antec 900 vs COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKA1-GP Black SECC

[fall2008]

Hello,

I am bulding my first ever computer and needed some help with picking right case.

Since it's my first build, I want it to be economical. That's why I was going to buy COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKA1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower for $109.99 from newegg. here is the link

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119142

but I just found out that fry's is offering antec 900 for $70 and now I am confused.

The cool master case comes with a 550W power supply and it seems like a well designed case, since it's bays are arranged sideways (easy to insert hard drives I guess).
Antec on the other hand is build the conventional way but it's bigger in size.

So, can somebody please help me pick the right case??

 

[fall2008]

one thing I forgot to mention is my other parts for the case

ASUS P5N-D LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131232

ASUS EN9600GT/HTDI/512M GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121229

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017

4 of Kingston 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134114

 

[WR2]

CM RC-690 $61 plus any tax and shipping
Antec 900 and CM RC-690 are both great cases.
Figure out which is the lower cost case including any tax or shipping charges and go with the lowest priced case.

 

[WR2]

Im not too impressed with your memory choice. Why did you chose the 4x1GB non-matched Kingston?

Alternatives:
Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 $63 after rebate
mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 $60 after rebate
CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) $64 after rebate
I'd take the mushkin RAM as my 1st choice.

 

[dirtmountain]

Get this RAM 2x2 instead of the 4x1. It'll be faster, leave you room to add RAM in the future, uses less power, costs less after rebate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146731
Get this graphic card only $5 more which you'll save on the RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121263
Either case is a great case, don't forget to figure in shipping.

^ +1 on the WR2

 

[husky mctarflash]

+1 on Ram. Always go 2x2 RAM, rather than 1+1+1+1.

The power supply in the RC690 is a throwaway. Keep it as a spare, or ebay it. But do not count on it.

Don't forget to figure in the cost of fans. The 690 does not come with all the fans you will need for proper airflow. To approximate the 900's airflow, you need another front fan, plus at least 1 top fan. Still an awesome case--better looking than my 900. The good news is you can't go wrong either way.

 

[WR2]

The power supply in the RC690 is a throwaway.
The 690 does not come with all the fans you will need for proper airflow.

The Real Power Pro is not a throwaway PSU. It's made by CWT is a solid PSU with some good reviews. You may have been thinking of the older "Extreme Power" CM PSUs.
The RC-690 case comes with 3 120mm fans and for most users (and the OP of this topic) won't need additional fans to keep the case well ventilated.

 

[fall2008]

Im not too impressed with your memory choice. Why did you chose the 4x1GB non-matched Kingston?

Alternatives:
Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 $63 after rebate
mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 $60 after rebate
CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) $64 after rebate
I'd take the mushkin RAM as my 1st choice.

I did pic 2X 2GB RAM before, but then I looked into the tech manual for the mobo and found out that this board supports only 1GB RAM for DDR2 800 memory type. I can do 2X 2GB only if I pick DDR2 667 or DDR2 533.

The recommended 2GB RAM for DDR2 667 is Kingston KVR667D2N5/2G or A-DATA M20NY5H3J4170I1C5Z or NANYA NT2GT64U8HB0JY-3C.

The recommended 2GB RAM for DDR2 533 is Kingston KVR533DRN4/2G.

What do you think I should be doing? If I pick DDR2 667 or 533, would that create a bottleneck?

 

[WR2]

Maybe we should have you look at another motherboard.
I know most 750i motherboards will handle 2GB DDR2 DIMMs.
This from the EVGA manual;

 

[fall2008]

Maybe we should have you look at another motherboard.
I know most 750i motherboards will handle 2GB DDR2 DIMMs.
This from the EVGA manual; [url]http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/6017/snag74qo4.th.jpg[/URL]

thanks a lot for your help

I just read few more posts on memory and it seems like 2X 2GB of DDR2 800 would work, however DDR2 533 would be the minimum requirement since the FSB on my CPU is at 1066 MHz. Please correct me if I am wrong...

and yes, there are similar set of instructions on my mobo manual as well

 

[WR2]

Ok.. I was pretty sure that 2GB DDR2 800 was good in the 750i motherboards. Glad to know the Asus manual confirmed that as well.
Yes - your CPU FSB is 266.5Mhz (quad pumped to 1066 effective Mhz).
And if you OC the Q6600 to 3.6Mzh your FSB will be 400Mhz which is a nice match to the DDR2 800 RAM.

 

[clownshoesrock]

My friend has the Antec 900 and a CM690.. I have the 690.

Baseline is that I'm not fighting Sata cables that are up against the video card. And not fighting the 24 pin connector in the mess.

The flip side is your fighting the port door to close it, 90 degree adaptors make it work smoothly.. even without it isnt bad.

The CM needs you to buy a bunch of fans.. I went to SVC and for a bunch of CM fans.. Stick to 25 mm instead of 38mm depth.. While your there snag a 4pin mobo extention yes you can plug in without it, but its lame for most psu's... Snag a bottom fan grill to keep cables out of harms way. and a bunch of fan screws, as they have a tendency to get stripped.

With some work I managed to make the air cooled CM nearly silent with a temp that is in the 30-35c for proc and gpu.
The default 900 sounds like some sort of jet, but it's pretty cool runnin.

I'd skip the CM power supply unless it's a real cost saver.. I snagged a corsair because it was dang quiet for 750 watts. but your needs may vary..

Anyway my big gripe on the antec is that when you have a bunch of drives and a couple long video cards with multiple 6 pin inputs your hands just dont fit. Otherwise, the 900 is awesome.. with better access to the buttons/slots in the front.. (CM breaks them up making it a bit goofy)
The BIG HONKIN Fan still rocks even at slow speeds.

My take is that the CM690 is the best designed case under $300
Build quality.. still decent.. just not as exacting as the premium cases. (read as doors and drive bays fight a bit more than top end boxes.)
Hope this helps..

( Note by some work I mean an Thermaltake Ult-120 + HR-03 + Fans + sunbeam fan controller)
( Flip side is 8gb ram, 4.5 tb, q9450 and 8800 gt all pumpin heat)
( Nearly silent = much quieter at arms length than a stock dell at 30 feet.)