Search
Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in

Could somebody help me decide which case to choose?

Last response: in Components
Share

Hey i'm gonna be building a system in a couple of months and i don't want to ponder about what case to get in the future... i want to focus more on the other stuff.

I've looked at a couple, they all seem really good to me, but if any of you have personal experience, could you give me some feedback and your opinions?

CM HAF 922
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

CM HAF 932
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

CM Storm Scout
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

NZXT Tempest
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Antec 900
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Antec 1200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

So these are the cases i've been lookin at... and i'm kinda leaning towards the scout or the 922. The Antec series seems to be overbought and everyone seems to have one in the gaming world. I heard the Tempest is not good quality? And i hate rebates. And the HAF 932 doesn't come with dust filters....


Things to keep in mind

1. I'm probably never gonna water cool so if the case doesn't have those holes, its fine.
2. I hate mailing in rebates, who doesn't
3. Dust filters are nice =]
4. Most cases have more than enough hard drives and 5.25 bays for me... so those shouldn't be a problem
5. The CM cases have a nice combo on Newegg with this 700w CM silent PSU thats modular and has one rail
6. I don't hate the Antec 900 and 1200 lol
7. The lower the price, the better. I'm def. not paying more than like $150 for a case, unless it's REALLY worth it
8. Free shipping is a must. That's one reason i didnt like the tempest =[ $20 shipping is lame.


Other questions

1. What's better, 4 120mm fans, or one 230mm fan? This pertains to the HAF 932. I saw a video on youtube that showed the case with 4 fans instead of 1 on the side panel... and it sounded like a hair dryer... but is the noise worth the cooling?
2. Which case would you recommend out of the ones i listed? If you don't like any of them, which case do you recommend?
3. Where do you buy 120mm dust filters? The CM scout has two places on the side where you can install two more fans but there's no dust filters.

I will probably have more questions later on, but these are the ones i can think for now :p 

Thanks for reading all of this and i greatly appreciate your posts ^_^

More about : decide case choose

Register or log in to remove

everywhere i look, they've got different opinions on the nzxt tempest.... some say its great, others say its really bad quality.... anyone on TOM's actually got a tempest so they can tell us?

and its got good airflow, from the amount, CFM ratings and position of the fans, its big, spacious, maybe a bit too big for some PSU with short cables...whats wrong with it? and y doesn't anyone here recommend it above the average 900, or the HAF 932, especially with the price difference?

MICK


P.S.
is it bias/opinion (looks), or is the TEMPEST genuinely dodgy? or is it just like the scythe mugen 2 for socket 1366. Great CPU cooler, but never gets mentioned here... its either the noctua NH-u12p or the TRUE 120.....

I agree, to be honest I prefer the HAF 932 as I own one. The massive fans do major cooling. The drive bays are too cool for words, the working room is great, cable management is also good. There is one downside and thats the noise levels. I actualy like to hear what I payed for, so my 2 graphics cards revving inside is a melody to me, but some people like their pcs to be silent. Cant go wrong with it ;) 
Related ressources
Ask the community

For me its the Scout. I have one, I got mine a couple of months ago. Its the best case i've had, solid and very well build, good ventilation, and good cable managment. Also the grab handle is a nice feature too. With all the fans going in this case its still reasonably quiet but seeing as I use it for gaming then its fine for me.

any advice on the tempest? does it just fail/suck majorly? or is it because it's not named coolermaster/Antec? or is because its the same price, the CM haf 932 is better? (cause here in aus, tempest is about 40-50aud cheaper than the CM 932)

mick

thanks for responses.

tobensg- Is the scout's noise tolerable? And did you add the two extra fans on the side panel?

meewog- Is your HAF 932 stock? If so, could you give me a comparison how loud it is? Vacuum cleaner, or somethin lol.

mick- i wish i knew also

I have a stock HAF 932. The loudest thing in my system are the optical drives and the my video cards. The case sits right next to my monitor on top of the desk so there is no noise impediment. I often check the fans to see if they are still moving air - they are that quiet. I have an i7 920 overclocked to 3.6Ghz and my avg core temp runs about 44C.

micky_lund said:
any advice on the tempest? does it just fail/suck majorly? or is it because it's not named coolermaster/Antec? or is because its the same price, the CM haf 932 is better? (cause here in aus, tempest is about 40-50aud cheaper than the CM 932)

mick


The temptest doesn't suck, it's just more of a budget brand than CM/Antec, and it will have that slightly more budget feel to it.

but the cooling is better on the NZXT...so its made out of plastic...is that the only reason...(and the fact of the non-existent removable motherboard tray :S) ? what is this 'budget feel' mean?

