...It's a never ending addiction.
No kidding! Even though I don't have the room or budget for another build, I'm still lusting after new hardware as it comes out. I checked out a Corsair Obsidian 650D during a Fry's run the other day (it's at the top of my short list for possible replacement cases), even though I don't have room for it right now, working out necessary modifications to the case. I'm also lusting for an Asus X79 Deluxe mobo. The only thing stopping me is it's hard to justify shelling out 350 shekels to replace an equally expensive board only seven months old and $580 for a CPU the same age and was almost as expensive (it would be nice to have a spare machine...oh, wait!...my notebook is the spare). I was scoping out new PSUs a couple of nights ago even though my current one is more than adequate plus I have an identical spare knocking about.
Oh yeah, it's an addiction, alright.
Lady Fitzgerald, I regret to inform you, but laptops don't count as a second computer. If you are going to the trouble to make space for another larger case,
check this one out. It's made for watercooling, but works well for air too. You certainly won't run out of space and the center, what they call reservoir holder, hides all the wiring behind it. It does limit the video card length, but you could alter it if you go to a monster card, like Paul has, or remove it all together with 4 screws. A little revolutionary, but a great case. There is nothing in the case that can't be removed or altered. If you are into modding, the frame is put together with screws instead of rivets. It's just too easy.
Actually, the notebook can serve as a spare. It's not suitable for continuous and/or heavy use but it takes up little space yet is there should I need it (I also use it on trips). It's like the space saver spare tire used in most automobiles nowadays. Useless for fulltime use but a lifesaver should a regular tire fail.
I've looked at the Phanteks Enthoo already and didn't really like it. The three things that kill it for me are the side windows (I don't like my computers, or anything else, looking like the Strip in Vegas and a dark window looks even worse than a lit up one; windows also make it harder to put fans on the side panel to get addition air over the PCIe cards without looking dorky), the 5.25" door, and the HDD cage. The way I cable my HDDs, it would be impossible to install or remove most of the HDDs without unplugging the cables from other HDDs since the are removed from the right side instead of the front or left side. It also has that annoying door over the 5.25" drives. I know it keeps drives in there quieter but noise from that area hasn't been a problem for me with my present case. That idiot door, besides swinging the wrong way, would also stick out when I had a HDD plugged into a swap bay, just begging to get knocked off as I walk by. At least the door on the Antec P280 (a distant #2 on my short list; there are only two cases on that list) can be folded all the way out of the way.
Also, it would be more work to seal up air leaks in the Enthoo.
The Corsair Obsidian 650D has removable/relocatable HDD cages which are easier to install or remove HDDs from. It does have a window on the left side but the solid right side panel is interchangeable with the left side panel and costs only $20 from Corsair; even then, the Corsair case is still much cheaper than the Enthoo. The Corsair also doesn't that annoying door over the 5.25" bays and would be much easier to seal up air leaks without looking Michael Mouse.
Edit: Forgot to mention that the Corsair has a built in hot swap bay for both 3.5" and 2.5" drives. That opens up an extra 5.25" or two for other uses.
Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm pretty darned particular (fussy, picky, whatever
).
All this is moot, anyway, since, until I can move to quarters that have more room to put a computer (which it doesn't look like that will be anytime soon), I simply don't have a place to put a bigger computer.
Ironically, if I were to upgrade my MOBO to the X79 Deluxe, my present case would gain almost an inch of room inside because the X79 Deluxe is an ATX while my present board is an Extended ATX (you should see the shoehorn I used to get that sucker into my present case!).
