recent build:
Azza Orion Mid Tower $29.99 (after $20 rebate)

MSI - Micro Star International K9N6PGM2-V MCP61 AM2+ mATX Motherboard $47.99

AMD AMD® Boxed Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6000+ $74.99

Western Digital Caviar SE 160GB 7,200RPM Serial ATA-300 Hard Drive OEM $39.99

Antec Basiq 500 Watt ATX 12V Power Supply $39.99

OCZ Technology Vista Performance 4GB DDR2-800 (PC-6400) DIMM Memory Kit (Two 2GB Memory Modules) $29.99 (after $10 rebate)

(2) Samsung 22x DVD±RW Burner with Dual/Double Layer Support OEM $24.99 each

QVS Black Serial ATA Cable 18" $4.99 (for the 2nd Dvd burner I bought about 2 weeks ago)

Total with taxes $336.98

No complaints at all. But if I get the itch, I may pull that board and processor and go quad.

You can do a nice system and be around that $300 mark.

 

What is the onboard Graphics like on that board?

And how are you finding the x2? Same chip I have, it's pretty good under pressure eh?
I've found I can push it quite hard before it starts dragging it's heels.

 

what would you do if you had only $250.00, would you keep saving for the quad core or just get the dual core? I would go for the dual core but.. i don't know if it'd meet my needs, I deff don't want something that would equal an intel 800mhz chip; I don't wanna end up bottle necking again when the time comes that i want to put in a nice 1gb or so Gfx card; i want it to work at it's fullest, No cpu holding it back. I may also decide later on to go for higher end games like it was mentioned before, if i decide to do so i want to have more of a chance in doing so.

I'm gonna be honest, I have about $253.00 and reaching the 300.00 mark is gonna be hard enough, I'll still need a case and a CD drive, I will be able to possibly save 20 dollars if i can use my IDE HDD.