A simple and cheap ATX case with no foo-foo is hard to find these days, but I recommend running away from Diablotek like the devil himself was chasing you.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?It … N82E16811129187 these Antec cases are nice. No frills, cheap, OK cooling.

I recently bought 3 ATX cases as I reckoned it would be getting harder to find ATX cases with top-mounted PSU in the near future. They were around 30 euro each. 2 of them were coolermasters and 1 was a gamble (unknown brand, but the case at least looked nice)

That's more or less what I'm looking for, a tiny bit more than I wanted to spend but not bad. I don't want to try and save $10 or $15 and end up with crap.

There's a Silverstone case that runs around $30-$40 if I remember right. It isn't full ATX though:
http://www.amazon.com/Silverstone-Tek-Micro-A … 92070131&sr=8-2

I also came up with a pair of Thermaltakes:
http://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-Black-Editi … 92070191&sr=8-3

http://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-WingMA-VI50 … 92070200&sr=8-1

I'd agree with avoiding DiabloTek.

ODwilly wrote:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?It … N82E16811129187 these Antec cases are nice. No frills, cheap, OK cooling.

I bought one of these recently. They sometimes go on sale for $19.99 with free shipping. Kind of flimsy metal but it gets the job done.

Sometimes buying a 386 / 486 on eBay with everything in a case is cheaper overall I think. 😀

PeterLI wrote:

Sometimes buying a 386 / 486 on eBay with everything in a case is cheaper overall I think. 😀

But be careful of proprietary cases that have the card slots oriented in the wrong direction. You'll never get a standard motherboard to work in one of those.

PeterLI wrote:

Sometimes buying a 386 / 486 on eBay with everything in a case is cheaper overall I think. 😀

These aren't for that system, though. I have a naked dual socket A motherboard and a P-Pro that is in a ratty case right now that could use a new one.

I have recent negative experience with this Silverstone case. For $140 its build quality was pretty lousy: it can't even be assembled without tearing parts of it away! I would stay away from Silverstone.

Also, I had experience with these cases:

Fractal Design Define R4
Cooler Master Stacker 831 SE

Their build quality is high. However, Define R4 cannot adopt full length ISA cards without being modded (or you have to get rid of HDDs and use CF cards).

ODwilly wrote:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?It … N82E16811129187 these Antec cases are nice. No frills, cheap, OK cooling.

That case doesn't even have external 3.5" drive bays...gross.🤣

Just keep looking..I know where I live cheap atx cases are very easy to find...there are so many chinese companies that make lower end options. In this case, I would actually stay away from name brands like antec unless they are older used atx cases because the newer cases they make usually are trying to be 'sleek and minimalistic' (but do it in a cheap way) to appeal to the newer generation of win7 and win8 users (blah) that don't use things like floppy drives anymore..and leave out essentials like external 3.5" bays...the cheaper and older models usually are less sought after by mass market and there's always a better chance of getting a case with more flexibility for retro builds.

Look for more generic brands in less mainstream computer stores and websites.

retrofanatic wrote:

That case doesn't even have external 3.5" drive bays...gross.lol […]
Show full quote

ODwilly wrote:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?It … N82E16811129187 these Antec cases are nice. No frills, cheap, OK cooling.

That case doesn't even have external 3.5" drive bays...gross.🤣

Just keep looking..I know where I live cheap atx cases are very easy to find...there are so many chinese companies that make lower end options. In this case, I would actually stay away from name brands like antec unless they are older used atx cases because the newer cases they make usually are trying to be 'sleek and minimalistic' (but do it in a cheap way) to appeal to the newer generation of win7 and win8 users (blah) that don't use things like floppy drives anymore..and leave out essentials like external 3.5" bays...the cheaper and older models usually are less sought after by mass market and there's always a better chance of getting a case with more flexibility for retro builds.

Look for more generic brands in less mainstream computer stores and websites.

