Fuzzy Thoughts

The case of a computer is comparable to the outer walls of a building. It holds the rest of the computer, and the windows (fans) help regulate heat inside. The bigger cases generally cost more (but also have more room inside), and some of them have a clear window that you can look in to see the insides of the computer. Well, I bought my case, and have received it, so I guess I can post about it now.

When looking for parts for the computer, I looked only at Newegg, since I have purchased tech items from them in the past, and have been extremely satisfied. They have some of the best deals I have seen, and their shipping kicks ass (I have had a few things physically in my possession before I got the email with the tracking number).

I’ve had all the parts picked out for a while now, so the only thing left to do is to purchase them, and I figured that the case would be a good place to start, since I can’t do anything else without that. And it turns out that the case I purchased was not the one that had been on my wishlist for the past four months.

One of my friend’s built his own computer last summer, and I liked the case he had picked out. The fans had blue LED’s and there was a green light bar in the front of the case; it just looked cool, and had enough room to hold anything I’d want to put into my computer and still have sufficient air flow to help keep everything running cool (temperature wise). But I decided that I wanted to look cases at a site other than Newegg, and I’m glad I did, because it ended up with me saving some money. And as any college student knows, saving money is always a cool thing.

One of the few sites that I have seen the more hardware/software inclined people that I talk with frequently is Tiger Direct. So I went over there to take a look at what cases they had, because while I think blue light coming from my computer is cool, it would peobably annoy me after a while, and probably keep me up at night since if it produces too much light

So I had to start buying parts, and I figured a good part to start with would be the case. From Newegg, I had picked out a case that my friend had used on his build. But I didn’t end up going with that. Instead, I got an Aluminus case from Ultra Products

It’s big, which will help with cooling, and it has plenty of room for everything I currently want to put in it, plus enough room to allow me to upgrade in the future. This case has enough room for me to use it until I die, which hopefully won’t be for a long time. And the case is aluminum, so that’s an extra plus, but despite being made from a relatively lightweight material, the shipping weight is still 25 pounds. The power supply is 700 watts, so that’s plenty for me, at least for what I see myself needing for the immediate future. If I need more power after adding more drives, cards, etc, then I can always get a more powerful PSU.

So I’m getting a $200 case+power supply combo, for less money than what I had originally planned to spend, and it only cost me $170 once shipping was included. Better case, plus a better PSU. And as an extra plus, the PSU has a modular cable system, so I only need to use the cables that I need, and reduce clutter inside the case.

Now to just get the money for the rest of the parts….