I use a Coolermaster V8. I also use 2 GTX285s in SLI - at full load I haven't seen either card go above 80C. I am in TX and it is HOT here. My daytime temps in the room go up into the low 80s F due to the amount of window space I have.

Sweet i'm about to buy the same exact cpu cooler. I probably won't overclock that much so that case should be fine.

I'm kinda on a tight budget, do you think the CM Scout would be a good replacement for the HAF 932 ? Its like $40 cheaper, and the airflow seems good enough in the scout also. My only concern for the scout is if it is big enough for today's card?

I have stock fans running, but I have a coolermaster V10 in there. Actually the loudest component would be the CD rom drive at full speed, other than that in normal computing and gaming not much of the other components are audible. you also have a nice window to show off your computers intestines :D 

Dunno if you considered it, but Rosewill makes a case called Wind Rider (i think) that is sorta similar at a lower cost.

Might be something to look at and discuss, if price is an issue at all.

Those are all good cases tho. Good luck.

i think im gonna go CM scout cause i just seem to love that case idk why haha.

My $1000 budget is restricting me from going i7 ... unless some1 can help me out on that.
Right now, my gaming rig will (hopefully) be:

CM Scout
750w PSU Corsair
8gb 1333 G. SKILL memory
1tb WD caviar black
HSI 4850
CM V8 CPU cooler
ASUS M4A78T-E AM3
AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb 3.0 GHz <-- I Might upgrade that to the 955 BE ...

All this comes out roughly ~$1000 after MIR

At my 1280 x 1024 resolution, i think a 4850 is good enough.

If some1 could build me a decent i7 gaming rig for like $1100-1200 , please help!

COOLER MASTER Storm Sniper SGC-6000-KKN1-GP Black ABS Bezel, SECC Body ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119194

XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835233029

OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3P1600LV6GK
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.193835

PC Power and Cooling S75QB Silencer 750W Quad Power Supply (Black)
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Prod [...] e=10005611

i7 920 DO Stepping
https://www.antaresdigital.com/cust [...] age=1"

Tuniq TX-2 Cooling Thermal Compound

SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache IDE 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827151176


Total: $787.42
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/265815-31-1200-gaming...

basically, their list, with extra mobo + GPU
(their list maybe a bit old)

Gigabyte ud4p lga 1366
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$259.99

XFX Gtx 260
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$179.99


Overall Total
$1227, plus some shipping....u could find cheaper, this is a quick list, to show that its easily possible for around $1200

Thanks a bunch man, and i'l look for some combos. I'll take a look at it at night, i'm in a bit of a rush atm :p 

But with the hard drive, it might be up to $1300

i changed up my amd build a little ... i'm still not sure if i should add the extra $300 for i7 =/

Samsung DVD/CD drive ~$24
Cooler Master Scout ~$100
WD Caviar Black 640gb ~$75
XFX 4870 1GB ~$150
Corsair 650w Power Supply ~$100
8gb G. SKILL PC3 10666 ~$140
Win 7 OS ~$150
Cooler Master V8 CPU Cooler ~$62
AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE + ASUS Crosshair III Formula AM3 Mobo ~$345

So that all comes out to like $1146 and with the MIR for the PSU its ~$1126

With shipping... ill say... ~$1135

That's a decent build for gmaing and everyday use right? And is the 650w Corsair enough PSU for my system?

Oh snap... hold on .... Maybe the i7 build isn't $300 dollars more ...

Samsung DVD/CD drive ~$24
Cooler Master Scout ~$100
WD Caviar Black 640gb ~$75
XFX 4870 1GB ~$150
Corsair 650w Power Supply ~$100
Win 7 OS ~$150
Cooler Master V8 CPU Cooler ~$62
Core i7 920 + ASUS P6T + 6GB OCZ Gold DDR3 1600 ~$558

That comes out to ~$1220 and then ~$1190 after MIR
With shipping, roughly ~$ 1200 ???????

Did i miss something? My previous i7 builds were never this cheap... i must be missing somethin ...

its all in the combos...the price difference isn't that much

and I'll say it again, don't get the v8 for the i7....its not as good, even without the price difference....go for the TRUE, scythe mugen II, xigmateck dark knight, noctua nh-u12p....they are much better for the lga-1366 socket...

and i think the 650w should be able to handle XFire 4870....don't know... but it'll definitely handle 1 4870.

Yeah, combos are good lol.
I'll change up the cpu cooler, i'll take your word for it. All those other cools got good reviews anyways.

I don't plan to SLI or x-fire so i'm gonna go 650w. Corsair says its crossfire ready... so idk lol

Okay, i put together a more edited build ...

