Which case?

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/Prod [...] 6811119137
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/Prod [...] 6811129025
Nice looking design, probably quiet, maybe a bit tough for air flow.

3.) Silverstone Kublai KLo3B-W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811163102
Big (really a full tower), quirky but interesting design.

4.) Thermaltake Armor+MX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811133062
Robust chassis, removable motherboard tray, but huge weird fan seems nutty.

I welcome any advice.

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?)

That, is a monolith. No lan parties for you. I wonder how many fans it can accommodate?

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.

Thanks. I leaning towards the P182 right now, with the CM RC-690 a close second.

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.

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

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

ROFL! i would recommend the RC-690 for looks or the Tempest for features/superior cooling

I will probably get the P182. Thanks (and more comments welcome).

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?

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.

A discounted Lian Li you cant go wrong there... They might be close to EOL and they are getting rid of em. Good luck with it and enjoy.