You can save money and get a higher quality result by building your own. Best of all, it can be EXACTLY what you want rather than something of a compromise. None of my home-made cases cost me more than $15.

Generally, I'm dissatisfied with stock cases. I'm particularly critical of the airflow of most cases.

how about lego?
http://www.poseidonguild.com/legos/

all you need then is a Lycie external HDD to top it all off!

that is sweet.

The legos are actually a good idea, if I can get enough of them cheaply. Like in huge bulk packages or something.

#4 & #5 look really nice. The others weren't as hot, but still cool!

Any idea where to find enough legos?

And anyone know if I can drill in an aquarium wall?

Try this, you may actually be able to build it online then order the parts you used.

Do not attempt to drill an aquarium wall, unless you're sure that it's made of untempered glass. Tempered glass is prestressed for extra strength, but it will shatter if you try to drill it. Untempered glass can be drilled and cut.

The cheap $10 aquariums I used are made of tempered glass.

I used foam mounting tape squares to attach motherboard mounting points to the glass. The important thing to remember when doing this is to first wipe any dust off the surface (obviously), and press REALLY HARD to squeeze out as many air gaps as you can (not so obvious).

I think I might go for legos instead, but what's the size of a typical PSU? (If they vary by a lot sometimes, the one I'm looking at is the S12 by SeaSonic)

Try this out for size: 19.4'' x 8.1'' x 18.4'' (L x W x H)

That's pretty big compared to what I was planning...

What I'm thinking now, is putting the PSU & drives at the bottom, the mobo on top of that (on a new "layer" of bricks if you will) and then leave the top checkered or something, to allow convection-based cooling, possibly letting me drop a fan somewhere. Alternatively I could always put the motherboard vertically, and move the drives a bit further up.

Is it a bad idea to keep drives on their sides? I was thinking of putting them like that to save some space at the bottom... I need something cubic, not too high up unless it's like desk-height, not too small, unless it's like ITX-sized. I can't trust lego bricks (Actually, almost anything) to defend my PC's parts. If it's sitting on my desk/filing cabinet, then it's fine, because it's better-placed, but even then...

A vertical case would be great; is 18"x11"x8" enough? I'll try and draw something in XPaint to demonstrate...

Oh, speaking of modelling objects, anyone know a lite CAD application?

EDIT: Maybe a 16"x10"x7" (LxWxH) case? With the drives in the front + power/reset buttons, then the mobo behind 'em, with the I/O ports to a side or something? That would (possibly) help cut cable clutter too, because everything is run up the desk, compared to under the desk where the cables can tangle up and stuff. Of course, by doing that, I restrict my speakers & monitor's positions...

Decisions, decisions. ;P

I think I have an extra table somewhere though, that isn't too big, that I could leave next to my PC; in that case I don't think I'll be space-constrained, but still, the least amount of space used, the better.

It is best to have a HDD lay flat, since the disk itself is not a true circle, gravity will do a job to it after a while.

Another idea-make a frame (if its lego, make it really strong, or you could weld a metal rod frame) to insert into the lego case. Make the case a little oversize, then build to the specs of the opening. Then, attach everything to your frame and slide the frame into your case. That way, it can exit easily. Also, create some sort of bar or lock at the back of the case to prevent the frame from sliding out when you press the power button or insert a USB drive.

What about DVD/CD drives though?

What I'm planning to do now, is after I get all the parts, assemble it on-the-go, with a few drawings to help me, and I'm probably going to use the first plan (The "layers") rather than the long and skinny one. Once the parts are all safely installed, and everything's funtional, I'll build a metal casing to put it in to secure it & hold it in place.

That sounds good...I've only done this once, so I'm not a pro or anything...

Modern hard drives can be at any orientation, including at weird angles. Theoretically, the best orientation is vertical, because this minimizes the wear and tear on the bearings. However, this is more of an issue with fans than hard drives.

The dimensions of a PSU will vary. The width and height are standard, but the length is variable.

My first scratchbuilt case had a layout similar to what you're proposing--a two story layout with PSU and drives in the bottom floor and the motherboard above that. I do NOT recommend that layout. The main annoyance is that you need to remove the entire motherboard just to get at the drives and PSU cables.

My favorite location for the motherboard is flat on the bottom of the case. This gives you a lot of leverage to push down on memory sticks and expansion cards--me least favorite "feature" of the traditional layout is that you need to prop up the case against a wall or something to get decent leverage. The PSU and drives need to be somehow suspended above the motherboard, if you want a compact layout. For my most compact case, the PSU and drive actually rested on top of the unused PCI slots. A more practical possibility is to attach them to the case's lid, which is hinged in front so it can swing upward. When swung open, all of the computer's components and cables are easily accessable.

My vote goes to Lian Li aluminium cases.

I have one of these: PC-7B Plus II

They're extremely well made. They have excellent ventilation and noise absorption and come with lots of thumbscrews.

I've had mine for ~18 months now, and would recommend it in a heartbeat.

It may be good quality, but it looks like a cereal box.