Computer advice, new case

**Grumpy1954** · 13th July 2012, 19:16

Hi. Both our PC's are getting a bit long in the tooth, my wife's one keeps beeping overnight, "morse code" style if left on.
I'm thinking of building two new ones. She spends a lot of time online, often with 4 or 5 pages with 15 or so tabs, plus 4 or 5 chat tabs and Big Fish online games.
I don't use mine as heavily but do like flight sims.
Would this case be a suitable base for our "next Generation"? Any other (polite) suggestions welcome.

In-Win Griffin Midi Tower Mesh Gaming Case with 22cm Fan E-Sata Port

Excellent thermal solution – 22cm side fan, 9cm rear fan, space for 3 x 12cm fans
Tool-free design – tool-free installation of ODD, FDD, HDD drives and a screwless side panel
High expansion capability – 10 drive bay capacity, including 4 x 5.25”& 1 x 3.5” external bays, along with 5 x 3.5” internal bays
Hidden front I/O ports - the hidden front I/O port design still allows the easy access and removal of the eSATA, USB and audio connections

Griffin, the legendary creature has returned! Combining aircraft and science fiction design, the Griffin is making its own rules when it comes down to deliver the best in the gaming chassis battlefield. Hidden front I/O slots with 3D structure features, a tremendous 22cm fan, the ability to accommodate a high-end VGA card up to 280mm and 10 drive bays are only few of the features this royal member of In Win family has. The Griffin, as the symbol of power, represents strength and the pride of heaven and earth and is ready to win any battle for you. Every detail of this chassis defines it as an outstanding gaming machine soul.

Griffin is more than just a case; it offers an ample space for future expansions and makes assembling a PC a fun, easy, and enjoyable experience. The Griffin not only offers a supreme design concept but also tremendous features for both novice gamers and pro players.

On offer at Maplins.

**Penfold101** · 13th July 2012, 19:24

I wouldn't get a pre-built one mate - especially from Maplins. If you need to, try Scan or a proper company like that. Even today's basic ones will be able to handle that lot easily and they're built with proper components and not the cheap end rubbish Maplins will use.

Do you have a budget in mind...?

**John Bishop** · 13th July 2012, 19:26

When I used to build desktops I used to get mine from ebuyer. Usually had a very good selection

**Grumpy1954** · 13th July 2012, 19:44

Originally Posted by Penfold101

I wouldn't get a pre-built one mate - especially from Maplins. If you need to, try Scan or a proper company like that. Even today's basic ones will be able to handle that lot easily and they're built with proper components and not the cheap end rubbish Maplins will use.

Do you have a budget in mind...?

no more than £50 would be good unless PSU included. Our current boards have the two power connections and SATA terminals, though we run IDE, ddr2. PSU's are only around 350w, which I doubt is enough. I have a motherboard and PSU I can use, just don't think any of the spare cases I have are adequate. My PC isn't really giving much grief, sometimes won't switch back on, get Windows then black/grey screen then nothing. Wendy's started munching RAM stopped now but I think it's in need of replacement.

**Penfold101** · 13th July 2012, 19:48

Ahh right - you're talking about just the case and not the whole PC...? The trouble now is that after a certain age you can't get components that are compatible with older motherboards, the components available won't be any major improvement over what you already have, and so there comes a point where you need to upgrade the whole thing to get any proper improvement...

**Grumpy1954** · 13th July 2012, 19:56

Originally Posted by Penfold101

Ahh right - you're talking about just the case and not the whole PC...? The trouble now is that after a certain age you can't get components that are compatible with older motherboards, the components available won't be any major improvement over what you already have, and so there comes a point where you need to upgrade the whole thing to get any proper improvement...

Yes, that's the idea, build at least one, preferably two new ones from the ground up. What do you think of this on SCAN? front mounted USB or two would be great.

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/tsuna...roductFeatures

**Penfold101** · 13th July 2012, 20:05

Personally I'd be going for something more from a well-known name. I've been an avid reader of Custom PC for years, and their online community bit-tech features regular system build recommendations.

From their latest selection of the budget build I'd be going for something more like this:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/antec...g-case-w-o-psu

...which also has a link on the page on the right hand side to the review on Hexus, another well-known review website.

Higher quality cases are generally better at cooling, airflow, connections etc.

**Grumpy1954** · 13th July 2012, 20:24

Ok, Midland Computer bloke at Cosford reckons Wendy's probs are caused by overheating, only has the psu and cpu fans. We run near identical set ups, with I think 250gb graphics cards, mine's a Nvidia geforce 6200 - like the IDE drives, we stayed with AGP rather than PCI-express. I really wanted to get two cases, but will only have around £50 to spare this week. Are maplins cases no good? I liked the look of them and the Tsunami one. The one you found has good venitlation, just not keen on the look

**Penfold101** · 13th July 2012, 20:29

Originally Posted by Grumpy1954

Ok, Midland Computer bloke at Cosford reckons Wendy's probs are caused by overheating, only has the psu and cpu fans. We run near identical set ups, with I think 250gb graphics cards, mine's a Nvidia geforce 6200 - like the IDE drives, we stayed with AGP rather than PCI-express. I really wanted to get two cases, but will only have around £50 to spare this week. Are maplins cases no good? I liked the look of them and the Tsunami one. The one you found has good venitlation, just not keen on the look

He could well be right -you need airflow through the case or it will heat up fairly quickly even under no load. The cases you get at Maplins are the equivalent of body kits from Halfords - they may look good and do the job but they aren't Irmscher parts, if you get what I mean? Things like IDE drives, AGP graphics etc are things of the past - you simply won't find the motherboard connections for them these days, and you end up having to replace everything at once because upgrading simply isn't an option...

Obviously at the end of the day it's what you can afford and what you want mate - my issue is that I'm a bit of a geek at heart...

I run my PC with the side off so I can look at all it's geekiness...

**Grumpy1954** · 13th July 2012, 20:42

Nice looking PC there. Ok, I realise what you're saying, money is an issue, unfortunately, at present. We did have a 3rd pc, same spec, in case one of ours crashed, but it's thrown a hissy fit on the operating system. Need to keep Wendy's Net access going or she'll get electrical DT's. Had been planning to go to sata drives and Windows 7 on the next build, sata was new out when I built these and a little unreliable, like Bill gate's products. Ddr3 would be good as well. What do you reckon to the Antec 200 version?
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/antec...roductFeatures
any idea what Scan's P&P costs are like? Was sticking fairly local so I could go look and collect.