Cooler Master Scout
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00243HHN...

LG DVD/CD Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

WD Caviar Black
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

XFX 4870 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Corsair 650w PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Win 7 OS

Scythe Mugen 2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Core i7 920 + ASUS P6T + 6GB OCZ Gold DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

Logitech MX518 Mouse
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Arctic Silver 5 Compound
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Cooler Master red LED fans
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

After MIR and including shipping, it's $1240

Everythin lookin better now? lol. Am i missin anythin?

I just went through this process and there's certainly a lot to choose from. Here's what I was looking for:

My system is going to be a Core i7 rig with 6gb of memory and a Sappire Radeon 4850 graphics card along with a few other things. I was looking for a case that doesn' hide the external drive bays with doors and I wanted a case that would allow sufficient cooling but at the same time I wanted the case to be quiet or be in a state that I could make it quietier by placing acoustic material on the side panel and bottom. I finally selected the Ultra ULT33178 X-blaster ATX Mid-Tower PC Case (Black) that's available through Amazon.com and TigerDirect for about $37.99 (without a PSU).

I just went through this process and there's certainly a lot to choose from. Here's what I was looking for:

My system is going to be a Core i7 rig with 6gb of memory and a Sappire Radeon 4850 graphics card along with a few other things. I was looking for a case that doesn' hide the external drive bays with doors and I wanted a case that would allow sufficient cooling but at the same time I wanted the case to be quiet or be in a state that I could make it quietier by placing acoustic material on the side panel and bottom. I finally selected the Ultra ULT33178 X-blaster ATX Mid-Tower PC Case (Black) that's available through Amazon.com and TigerDirect for about $37.99 (without a PSU).

Okay, i got two set ups for roughly $1200 each.... which one you guys recommend? Keep in mind i plan to use single gpu, 1280 x 1024 resolution, and this computer must last me at least like 3-4 years.


Intel Setup:

Intel Core i7 920 + OCZ Gold + ASUS P6T = $548
Cooler master Scout = $100
WD Caviar Black 640gb = $75
LG DVD/CD = $25
Logitech MX518 Mouse = $40
Scythe Mugen 2 CPU Cooler =$37
Corsair 650w PSU = $80
XFX Radeon 4870 1gb = $150
2x Cooler Master red LED fans = $18
Arctic Silver 5 Compound = $9
Windows 7 = $150 ( Hopefully )

Total: ~$1250 ( Including MIR and shipping )

Amd Build:

Cooler Master Scout = $100
WD Caviar Black 640gb = $75
Cooler Master Scout red LED fans = $18
Arctic Silver 5 Compound = $9
Corsair 650w PSU = $80
Logitech MX518 = $40
Scythe Mugen 2 CPU Cooler = $37
XFX Radeon 4890 = $195
LG CD/DVD = $25
AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE + ASUS Crosshair III Formula = $345
8gb g. skill PC3 10666 = $150

Total = ~$1250 ( Including MIR and shipping )

The prices might not be exact, but its roughly the same. But all in all, the only differences between the two builds are:
AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE vs. Intel Core i7 920
ASUS Crosshair III Formula vs. ASUS P6T
8gb DDR3 Dual Channeled vs. 6gb DDR3 Triple channeled
4890 1gb vs 4870 1gb

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Wow your AMD setup is nearly identical to mine except I went for the Sapphire 4890 w/Native HDMI (Looks to be the newest Sapphire card on Newegg since it has no reviews yet)because I plan on hooking it to my 50" Samsung PNA550 oh and I went with the Cooler Master HAF 932 case which I am still debating switching to the HAF 922 Mid Tower instead of Full tower.

the price is the same...therefore go with the i7....the xfx 4890 (or any 4890) is way overkill at that resolution.....but if u want to save some money, and are not heavily multi--tasking:

IMO: go with the AMD build with the 4870, not the 4890...

jdbaker- I heard the HAF 932 is a gigantic case lol and i don't got much room under my desk i think. I just love the black finish on the CM Scout and the 5 fans. The only thing with the scout is that i have to buy two separate dust filters and two separate fans for the clear side =[

Mick- Thanks for responding so often =D
I forgot to mention that i might be adding a second 1440x900 monitor to multi-task more efficiently.... does that change your answer mick? lol

Even if i switch to a 4870 isntead of 4890, it only saves me $45. I think i'm willing to pay a little extra for a little more boost :p  even if it is overkill XD

Here's my final system. Final total was $1005.92. Was trying to keep it under $1000 but NewEgg didn't have the 512MB version of the graphics card so I took the 1GB version instead which pushed me over a bit. Everyone in my shop that builds systems is telling me that this will be one heck of a screaming machine but at the same time it should also be very quiet. Hope this helps you in your decision making process as this has take me over two weeks to research some of the parts.

