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NeRve · Sat Oct 15, 2005 9:08 pm

What's the best bang for buck case for under 100 given you like to overclock a bit... I was looking at Antec's Sonata II, but it looks like its going to cost an arm and a leg....

LicketySplit · Sat Oct 15, 2005 9:14 pm

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... 47-1878225

:wink:

NeRve · Sat Oct 15, 2005 9:18 pm

LicketySplit wrote:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0006OCZMQ/ref%3Dnosim/bestcardcom-20/103-9636447-1878225

What's a good quiet PSU that goes with that pretty well?

LicketySplit · Sat Oct 15, 2005 9:24 pm

Depending on needs and system...these are really nice.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817151023

NeRve · Sat Oct 15, 2005 9:25 pm

LicketySplit wrote:
Depending on needs and system...these are really nice.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817151023

Holy cow - that PSU alone is $99... I was more into the line of PSU + Case under $100....

LicketySplit · Sat Oct 15, 2005 9:31 pm

These are a good unit as well...and very quiet..if you dont need the fan controller, they are like 15 bucks cheaper.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817153012

Sat Oct 15, 2005 9:41 pm

$47-10MIR APEX
$45 Rosewill
$47 Fortron Source AX400-PN
$50 Rosewill
$55 Rosewill
$55½ CoolMax
$57 Fortron Source
$58 Fortron Source
$59½ XClio
$59½ CoolMax
$61 HiPro
$71 Antec TPII-380
$74 Fortron Source
All of those power supplies use a single 120mm fan rather than one or two 80mm fans. The $47 Fortron Source AX400-PN should be a decent unit.

Here is a power supply that isn't the same quality as those, but at $37 (delivered) for case, power supply and a 3½" floppy drive, it has got to be up there in "bang for the buck" when the budget is extremely tight.

This is a decent little case, similar in design to the Antec Performance series SX635.

NeRve · Sat Oct 15, 2005 9:56 pm

JustAnEngineer wrote:
$47-10MIR APEX
$45 Rosewill
$47 Fortron Source AX400-PN
$50 Rosewill
$55 Rosewill
$55½ CoolMax
$57 Fortron Source
$58 Fortron Source
$59½ XClio
$59½ CoolMax
$61 HiPro
$71 Antec TPII-380
$74 Fortron Source
All of those power supplies use a single 120mm fan rather than one or two 80mm fans. The $47 Fortron Source AX400-PN should be a decent unit.

Here is a power supply that isn't the same quality as those, but at $37 (delivered) for case, power supply and a 3½" floppy drive, it has got to be up there in "bang for the buck" when the budget is extremely tight.

Hmm all in all - Im learning towards the Sonata II since it comes with a Quiet Power II 450-watt PSU.... My friend was able to get it (PSU, CASE and all) at a Black Friday Sale for $79

, I may have to watch this year's sale....

NeRve · Sun Oct 16, 2005 12:25 am

How does an APEX PSU with a Antec SLK3000B Atx Super Mid Twr No Psu for $79.99 VS a Sonata II including PSU compare? Is the quiet level that much of a difference or will it hold?

Im looking at NewEgg.com and seeing the Spec options
Type, Maximum Power, PFC, Dual? Can anyone explain to me what these mean?

Sun Oct 16, 2005 1:52 am

For a newer system, you would like for your power supply to be ATX12V 2.01 compliant (which Newegg classifies as "Dual 12V"), meaning that it has two +12V outputs, a 4-pin "Pentium" ATX12V connector and a 24-pin main power connector (that is easily adaptable to older 20-pin motherboards).

Modern PCs draw nearly all of their power from the +12V lines. The amount of power available on the +3.3V and +5V lines is generally less important. All of the power supplies linked above claim at least 28 amperes combined on the two +12V lines. For anything short of a fully-loaded SLI Prescott system, this should be more than enough power.

However, you cannot just compare the manufacturer's claimed performance specifications, because some of the manufacturers lie more than others. Even if the numbers are factual, there's a heck of a difference between a peak and continuous rating. What we need is for a reviewer to take that power supply and apply a repeatably-controlled artificial load while analyzing the DC output with a digital oscilloscope.

Joeg_7 · Sun Oct 16, 2005 2:08 am

Don't buy an Apex psu. Go for the Sonata II. You can't get a better case and psu for the price.

