Opinions wanted about NIKAO Noblesse enclosure.

[CougTek]

Hi,

I saw that enclosure on sale on my pricelist and I wonder if it would be as good as a similarly priced Antec SX830? It sure looks nice (at least IMO) and if it weights 20lbs without the PS, it must not be flimsy. And the 11 bays would be great for my server.

It must not be as functional as the Antec, but since I already have two samples of the later, I'm looking for something with a different look.

Here's the picture of the front side :

What do you think about it? Anyone had the chance to try it?

 

[James]

That's quite the case, Coug. I don't know anything about it, I wonder what the blue stuff on the front is made of?

 

[Handruin]

I don't know how functional it is, but I kind of like it. It would be nice if their site had better pictures of it, I'd want to see more of the inside.

I was looking at the same Antec, I love my chenming 901A (antec SX1240) and the SX830 is a good compromise.

 

[Buck]

It would be great if that front, blue, panel would keep that same cobalt colored luminosity as the picture illustrates.

BR

 

[CougTek]

Well Doug, if you are really interested to know if the case's good, just find 10 other persons interested to know it and if all of you send me 5$ (even just 5$ CDN!), I'll buy it and tell you my impressions. :mrgrn:

 

[Tea]

Now would they be real impressions? Or just virtual impressions? I'm sending you five virtual dollars. Seeing as they are virtual dollars,they can be whatever currency you want.

 

[flagreen]

It could use 120mm fans instead of 80s. But it is a nice looking case with pleanty of drive room.

 

[CougTek]

There are unfortunately very few cases capable of holding 120mm fans. I'm talking about mod-free enclosures. I don't understand why the manufacturers don't introduce more of them. The 120mm fans produce more airflow and less noise than several smaller fans. And I presume the enclosures would be slightly cheaper to manufacture because if the holes for the fans are bigger, than they would save (albeit not much) on the quantity of metal needed.

BTW, I screwed my joke in my previous post. I should have writen 20 persons instead of 10. The case is 100$CDN without the PSU. Depending how I fare on the stock market this week (looking good so far), I might buy one even if I dopn't receive a bunch of 5$ cheques by the mail.

 

[CougTek]

Another interesting housing for m-ATX systems : Enlight EN-7600.

Unlike most small form factor enclosures, this one has good theoretic airflow with possibly two 92mm fans. It's not available in my area, but I point it out for others who might be interested to build a small box system.

 

[Handruin]

straying slightly off topic, but I was wondering how much 100 CDN was in USD so I found this neat web page:

http://www.xe.com/ucc/

Coug, if you have paypal I'll send you $5 USD (equals $7.92223 CDN)

 

[Mercutio]

The Compucase mid-tower is the ONE TRUE CASE. There can be no case before it. The Compucase mid-tower is all knowing, a bounty of goodness and light. The Compucase gives meaning to my dreary life.

 

[CougTek]

Doug,

Unfortunately, I don't have any account with Paypal and my past negative experiences with them don't incite me to open one either. I found the case for 90$CDN instead of 100$. I'm tempted, but I have other things with a higher priority on my purchase list. And the market dropped this afternoon so I won't make as much as I thought I would, so scratch the enclosure


Mercutio,

What's this Compucase enclosure you are talking about? I thought Compucase was a brand and that it includes several different models. Which one are you refering too?

 

[Mercutio]

I've used a couple of varieties of Compucase mid-towers. They're the most perfect inexpensive cases ever made. I'm not sure of the exact model number, since Compucase's web-site is a pile of dog-doo, but considering that, for the last two years I've been buying a finished case, with a 300W AMD approved power supply and a simple two thumbscrews and two side panels assembly for $30US, and you can see why I'm so happy with them.

They're extremely quiet, too. The only negative is there aren't really any options for placing additional fans inside the case. I haven't found this to be a problem.

If they were $50, I'd still buy them exclusively. If they were $70, I might think for a moment about an Aopen case, but buy the Compucase instead. They're just that good. Only brand of case I buy any more.

 

[timwhit]

Mercutio, Where do you buy them from?

 

[Mercutio]

Long story short: My distribtuor is a guy named Mike (I think his last name is Zhao or Shao or something), He operates out of his house in Portage and does his business with the screwdriver shops and little guys like me.
A trip to see Mike is a lot easier - and usually cheaper - than driving over to Ciecero to see Philippe at ComCapital.
If you want one, Tim, let me know and I'll get one for you.

 

[CougTek]

I found a review of that enclosure here. Although the reviewer was a bit too enthousiast about it to my taste, it sure looks like a very good enclosure nonetheless. It's not manufactured by NIKAO, only distributed by them. GMC (not the trucks) makes them. And it doesn't wait 20lbs but 28lbs so it must really be sturdy. It's not perfect (nothing is, not even me ;-) ), but certainly a goog bang for the buck. If I can get it for only 90$CDN, then it means you American folks should be able to find it for ~55$-60$.

The front panel's blue surface is indeed reflective like a mirror and it's made of plastic.

BTW, anyone wants to assemble a HP box that actually works? ;-)

 

[Buck]

If I'm seeing this case correctly, there is no slot to hold the opposing end of a full-length adapter card. I know it sounds odd, but my 3ware card is full length.

