Which case?

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
B

banshee13

Distinguished
Jul 27, 2008
18
0
18,510
I'm planning my first build in ages (more than 10 years, so everything is different, might as well be a new build). I want a roomy easy-to-deal with case. Noise is an issue, but so is air flow. (Okay, I'm not sure what I want.) The case is for gaming mostly; I'd like to spend under $200 on the case. Oh, I have cats so getting cat fur in the case is inevitable but I'd like to minimize it. Not ready to water cool, so this will be air cooled. I don't care if there is a case window or not. I'll do some overclocking and run one HD4870, bit nothing extreme.

I will want to fit in an Asus P45 mobo with Xigmtek S123 rifle cooler, so that better fit!

I'm considering these cases, all large mid-towers or full towers. I rank them more or less in this order, from high to low:

1.) Cooler master RC 690
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137
Good price, lots of air flow, noisy--I will probably get a fan controller (not sure which). I like the basic design, even though it seems a little crude.

2.) Antec P182
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129025
Nice looking design, probably quiet, maybe a bit tough for air flow.

3.) Silverstone Kublai KLo3B-W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163102
Big (really a full tower), quirky but interesting design.

4.) Thermaltake Armor+MX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133062
Robust chassis, removable motherboard tray, but huge weird fan seems nutty.

I welcome any advice.

 
B

banshee13

Distinguished
Jul 27, 2008
18
0
18,510
Thanks for the thoughts. I looked at each of these, but I sort of arbitrarily pushed myself down to one case per company. Do you particularly recommend any of the Antec 1200, or Cooler Master Cosmos/Stacker 830? (And if so, why?)
 
rockyjohn

rockyjohn

Distinguished
Dec 8, 2006
2,813
0
20,960
P

pous

Distinguished
Mar 30, 2007
498
0
18,780
I love my P180, which is same as P182... has great airflow/cooling powers.

I have a friend who has the armor and would always brag it up about his awesome full size case... and then I got mine and he stopped talking so much and started talking about changing cases.

Can't say much about the CM or the silverstone, I know silverstone makes a quality product, but I haven't tried it for myself yet. Only CM cases I've had were the Centurion 534, and 5, and a case from like 2004. Not that I didn't like their cases, but after having the P180 I wouldn't switch back.

Hope this helps.
 
V3NOM

V3NOM

Distinguished
Jun 18, 2008
2,599
0
20,780
+99999999999999999999999999999999999999 x10 to the power of 99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999

for the RC-690. :p
 
A

Andrzej_Pl

Distinguished
Mar 2, 2005
49
0
18,530
Get Antec 1200. You, in US are lucky. You could get it for like $180. I've to paid for it about $280 in Poland... but it's worth it.

One drawback is, that it's old-fashioned when mounting devices are concerned - no fast rails, no thumbscrews, just standard set. But... the build is well finished, no sharp steel to cut your fingers - also, if look of the case is important then you have the mobo tray painted black :p

And, if you ever decide to go for water cooling, you can either hide the pump/water tank into the bay in case, or just pre-drilled slots to run the hoses through back of case.

I don't regret spending money on that case.

Drawbacks - weight... it's like 14kg.And 2nd is that it does not look super-cool, like all those fancy lan party boxes. But, I prefer efficient air flow, and space in case, to any looks :)

Other important thing is that each of the fans is manually regulated by small knob, so you don't need any device to set the speeds.

What else? Cable managment - with the holes in mobo tray, you can put your cables the way they should be, so airflow is not stopped by loose cables
 
B

banshee13

Distinguished
Jul 27, 2008
18
0
18,510
Thanks for the suggestion. I have four cats, and I'm worried about cat hair getting into the case. This WILL happen, but with the Antec 1200 the cat hair will fly into through the mesh covering the large fan. This is one reason I'm leary of cases with large non-standard fans--it will be harder to work out a good fan filter that doesn't restrict airflow with this sort of fan.
 
D

dobby

Distinguished
May 24, 2006
1,026
0
19,280
wow well if the coolermaster stacker is in your budget then i would get thatin a heart beat, that a beautiful case. bigger the better i say
 
chookman

chookman

Distinguished
Mar 23, 2007
3,319
0
20,790


Why are people putting pedestal fans in their cases these days... that would keep me cool in the summer over here.
 
B

banshee13

Distinguished
Jul 27, 2008
18
0
18,510
I'm going to avoid huge fans for now, because it's hard to get good filters for them. The cooler master stacker is bigger than I expect to need, and pricier than I want to go. But no doubt it is a great case.
 
S

swanlee

Distinguished
Aug 15, 2008
10
0
18,510



Get the P182, it has remvoable filters on the front of the case that would keep cat hair from getting into your system.

I have the P180 and it is a great case and ultra quiet, it is difficult to tell that it is on by the lack of noise.
 
B

banshee13

Distinguished
Jul 27, 2008
18
0
18,510
I was about set to jump on the Antec P182 when some friends mentioned Lian Li's A17, which has comparable cost and is almost all aluminum. Does anyone have any opinions on that case. Or of the Lian Li A6010? I'd expect the cooling to be better in the A17 than A6010, and it it doesn't have much in the way of plastic, unlike the P182.

Any opinions?
 
chookman

chookman

Distinguished
Mar 23, 2007
3,319
0
20,790
A10 is nice also (bit dearer though) A17 would have the better cooling out of those and looks good. I ended up getting 2xA70B probably bigger than you want but they are by far the best cases ive ever owned (and ive got a P180).

V3NOM, the reason they are more expensive is because of the superior build quality. You cant fault their cases.

 
B

banshee13

Distinguished
Jul 27, 2008
18
0
18,510
Well, I found the A17 at a deep discount and went ahead and bought one. It cost lest than i coudl get an Antec P182 for, though I had to get the silver case (hey, that's worth $60). It is supposedly a new case. Perhaps the A6010 for Lili is stealing its thunder or maybe I just lucked out. I'll let you know how it works out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom