Antec 300 vs CM Centurion 5 vs CM rc-690

mattyboyywonder

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Jan 31, 2009
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which case would you take at these prices. keep in mind im on a budget with my build, i can afford each of these cases but if money can be saved here than thats more somewhere else

antec 300- $45
centurion 5- $47
rc-690- $69
 

boulard83

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Oct 20, 2008
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if the OP plan on OC-big GPU the RC thakes the win with his nice air-flow. i have a total of 8 fans mounted on this frame ... + the bottom one flow directly to my bottom GPU and the side flow between the GPU(over SB) and the other one to the NB.

if its for a standard build yes the Centurion is nice. Its a very good case for its price.
 

terr281

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Dec 22, 2008
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I just recently upgraded from the Centurion 5 into an Antec 300 due to:

(I had the gray front clearview side model of the Centurion 5.)
a. No side panel venting, except I mod'ed the case to have a 120 mm video exhaust fan. (I wasn't pleased in the long run.)
b. Difficult to clean front filters in the Centurion 5.
c. Toolless component installation (Centurion 5) vs. Thunbscrew (Antec 300)
d. Even the metal side-panel Centurion 5 wasn't pleasing to me, as it was simply a video card "vent" versus fan mount.
e. The Antec 300 seems "sturdier" to me.
f. The Antec 300's solid black is more appealing to me than the gray/black of the Centurion 5.

In short, I would recommend the Antec 300 over the Centurion 5. (Can't comment on the other Coolermaster case.)

If you go for the Antec 300, do the following:

1. Buy a good CPU cooler, and strongly think about mounting it so the CPU fan blows air up to the 140 mm exhaust fan.
2. Set the included 120 mm and 140 mm Antec Tri-Cool fans to the "Low" settings.
3. Move the 120 mm Antec fan to the lower front panel intake position.
4. Purchase 2 "decent/good" 120 mm fans for the system as exhaust fans for the side panel video and rear case positions. (
a. The case is designed as a negative airflow case, meaning more air is pulled into the case by exhaust fans than is pushed into the case by fans.
b. This allows the front filter to keep "large particles" out of the case.
c. This allows the "bottom" of the case to have good airflow from front to back despite the potential blocking of "good" airflow in the middle of the case due to a long video card.

(Due to my <and seems your> budgets, I would recommend...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103052

For no LED's and...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103022

For LED's. (I used the LED's to provide a low blue glow.) Multiple decent fans for "shipping cost" is much better in my opinion.

5. Buy a PSU that has a top mounted 120 mm or "outside of case mounted 80 mm" exhaust fan versus an "exhaust" fan on the rear of the PSU.
6. Note: You cannot put a 3.5" drive/card reader in the Antec 300 without an adapter.
 
I really like my CM-RC690 also. If your PSU has a 120mm fan, it will draw its own air up from under the case; the Antec 300 doesn't have an opening there for this, so the PSU will pull air down in the case (countering the tendency of warm air to rise). Until yesterday, I was using a 500W Enermax Liberty, which was like that. Just be sure the case isn't set directly on carpet, as that airflow might get choked. If your PSU has an end-mounted 80mm fan, then that opening won't matter.
I was not really thrilled with the QC on the Centurion cases I bought over a year ago. The bottom-dollar Rosewill cases do feel cheaper, but I haven't had QC problems with them, so that's what I use on budget builds now.
 

boulard83

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mounted the 690, you PSU wil breath from the underside to the back. I was with my TT toughPower 600. Now i have a PC P&C 750 with a 80mm back ...

I really also like the bottom one, the throw air the the GPU ...