New Case Time

Not in any hurry to switch to AM2 so will upgrade my case. Currently using a centurian 532, which is excellent, but an upgrade to something larger will enable water cooling if i decide on that route + afew more hds.

I'm after a black case

1st choice is stacker:-
Shortlist :-
CM Stacker 830 £157.32 - black version is being launched but am not totally convinced that extra £ gives much better performance than old stacker. Great style.

CM Stacker (STC-T01) Silver trim Silver trim £101.63 Probably favourite atm though finding a silver trim black case is difficult in uk. Not even sure which model code is black i believe the STC-T01UW has the silver trim with black case but would appreciate confirmation rather than get wrong colour

Yeong Yang 0221XB ATX Black Cube Server £149.23 is a somewhat radical departure but looks an interesting choice that should be good cooling any experiences with this unit appreciated.

Thermaltake Armor £99.95 - Prefer the stacker but this is a good contender & seems to be more readily available in uk. There is a new 25CM fan model available, not sure about effectiveness.

Have also browsed browsed briefly @ the Lian-li range but i want predominantly 120mm solutions & the flexability for cooling/drive configuration of the stacker layout is attractive. The Lian-li compartment strategy + price have led me to the above shortlist.

Any 1st hand experience, advise, anecdotes, warnings appreciated.

thanks

The armor gives you all the comfort for the stacker but for 55 quid less so thats
what I would go for.

personaly i would say keep ur one and mod it, you can't beat a modded case, well that what i think. but out of them i would go for the

Yeong Yang 0221XB ATX Black Cube Server

beacause u should not run out of space for water cooling and general other stuff and it look cool

I'm not sure re armor the STC-T01 seems more robust for only a couple of £ different.

Hi Karl,
how u doing
not seen that case thanks may be worth considering instead of the armor which i think is good but looks a bit .. well flimsy & glittery, it doesn't quite get u like the others.

I have a 4in3 in my current case & plan to use 2 of them in the new. I find mounting 2 hd top & bottom gives good hd temps & airflow into the case. the idea of an inverted mobo is something else that i've seen gives good results. Only thing i don't like are the plugs etc., fixed on the bottom + the logo is a bit prominent.

Edit:
tomoracle290,
Current case is reasonably modded as i want it's just not big enough for :-
1) watercooling
2) can't add extra HDs without impacting cooling.
Am getting best cooling i've ever had from :-
Centurian 530
Memory Cooling Mod

But yep your right re the looks it cool & different, only real downside is no front sockets usb/1394, but it looks a modders dream. MODTHEBOX review

uh oh, i smell modding
http://www.svc.com/cs901bk.html

that would make for a great watercooling case. Plenty of room for a radiator built onto the top with 3 120's, a pump, and all that good stuff.

cut a window, re-paint for a nice glossy finish, toss some orange cathodes and UV blue liquid coolant in there (complimentary colors - art nerds FTW) at the least.

the 4in3 is a tight fit ...

Click to expand...

Hehe On current case i have gromits fitted but only a single plate. have found the same it fits snug & won't slide at all.

given need for more hd if going the stacker style route will add a 2nd 4in3. my 1st currenly is level with rear 120mm giving straight through airflow. I just put 2 drives in module top & bottom giving a good clean airflow. will populate the same on 2nd.

will look @ further cooling depending what case i go 4.

I prefer the unit on the desk, on the left.

Click to expand...

I usae a coffee table next to armchair (lcd is wall mounted case to right.

If you need any detail, pix, or measurements for your app, let me know.

Click to expand...

reallly appreciate it thanks.
that sprocket looks really cool

Thanks jmt391,
but i 'm in the uk have searched & can't find any1 offering the case you linked.

cheers

I'd go for the original Stacker. The 830 is nice and big, but I think the original is bigger still, particularly good if you want to have both water cooling AND more drives. I've currently got 4 hard drives in my 830, soon to be 5 and I don't know where any water cooling gear would fit in it. You certainly wouldn't want to cut such a nicely crafted case up.

