Ventilation...

Hi, my case is bust and so I need a new one, I was wondering which is a good but not too expensive case to buy that has good ventilation as my graphics card keeps on overheating...

For graphics cards, ventilation mostly depends on the fan mounted on the video card itself. However, the case's overall air ventilation also affects the temperature.

Cases are tricky business - the prices mostly depend on personal taste of looks, and because they are simply just a metal box, you can always modify it to your own tastes.

However, if you are looking for ventilation tips, I could give some good guidelines. To get good airflow, you would want a case with a good air intake in the front of the case, and a good air exhaust near the back of the case. (Current power supplies rated with ATX standards also act as air exhausts.)

Personally, I found 120mm fans with large a CFM (cubic foot/min of air moved) makes the best type of air exhaust in most cases.
If your case can fit it, a single 120mm fan mounted as an intake on the front of the case also does wonders. If not, I would go for a case that allows optional mounting of 80/92/120mm fans in the front for accelerated cold air intake.

For extra ventilation, you also might want a blowhole (an air exhaust on the top of the case) and a side ventilation system (an air duct over the CPU fan on the side of the case used for exhausting CPU heat).

If you have a large budget, the Antec Nine Hundred is a good choice. For around $130, Antec overkills cooling by adding a ridiculous amount of high CFM fans to the case. Although it's very nice, I personally wouldnt pay over $100 for a case.

For the average budget, almost any case will do. You can always install fans or drill new fan holes onto your case . But for me, my personal recommendation is the Cooler Master Centurion 5 - newegg currently sells it for $40 for the one without a transparent side window, and $50 for one with. Although this case doesnt come with a top blowhole, you can also cut one out yourself , and $40 for a solid case is always a good buy.

My case right now is the Apevia X-Cruiser. It is currently $60 on Newegg, and has a blowhole on the top and two 80mm intake mounts in the front. The case comes with only two 80mm exhaust fans, but I went out and bought a Silverstone 120mm fan to replace it.

Remember, cases also depend largely on looks - these are just guidelines to my personal choices, but it's best to go out and choose one that has these features with the appearance you prefer

good advice qwyzkl...

yeah... pretty much all cases are the same. If you want to make sure you're getting a case with good ventilation, just look at it and use common sense. More holes= better ventilation.

but even if your case is well ventilated, bad placement can have ill effects. If you've got it sitting in a place where the air can't move around outside of the case any amount of fans aren't going to help you.

just out of curiosity... how did your previous case "bust"? Got a good story for us?

lol not really, well first off the cd bays at the top were already bust when it was built so now i need a paperclip to open one of the drives. Also at christmas my gf got a wii, I have a front USB bay on the case which had my playstation controller converter thingie plugged in. Lil tip, the wii and front bay peripherals don't mix, I stepped on it and totally destroyed the front bay and now i've run out of USB slots and i have no room on the back to expand.

You could try a case mod, cut a hold for a fan or just drill holes at the Vcard area to increase air to it.
Cleaning helps also.
There are times in the summer I have removed the side panel and sat a fan blowing on mine it is a pain.

For USB if all your slots are full get a powered USB hub and attach it to the side or another case mod project!