Sun Oct 16, 2005 2:20 am

I wrote:
What we need is for a reviewer to take that power supply and apply a repeatably-controlled artificial load while analyzing the DC output with a digital oscilloscope.

I would like to see the X-Y charts that Damage could make with this data:
The X-axis would be DC load, in watts, from 0 to 400 for all of the charts.
Various charts could include on the Y-axis:
External audio noise (in decibels)
Exhaust temperature
AC power consumption (in watts)
DC output potential (in volts, at the END of the connectors)
Electrical noise on the DC output (in mV peak-to-peak)
Ripple on the DC output (in mV peak-to-peak)

If we had all of that, a quick glance at the charts would let you choose a power supply that met your most important criteria based on the performance range that you wanted.

LicketySplit · Sun Oct 16, 2005 9:36 am

Hey...thats a great idea..Diss?? Damage?? :lol:

Usacomp2k3 · Sun Oct 16, 2005 12:10 pm

I think I'm moving this one into SBA.

Sun Oct 16, 2005 12:59 pm

Usacomp2k3 wrote:
I think I'm moving this one into SBA.

Are you being greedy? If this could not stay in "Cases and Power Supplies", can any thread? :-?

LicketySplit · Sun Oct 16, 2005 4:08 pm

Yeah...really. Whazzup with that?

Sun Oct 16, 2005 5:53 pm

JustAnEngineer wrote:
I wrote:
What we need is for a reviewer to take that power supply and apply a repeatably-controlled artificial load while analyzing the DC output with a digital oscilloscope.
I would like to see the X-Y charts that Damage could make with this data:
The X-axis would be DC load, in watts, from 0 to 400 for all of the charts.
Various charts could include on the Y-axis:
External audio noise (in decibels)
Exhaust temperature
AC power consumption (in watts)
DC output potential (in volts, at the END of the connectors)
Electrical noise on the DC output (in mV peak-to-peak)
Ripple on the DC output (in mV peak-to-peak)

If we had all of that, a quick glance at the charts would let you choose a power supply that met your most important criteria based on the performance range that you wanted.

I think SPCR is already doing some of it with the various loads and stuff?

Usacomp2k3 · Mon Oct 17, 2005 2:11 pm

JustAnEngineer wrote:
Usacomp2k3 wrote:
I think I'm moving this one into SBA.
Are you being greedy? If this could not stay in "Cases and Power Supplies", can any thread?

They're both my forums, so I don't know how that can be perceived as greedy. :wink:

Basically any thread that is asking for recommendations on how to spend $$ goes into SBA. This includes CPU's, mobo's, and cases in addition to full-systems.

If he had asked primarily about users opinions on the Sonata II or Apex PSU's, then it would have stayed here, however since even the title states a help-me-spend-my-$$ style thread, thus I moved it.

FroBozz_Inc · Mon Oct 17, 2005 2:15 pm

I would go for the Antec Sonata case with the TruPower PSU.

Very nice bang for the buck there. Nice case too!

Joeg_7 · Mon Oct 17, 2005 2:28 pm

the Sonata II comes with an Antec SmartPower (SP 2.0) psu which is what you want because the truepower seriers are the ones that have been failing recently.

CampinCarl · Tue Oct 18, 2005 8:13 pm

Sonata II is over 100 dollars at Newegg...

Rookie · Tue Oct 18, 2005 8:31 pm

I actually bought the Sonata II about a month ago, and I am very pleased. I got if for $90 something at MonarchComputers.com. Seriously, Monarch and FedEx got it to me on Monday when I ordered it Friday afternoon.

That's Newegg speed if not better.

The case is great, the rail system through me for a loop at first but I love this system much more than the typical drive bays. Also, the rubber around the mounts for the harddrives was a nice touch. The power supply is pretty quiet, and the case comes with an additional mount for a 120 mm fan toward the front of the case which comes in handy. I was also surprised at how effectively my cpu was cooled. There is a "vent shaft" that hovers over the cpu to pull in cool air from outside of the case. Anyways, it's a great buy and I also reccomend it.

Joeg_7 · Tue Oct 18, 2005 11:39 pm

PerfectCr wrote:
Another vote for the Sonata II. Love it. I don't use the stupid duct thingy tho. Very quiet case and can be found for near $100. PSU that is comes with is great too. 420W TruPower 2.0.

the Sonata II comes with a 450w SmartPower 2.0. which has proven more reliable than the TruePowers lately.

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Best Bang For Buck Case (incl PSU) Under 100?

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