I know it IS possible to get hold of an original stacker in black & silver in the UK, a friend of mine just did - though he cited similar difficulties in finding it. When he comes online I'll see where he got it from.

I know it IS possible to get hold of an original stacker in black & silver in the UK, a friend of mine just did - though he cited similar difficulties in finding it. When he comes online I'll see where he got it from

Click to expand...

would really appreciate that. It's quite funny current case was my 1st black case, but have since added black lcd, kb etc., & think it looks pretty good, so would like to stick with it. It's quite difficult trying to tell what colour the case is from the crappy pics you see.
Thought this was black with blue stripes Stacker Blue ??? until i saw this The real pics don't want to order & make that mistake.

cheers

@Karl - Hi this is shanks the sleuth
Have struggled to find your case in uk until now why u might ask ??
Aerocool Uk
Have found some reviews:-
Aerocool Masstige
AeroCool CoolView appears to be same unit as Masstige but with door.
3dExtreme
AeroCool Masstige Case Review
CM Stacker vs. MountainMods Twice7 vs Aerocool Mastige

Leaving the best till last AeroCool Masstige 10 Bay ATX/BTX Black Gaming Case half the price of the cheapest case i started looking at.

So thanks Karl i think i owe u 1, will probably get 1 in next couple of weeks & give it a try.

Supershanks, I'm afraid it turns out I made a mistake - my friend had actually given in and got a silver one. Sorry about that.

cheers Anjow thanks for trying. I found these not sure if there black like i said earlier Coolermaster Stacker STC-T01 Silver Trim ??????

That looks like it is black to me. If you click 'more images' then look at the left one the top of the case is clearly black.

Thanks again karl. I'll only be mounting 2 in each 4in3 but will use the bays above ther psu probably 1st. i have 3 hd currently & plan on getting 2x80gb hitachi sata 2 to go in a raid. The 2 drives in my 4in3 atm are running @22 & 32C.

luck

The original CM Stacker is such an awesome case. It's perfect except for one thing. I think it should have came with a 120mm blowhole on top rather than an 80mm, and used a better non restrictive grill. You can always mod it if you care to though. I modded mine and cut out an 80mm hole for the fan and put in a non restrictive wire grill. Anyway besides that it's my perfect case, period. It's great for water cooling too. At $150US it's not cheap, but in my opinion it's on par or better than many of the high end $300+ cases.

@Anjow well i rang E-buyer from that link i gave, very helpful sent some1 down to warehouse 2 check it - not black. They actually were good enough to provide me with the black code = STC-T01UWK. so as your m8 found there appears to be none in uk. Have emailed cm sales support for info.

Plan B is now swinging into operation will get a Aerocool Bay Dream in next week or so & see how it goes.

@Alien1099 yep your right just a pity they can't supply them.

thanks every1.

Have you looked here?

http://www.specialtech.co.uk/spshop/customer/home.php?cat=154

or here?

http://www.xcase.co.uk/acatalog/Coolermaster_.html

I really wanted the black one too, but didn't want to wait on shipping and pay a higher price on Newegg. I could only find the Silver one locally here in Phoenix, AZ USA so I got that one. The silver one still looks sweet and SHARP! Really, it looks killer. I recommend you get the windowed side panel for it though. It really makes things look nice and you can show off your stuff inside the computer. You won't be disappointed if you "settle" for it. You could always paint it later on. The first website I linked appears to have the black one anyway. I hope you read this message before you order that Aerocool or you will forever be disappointed.

http://members.cox.net/alien1099/case01.jpg

There's a picture of mine with the sidepanel with window. I added the fan for extra cooling for my video cards.

Oh Yes, may have found a place in france where carriage isn't that much.

Supershanks said:

Oh Yes, may have found a place in france where carriage isn't that much.

Click to expand...

I edited the message and deleted what I'd originally wrote. I hope you reread it!

yes thanks this is PC-Look.com 176.62 Euros which is about £121 which isn't that bad, about the best chance.