Any plain ole beige ATX cases any more!?

[Steve Reinis]

eBay seems to reveal everything but a plain ole ATX case. I don't want it
to be clear, or filled with lights, or look like a 1950's concept car. Just
a plain box!

Any sources where I can browse photos?

 

[Smith]

I always thought these looked pretty normal. Until recently they have
always been straight forward with their case designs. No flashy lights or
side views.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3422456532&category=44944
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3422832093&category=44944

Smith

 

[ric]

eBay seems to reveal everything but a plain ole ATX case. I don't want it
to be clear, or filled with lights, or look like a 1950's concept car. Just
a plain box!

http://www.pcpowercooling.com/products/enclosures/index.htm

 

[Steve Reinis]

Hmm... Thanks. That second Gateway case looks pretty nice. Not just a
plain beige box, but not way out wild either. And it looks roomy to boot.

Didn't even think of trying name-brand manufacturer cases since so many are
proprietary layouts.

-Steve

 

[kony]

Hmm... Thanks. That second Gateway case looks pretty nice. Not just a
plain beige box, but not way out wild either. And it looks roomy to boot.

Didn't even think of trying name-brand manufacturer cases since so many are
proprietary layouts.

-Steve

That Gateway case looks like it uses a proprietary power supply as do
many other/older Gateway cases. The needed PSU is narrower, shorter,
significantly more expensive and "may" not be avaiable in higher
wattages (like 300W or more). I'd avoid it unless you want to start
cutting and filing away at the case to refit it with a standard PSU...
I "think" it's just barely wide enough for a standard PSU after
cutting/drilling/etc.

Fortunately it looks like that particular case does have the removable
I/O shield in the back... many Gateway cases as recent as "P4" boxes
still had the rear port holes stamped out of the framework, and often
had fewer than the full set of port holes.


Dave

 

[Steve Reinis]

I've seen those doofy little power supplies, too... Usually 145 watts or
some nonsense. HP used to use standard ATX power supplies, but now they
are starting to use those "half sized" PSUs as well. I had a Pavilion for
awhile that was standard, then saw a friend's newer pavilion that was all
proprietary everything. The motherboard was a modified Asus even!

I'll just stick to standard cases, or see what I can find in the local
computer junkstores so I KNOW if it will work or not.

 

[kony]

The second Gateway case uses a standard ATX PSU. I have three of those
cases myself. Dunno about the first one, didn't even think of that.

Smith

How do you know that it's exactly the same case though? I think they
used the same bezel style and general internal configuration on cases
with multiple different PSU. I noted the smaller, square PSU opening
in the back
http://ebay0.ipixmedia.com/abc/M28/_EBAY_5eb9e8e2bb569dc42dae9cfa87448e25/i-1.JPG
to look similar to those that use the proprietary PSU, perhaps like
these
http://support.gateway.com/support/manlib/Desktops/8508550/images/power-su.jpg

This "appears" to be the rear of that case, if the ebay seller linked
to the correct Gateway specs, and it does "look" like it has the
proper screw holes, but not the full fan opening:
http://supcontent.gateway.com/support.gateway.com/s/CASES/3500689/350068909.jpg

Now that I see that pic, it looks easier to install a standard PSU
than i had anticipated, but I still wonder about the airflow if the
fan exhaust from a standard PSU (with fan in rear instead of
underneath), and if the PSU's AC-receptacle isn't flush with the
exterior plane of the PSU casing, but rather has a "lip" external to
the casing (as it often does on many standard PSU), if that would
interfere with the chassis' smaller square cutout.


Dave