Discuss (4) -
Posted at 2:09 PM on Tuesday 10/16/07 by
Ben
Hotness UNHOT
Geeks.com has the 12-Bay ATX Computer Case with 300W Power Supply for $25 - 10% code bensbargains = $22 + shipping. Shipping is about $9. Its LED illuminated bezel and perforated side window adds distinct style to your desktop. [BizRate]
  • 1
    CompWiz17 - Posted 10:37 pm PDT 10/16/07 (4902 Posts)  Report Spam

    Do not use the included power supply. Using a generic 300watt power supply that was included with a cheap case is one of the easiest ways to fry all of your expensive components.

    Was this useful?
    Voting ...
    0 0
  • 2
    IWBAFWOTTL - Posted 2:43 am PDT 10/17/07 (403 Posts)  Report Spam

    However, it's a handy thing to have to use as a tester if you think your computer has died and you're wondering if it's the PS. As our friendly Tiger Direct shill has pointed out, don't keep it plugged up. Only use it to test. Saves the cost of a tester.

    On the other hand, this case is not something you want unless your computer area is extremely cold. It appears there is not a 120mm fan mount on the front blowing directly on the fans which is a necessity for this design. The 12 bays are possible because the space between the HDs is so minimal. This is ONLY practical if you have a fan BLOWING directly on them, as the back fans will pull air from the place of least resistance and you don't want to assume that will be between your valuable heat producing hard drives.

    Remember that once your hard drives are installed, the temperature at which your drives operate is directly related to their lifespan.

    I have a case almost identical to this but it does have a mount for a 120mm fan (which I don't use because I have my hard drives mounted externally with more fans blowing on them).

    Was this useful?
    Voting ...
    0 0
  • 3
    IWBAFWOTTL - Posted 3:02 am PDT 10/17/07 (403 Posts)  Report Spam

    Additionally, if you've never heard this, it needs to be pointed out if you're one who wants to overclock. When you're tweaking to get that highest speed, you're running the risk of random reboots. Remember that a hard reboot when your drives are running is worse than heat because the head can slap the platter and damage them both. Not only damage them, but the debris now flying around inside your "clean" HD will continue to do damage every time it comes between the head and the platter.

    Have you ever seen the pictures of the drives opened up where the surface of the platters have shown the magnetic medium scraped off? This is one of the ways that starts. Once it starts, your drive's life span is short.

    In fact, if you're still running XP (I don't know if the settings are the same in Vista -- I had my fill of beta testing with Win98 for Bill Gates -- you know him, he's the guy against whose religion it is to release bug free software), go to My Computer > Advanced > Startup and Recovery > Settings > Write debugging information - Click the down arrow and change the default setting to "Small memory dump(64 KB)" and give your hard drives a little bit of a break from those sudden head crashing reboots.

    Three service packs and six years later and this setting hasn't been corrected by default. Why? b\Because your hard drives aren't as important as the illusion that XP is running properly.

    When you're testing your computer, don't have any more drives connected than is absolutely necessary. One bad head crash can spell the early demise of a drive, for which the manufacturer will probably get all the blame.

    Was this useful?
    Voting ...
    0 0
  • 4
    IWBAFWOTTL - Posted 3:43 am PDT 10/17/07 (403 Posts)  Report Spam

    This *really* is my last post on this thread -- at least before the sun comes up Wink but I wanted to make the case for long HD warranties and buying extended warranties, especially Office Depot's (does this make me an OD shill?) that not only give you the full purchase price on a new drive, but don't start until the manufacturer's warranty ends! (If you know of *any* other company whose extended warranties are the same, please advise here and advise frequently for others' benefit.)

    This is terrific. In other words, if you have a Seagate (5 yr.warr.) and notice that you're getting bad sectors after four years, there's no need to think, "Dang, I have to hurry and get this back to them before my warranty runs out... and I hope they don't give me a bad refurb that only has six months of use left." (which IBM has done to me) when you can still use it for two more years and turn it back in to OD and get all your money on a new drive, which I'm sure you understand will buy a much larger drive *and* it will be brand new with another five year (+ two for the extended) warranty! You may never have to buy another drive ... if OD doesn't discover how beneficial this is to the savvy HD buyer. Smile

    Remember that a hard reboot when your drives are running is worse than heat. When you're testing your computer, don't have any more drives connected than are necessary. ... and don't try extreme overclocking when you see your HD warranties coming to an end.

    Seriously... don't do that.

    Was this useful?
    Voting ...
    0 0

Already a member? Sign in below.

Forgot Password?

Registration takes seconds! Once registered you’ll have members only access to:

  • Favorites bookmark list
  • Fully customizable User Profile
  • Discussions on all products
  • Forums & more
or