VOGONS


First post, by RetroLizard

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

As the title implies, I'm looking for a good site to potentially get computer cases at. Other then eBay, or the sites of case manufacturers like Rosewill, Cooler Master, etc, any site will work fine. 😁

Reply 1 of 6, by dionb

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

That probably depends on where you are located and how old the cases are you are looking for. I get most of mine from adverts on a local Craigslist equivalent for big unsorted lots of "old computer stuff".

Reply 2 of 6, by Phido

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

AT or ATX?
ATX cases are available everywhere, from your local computer store, to any online computer retailer. Easy.

AT cases are now valuable commodities.
Of course you could fit an AT motherboard into an ATX case, difficult but doable. Its even possible to fit a regular AT motherboard into a MATX case, but I would rate it as not a straight forward task.

Reply 3 of 6, by RetroLizard

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member
Phido wrote:
AT or ATX? ATX cases are available everywhere, from your local computer store, to any online computer retailer. Easy. […]
Show full quote

AT or ATX?
ATX cases are available everywhere, from your local computer store, to any online computer retailer. Easy.

AT cases are now valuable commodities.
Of course you could fit an AT motherboard into an ATX case, difficult but doable. Its even possible to fit a regular AT motherboard into a MATX case, but I would rate it as not a straight forward task.

ATX cases, though common, are getting harder to find online with space in the front panel for optical drives and stuff. Even more so at a decently low price.

Reply 4 of 6, by SirNickity

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie

I don't find that to be true at all. In fact, there are a decent assortment of good-enough (if a little flimsy) cases available new for $30-40, which is pretty much insane. E.g., Antec VSK series. Granted, those tend to be 1 or 2 drive bay cases, but the point is cases are cheap these days without being complete crap. Yes, if you want better build quality, it costs more. That's how stuff works. Nobody works for free.

My local computer shop has a relatively healthy assortment of cases with lots of drive bays. Amazon has everything you could have ever dreamed of.

If the modern case aesthetic isn't your taste, then you're in the same boat as a lot of us -- looking for old cases to surface. Particularly true of AT cases. At that point, you have to dig through Ebay listings (and be prepared to pay for it), or get lucky with local classifieds, CL, pawn shops, thrift shops, recycle centers, etc.

I got really lucky and found two palettes of computer equipment going to the recycling center at a local spot where my band practices. Ended up salvaging a Pentium and a Pentium II, a monitor, a combo floppy drive, and some other odds and ends. You just never know.

Reply 5 of 6, by RetroLizard

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member
SirNickity wrote:

If the modern case aesthetic isn't your taste, then you're in the same boat as a lot of us -- looking for old cases to surface. Particularly true of AT cases. At that point, you have to dig through Ebay listings (and be prepared to pay for it), or get lucky with local classifieds, CL, pawn shops, thrift shops, recycle centers, etc.

It's not particularly bothersome having a modern case, so long as it has space in the front for floppy and optical drives.

Reply 6 of 6, by torindkflt

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

NewEgg (plus many other sites I'm sure) allow you to filter through the cases based on the number of 3.5 and 5.25 external bays. I went on their quickly (in private browsing mode so any past activity won't taint the search results) and was able to come up with over 100 results of ATX cases with both 5.25 and 3.5 bays under the "mid tower" category by filtering the results. I simply told it to show only cases that have either one or two 3.5in bays (they all also have at least one 5.25 bay from what I can tell). I didn't check any other categories, but I imagine there'd be others there too.