Okay, This isn’t a technical question, but one that I’d definitely like to hear the opinions and insight of the Tech Republic Pros. It’s something that I’ve been pondering for a while and hope I’ll get some good feedback…
As many of you know, I’m a long time Dec-head. I love Digital hardware and have a house full of Alphas, and other Dec iron. Since their merger with the Q…er…HP…I haven’t really seen a hardware vendor that really impressed me. There’s things I like about Dell and Sony…but not enough that I’d rather buy their hardware than build the systems myself.
It may be a little picky on my part (okay, its very picky), but one thing I hate about white-boxes/clones is how cheap and awful they tend to look. I don’t understand buying $2000 worth of top end hardware then sticking it in crummy case that makes it look like a $499 computer show special.
So…I’m looking for recommendations. It seems the better “corporate” cases are simply of a higher standard than the clone cases. Some vendors (SGI and Apple in particular) make beautiful and well engineered cases. I still love the Digital Personal Workstation towers. I’m not really concerned about color, though aesthetics do matter and I want the parts to be thesame color…no white and black drives stuck in a blue or silver case. I don’t like sharp edges, cheap components, flimsy parts etc.
What matters the most is that the enclosure is well designed. I like screwless entry (the handle/door panel in the Apples is great), solid construction, convenient internal access, etc. I’ve seen the Lian-Li and Antec cases and these are okay but not exactly what I want.
I’d like to hear what you think and see links to superior case designs. If you show me something that blows me away and I order it immediately I’ll throw in bonus points. I look forward to hearing what you use and recommend…