MadJeff 3 Posted January 29, 2004 After frying the ol' CPU last week while I was out of town, I ordered a new XP2400+ to replace it, as well as a new case from NewEgg. I was getting tired of looking at my old modded case, so I picked this on up. It's an Aspire X-Dreamer II. I paid $54 for it, and I am extremely happy with the case. two quiet LED fans, the front panel has the LED's as well, nice finish, good construction (not as sturdy as my old Inwin500) and a really nice CPU temp sensor readout on the front panel. You can see the case specs here: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc....-144-025&depa=1 The pics don't do the case justice. The LED's are REALLY bright, as in blindingly so if you look directly at them. The paint job is pretty good, and the acrylic on the front really sets off the lights. Looks awesome with all the lights off, lights up the whole damn room. You wouldn't want to have to sleep in the same room. :D The CPU Temp guage is pretty accurate, it's reading 2 degrees lower than my MB Bios, so it's almost dead-on. There are a lot of other nice features, like 2 stealth CD-ROM covers that hide your ugly beige fronts, one for the floppy as well, and no sharp edges (I didn't cut myself once swapping everything into the new case, for a change). I know, this was the lazy way to mod a case, but I'm happy. :P Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PG_Raptor 0 Posted January 29, 2004 I was thinking about buying an Antec Lanboy, but that one looks nice too. Which do you think would be better for a college student? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SlickWili 0 Posted January 29, 2004 Yeah, when I was surfing for a new tower, the Lanboy and the X-Dreamer both caught my eye. I'm loving the temp guage on the front. The PC upgrade in 2004Q1 will be including one of those beauties. Also, I think it's time to take an AMD to test. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MadJeff 3 Posted January 29, 2004 The Lanboy would probably be better if you are in a dorm room, like I said, this thing is pretty bright in a dark room. :D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GhostDog 0 Posted January 29, 2004 I spent my money on the insides the last time i upgraded but i did at least buy a good case for the fisrt time. Chieftec. They have since made some very nice looking see-through sidedoor which i might buy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PG_Raptor 0 Posted January 29, 2004 The Lanboy would probably be better if you are in a dorm room, like I said, this thing is pretty bright in a dark room. :D I'm not put off much by lighting (though my roomate may be :D), but how is it's size? can you fit everything in there easy enough? how about portability? The Lanboy comes with a pretty sturdy carrying strap I've heard, and its light. How about this one? Can you lock it to protect your parts? And what about airflow with those fans? Hehe, questionaire! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SlickWili 0 Posted January 30, 2004 MJ, no dorm room here. Just a good ol' fashioned office dedicated to my PC time. :D Plus the overhead and lamp lighting is always switched off during gameplay, so the glow alongside the blue/green lava lamp would be icing on the cake. Portability is not really required since I only take part in LAN parties once or twice a year. Tigerdirect.ca seems to have the best prices around for my dollar here. They've even got the local PC specialty shops beat! Does anyone have that (blue) glowing keyboard? That looks amazing too. It may be overkill, but would be helpful for finding keys in the dark... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PG_Raptor 0 Posted February 4, 2004 So madjeff, do you have a picture of the full set up yet? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PG_Raptor 0 Posted February 11, 2004 hey! MJ! any pics? I want to see, I want to see! lol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MadJeff 3 Posted February 11, 2004 Sorry guys, been buried in work the last few weeks. I'll try and get something posted next week, as I'm working all weekend. :( Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PG_Raptor 0 Posted April 21, 2004 Gees, I'm really bugging you for a lot of stuff MJ, lol. Got any time to get a pic of the case? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MadJeff 3 Posted April 21, 2004 I'll take some shots tonight, any chance to play with my new Fuji Finepix S5000... ;) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MadJeff 3 Posted April 27, 2004 Damn, is it still tonight?? :D I keep getting sidetracked with honey-do lists after work. I'l make another attempt tonight. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PG_Raptor 0 Posted April 27, 2004 hehe, I was wondering how long your night was lasting, lol. pretty soon and you'll be as bad as snapple :D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SlickWili 0 Posted April 28, 2004 LOL! Honey-do lists have knocked the completion of my Q1 new PC project back to Q2. :) All I have to show for it at the moment is a new Maxtor 80GB hard drive and an LG 4x DVD burner. Piece at a time. Oh yea, and I tweaked my cable connection so I could put all of my home-office puters online. Buggers were filtering MAC addys. Being a full-time network admin has it's advantages. :D Let's see the pics! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MadJeff 3 Posted April 28, 2004 You too eh? :D That's why I have Compaq servers, a couple of managed 24-port switches, etc... ;) Of course, my electric bill sucks, but what are you gonna do. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SlickWili 0 Posted April 28, 2004 My provider was filtering MACs based on well-known router/switch/hub manufacturers, so I had to... err.... mask what they were seeing. :D Much better now. Ah yes, the electrical bill. A review of power consumption has made onto the honey-do list. Naturally, I have prioritized this item quite low. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MadJeff 3 Posted May 6, 2004 Well, I took some pics, but they turned out pretty craptacular. I'm trying to get a good balance of low light and sharp focus, without a lot of luck. Just for grins, I did take a couple of pics of my desk and server rack, and stitched them together with Photoshop Elements. Damn I love that program! As bad as the perspective was skewed between the two pics, it still created a pretty good panorama. This is where I do most of my comp work. The rack to the left holds a couple lab servers, and the PC on the top shelf is the MSFS2K Online Server. The G3 usually sits on the desk, but I'm building a new PC for the wife. My main gaming rig is the one in the center. Excuse the mess, still settling into the den after the remodel. I need to get my Dru Blair prints back up on the wall... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MadJeff 3 Posted May 6, 2004 OK, here's some pics... Here's the front. You get an idea how bright those LEDs are, they are actually brighter in real life. Here's a side shot. Excuse the wire mess, I haven't had time to bundle all the cables yet. Here's a shot of the blowhole on top I still have some stuff to do, like swap the grills for Biohaz grills (what else...) and I want to do some glass etching and a few other touches. All in all I've been really happy with it, an excellent case for $50! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