I've noticed this, the ATX cases I bought were all very light (which usually means they did something cheap). I really like my now old AOpen cases though which I used for several of my builds. Heavy, thick material, sturdy, I like em 😁
The new cases? I'm not really impressed. Also people tend to ask a lot of money for their old good quality cases and they are often quite worn out, scratched or are missing stuff. At least here in The Netherlands

bristlehog wrote:

I have recent negative experience with this Silverstone case. For $140 its build quality was pretty lousy: it can't even be assembled without tearing parts of it away! I would stay away from Silverstone.

Could you be more specific regarding what parts had to be "torn away" (and if you could clarify if this was actual cutting of metal, or simply removing some screws/bolts and removing/replacing a panel)? From the pictures you linked to, the case appears pretty standard for an HTPC case - somewhat cramped, not the most ergonomic thing in the world, but otherwise pretty normal. I could see having trouble with full-length ISA cards or large PCI Express cards, but for a basic HTPC with an mATX motherboard and integrated components, it doesn't look too demanding.

obobskivich wrote:

Could you be more specific regarding what parts had to be "torn away" (and if you could clarify if this was actual cutting of metal, or simply removing some screws/bolts and removing/replacing a panel)? From the pictures you linked to, the case appears pretty standard for an HTPC case - somewhat cramped, not the most ergonomic thing in the world, but otherwise pretty normal. I could see having trouble with full-length ISA cards or large PCI Express cards, but for a basic HTPC with an mATX motherboard and integrated components, it doesn't look too demanding.

There's a rubber line over the removable cage that contains HDDs and 5.25" slots:

It's purpose seemingly is to reduce vibration or smth alike. However, since the upper lid is sliding, that rubber line won't let it to be put in place:

The lid just touched that rubber line and stopped there (well, it's rubber after all). If I applied much force, the lid would move some half an inch and then horrible sound of rubber being torn from its metal base could be heard. It moved relative to its base to which it was glued, but not relative to the lid!

I had to tear that rubber line away to be able to close the case:

I will have to think something about the glue remains. Maybe I'll remove them with some dissolvent or glue something less thick over instead of that rubber.

The rubber was problematic? Or you had to add it? It looks like it's there to stop vibration/noise either way.

I edited my post so that hopefully now it's obvious why I had to tear the rubber away.

BTW, it's an EATX case, at least claimed to be so. It also can adopt full length ISA cards, that was the reason I made a buying decision.

retrofanatic wrote:

ODwilly wrote:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?It … N82E16811129187 these Antec cases are nice. No frills, cheap, OK cooling.

That case doesn't even have external 3.5" drive bays...gross.🤣

Psst...hey:

🤣

Stull wrote:

Psst...hey: http://i.imgur.com/GrM3waF.jpg :lol: […]
Show full quote

retrofanatic wrote:

ODwilly wrote:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?It … N82E16811129187 these Antec cases are nice. No frills, cheap, OK cooling.

That case doesn't even have external 3.5" drive bays...gross.🤣

Psst...hey:

🤣

Thanks for spotting that..I stand corrected...I was reading the specs and didn't even look at the photos that closely.

The specs say nothing about an external 3.5" drive:

SGCC steel ATX Mid Tower
2 x USB 2.0
Audio In/Out Front Ports
3 External 5.25" Drive Bays
2 Internal 3.5" Drive Bays

Oh well..I still don't like that case anyways and using that external bay means you have to give up one of the internal ones.

just go with an Antec Three Hundred, they're usually about $50, sometimes a little less. Excellent cooling, enough for a dual-cpu server board and 6 x 15k rpm hard drives just fine (all 6 hard drive bays are directly in-line with the front two 120mm fans, so the fans cool the drives directly). No external 3.5" bays but if you're going ATX, a usb floppy drive works just as well. And they use solid steel throughout the chassis. And the front fans blow -through- the drives long ways, so the hard drive rack doesn't impair airflow at all.