CASE: Ultra ULT33178 X-blaster ATX Mid-Tower PC Case (Black) ($37.99)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000KMT3C...

MOBO: ASUS P6T Intel X58 Core i7 Extreme/Core i7 Socket 1366 PC3-16000 (DDR3-2000) ATX Motherboard Retail ($219.99)
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?Product...

CPU: INTEL BX90601920 Core i7-920 2.66 GHZ Intel QPI 4.80 GT/S Socket 1366 Desktop Processor (Retail) ($279.99)
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?Product...

PSU: Enermax Ps Emd525Awt Modu82+ 525W 17Db Atx12V V2.3 Modular Cable (Retail) ($119.99)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015QX67W/ref=ox_ya_o...

HDD: Western Digital WD1001FALS Caviar Black 1TB SATA RPM 32 MB Buffer (Bulk) ($84.99 after MIR)
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?Product...

MEM: CORSAIR TR3X6G1600C9 6GB PC3-12800+ (DDR3-1600) CL Triple Channel Memory (Retail) ($89.99 after MIR)
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?Product...

DVD: Sony Optiarc AD-7241S-0B SATA DVD Burner Black Drive (Bulk) ($35.99)
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?Product...

Graphics: Sapphire Vapor-X 100273L Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card (Retail) ( $134.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

That's a nice system, but i'm going to buy other stuff like the OS and mouse and fans and some cables, so i'm probably not going to be able to get under or around $1000.

If you do a combo deal at newegg with your motherboard, cpu, and ram, it's a lot cheaper.

CPU MOBO RAM cambo = $548
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...
The ram is dif, but the OCZ gold has just as good reviews and is at a 8-8-8-24 rather than a 9-9-9-24 on the XMS3

Your case = $38
Your PSU = $120 ( I understand it is modular, but why pay $120 for a 525w PSU ? You can get a 750w corsair PSU non-modular for that price, or a 620w corsair psu modular for that price )
Your HDD = $85 ( I don't see the rebate on Zipzoomfly though)
Your DVD drive= $36
Instead of 4850 for $135 , you can get a 4870 for $150 which is only $15 more.

That comes out to $977 roughly .
Just a suggestion :p 

you just want the combo for the free intel BunnyPeople gift......i reckon go with the i7, and 4890 rig..... and the modular corsair 620W...and pay a touch more, but it'll be worth it...the 4890 should be good for dual 1440x900 monitors...

-80 dollars off of a combo is basically gettin free ram. And the free gift doesn't hurt :p 

I heard modular PSU's were not as "good" as non-modular? I don't mind cables. I'll just try my best on cable management in my CM scout case. Ide rather get 750w non modular than a 620w modular =/ Just in case i want to upgrade in the future.
But for dual monitors, i think 4890 will be prob. perfect

I have the Antec 1200 and I can say from experience
this is the best looking case out of all of the cases mentioned above
black on the inside, nice blue fans that don't hurt your eyes even if you're 5 cm in from of them,
fans make a nice hum on low and move about as much air as the HAF 932, fans on high are for sure noticable, but not noisy enough for you to turn them down
my gtx 295 makes more noise on idle than the fans at medium
turn the gtx 295 fan on max, the case fans are the least of your worry

I also like the dust filters on the case, I don't mind I have to remove 36 thumbscrews to clean them because in the end its worth it and takes only about 15 min of my sunday

when i built my computer I was also thinking of the haf 932, I was pulled by the antec 1200 because of the dust filters, black paint on the inside, blue good quiet fans, and the nice side window which I think is the best looking side window made

I know your budget for a case is $150, but the extra $40 for this case is really worth it, I got mine on sale for $160

im looking at getting nearly the same rig as the jchan.....will a corsiar 750tx run X-Fire 4890 (slightly OCed), i7 (heavily OCed) and case with large amounts of fans (eg. 6) ??? or would a 850tx be needed?

the antec 1200 is a really nice case but i'm really not even sure if i can fit it under my desk .... I can try to find some combo deals to keep within my budget with that case.

ehh i don't think i'm gonna go antec 1200 ... it's a nice case and all but when i did the most combos i could find on new egg, i had to sacrafice a 4870 for a 4850 and a corsair 650w for an Antec 500w .....

Just for the case, i don't feel sacrificing graphic power and power supply is worth it lol
Register or log in to remove
 
Ask the community
Read discussions in other Components categories
!