BR

 

[Cliptin]

If I'm seeing this case correctly, there is no slot to hold the opposing end of a full-length adapter card. I know it sounds odd, but my 3ware card is full length.

BR

How important is it to hold the opposing end of the adapter card? I'v seen cases with the slots but I don't think it matters that much, :?:

 

[Handruin]

After seeing the review, I don't find the case to be as nice as I originally thought. :-?

I would go with the antec case, or Chenming because I've been super happy with mine so far. I may look into a better PS soon, as my 300 Watt may be near the limit if I start adding too many more drives.

 

[Pradeep]

If I'm seeing this case correctly, there is no slot to hold the opposing end of a full-length adapter card. I know it sounds odd, but my 3ware card is full length.

BR

How important is it to hold the opposing end of the adapter card? I'v seen cases with the slots but I don't think it matters that much, :?:

If you get very drunk and mistake your PCI cards for rungs on a step ladder they can come in very handy

 

[CougTek]

After seeing the review, I don't find the case to be as nice as I originally thought. :-?

What did you find so wrong with the case? No drive-rails?

Here, it cost the same as an Antec SX-1000 without the PSU. While the Antec enclosure is a bit better overall if you consider all the features it has (drive-rails, plastic fan ducks, better mecanism to remove the door), the SX-1000 is 21" high compared to only 17" for the GMC Noblesse. That's often the difference between a case that fits under your desk and one that doen't.

 

[Handruin]

After seeing the review, I don't find the case to be as nice as I originally thought. :-?

What did you find so wrong with the case? No drive-rails?

Here, it cost the same as an Antec SX-1000 without the PSU. While the Antec enclosure is a bit better overall if you consider all the features it has (drive-rails, plastic fan ducks, better mecanism to remove the door), the SX-1000 is 21" high compared to only 17" for the GMC Noblesse. That's often the difference between a case that fits under your desk and one that doesn’t.

The original picture you posted looks good, but in the review I disliked how the front panel look cheap and internally the case was bland. Then reality struck when I saw the pictures of CD-ROM drives and floppy drives in the case because the colors don’t match.

It doesn’t seem to have any technical advantage over the Antec cases, and it all comes down to the look of it. It’s hard to say really why I’ve changed my mind. I do enjoy having the drive rails and also hw the drive cages come out without a hassle.

My 901A (SX1240) doesn’t fit under the desk so I have it off to the far right side. This way it also cuts down on the noise I have to endure since it’s further away.

 

[Buck]

If I'm seeing this case correctly, there is no slot to hold the opposing end of a full-length adapter card. I know it sounds odd, but my 3ware card is full length.

BR

How important is it to hold the opposing end of the adapter card? I'v seen cases with the slots but I don't think it matters that much, :?:

When you have a full length card with 4 or 8 EIDE cables hanging from it the opposing end of the card will sag almost a quarter of an inch. I don't care much to have that kind of flexing take place on my card. If it were a desktop application, it wouldn't really matter, it's just that in a tower, gravity really takes over. The same principle would bother me if I installed a $3,000.00 full length graphics card.

BR

 

[Sol]

I like the shape.

 

[Mercutio]

Coug, surely you don't think of drive rails as a positive when evaluating a case?

 

[Tannin]

Oh, they're a positive all right, drive rails are definately a positive. A positive pain in the arse.

 

[Handruin]

Why do you say they are a pain in the arse? Is this specific to any one case, or is there something about them? I was a little hesitant about drive rails in my 901A (basically an antec SX1240), but now that I have them I love it. It makes taking my drives in and out much easier and there is no sloppy play in the case and it doesn't rattle at all.

I don't remove my drives often, but even once in a while it comes in handy. When I added my latest CD-RW, it makes it such a breeze since I don't have to try and line up the correct screw holes and then tighten it down while holding in the right position and so on. With the drive rails I just bolt them on and slide the drive in until "click" when I know it's in solid and firm.

8)

 

[CougTek]

Coug, surely you don't think of drive rails as a positive when evaluating a case?

Depends on the implementation. The drive rails of the Antec are fine, although the plastic tend to erode quickly when you take a drive in or out too quickly. The drive rails of the CasEdge enclosures is also supposed to be superior.

But like you guys, I have my basket of horror stories about drive rails. Just don't put them all in the same basket. Some are ok, some are a pain.

 

[Mercutio]

If you have to work on more than one brand of case, you'll develop a real appreciation for quality cases that don't use them.

There's no such thing as a standard drive rail. Everyone makes them differently. You only use one, maybe two pairs when you're building a PC. If it's something you're building for sale, whomever buys your rail-ful case will invariably toss them, then come back six months or a year later wanting another set. If you keep them, you usually can't tell one set from another ("was this for the Enlight or the Evergreat?"), and you end up with unidentifiable parts scattered all over hell. I've got drive rails to cases that I think went out with the 486, but since I can't be sure...

Even worse are commercial PCs that use rails. Compaq at least uses standard rails among their own products, but Compaq rails aren't something you can just go and buy, either. You can order them from Compaq at $7.50 + shipping per set of two, or maybe find some on ebay.

Not only that but I think rails lead to louder drives, particularly when you're dealing with cheap CD-ROMs, and I'd hazard to guess they don't have any kind of positive impact on hard disk life, either. I may be wrong, but I feel a lot more vibration from drives on rails than from those screwed in at four or eight points.