Size matters

The size of your future 4x4 case that is.

My biggest concern was noise, I didn't want an Oreck upright sitting next to my desk. So I looked around for a case, one that didn't look like I should be putting it on the back of my BMX bike on my way to a LAN party and one that would be reasonably quiet.

I finally settled on the highly understated Antect P180. It *seemed* large enough. And looked "cool". I mean, it is not small really. It was only the night before my motherboard was to arrive that I read a review stating that the Asus motherboard exceeds the BTX spec by almost an inch (12"x10.5"). I quickly whipped out the measuring tape which showed ~ 10.6 in. from the back of the case to the middle hard drive cage. It was going to be close, but I had no way of knowing as there are no manuals or product information available online about the board.

The motherboard came, and it *just* barely fit in the case. The 8800 card actually overhangs the edge of the motherboard. The 4x4 is not for the space constrained!

The Antec case did prove to be inadequate in one way however. Due to the nature of the lower PSU compartments cable feed and the 8800's heat sink it is well neigh impossible to fit two 8800's in the case.

If you do like the antec case (I am quite fond of it despite the few short comings) I highly recommend it, the attention to detail is well about most other pc cases I have worked with.

If you have a case that fits a 4x4 rig leave a comment so others can know what to buy!