The (new) Official PC building thread!

Silver version of what? There is no silver Lexa, only Black, but the front panel is reflective silver on the original. I have the case and I think it's great, I'll post some more pictures for you guys if you like. There's very little I dislike about it.

The blackline I posted does indeed come with the red lights as standard

 

Alright, I have finally been given a budget for a new computer. I'm going to have ~$1400 for a computer + monitor. As a student in CAD/gamer and someone who wants to start recording music/video its going to have to be a performance PC. I'm looking to get a monitor that will in most aspects make a TV unnecessary. Probably leaning towards AMD and a widescreen monitor... anything beyond that is kind up in the air. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Well I would certainly get a Intel not AMD build. I'll post more in a bit. Sam will probably beat me to it anyway

 

@sammorris,
I do believe there is the word SILVER in the description of this case. link to case

I still stand by my comments about the case being user unfriendly. btw I'm not a big fan of doors on my cases, I mess with DVD's way to much to open/close doors all the time.

....gm

@PoorLad,
I would REALLY consider Intel at this point in the cpu game. They're faster and cheaper for the speed you get. jm2c....

 

Silver front, black rest. It's hardly user unfriendly, I dislike case doors most of the time, but that's because of the cheap plastic hinges, the lexa has a magnetic one which is far superior, and it really enhances the look of the case.
Agreed on going Intel.

 

I for one am very happy w/ my CM mystique case. light weight (aluminum) but yet very strong and well built. true tooless design. no screw on rails for optical drives or hdd's like a lot of other manufacturers (antec for one) that claim to be tooless. tooless design for cards too with good functionality (they stay in place).

I don't like doors on the front covering the optical drives either. I swing mine open and their completely out of the way. no reaching around them.

I too would strongly recommend intel (C2D) over AMD at least at this time and most likely in the near future. much more bang for the buck. clock per clock they have no competition.

 

I'll be honest, the tool-less install for cards isn't great on the Lexa, but the rest of it is good, the rails for the hard and optical drives don't require screws and are dead easy to install. The stock cooling is also far quieter on the Lexa than any Antec case.

 

The Steel/Aluminium one looks very cool. Too bad its 70 dollars more! Hey Sam, what does the LCD on the LEXA display?

 

Three temperature probes. I'll be honest with you, mine no longer works, but that seems to be an isolated problem, they work fine for most people.

 

You're not making a good case for this case sam....hehehe. I will say that it looks cool but other than that there are other cases that look cool and function just as well or even better.... nough said on my end.

....gm

 

Oh well we'll see what happens. Also I'm thinking of getting a X1950XT, is 150 a good deal for it?

EDIT: I live in the USA so it's USD for me.

 

Sounds pretty good to me, the X1950XT is a solid performer (well for PCIe it is, anyway!)
I'm merely being truthful greensman. In truth, I have far more to yell about with the Antec 900. Both the 900 and Lexa are well made cases, but neither are perfect. If I had to choose between the two again, I'd go with the Lexa. The tool-less system may not be 100% perfect, and I may have had a problem with the display but I know a few other people with the case and they've not had any issues. Besides, with the 900 the drives are a pain in the backside to install in the drive bays (certainly if your screwdriver isn't magnetic!), and as for changing the fans on the front, ugh, not simple. The 200mm fan is also not swappable for any other brand, should you want to.
The Lexa is more standard than other cases, the tool-less system for the drives works brilliantly (can swap a hard disk for another in 15 seconds flat with the Lexa, takes 3 minutes or so with the 900) and the latch system for the case door means that it's significantly easier to get the case open. Granted you can't use thumbscrews on the outside, but with the latch there, you don't need them!
The Tricool fans may be cool with their 3 speeds, but anything above low is unnecessary, and they're noisy above that. The stock NZXT fans are near-silent, and dust filters for all three input fan slots (two out of three fans are included) come as standard. Two out of two output fan slots have fans pre-installed. Plus with the blackline you can choose, blue or red fans!
The case comes with a FANTASTIC carry handle setup, that's proved invaluable for LAN parties, and the standard version is light as a feather.

Have I made a better case for it now?

 

Why are there big differences in prices for the X1950XT?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102067
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121041R

 

One was a special offer hence 'out of stock' and the other's the normal price, hence 'in stock'

 

Oh I didn't notice lol. Anyway I was accidentaly looking on the Jacksonville craigslist, not the orlando one, so I wont be getting it lol. Oh well just gotta wait till the price drops on the 8800 GTS.

 

sam you got me rolling here. lol.

I know you like the Lexa case and that's fine buddy. Remember other people can have opinions and experience with the same products you have and NOT like them and it's ok.

I don't have the 900 and probably won't get one. I'm really liking the cases by Cooler Master. Simple yet effective for my needs.

(i guess i did have more to add.......lol)

....gm

 

That's fine, as I always mention in builds, cases are personal taste.

 

no offense but the lexa doesn't appeal to me either (looks and optical drive door anyway). I do like the tooless design and aluminum construction however. never again will I buy/own a case made out of anything but aluminum and never again will I have a case with a front optical drive door (I hated the door on my antec case) not to mention the antec case weighed a ton (exaggerating of course but it was heavy even empty).

my CM Mystique case empty was almost as light as the box it came in and every bit as strong and well constructed as my antec case.

 

Aluminium is great for portability and usually indicates quality. However it does not always take kindly to the vibrations of high speed fans, and sometimes resonance occurs.
As I say, cases are personal taste, and I merely went into it because Abuzar expressed an interest.

 

greensman, I'm sure the cooler master cases are functional, but they look so... drab. If I wanted a functional case that looked fine(just not all that cool), I would just get the case I have right now again. It's a 100 dollars and it comes with a nice 700W powersupply. I really do like the look of the LEXA case, and the door thing doesn't bother me. That's what I have going on my current setup as well, it's not really all that bad. Lets see what happens, I hope this guys buys my PC soon though.