Which case should I buy? antec 902? haf 922? cm sniper?

Hello All,

I'm currently on the market for mid-tower gaming case. I've done some preliminary research and narrowed it down to 3 options:

Antec 900 two (902) Price 109.99
Cooler Master HAF 922 Price 99.99
Cooler Master Sniper Black Price 119.99

So far as I can tell these are the pros and cons of each option.

Antec 902:
Pros: Dust filters, all black interior, you can control the speed of most fans (no central controler)
Cons: Hard drives are parallel with the case, I prefer Perpendicular for cable management. The cable management sucks compared to the cooler master. In my opinion it is kind of ugly, and I don't think think we can turn off the blue led fan lights. Also it is a pain to change harddrives because you must remove the rack with 4 thumb screws and then slide out the bay. It has a partial side window, I don't like those.

CM HAF 922:
Pros: The best looking of the three, Good cable management, 3 200mm fans, perpendicular harddrives. Tool less HDD and OD installation. Ventilation for the bottom mounted PSU. LED Light control.
Cons: Some fan ports don't have dust filters, 1 200mm fan not included, No central fan controller. The interior is not all black.

CM Black Sniper: Central Fan controller, Dust covers on all fan ports, 3 200mm fan spots, perpendicular harddrives. Tool less HDD and OD installation. Ventilation for bottom monunted PSU. LED light control and Handles for moving the case easily.
Cons: Looks kind of ugly 1 200 mm fan not included. Most expensive of the three.

These are what I can tell so far, and in my mind there is no front runner. Any thoughts or inputs would be appreciated. If anyone owns any of these particular cases, the first hand intel would be most appreciated.

I would say the antec. (although I am fanboy)

Dust filters are unnesesary luxury

Fan controllers are USELESS. Connect fans to mobo and set in bios to optimal, and it will regulate fan speed according to temperature. (and I assume mobo can do that better than you can let's be honest), keeps system silent

HDD toolless is a pain, unless with rubber padding. Otherwise it will rattle. If given a choice, always use screws.

How often are you going to need to take out the HDD rack?

You could turn off the leds, but that would make most cases uglier, I like them shiny.

ALL THE CASES HAVE A SIDE WINDOW, get the shiniest one.

All comes to personal preference in the end.

My advice, buy a case of quality, you will not regret it. I've made the mistake of buying a crap case, and regretted it as soon as i started my build.

Still need an excuse to get a new case....

Anyways, I suggest the Antec. Built a system a while back with the similar case, (older 900 series) and it was very pleasant to build with, despite the HDD rack. When finished, it looks beautiful. Just don't put it on your desk.

All of the 3 cases are good for cooling but damn ugly! The sniper is the best regarding the PSU cooling but also ugliest out of them! 902's looking is the best out of these cases, but the noisiest as well. I would get sniper for the prices listed!

Thanks for all the replies so far!!! I'm stilling trying to make up my mind, but I'm getting there. The Lian Li case is definitely being looked into.

@xbeater - Dust filter to me are a necessity, if I don't have them they balls of dust will build up in my rig quickly. Unless you have a air filter in your room, with that volume of air being fluxed dust is bound to build up.

I was reading the CM forums, and they said that they may start selling dust filters for the side 200mm fan due to popular demand. Which only leaves the bottom vent in the HAF 922, someone posted a guide to make one for that spot using woman's underwear LOL.

My mind is not made up yet, so any additional comments will be most appreciated.

I just unboxed the sniper and it is huge as hell.

Being a fanboy, you sure have come to appreciate the quality of the case a lot as well. Yeah I like the Antec 902 as a mid-tower case, for both airflow and look. I personally don't like LED fans, but I'm sure they can be unplugged. Worst case scenario is that you will have to replace the stock fans, and control the fans with whatever means you need (mobo, 5.25" fan controllers, etc.) It should be an easy and great build. However, if you are asking about a full tower, I will go for the HAF 932 rather than the Antec 1200.